back to Completed Reviews
Site Name: Magic-Starr
Owner: Joanne
Reviewed by: Georgina
Reviewed on: 21st September 2008
Site Name
It doesn’t interest me that much. It isn’t that unique, but I admit that I do like the way it looks and sounds, and the extra ‘r’.
I wouldn’t say it’s original though, I’ve seen it a lot, and I don’t see the point in adding an extra letter that would ultimately make the word seem like a spelling error. However it’s a good name that’s easy to remember.
Layout
The first thing I notice is that it’s aligned off to the right. Though.. it’s not exactly aligned. It’s like you’ve deliberately made a large gap on the left. Basically, I have to scroll to the right to see your whole layout. I am viewing your site in FireFox, and looking at it on Internet Explorer.. I get the same deal. And I’m guessing you had a massive screen resolution and you wanted to center it so you positioned it appropriately.. resulting in your layout looking very.. scrolly.. in smaller resolutions. And I thought my resolution was big!
Basically, you need to center your layout. I see from your coding you’ve positioned it 270 pixels from the left. Not good. It’s too much. I know it will be annoying learning how to change your CSS to center everything. You basically need to use div containers with no margins. (margin:0px auto 0px auto;)
Okay, the coloured scrollbars are a no-no. Besides, you’re not using a boxed layout with a photo image or something, and you essentially have the default down-scroll.. so there is really no point in a coloured scrollbar. This can result in browser glitches – some browsers don’t have the coloured scrollbar feature and so it would not appear.
I find it annoying scrolling to the right, and to find that the layout is practically squished to the side. Your layout distance from the top of the page is okay, but maybe a little too big.
Onto your layout graphic-wise. I like the header image. It’s really nice and has good shades of purple and I like how it fades up into the grey. The outline is very neat and precise, and your background repeats perfectly. You definitely need to move the whole layout up significantly at this point, because I have to scroll to see your blog and content. It is quite annoying when header images are too big. Yours is an okay size, but the fact that the layout is started a few lines down makes it seem bigger.
Your CSS is fine but I am a little naff with the white borders that appear when I hover over images, as it shifts other text, which can be distracting. You also do not need the back/home/forward links. People have Back/Forward integrated into their browser and you have a link to your homepage on your sidebar.
Not really any other problems with your layout, but if I scroll down I can see this little bit of background in your layout.
Content
Navagation is spelt with the letter ‘i’ and should be Navigation. Your sidebar is okay, but you have some sections in different text. You have navigation, about yourself, site info and affies in a nice bold white font, while ‘link me’, advertising and other stuff are in another style altogether. Would be nice to see some consistency in it =)
ABOUT ME:
It’s okay and brief and informative, but you need to paragraph. You say about your friends ..fall apart, ILY and run straight onto television programs! This would be a good place to start a new paragraph. Also, basicly is spelt basically.
SITE INFO:
You need to put gaps between your sections. Everything looks squished up. Also, why are you saying ‘we’ in your site history? Aren’t you the only webmistress on your site?
Most people don’t know what Bebo is so place a .com after it, or link to the site. named it J-M-xo-skins.piczo.com you can still is a loooong sentence with no breath. Start a new sentence after the URL.
IMAGES:
The only link I see here is icons. I assume you have no other images, and notice you have a ‘for you’ section. Why not put these there? Your icons aren’t that interesting because they just seem like a heap of cropped images and you don’t even have text added to them.
FOR YOU:
The smileys are good, they’re well made. Good job.
I don’t see the point of the ‘programs I use’ page, because you’ve got another page outlining programs, and on that page you can easily state ‘I use this program’. Moving to that page now. What are edits? You can edit stuff on Paint! Also, the following sentence doesn’t make sense: Well you can but they are kind of interesting, because it looks like you just splodged Paint on it.
If they’re interesting, why would it look like you ‘just splodged paint on it’?
Now I see you say: The edits you can make on it are gradient, colour changing ones. I would not call these edits, because ‘edit’ means to alter or change, and this can be in any way. You should call these effects.
You have some spelling errors:
recoment should be recommend
Goof should be good
Differnt should be different
probally should be probably
editers should be editors
If your going should be if you’re going [you're is a contraction for 'you are'. your is used with possessions, your book, your dog, etc]
make sure its a site should be make sure it’s a site [it's is a contraction for 'it is'. its is used with posessions, its bowl, its mum, etc]
god firewall should be good firewall
virus detecter should be virus detector.
EDIT TUTORIALS:
You don’t appear to have a lot here. On your fairy wings tutorial, If you dont know how to add a brush to Paint Shop Pro... yes? If? What do I do if I don’t know how to add a brush to Paint Shop Pro?
Again you have errors here:
to use for you wings should be to use for your wings
picture your using should be picture you’re using
that you picture is on should be that your picture is on
dont should be don’t.
Your Paint Shop Pro tutorials are what I’m going through next. I don’t know what you mean by photos coming soon, but I am seeing it everywhere and I assume you mean screenshots, not photos.
On your menu of PSP tutorials, Effct should be effect.
On your antique colours tutorial, Then your done should be Then you’re done.
On your blend tutorial, atleast should be at least.
On your colour overlay tutorial, the color you have choosen should be the color you have chosen.
On your cropping tutorial, this page will tell you have you’ll do it should be this page will tell you how to do it. (I like how you’ve acknowledged not to steal! Good job!)
On your deep colours tutorial, chenge should be change.
On your fake vector tutorial, taen you a minute should be taken you a minute. (And you need to add a full stop here.)
On your finding a colour code tutorial, where ever is one word and should be wherever.
On your glow effect tutorial, Dublicate should be Duplicate. And put all you settings should be put all your settings. And Then your finished! should be Then you’re finished!.
Overall your PSP tutorials were good. But I think you need variety in your tutorials – don’t use the same photo of Rihanna over and over!
To your Photoshop tutorials.
On your adding text tutorial, rectange should be rectangle.
On your background blur tutorial, thats not a probelm its supposted should be that’s not a problem, it’s supposed. dont want should be don’t want, and Then your done should be Then you’re done.
Your blending tutorial leads to a 404 here, as does your blocks tutorial.
BEBO TUTORIALS:
Personally, I think you should put ALL your tutorials in the one section, and categorise them using headings.
On your making a skin in paint tutorial, Right its time should be Right it’s time. only hae should be only have. you se should be you see. share should be shapes.
Originality
Everything here was pretty much yours. And unique. I can tell you’ve put in a lot of effort with the tutorials, but they really need to be refined and edited properly.
You have such great tutorials for graphics. They taught me a lot of new things! Also, I don’t know why you don’t make graphics because your tutorials are good. Your icons could be made using these effects instead of just cropping them.
Errors
Just basically what I mentioned above. You have a lot of spelling and grammar errors, to reduce these try to check your pages before uploading them. Also, your screenshots in some (not all) of your tutorials are aligned with your text. This isn’t a good look so be sure to put <br> at least twice before and after the screenshot.
Your site also needs a little more organisation, like I said with the layout positioning, and also with your content – which needs to be sorted out better.
You didn’t link me anywhere, which was really disappointing, as my rules stated clearly, not to mention the email notification. I had to therefore remove a point from your whole review. And I thought I’d mention that your dragon hatched in the middle of my review. Nice!
