Opinions wanted on 2 website designs please

dinneenp

Hi,
Ignoring the actual picture content which design do you prefer? I just want some other people's opinions.
One has plain white surround and the other coloured & patterned, which can be edited
1. http://curtziegler.com/sitedemo/powerphoto/
In this one photos can appear as actual posts, which people can comment on. (this may be the clincher for me)

2. http://pexeto.com/dandelion_wp/
(Seems a bit slow to load- I've asked the developer about this)
In this one photos appear in lightbox and people can't comment on individual photos, instead they comment in the gallery the photo is in.
People can comment on blog posts (which will be photoblogs in my case).
Cheers,
Pa.

Kintarō Hattori

I think I like the second one better, I'm afraid I can't be of much more help than that. I find Flickr/Pix meet my particular needs.

Sleepy

Definitely the latter for me. The first is very 'template on a blog' whereas the second has a nice crisp look to it.

Posting on individual photos functionality should be possible to incorporate in the second design fairly easily tbh.

Heebie

I'd also vote for the second. They're both fairly clean, though.
It looks like they're both based on Wordpress, which might put me off. (I work for a web-hosting company.. and I know how many problems users having getting Wordpress to behave..and KEEP behaving.)
When you're going looking for hosting.. be absolutely certain it's hosted on a Linux platform and *NOT* a Windows platform, if it is Wordpress-based.. or you'll have no end of headaches instead of just a few really vexing ones here & there.

EIREHotspur

Second one for me too.

The sliding banner thumbnails sets it aside too.
Not much happening on the first design although it is clean.

The choose a backround colour/design is just design fluff.

dinneenp

EIREHotspur wrote: »

Second one for me too.

The sliding banner thumbnails sets it aside too.
Not much happening on the first design although it is clean.

The choose a backround colour/design is just design fluff.

Thanks. I actually plan to remove the banner thumbnails and just have the slider on the homepage.
I know it's fluff but I think that having the coloured/patterned surround makes it look better. Not that I plan to change it a lot but it makes it more customizable.

Deliverance XXV

Heebie wrote: »

When you're going looking for hosting.. be absolutely certain it's hosted on a Linux platform and *NOT* a Windows platform, if it is Wordpress-based.. or you'll have no end of headaches instead of just a few really vexing ones here & there.

What kind of issues can arise from using Wordpress with Windows hosting? I've used three WP installations on Windows Servers for about four years now and never had any problems.

OP, the second theme is very smart and clean with a lot of cusomisable options. That being said, the first template is quite easy on the eye too.