Please give me anything that could be improved on. I'm sort of "winging it" here just doing my best as this is my first time. <_< Direct Link: http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/4/9/9690...emplatewip2.png
The bottom seems very empty. Move the [LOGIN] and [REGISTER] to the right, its too close to the title. Make a different color gradient for the navigation menu on where you are, like on this one, the "home" would be a different gradient map then the other links You see where you have the announcements title? Make a space between that and the announcement title, its kinda close. I don't find anything that would "wow" me, however, for your first template, thats quite nice. Better then my first
iPro has the right idea. Just a few things to add... I can tell from the gloss effect on the buttons that you're trying to add depth to them. Gloss alone does not do this though, and still leaves the buttons rather flat. Working with glows and drop shadows (for the love of god don't abuse them) can give you the effect you are looking for. On the whole you don't see much variation in color. Nothing stands out. This is multiplied by the fact that not many things have enough space (all three content boxes are cramped). Next, bevel]. Bevel is normally something you wish to avoid unless in very small amounts. I can look at that image and notice you used the bevel effect on your boxes. If you must use the effect, use it so it's not so noticeable. Your borders stick out way to much, which in this case doesn't work for the template. Darken them up so they blend in more. Now, for one of the keys of template design in Photoshop. When putting in any text that will be done with HTML in the actual coded site, you should turn off anti-aliasing if the font-size is or is less than 14px. at least for the mainstream web-fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, etc). "Harshness with the intent of helping you."