Thursday July 20th, 2011

• I am going on an indefinite semi-hiatus. Some important things are happening in real life that I need to get through, therefore I will not be online a lot.
• New affiliates, Cloud's Reviews and Grenade!

Tuesday July 19th, 2011

• Back from semi-hiatus!
• New affilate, Fortune Teller!

Friday July 8th, 2011

• Name changed to Floramix!
• New-ish layout!
• New button!

Thursday July 7th, 2011

• 1 review completed!
• New button! Thanks googlybears!
• Now listed at Wicked Directory, The Faerie Compass and Ellie's Directory.
• Listed in the 'up and coming' section for open reviews at The Status Center!

Wednesday July 6th, 2011

• 3 reviews completed!
• Now listed at Zioned Directory, Soroptimist Directory, Elle's Help Guide, Smiley Central, and Spark.
• New button!

Tuesday July 5th, 2011

• Grand opening!

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Name:
Site Name:
Site URL:
Site Category:
Desired Arrangement:
Where'd you hear about Floramix?:
Other: (Do you want me to review using a specific browser? Anything you want me to focus on? Comments? Questions?)
Thanks!

(√) Layout/Presentation Note: The first thing that caught my eye was your banner. It is simple and sophisticated and clearly lets the visitor know what site they are at. The abundance of blue is fitting to the site name.
(√) Introduction Note: The introduction is calm and relaxing and really sets the mood in accordance to the theme of the site. The only thing is the last sentence of your welcoming paragraph. It's kind of irrelevant so you should try to tie it in to the rest and relate it back to the site.
(√) Understandable Text Note: The text size, color, and spacing is perfect. It is clear and easy to read.
(√) Easy Navigation Note: Navigation is simple and straightforward, though one thing I would like to point out is the visibility of your navigation bar. The shades of grey are very similar, which caused me to pass over it at first. My suggestions would be to widen the bar and darken the text.
(√) Practical Organization Note: The organization of your site is very practical. Each text box has its own place and does not interfere with another. Your content is very organized and spaced out between pages as opposed to all crammed onto one page. As annoying as it may be, more "pages" are convenient! Good job!
(√) Quality Content Note: Your fonts are remarkable! Your wide selection makes them even better. Keep 'em coming!
(√) Updates Note: Your site seems to be regularly updated! I like that you keep visitors up to date with your daily tweets. Your Altador Cup fonts show that you are in sync with site events, which is always good!
(√) Originality Note: Your site is one of the most original font sites I've seen! I like that you kept with the bluebird theme in every aspect of your site. I especially love the 'daily tweet' box, as it fits perfectly with your theme.
() Grammar/Mechanics Note: Although your point is pretty clear, there are some grammatical errors. You should revise your introduction. If you'd like me to proofread or help edit it, let me know.
(√) Sitely Note: Your sitely section is great. Your sections are accurate. You have a good amount of nice link back buttons, affiliates and listers. You gave credit where it was due. The only thing I noticed was a bracket before 'That Kills Me'. I don't know if that is supposed to be there, but if it isn't, now you know!
Extra: Overall, your site is fantastic. I only saw a few things wrong, but they were nothing major. As far as I can see, your site is established and successful. I would definitely recommend your site and next time I need a font, I'll be sure to stop by! ;)

() Layout/Presentation Note: Unfortunately, your layout is not very eye catching. It is too simple and not really aesthetically pleasing. If you're not good at graphics, there are plenty of request sites! (Try looking here!.) The colors matched, except for when you hover over the nav bar. The bright pink is shocking and does not go with the layout. You might also want to make the nave bar longer because the 'credit' link doesn't fit. If you need any coding help, try looking here for a guide. You can also neomail me at any time!
() Introduction Note: Your introduction is sort of awkward. It gets the point of your site across but isn't very warm or welcome. It sort of sounds more like an excuse rather than a welcome.
(√) Understandable Text Note: The text size, color, and spacing is perfectly clear and easy to read.
(√) Easy Navigation Note: The navigation of your site is very straightforward and easy to use. Good job!
(√) Practical Organization Note: Everything has a place. The style of directory (buttons instead of text links) you chose is common so I'll give you this point. There is nothing wrong with it, but as a directory owner myself, I feel text links are more convenient for the visitor so they can quickly CTRL+F search for what they need.
() Quality Content Note: Although your site is helpful, you don't have very many links for a directory. Your next step should be to list more sites.
(√) Updates Note: Your site seems to be regularly updated, letting the visitor know what's up!
(√) Originality Note: Your site is original, sticking to a Xweetok theme. Keep it up!
(√) Grammar/Mechanics Note: I don't see any grammatical errors!
() Sitely Note: You sitely section is pretty small. You should work on getting more buttons. There are plenty of request sites here. You should also work on getting more affiliated and try getting listed at some other directories. For starters, try here.
Extra: The idea of your site is great. Everyone can use a directory. Your main focus should be listing, listing, listing! You don't have a huge variety of links, which you should as a directory. At the moment I would not recommend or revisit your site until you expand a little. Feel free to order another review after changing your site a bit!

(√) Layout/Presentation Note: Your layout is very simple and clean. Your banner is eye-catching and draws me in. The colors match very well throughout the site. I really like your choice of a linear layout. It allows for easy CTRL+F searching and is convenient for visitors.
(√) Introduction Note: Your introduction is perfect! It tells the visitor exactly what they need to know and how to work the site. It isn't too long and it gets right to the point. Good job!
(√) Understandable Text Note: Your text is a little small (it might just be my eyes, but it also seems fitting to the layout) but otherwise is alright. The color, spacing, and line height are just right.
(√) Easy Navigation Note: Your navigation system is great. It is straightforward and simple.
(√) Practical Organization Note: Your site is fantastically organized. Not only did you bother to separate avatars by type but you also took the time to alphabetize and chronologically organize the avatars in their categories.
(√) Quality Content Note: It looks like you put a lot of hard work into your site. It is high-quality and looks very professional. You went above and beyond to list extra information (battledore challengers, chocolates, cheeses, etc.) to further help your visitor on their quest for new avatars.
(√) Updates Note: You don't really need updates in your site except for when new avatars come out so I won't really count this as a category, but I like how you keep your second introduction paragraph up to date with when and where you've been listed, featured, etc.
(√) Originality Note: If I am not mistaken, the theme of your site is Faerieland/Faerie-ish. The colors and faerie image are good indications of that theme. This is very original, as most avatar guides are just plain and themeless and I like that you incorporated more than the average bland avatar page. I also like that you included lists of the different component for different avatars at the bottom.
(√) Grammar/Mechanics Note: I didn't see any grammatical errors. Awesome!
(√) Sitely Note: You don't have a sitely section, but include those components at the top of your page. You have enough link back buttons and credits but you should think about adding a sitely page and maybe getting some affiliates.
Extra: Your site is amazing! Not only is it original, but you went out of your way to add more than just avatars! I would definitely recommend your site and will be revisiting next time I need avatar help!

First Impression (8/15): When I first entered your site, I was pleased with what I saw. It does not look boring, but at the same time there is not too much going on. Your banner catches my attention and draws me in. It gives off the impression of an established, high quality site. I definitely want to continue on and see what your magazine has to offer.
Your site also appears to be very organized, which I will go into more detail about later. The navigation is also simple and straightforward which allows for easy access and is very convenient for the visitor .
The only thing that would turn me away would have to be the overuse of pink and purple and the random green bold text. The different shades of pink clash with the green, taking away from the great content. The banner is nice but the choice of texture was not the best. The colors clash and the texture itself is grainy and does not really match the site's theme.
Introduction (3/5): Overall, the introduction was nice. I was welcomed and knew exactly who you were, what your site was called and what it was about. I like the divider and how simple it is to subscribe.
There actual introduction itself was awkward. The awkwardness could be prevented by rephrasing the sentences. The first sentence should be the best, as it makes or breaks the visitor's decision to continue reading. Instead of your current sentence, you should more warmly welcome the visitor instead of jumping in to the introduction for the magazine. Welcome to Neostars Magazine! or Hey there # VISITOR (no space)! Thanks for reading Neostars Magazine! sounds and flows much better than Welcome, you've come across Neostars Magazine!. Also, instead of saying …make your day happy and better try happier and better or maybe just brighten your day. The structure of your last sentence is awkward. Instead of and we accept workers too try and we're also accepting new workers!. It flows better with the change from 'too' to 'also' . Lastly, in the textarea under your subscribing section, take out the s. Remember that textareas keep tags instead of actually embedding them into the coding of the layout. Just a simple press of your 'enter' key will keep the text in your textarea spread out.
Layout (?/20): Score skipped. I know you probably already have a new layout in the works since you told me to ignore this one but I'm just gonna give you some suggestions for the future. Like I said before, the texture didn't match the softness of the layout. It was grainy and its colors were awkward, adding random blues and greens into the main pink color scheme.
Content (20/20): The content of your site is great! You have a lot to offer and I was never bored! Everything was straightforward and simple and drew me in. Your site was very helpful and supplied a lot of information about every aspect. I love the idea of a magazine like this so keep it up!
Organization (8/10): Your site is very organized! Navigation is simple and clear. I like how everything has a place and the different articles of the magazine were spread out on different anchored pages instead of crammed together on one linear page.
There are only a few things that are came to my attention. The first would have to be the rules. I find it awkward that they are on the same page as the FAQ's. Not everyone reads FAQs, so they will not see the rules. Also, because they are a very small portion of the page, if I were to read the FAQs, I would probably skip over them, thinking the last question was the end of the page. I would suggest putting them on their own page, before the magazine, or even on its own page in the magazine. The 'Rules!' banner is also awkward, as it does not really match the rest of the headings. It would look find on its own page or in the magazine but as long as it is combined with something else, I would suggest using a normal header. The last thing wrong with the organization is the 'extras' page. It looks like it doesn't belong to the rest of the site with its different, dark layout. Sites should be uniform, even if they are on different petpages. In the 'extras' section on the 'meet our staff' page, you should include all the staff!
Updates (10/10): From what I see, you've had a new issue every month just like you promise your subscribers. Your site seems regularly updated. Good job!
Grammar/Mechanics (1/5): I found a lot of grammatical and mechanical errors. On your FAQs page, in the first answer, interview should be changed to the plural interviews. In the second answer, second sentence, there should be a comma after After you do that. In the third answer, you should remove the comma after work for us, and add one after or and another after have time. The rest of the sentence doesn't really make sense though, since becoming an affiliate isn't really getting involved. In the fourth answer, after to be a worker, you should replace the comma with a period, remove the and, and capitalize the if to make it a new sentence. After with the rules and take out you to reduce redundancy. Finally, add a comma after requirements. In the next answer, you should add s to TNT to make it possessive (TNT's). In the last answer, the first part of the sentence should be changed in order to make it flow better. Instead of Every first day of the month a new issue comes out try A new issue comes out every first day of the month. Instead of that's why we call it a monthly magazine try hence the term 'monthly magazine (do not capitalize the M's). The last sentence is also awkward, so you should try changing it to something like, For subscription information, visit the home page or To subscribe, visit the home page!.
On the editorials page, in the second sentence of the second answer, there should be their.
In the extras section, achieves in the navigation (and the header of that page) should be archives.
On the survey page, Best in the first question should not be capitalized. In the second question, instead of what would you like more of it would flow better if you said what would you like to see more of... In the third question, Layout should not be capitalized. In the last question, you should try saying Write you last comments and suggestions here. Under the survey questions, your thank you is a run-on sentence. Try Thanks haloing us improve our magazine by filling out this survey!.
In the 'Meet Our Staff' section, your first sentence is a run-on. Try replacing the comma after writing with a period. Try rearranging the second sentence to eliminate the run-on. When I was 8 years old, I wrote my first book which was about 100 pages long. In I also love poetry also, remove one of the also's. Capitalize the. Eliminate the I in and I joined. Insert a comma after By the way. Change the comma after I am Russian too to a period. Remove but. Replace the comma after Massachusetts with a period. Instead of the dash between school and 1st, try for. Take out for one year and add an and. (The sentence should read I went to a private school for first grade and then was home-schooled.. Take out and. Capitalize when. Add a comma after when I was 8 and after Costa Rica and insert I. Take out the comma after school. Change the next sentence to something like Two years ago I moved to Colorado, where I still live today.. You should change parents divorced…. to My parents are divorced and my sister plays neopets too (ladyfaerie)..
Originality (10/10): Your site is pretty original! I don't see magazines very often. I assume it takes a lot of effort and dedication to run a magazine, so kudos to you! I like that you actually made a cover for your magazine because I usually just see a magazine starting at its table of contents.
Sitely (4/5): Your sitely page is packed with good content! You definitely have enough link back buttons - maybe too many! You have a good amount of affiliates, listers, and reviews. One thing you might want to do to make the section look a little neater is center everything, especially the divider at the bottom (before the sister site) and the sister site section (mainly the button) itself. Also, in the description for your sister site, you sound unsure and unfamiliar with the site, specifically when you question whether it is a magazine or newspaper.
Total: 64/80 (80%) (20 layout points omitted)
Comments: Overall, I really enjoyed the site. It has plenty to offer and is worth a visit. Your main problem is grammar/spelling/mechanics, but that can easily be fixed! There are plenty of sites that offer proofreading, like (this one or this one.) Sometimes it may just be pesky typos, but everyone could use a refresher course on grammar! I really believe Neostars Magazine has potential to become an awesome and esteemed site! Keep doing what you're doing and if you ever need any help, feel free to drop me a neomail!