Site Review Blog

With The Scots’ being stereotyped as being thrifty having originated from a long time ago when most Scots were poor and needed to watch every penny.  If you are not a stereotypical Scot, then  The Thrifty Scot is at hand to help!

The Thrifty Scot is a Web portal for all things money.  Here, you can find information on most money matters from Credit Cards, Loans, Mortgages, Banking and Financial News.  They provide comparision data for most money and financial products along with a lot of financial news and general financial articles and information. 

As an Example, the Banking and Savings compares several Savings accounts in different categories - providing information on the Interest paid.  Also, there are several Articles on different types of Savings accounts.  The Articles cover topics such as Student accounts, current accounts and more.

With white text on Green, Red and Blue boxes over a black Nav bar, the site header is almost Tartan.  It is only missing the bagpipes!  The content is presented in 2 columns centered.  The site will all fit in a 640 x 480 - which is perfect  - especially for a Scot who won’t buy a bigger monitor

For anyone in the UK looking for a one-stop shop to research Banking and financial products, the Thrifty Scot is a good place to start.

Visit www.thriftyscot.co.uk

Digital Images is a hybrid Photo Blog / Image Gallery with some photography articles thrown in for good measure.  You can browse unique photographic images from around New Zealand.

The site is a great example of what you can achieve with a customized Drupal theme, bearing little resemblance to the default themes. It is a fixed width two column CSS driven design with a twist. The main content area actually wraps under the navigation column maximizing available space. The site is viewable down to 600×800 resolution.

The Image Gallery is categorized by geographical location or if you prefer you can quickly browse through thumbnails of all the images from the newest to oldest. Once you find that special image you are looking for click on the thumbnail and it takes you to a larger version. But, don’t keep it to yourself. Why not send an eCard to your friend and family?

Visit www.digital-images.co.nz

Credit Cards GB is a comparative shopping guide for Credit Cards in the UK.  It pulls together in one place a lot of information so you can compare different Cards.  You can do a comparision of things such as interest free periods and Interst rates at one place, rather than having to literally go to 100’s of places to track the info down yourself.  The A-Z Guide has several Hundred Different Cards listed.

The Best Buys page provides a list of the Best Cards in 6 different Categories.  Choose a Card that offers a Reward or a long interest free period.  A lot of the hard work has been done.

The site is not just a place to compare Credit Cards, they also provide Credit Card News.  The News is compiled from a number of sources and has an Archive of more than a year.  Along with the News, there are quite a few articles on Credit Cards.  The Articles are worth reading for anyone who has or is considering getting a Credit Card. The Articles cover topics from getting the best deal to avoiding Fraud.

The Information is presented as a centered 2-Column layout with a light grey left/right background.  The site is easy to navigate and has a good inbuilt search to help you find specific information.

Visit www.creditcards-gb.co.uk

Aviva directory is a general directory - meaning that it has a broad range of categories.  From Arts to Travel and everything in between.  The entries in the directory are of high quality sites only.  The directory owner has ensured that the directory is clean and par tof the strategy is by charging a fee for inclusion ensures that only quality sites will apply for a listing.

 What sets Aviva apart from other directories is the additional resources and information that is provided. The information about Strongest Directories alone is worth reading.  The Strongest directories gives some information about what makes a good, strong directory.  There is even a little bit of good info about how this is derived.  Aviva goes even further, by providing a list of other directories sorted by “Page Strength” from 10 down to 1.  They are not afraid to show the relative strenght of their own directory in the list as well - it comes in at page strength 5.

If you cannot find what you are looking for in the Directory, then you might just find something in their Trivia Blog.  For the Trivia buff, there is probably something here that will help you at the next trivia night!

The Site itself appears to be using the well-respected PHPLD software.  The site has an Olive and dark grey colour scheme that is surprisingly easy to read with a custom header.  A 2-column layout that has reasonably large text is easy to browse thru the categories and sub-categories.

Visit www.avivadirectory.com

Everyone works hard to build their cash assets and no matter how much you have you want to get the best returns possible. When looking to invest, a lot of people take the conservative approach of cash and cash management.  This does not mean that you should not strive for the best possible returns. If are looking for the highest money market rates then you should take a look at Bankaholic.  They provide up to date information of Money market and interest rates from a lot of sources.

There is also a lot of info on where to find the best CD Rates if you can tie up your money for a longer period.  You get a higher return this way, but your funds are tied up for a longer period of time.

The website is based on a blog format, which works very well.  The current information is presented first, and you can look back over older posts.  A fairly basic design, but an elaborate design is not called for - you want access to the information which is exactly what you get.

So, if you don’t want to hand over your money to a managed fund and want to manage it yourself, then the Bankaholic is sure to be a site that you bookmark and check on a regular basis.

Visit www.bankaholic.com

It doesn’t matter if you have a casual interest or never get out of your Leathers, the Brain Bucket Magazine has something for everyone who is interested in ikes and biking.

With a distinctive Read and Black theme the site uses a fluid width 3 column layout with navigation on the left and a large content area.  The home page has links to recent blog entries and the latest news Items.  While the Site is only a couple of Months old, it already has an impressive number of articles and information.

What biker site would be complete without a Babes Gallery?  Any yes, you won’t be dissapointed here.  There is a nice collection of Bikes and Babes in the gallery (I think there were bike pics, I was a bit distracted).  There are a lot of community areas that round off the site from Forums and Recipies to jokes and Blogs.

The Brain Bucket Magazine, is an in your face Biker E-Zine with biker parties, biker pictures, tech tips and tricks, biker news, biker views, and lots more cool stuff for bikers.

Visit: www.brainbucketmagazine.com

I was recently pointed to the Artists Against 419 website, and it seemed like a worthy cause. The Artists are a grassroots anti-fraud group, but rather than being another victim support site, they actively target fake banks and other fraudulent websites used in scams.

The Artists seem to have an impressive history, starting small, and now growing to be the webs premier directory of fake and fraudulent banks. They provide data to Firetrusts Sitehound software, and are a full member of the Anti Phishing Working Group.

 The Website is wiki-based with a distinctive green/Black theme.  It is a fluid width with left navigation.  It looks to get regular updates and has a strong community feel about it.

Two particular strings fit the Artists bow. The first is their Fake Bank Database where they list every site identified by themselves as fake. Currently the database has 8854 sites listed, although the majority of them are now dead.

The second is their active forum, where a thriving community of long term figures, and new members work together. The older members passing on tips and tricks to the newer members. The spirit of camaraderie is boosted by the occasional Flashmobs held by the Artists to target long term problem sites, where a party atmosphere fills the forum, a chat room is opened and the Artists play tunes over an internet radio station.

There is a darker side to the Artists that some puritans may argue. In the case of websites that their usual notifications cannot close down, such as those hosted on “bombproof” Chinese servers, the artists deploy their Bandwidth Tools. These tools are designed to waste the Bandwidth of the targeted fake sites.

Visit www.aa419.org