Assignment 7

Websites I'd Like to Change:

http://www.empirecoffeetea.com/
While the informative content of the website is good, I just don't find it very aesthetically pleasing whatsoever. First off, I would get rid of the initial page that says "Enter Site" and make the second page the homepage. I'd like to change the layout of the second page to something that's a little more boxy and symmetrical looking. I like the idea of the Bomb Site homepage with the table/grid like layout. I'd also like to change the color scheme to include warmer tones like browns, reds/maroons and so forth. And I think the font needs to be a little spicier.

With the pages where you can actually purchase products (Tea, Coffee), the appearance is pretty bad. It serves its purpose and doesn't make buying super difficult. However, its unappealing how you have the option to purchase with the illustration in the middle of the page and also with the tabs aligned to the right. Not sure yet how I would simplify this but it needs to be changed. On the Specials page, I despise the conspicuous white box under the image with the product description. The information should be kept there but displayed in a different manner. And the Gift Baskets page is all out of sorts in spots, where it looks like some products have been tabbed over a notch. This would work if the product was a connected to the one above it but in most cases it is not.

The information on the website is pretty good, I think it just needs to be arranged differently. The Buying Guide, About Empire, and Cool History of Coffee sections are good informative factors for the overall site they just need a little rearrangement (not completely sure about this yet though). The overall page just needs a better header as well.


http://www.foxnews.com/
This site is a little boring in appearance and although the information factor is pretty good, it can be repetitive. Sometimes a news story will appear in three different places on the homepage which can be a little annoying. I think the website could use a simple color scheme also, no more than two colors. The page needs something to liven it up a bit. MSN is a good example of a simple color scheme, using two light shades of blue. I think a hierarchy setup with the news stories would work better, with one major story taking up a large box then working down from there. I also like the idea of dividing the page in two, with the left side being a bit bigger. Then I would include the bigger news stories with images. In the right column I would just list the smaller news stories as links so the viewer can click on them for more information.