new website brewing

[nikos]

it is half baked still, but what would you say in general?
www.zabkat.com/newsite

[Kilmatead]

..."in general" being the operative term here...

What happened to Aristotle?  That wacky quote was what got my attention in the first place - I respected the "untranslated" nonchalance of its aloofness.

There's a lot to be said for rounded edges on clicky buttons.

Do yellow, blue, green, (some puke gradient colour) and that God-awful orange icon really go together?

And what's an "Ultimate"?  If Pro got reduced to mere "intermediate", I'm in trouble... does this mean I have to read the manual again?

Wasn't there a "comparison to other explorer replacements" that was knocking around the forum awhile ago?  That might find a home somewhere.

And, considering my x64 executable is 1.9MB, it's a bit misleading to say it's "under 1MB in size"...

[wperkins99]

Maybe you could let your wife pick out the colors?...

[Tuxman]

Maybe you could let your wife pick out the colors?...

Haha, so it's all pastel pink.

Regarding the site I second the question: WTH is "Ultimate"? Does it mean we lifetime licensees won't get "customer support" anymore?
(And will x² finally get a board which is not shrunk to minimal screen space so I had to write an user script on my own?)

[otlaolap]

Colors are very bad -- old colors are better -- and the big black bands at the top and bottom (especially the bottom) are ominous and waste space.  The overall effect of the color scheme is threatening, suggesting fearfullness or sickness.

There is also no strong presence of XPLORER2.  Yes, it is there, in smallish text at the top left (the logo is too diffuse to be a compelling identifier), but it is much less noticeable than the Z-A-B-K-A-T at the top right.

I think there should be stronger visual structure to define the content, stronger borders or something to delineate the major tiles of information.  But what this might be is beyond my skill.

I like, though, putting the quick facts ("What can this file manager do for me?") on the first page.  And I like the lack of flash and motion and other such visual distraction.

When I first saw this thread twelve hours ago, the same thing smacked me in the face as smacked Klimataed and Tuxman:  What is this Ultimate?  Am I, a lifer, out of luck?

Best of luck, though, but what is Ultimate and what is its relation to my license?

[snakebyte]

Try following site to pick color combination for X2's new home
http://colorschemedesigner.com/

Current site's theme looks dated. You should try some Web 2.0 themes. Checkout few free and paid sites templates here
http://www.freecsstemplates.org/css-templates/

[Tuxman]

You should try some Web 2.0 themes.

"Web 2.0", playing a nice game of bullshit bingo today?

"Web 2.0" is not related to theming or styling. "Web 2.0" means user-generated content and dynamic mash-ups. How can a theme do that?

[nikos]

oh my, so much for my excitement!

first off, ultimate will be the new xplorer2+portable package with a few extra frills

coming to the design, not everyone may like green, but i believe the color combinations are matching, much better than the old website

there is an intentional 'web1' stlyle and boxiness as the people who buy xplorer2 are old timers mostly

and the content, i believe is much more relevant for a first page than the philosophical ramblings of the old site

[Tuxman]

first off, ultimate will be the new xplorer2+portable package with a few extra frills

So do we own a lifetime professional ("without customer support") or ultimate license?

[Gandolf]

I like the colours, but then I'm an "old timer" as I've indicated in posts elsewhere on the forum. The title bar in particular is almost Minns Green, one of my favourite colours.

However, the green used for "Are you fed up with windows explorer?" etc... doesn't seem to fit with the other greens (too much blue in it).
I agree the black band at the bottom is too big, top one looks fine to me.

Do you know a program called ColorCache?, http://www.ColorCache.com. It has excellent colour matching and complementing facilities.

I like the overall layout, clean, crisp and no soggy unnecessary "bells and whistles" (like x² itself).

[RickyF]

The headline, "Are you fed up with windows explorer? " seems too negative. I think a more positive, assertive approach would be better.

Perhaps,

xplorer² is what Windows Explorer should be!

[Mr.Pleasant]

The colours OK, I guess, though maybe not the latest fashion. However they clash with the colors in the logo heavily: bright green and blue against olive-like greens struck me immediately.
When it comes to sites about software products, too much marketing blah-blah annoyes me enormously. Clear overviews of versions and features are the best. And I don't want to spend time finding out the navigation through the site. Your old site has a difficult navigation, I hope it will be better

[KrippledHick]

IMHO -

1. Way to busy (what is the main message (or messages); and I* agree about the colors.

2. 2.0 is UGC to be certain - but its definition is broad and does include Style (especially with SIMPLIFIED interfaces, Rounded edges, Gradients etc; But Most Importantly - Ajax-type components which add functionality and intuitiveness to the GUI (look up the wiki explanation for web 2.0 - It's very good).

I understand the desire to stay "old school"; but you're essentially playing demos, Screenshots, etc to highlight features - encapsulate that into an animation to save space and keep user focused on the individual frames of the "presentation".

If your goal is to sell products; I don't see how you can't at least try some modern 2.0 designs (they're cheap because the are easy) - it's what's selling.    I'd hate for you to lose customers to some inferior competitor product because you didn't appeal to new generation of customers by looking [outdated]

Your Forums are essentially 2.0 (User-generated-Content) so it's not like you can escape it entirely.

post a contest, let the users decide.  99designs is a very inexpensive way to see a variety of designs from multiple designers; complete with the communities vote on what they like best.  Because of the nature of your product you could even give each contestant that enters a free copy.

I love the product and am very opinionated on design; not trying to say what's right or wrong; in the end we all have our own opinions; I'm just tickled you actually asked for MY opinion LOL..

Rarely are great coders and great designers the same person ( left brain / right brain).  You clearly are a coder.

keep up great work...


[admin edit note] inserted URL originally prohibited by 1st-post spam filter.  -admin-
PS - Welcome to the board.  [/admin edit note]

[longfellow]

In general...

I'd say the new site is an improvement over the old. More open, better laid out. The feature/demo list is good. The navigation bar is a much needed improvement.

The color scheme seems to have caught everyone's eye. The greens of the banners go together, but the emerald green of the headings and the Zabkat logo clash with the banner greens.

I agree the "Are you fed up with windows explorer?" heading sounds too negative. The old "Come this way for trouble-free file management" was more inviting.

Too many download buttons. The main ones are front and center and easy to find. The rest are like a salesperson hovering as you walk through the store.

I think those advocating Web 2.0 styles have a point you should consider. If you're going to get Zabkat a new suit, you might as well choose a clean, modern style, as opposed to something Zabkat's dad would have worn. To quote ZZTop, "All the girls come running for a sharp dressed man."

[Tuxman]

I'd hate for you to lose customers to some inferior competitor product because you didn't appeal to new generation of customers by looking [outdated]

Ever visited the Directory Opus website?
It's not the website design that makes a decision.