I’m building my site removed. This is my second attempt, but it still looks to me like from the 90s. Can someone give me feedback or suggestions for what I can do to modernize the look (hopefully without starting again from scratch.
Thanks!
Welcome Aboard!!! 
First time posters are not allowed links per forum policy… Feel free to post some screen shots of your website if you want folks to critique the look of it. and be sure to check out our Forum Rules & FAQ
Thanks for understanding 
I rebuilt my website last November and December and just 5 minutes ago found out the .com is not available.
anyways:
Rebuilding is not that bad and i used some older html code i saved form 2012. The new site is mostly 1990 work and i used tables, tr,tds and some borders.
as for advice, i guess using css and floating graphics and text makes websites seem more modern.
I hate to break it to you all, but with very few exceptions, all websites are stuck in the 90s. For someone like me who doesn’t care how it’s built, they all look pretty much the same. Banner at the top, row of click tabs, body copy and far too often a big blank space on the right where my ad blocker kills your ads.
I was on a monetized site recently where the ad blocker said it was killing over 200+ ads. I almost turned it on to see where they were putting them all, but figured it would kill my computer.
I saw your site before RedKittieKat removed the link.
I don’t think it looked like a site from the '90s, but I do think it looked a little dry, dull and, well, boring.
You had two white/beige colors for the background that were nearly identical — just enough that it looked like a mistake. In addition, there was a general lack of color, which could be used to add a little more visual interest. The site was responsive, which wasn’t at all common back in the '90s.
Most of today’s websites look the way they do because most of them are built with off-the-shelf templates using the same basic layout and running out of a content management system, like WordPress. Websites have needlessly become so complicated to build from scratch that people have resorted to using prebuilt themes and add-on that make lots of them look pretty much the same. I wouldn’t so much call it the style of 2020 as much as I’d just call it stuck in the mud with the tires spinning.
Your site could be made to look more engaging, but beyond that, I’m not sure of the user experience since I don’t currently have access to it. I don’t suggest making your site look like all the other clone sites out there, but I would suggest making it more visually engaging. How to do that can’t really be summarized and implemented all that easily in a paragraph or two on a forum, which is one reason why people hire designers. 
Please post some screen captures.
Thanks for the feedback.
Here is a screenshot of the page:
My takeaways are:
- add some more color. the background colors should not be nearly identical
- I will need a designer who can make the site look more engaging
i never use the word “it” in a headline, and try to avoid that at all times
simply because english has so many words , good words describing many things
as fas as being modern, placing images of people smiling and content will have a better impact than icons and text within boxes.
I looked at the site briefly, and there is nothing that immediately sticks out in a bad way. It absolutely does not look like it is from the nineties. It looks relatively modern. I’d say not older than 4 or 5 years. Sure, there aren’t that many colours, and it’s not like “wow”… but for me, these are hardly issues (especially if your low on traffic - load time and mobile compatibility for example, are probably more important with your site looking the way it does).
It depends on what you are trying to achieve with your “modernisation”.
If you are getting 10,000 hits a month, and want to improve your conversion ratios, then you can start a period of detailed testing by changing small bits at a time, having two sites running in parallel etc.
If you’ve got 100 visitors a month, then I’d be inclined to just leave it as it is, and focus on getting more traffic to the site.
What are you trying to achieve?
Thanks for the feedback @Bear.
I don’t expect to have any traffic atm since I haven’t done anything to drive traffic to the site. I want to first build a great website for my users. I’ve got some good pointers now. I think I’m on the right track.