Not a big fan of the graphic design on the front page. It's usable, and fairly attractive, but if I squint my eyes and don't read anything I could be looking at a middleware consulting company.
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Agreed, a little too plain perhaps. Don't get me wrong, you've done a great job by not "going all web 2.0" or a number of other horrendous mistakes, but there's room for improvement. Try starting by giving the #main and #border sections the #FFF background color and the #content container a #EEE background just to set them apart a little (see it at http://imgur.com/pn0fR.jpg).
Little things like that will take you a long way.
Thanks proexploit, I'll play with that.
No problem, just shoot me an email if you want some simple tips. :)
Hi proexploit, I don't see your email address anywhere. Would love to chat. My contact info is here: http://alikewise.com/About/People (I'm the first Matt)
I'd say the biggest issue is that the slogan is 'a dating site but with books', but nothing about the page signals dating or books. There needs to be something somewhere on the page that instantly tells me this is dating + books without requiring me to invest significant thinking.
A sexy man/woman curled up in an armchair in front of a fireplace, wearing a robe/slip, with a glass of sherry and a copy of In Search of Lost Time?
Or GEB ;)
It is not clear where to focus my attention. There is no "do this, now" on the homepage.
I'd make the focus right now on registering with the site, since your userbase is going to be really small at the start. A really simple registration form that stands out could do wonders for you.
I'm short of time, it helps when your site tells me what to do.
OKCupid is a great example of how to convert visitors into members.
I have to agree, came here to comment because the look and feel of the site doesn't really scream "online dating". Not that cliches are necessarily a good thing, but I'm not sure dark grey and orange are right for the job.