ltwguns.com

A friend of mine recently opened a gun store in Tennessee called Hero Gear (http://www.hero-gear.com) catering towards LEOs and military, but also civillians. It's not often that you get to work on a fun project for work, let alone one for a friend, so I'm giving him a 90-95% discount, and he's paying me in toys. I figured this forum has enough people in the industry that I could get some good, honest feedback...

The image at the top will change depending on the section. Police picture in the police section, soldiers in the military section, ambulance in the EMT section, etc. The side menu will probably be trimmed down to 5-8 choices from 12, and the top menu (reads "RIFLES PISTOLS SHOTGUNS LEO/MILITARY ONLY") will change depending on the section. Everything will have "mouse overs" so the color of the menu buttons changes when your mouse is over them and when you are in a specific section.

Anyway, to the site:


Thanks!

_________________
--Nick
Graphic design and government relations for Magpul Industries Corp.

I guess my request is asking too much...I apologize.

_________________
--Nick
Graphic design and government relations for Magpul Industries Corp.

Nick,

I think it looks great. The hardest thing to make a decision on is what the page should look like without really having a good idea of the content. Is this going to be an online store, distributor, or open door retail shop? Other than that, it's a great idea and it looks like you and your friend well on your way.

Good luck, and GOD Bless.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

I was waiting for you to add more to the menu and banner. A photo does not give the feel of the sight like a live one, so it's hard to comment on it with what little you have given us.

The concept is good. I would suggest NOT using drop down menus though!!

_________________
-Jim Linch

Jim,

Thanks, Jim! It will be an online store for a retail store located in Tennessee. They will sell firearms, uniforms, lights, accessories, etc. Mostly of the tactical nature for police and military (Class III eventually), but they also cater to the civillian market (Bushmaster, Wilson Combat, etc.).

Knowing that, what do you think? Anything you like/dislike? I'm not a huge fan of the logo, but that was done before I got involved.

_________________
--Nick
Graphic design and government relations for Magpul Industries Corp.

Very true, but it doesn't make sense for me to make each draft into a live site, you know?

I agree with you on the drop-down menus. Not only are they annoying when you're using them, they often have poor browser compatability.

From the photo, is there anything that bugs you? Anything you particularly like?

_________________
--Nick
Graphic design and government relations for Magpul Industries Corp.

It looks good to me but I'm basically computer illiterate. Where in TN is it?

_________________
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
Thunder Ranch THG & UR(x2), Gunsite 250C,
Yavapai Firearms Acad HG1(x2), HG2, & SG,
Shootrite Prvt Inst HG, NRA Life Member

Thanks, Gunfighter. I think most of the people who use the site will be computer illiterate, too, so that's a good sign.

521 South College Street
Winchester, TN. 37398

Joe is my friend (owner).

_________________
--Nick
Graphic design and government relations for Magpul Industries Corp.

What I see so far:

1. Top image is too busy for my taste, but it's not a deal breaker
2. Menu is simple and easy to read.
3. Logo is nice.
4. Good colors for the product
5. Left menu is a little wide, I'd make it just wide enough to hold "LAW ENFORCEMENT" and rename the longer ones.

Q. Is it a fixed width? The image is 1000px wide so you will need at least 1024px screen to not horiz scroll. Not such a problem these days, but a dynamic centering <div> will make it easier to see on larger screens like mine. I don't like the content pushed to the left, but I'm guessing here because it's not live, just a personal nit-pick with site design.

Q. Will there be a nav tree?

I'd put permanent links to "view cart" and "checkout" in upper band to the right of LEO/MIL and right justify it.


That's all I can think of for now.

_________________
-Jim Linch

I want to see what images we end up with before making a final judgement, but I agree that it's a bit busy. I'd like it to be more clean in the end.

As far as the menu goes, I'm still trying to get the owner to cut out about half those links, but he's being stubborn. The menu is still the part that bothers me most about the site, so I've got some revising to do before anything is final.

It will be centered, and the width will be fixed, but the final product will be 600-800px wide, depending on the owner's preference. 1000 px isn't a big deal for me, either, but when you consider the target market (gun folks), I think it'd be foolish to assume they are running the latest and greatest technology like you and I. There is nothing worse than going to a poorly designed site that doesn't fit your screen!

As of now, no, but it's something I'd be willing to consider, especially for the store. What did you have in mind?

Very good idea! That hadn't crossed my mind. I'm a bit concerned about his shopping cart (GoDaddy template) - have you ever worked with a drop-in cart like this?

Thanks for the help! This is exactly the type of feedback I've been looking for!

_________________
--Nick
Graphic design and government relations for Magpul Industries Corp.

I like simple nav trees... ie. text across the top. I would have it above the main selection and below your main cat divider (grey) like...

"LEO/MIL - OPTICS - NIGHT VISION" with each hot linked to section.

Never used godaddy. only versions of ZenCart or the likes.

_________________
-Jim Linch

I guess that depends on how layered the site becomes, but I can imagine a simple nav tree would be a good idea for the store sections.

This GoDaddy thing will be a new one on me, too. It's supposed to be "drop in", but that never seems to go as smoothly as I'd like...

_________________
--Nick
Graphic design and government relations for Magpul Industries Corp.