This person has requested for just comments on their site, and for my comments to be neomailled personally, rather than being posted up.

What is your favourite part of my site and why?

Question answered by Purple on 12/11/09:

One of my favourite things about browsing premades sites is reading the names of the different css styles. xD I haven't seen any names like yours, they are really creative, and each one fits with each layout so well. All coders also have their own individual style, and yours is really easy to see. I love the way you code your headers, and all your css's are bright, colourful and interesting. My favourite style is your new one, Singlehanded, and I'd love to see more colour schemes/versions of this design. For some reason, my computer isn't letting me see the colour schemes - may be just my computer, but you might want to re-look at the coding.

Nobody makes layouts like you do, and to me, your site stands out. Keep trying out completely new designs with your coding and experiment, so no two of your layouts will look the same.

What more can I do to improve the overall quality of my site?

Question answered by Purple on 12/11/09:

You have an awesome collection of fonts! Although you do have a good number of fonts on display, not all categories have at least one font to choose from. Variety is really important in something like a font site, to give your visitors more of a choice. ^-^ I can tell that all are coded by you, and my favourite is the Defender font.

I noticed that you seem to give each font your own name, such as the Neomail Addict avatar is Chatting on your site. This will make it harder for people to find the avatar font they are looking for. A navigation throughout your fonts could be really useful, too, possibly in a similar way to how I lay out my page anchors, as above?

Although not 100% by you, the colour scheme and style of your layout fits well with the site theme. The quality of your banner could be improved, as it's not fitting properly into the space. To solve this problem, you could make your tables wider, re-do the banner yourself and make it have straight edges, or request one at one of these sites:

I also suggest you try to select some more affies, as you only have three. When choosing affiliates, try to look for:

I don't really understand the name, & The Cool for a font site, so maybe you could explain this more in your intro?

Finally, keep up the good work! I'll keep checking back to see your site improve!

What are the main ways in which I can improve my site? (I know the banner isn't too good - I plan on requesting one soon. xD)

Question answered by Purple on 10/11/09:

I love the colours of your layout! Maybe you could make your navigation more colourful, and use others colours apart from gray? Your layout is premade, although I like it; easy to navigate around, and simple. On a future layout, I suggest you try re-designing the layout more, to make your directory stand out. Anybody could create a directory - what is it which makes your original? I love the name Forbidden City, it's a really unique name for a directory, but maybe you could make the site look more like a forbidden city? You could definately make your introduction more interesting. It's great you explain your site name in your introduction, but perhaps you could make it a bit like a story, with more of a theme to it? If you don't know what I mean, on Locket I go on about Aunt Josephine [made up!]. In your introduction, you could create something fun and interesting which makes the visitor want to keep reading, but not too much so they loose interest.

Requesting another banner is a good idea, as the banner is the first thing your visitors will see, which contributes to their opinion of your site.

You have astericks [*] next to some sites - is this because they are recommended? It's hard for people to tell if you don't mention this. I think your introduction or Rules & Regulations section is the best place to have notes about your directory, such as what different symbols mean, and how many sites you have listed.

You have quite a few rules. It's good that you care about your rules, but as Joggly says in her directory guide, it's more for the visitor to read, and therefore makes it slower for them to get their site listed. I wouldn't recommend using code words, like your secret word: yellow. One of your rules, I hope you enjoy Forbidden City! :D isn't really a rule, in my opinion. Move it to your introduction?

You seem to have a good number of sites listed, but there are directories with more. By simplifying your rules, you are bound to get more sites listed. You could even set yourself a target number of sites to list by a certain day.

One last thing. xD You've got loads of lovely link buttons - 10 to be precise - although none appear to be made by you. If you make your site more your own, it will become more original. Even if you don't think you can make quality buttons, dowload a pixel font - 04b03, Redensek and Bangalore are good ones - use this tutorial to help you. I like all the current buttons, but you have quite a few? Maybe only keep two or three, as people are more likely to remember one or two particular buttons and remember your site, rather than one of ten.

Keep up the good work!

Question answered by Joggly on 10/11/09:

Other than the banner, I would recommend, largely, getting more sites listed. Remember, you can list sites left & right without asking them; they won't mind, and most of the ones I've talked to were happy about it. ^-^ So yes, you should neomail them about you listing them so they can link back and you can increase your own popularity! I do believe I have a directory mini-guide at my petpage tutorial, Apartment Nine, so I encourage you to check it out and see what your directory is missing!

Do you think I should change the layout of my site? =3 I'm beginning to find it very rough and inelegant compared to others I've done. And if I were to change it, do you think I should keep the current setup and just make it look more sophisticated or go for an entirely different laying out of things? Thanks~

Question answered by Purple on 7/11/09:

I love your current layout, how the left image is attatched to the page, and the right scrollbox can be never-ending (if you know what I mean). I always center the "div" boxes of my layouts, and I think a one-column layout could make Courier look clearer. When people scroll down your site, the banner saying "Courier" at the top, disappears. Instead of having the banner with Courier at the top, you could design a new image based on the parcel (left) and Courier's logo on the banner (top right). This way, if you decided to keep the same layout style, the title of your site can always be seen!

On a new layout, your navigation could be coded into an image map on your image, to allow more width for the introduction.

As for your colour scheme, the brown, cream and blue look really professional; I would keep the same colour scheme, because it really works for Courier. If you were to change the colour scheme, you could possibly use brighter colours.

I know your question isn't about spelling errors, but just to be helpful, you repeat "virtual" twice in your introduction. Maybe you could make your italicized, underlined and bold text different from the body text, to make them stand out?

Good luck with your site, and I hope you create the perfect new layout!

Question answered by Kazuki on 7/11/09:

If you ask me, the layout has the whole 'Sims' feeling. The game, you know. I'm fond of that.

On the other hand, though, I do think the layout can be more cohesive. Right now, it simply looks like a background and a table, and you're right; it does look slightly more inelegant as compared to your other layouts, which work on cohesion and making everything look like they fit together really snugly.

Personally, I think the colors are brilliant. It's just the layout style that I think can be changed. Like what you have for AGFL, maybe play with shapes and have them fit together. Circles, maybe? Or perhaps you could have the layout look like a opened present, with the content being inside the present (if you get what I mean).

I don't really have a site yet, but I would love to make one some day (particularly art requests). What are the qualities for a high quality site?

Question answered by Purple on 6/11/09:

It's great that you want to create a site! There are loads of different types of sites you could choose to make, and each different type of site has different requirements to be "high quality". The main site ideas people tend to choose are usually reviews, directories, custom requests, site of the month contests, premade layouts and premade graphics. You don't necessarily have to choose one of the site types mentioned above, as you could create your own site ideas (like me). Once you have decided on a type of site, (click here for indepth information) you are ready to start the content. As I said earlier, having high quality content varies depending on the type of site you are going to create. A high quality review site might be one which backs up it's opinions with suggestions, and a quality directory might be one with lots of links. If you either create/edit the layout yourself, or request a custom made layout, if it's done well, the layout is likely to give the visitor a positive impression of your site. Do you make neo-related or non neo-related art? Do you think your art will appeal to your visitors? Try to make your site as original as possible, so it stands out among other art request sites (if that's what you decide on). I suggest to avoid names like Rani's Art, because it's slightly plain. Which site would you prefer to visit? Sarah's Fonts or Fontabulous? Most likely Fontabluous, because it's interesting and makes you want to find out more. Do you make neo-related or non neo-related art? Do you think your art will appeal to your visitors? Before going ahead with making this site, make sure you have developed your own art style and compare the quality of your art to other peoples. Always save your images as .PNG instead of .JGP or .GIF to achieve higher quality images:

Unfortunately, I don't know much about art, so I've asked one of the answerers what they think makes art quality. Good luck!

Question answered by Kazuki on 7/11/09:

For art requests, I believe that you should listen to your 'client' as much as you can, and glean details from them. As for what makes them high quality - make sure that you are good with working with proportions of a body. Also, a good piece is one that flows well; which means no rough or jagged lines, or anything like that. When coloring, a good piece will use different shades, and not simply block colors. Also, posture is very important. It has to look plausible, and not forced or in an awkward position. If you're doing traditional art, make sure you have a scanner, and not a photo camera. If you're doing digital art, make sure that you have a steady hand if you're using a mouse.