New Website - New Look

[OneSteve]

Hi Guys, just uploaded my new website, I know that I have to make the text a little larger as it's quite hard to read on some pages, add sound and update some recent photos to the Gallery. But I'm still trying to get my head around the editing aspect of Flash.

To be honest, as snazzy as it looks, it takes ages to load and I'm really not sure it gets my message accross.

What do you guys think? Come on give me your worst.

www.ONEdisco.com

[Jiggles]

Yeh takes too long to load and i don't like flash sites. :( also i need to get a magnifying glass to read the text!

[Penfold42]

Yeh takes too long to load

:agree:

:Sleeping: :Sleeping:

[djsteve10]

Takes too long to load and you cannot see the loading bar clearly enough to see what is happening.

Also I do not like the fact that you have to move your mouse around to display the buttons to the pages.

[Tony Scott]

I love the general look of it, nice layout and clean, contempory style.

I'm not a fan of sites with sound, the blips and whooshes really started to wind me up.....I'm sure I'm not alone??

It took 50 seconds to load!!...I have a standard 1/2meg broadband connection which isn't the quickest but I can still load most home pages within 10 seconds at the most...is this coz yours is a flash site?? :)

[Charlie Brown]

Well it didn't for me...I thought it was ab fab....really really nice design and layout...sort out the font and your laughing..I honestly loved it :) well done. I take it you didn't design it yourself?

[Spirits High]

To be honest (which I will ;) ) If I was a client i would have gone somewhere else as it takes that long to load it seemed that it didn't exsist :eek:

Yes I know there the % thing in the middle but still I from a clients prospective want to see it instantly there when I click on.

If you have your mouse cursor in the middle of the screen (as I did) you don't get anything. You can't see that you need to move the mouse to get the navigation :eek:

And as for the annoying noises :eek: :eek: :eek: you won't get many people at work trying to have a sneaky surf :D

On the plus side I like the colours once you're into it.

I'm sure a web tech guru will be along soon to give their opinion ;)

[OneSteve]

It's from Template Monster, they supply it as a template, still requires editing in flash. As I'm a complete noob as far as flash goes, I've spent all weekend learning how to edit the various layers, sprites and images.

It's a first attempt at it and the comments above are exactly what I'm looking for, most of which was already obvious to me too.

I need to work out how to make the swf file load quicker!
I need to resize the text on the pages.
I need to add a larger LOADING BAR to the start.

anything else?

[Tony Scott]

...anything else?

do you have a number for the girl in your pictures.....:D

[Jiggles]

try learning PHP and HTML far more useful IMO.

[Penfold42]

do you have a number for the girl in your pictures.....:D

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:


;) :D

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Took about 5 seconds to load here, so not too bad. As others have said, text is way too small. Also, you talk about state of the art sound systems and next to the text you have a picture of a turntable, which is probably not considered state of the art by the general public!

[yourdj]

Looks great. very good site. Great graphics and different.

Takes ages to load which mill mean lots will just click back to the last page.

not too client friendly for your average person booking a function. generally women.

Really good though as there are allot of rubbish sites out there for dj's

[Tony Scott]

Took about 5 seconds to load here, so not too bad......


Let me guess.....you got cable broadband? man I miss that now I'm down here in carrot-cruncher land! :D

[ppentertainments]

Sorry don't like it. It is impressive etc but do not believe it does anything to help sell your business. Anyone browsing would not be attracted to read on.

[OneSteve]

Took about 5 seconds to load here, so not too bad. As others have said, text is way too small. Also, you talk about state of the art sound systems and next to the text you have a picture of a turntable, which is probably not considered state of the art by the general public!

Yeah, hadn't noticed that will get another BOSE pic in there. Text is noted as being too small.

Cheers.

[DJWilson]

nice quick load, really like it, just the font thats the issue with me. Would recomend having a link with a html/php version of your site. But all is good :)

[Penfold42]

nice quick load

.....have I now got to change my provider.....:confused: :confused:

I'll have another look.....:)

[Charlie Brown]

Yeah I actually don't understand what the problem is....the page opens within a second...no loading or waiting...I'm on a wireless laptop to..

[Penfold42]

Yeah I actually don't understand what the problem is....the page opens within a second...no loading or waiting...I'm on a wireless laptop to..

Nope no good here....:)

Did have a look around this time.....not bad ....but you seem to have mice running around....:p :D

Picture page looks a bit plastic IMO. :)

[Tony Scott]

Took about 5 seconds to load here, so not too bad.

Let me guess.....you got cable broadband? man I miss that now I'm down here in carrot-cruncher land! :D


....not too client friendly for your average person booking a function. generally women.

Agree with that, that's why I did a lot research and got lots of feedback from women whilst I was buiding my site, the colours, layout, text etc. were all carefully chosen with that in mind.

I try to appeal to Brides.....I'm aiming for the Wedding market and in my experience it's the women that do most of the legwork, works for me anyway....:)

EDIT: sorry just re-read my post ME ME ME!....should have asked what kind of work you're looking to attract?

[OneSteve]

Nope no good here....:)

Did have a look around this time.....not bad ....but you seem to have mice running around....:p :D

Picture page looks a bit plastic IMO. :)


I thought the squeak sound was cute for a while, it's starting to wear a bit thin now though. Might add a soundbyte of a backspin or something similar to it.

Picture Page is getting an overhaul, none of the pictures are mine. It was just to get a "feel" of the look. The original effect has thumbnails on the righthand side that when clicked on, appear in the larger right hand side frame. Looks really smart but I seem to have dropped the feature whilst editing yesterday.

[JDB Entertainment]

steve what program did you use to put the template in and re design?

Also how long did it take you to do?

Did you have any knowledge of flash before hand?

Sorry for the questions just intersted for me! :D

[Marc J]

It's 100% Flash - Search engines won't be able to read it -Some workplaces won't allow viewing it.

Good luck with that.

[Jiggles]

Isnt there a problem as well where there is more and more people surfing from there smartphones that don't support flash.

[OneSteve]

steve what program did you use to put the template in and re design?

Also how long did it take you to do?

Did you have any knowledge of flash before hand?

Sorry for the questions just intersted for me! :D

I used Adobe Flash CS4, no experience with Flash before or website design for that matter, but I'am an IT consultant Full-Time although admitedly most of my work concentrates on Email/Archiving/Backup and Virtual Servers, I did find the Flash program easy to find my way around.

[OneSteve]

It's 100% Flash - Search engines won't be able to read it -Some workplaces won't allow viewing it.

Good luck with that.

A mate did say that using flash would make the site search engine "unfriendly" however he did come back with THIS (http://www.roytanck.com/2007/02/14/making-flash-websites-search-engine-friendly/) a couple of days later.

Once I get it the way I want it, I'll concentrate on getting it web search friendly by using one of the above tricks.

[OneSteve]

Isnt there a problem as well where there is more and more people surfing from there smartphones that don't support flash.

I find any kind of surfing from my iphone to be ridiculous. People who do find it enjoyable might account for 0.01% of my bookings this year.

Like the comments so far, the WAF (Woman acceptance factor) of the site is currently less than 3, might need to drop the black background or add some nice curtains/cushions.
:)

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

like everyone else, its very slow to load

the buttons are invisible, until i got impatient and waggled the mouse around, i didnt know they were there

for some reason, it doesnt fit entirely onto my screen? I have to scroll down to see some of it


"No Homemix units from Argos or lights from maplins"

whilst this may amuse fellow DJ's, this wont make sense to customers, and i wont mention the legal repercussions of such a statement!

[OneSteve]

like everyone else, its very slow to load

the buttons are invisible, until i got impatient and waggled the mouse around, i didnt know they were there

for some reason, it doesnt fit entirely onto my screen? I have to scroll down to see some of it


"No Homemix units from Argos or lights from maplins"

whilst this may amuse fellow DJ's, this wont make sense to customers, and i wont mention the legal repercussions of such a statement!


It's optimized for a 17" or higher screen, as no one else has mentioned it I can only assume your laptop/PC display is displaying a lower res? The buttons should appear as a lighter grey on a black backgroud. Get yourself to specsavers! LOL :)

The comment regarding Argos and Maplin units I think is justified, when those Fisher Price units take centre stage at BPM, I'll take the technology they offer seriously, until then they belong in the "Laughable" section, together with any DJ using them.

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

why ask for feedback if thats your attitude?

The buttons are near impossible to see and im not the only one to say so. Also have you considered all your customers are not on 17"+ Screens, think of all those laptop users out there

Maplins especially sell alot of DJ gear, some better than others, but this point is wasted on the people booking you! Also you can say "i use pro gear such as Denon" you cannot say "i dont use rubbish like Maplin"

Last time i give someone honest feedback i guess

[OneSteve]

why ask for feedback if thats your attitude?

The buttons are near impossible to see and im not the only one to say so. Also have you considered all your customers are not on 17"+ Screens, think of all those laptop users out there

Maplins especially sell alot of DJ gear, some better than others, but this point is wasted on the people booking you! Also you can say "i use pro gear such as Denon" you cannot say "i dont use rubbish like Maplin"

Last time i give someone honest feedback i guess


I wasn't having a go at you, I thought the smiley made that clear. When did us Brits stop having a laugh at each other? No offence meant I assure you.

By 17" screen, I meant that the site is optimized for 1024*768 or above, could it be that your resolution is set to 800*640? Most modern laptops should be able to handle the page without problem.

I may change the backdrop to white which would make the buttons easier to see but I think most people will see them, those that don't will notice them when they move to the address bar to navigate away. Point registered though.

Cheers,
Steve.

[Danno13]

By 17" screen, I meant that the site is optimized for 1024*768 or above,

Actually it's not.. you need to be 1280 x 1024 to see the whole of the frontpage. Most people still use 1024 x 768 so you do need to scale it down a bit :)

I don't like it I'm afraid, but thats only from a functional point of view, the design is great, but you just won't get on the search engines easily with an all flash site, so whats the point in a great design if no-one can find it!

[rob1963]

Just had another look at the site, and noticed the text on the "About us" & "Our service" pages is incredibly small.

Probably the smallest I've seen on any website, and very difficult to read...

...and I have 20-20 vision!

:shrug:

[Marc J]

A mate did say that using flash would make the site search engine "unfriendly" however he did come back with THIS (http://www.roytanck.com/2007/02/14/making-flash-websites-search-engine-friendly/) a couple of days later.

Once I get it the way I want it, I'll concentrate on getting it web search friendly by using one of the above tricks.

Fair enough if it's a work in progress, and you are already using SWFObject (with currently no non-flash content). Just remember that the non-flash content isn't just for search engines, it's for those potential clients at their workplace who can't view Flash because the IT manager thinks it's for playing games and blocks it. Which means you have to have a whole aesthetically pleasing site with all the information you want on it.... basically a whole other site in HTML.


I find any kind of surfing from my iphone to be ridiculous. People who do find it enjoyable might account for 0.01% of my bookings this year.
You shouldn't dismiss potential clients like that. Generally speaking people with iPhones (no flash) or who actually browse the web a lot with their mobiles (i.e. smaller screens) will generally have more money to spend - aren't these a better target market?


It's optimized for a 17" or higher screen, as no one else has mentioned it I can only assume your laptop/PC display is displaying a lower res? The buttons should appear as a lighter grey on a black backgroud. Get yourself to specsavers! LOL :)

I run at 1600 x 1200 on my main screen but have my browser opening at 1024x768 in the middle. I only just realised there's a link at the bottom (Media Extras) - it's totally cut off at 1024x768. So now I'm scrolling up and down to view it...and when I'm at the bottom I lose the "back" button at the top right and that's the only way to go back as it's all in Flash and the browser's back button doesn't work :bang:

Do a Google search for "mystery meat navigation"... anything that requires the slightest interaction before any method of navigation becomes apparent is a bad thing...

[Shaun]

What do you guys think?



I think this would be better situated in the website help section. I'll move it over for you.

[Corabar Steve]

It's bloody irritating, the text is too small & I had to turn the sound off.

[Shaun]

It took me a minute to figure out how to get past the initial screen. I didn't realise there were options around it. Unfortunately I'd lost interest by the time I'd figured it out, and didn't click past the initial screen. I can imagine many brides doing the same.

Sorry.

[soundtracker]

It's bloody irritating, the text is too small & I had to turn the sound off.

I concur with my learned friend.:)

[Corabar Steve]

It's bloody irritating, the text is too small & I had to turn the sound off.


It took me a minute to figure out how to get past the initial screen. I didn't realise there were options around it. Unfortunately I'd lost interest by the time I'd figured it out, and didn't click past the initial screen. I can imagine many brides doing the same.

Sorry.
That was one of the things I found irritating. It was only due to inadvertently moving my mouse that I spotted the buttons. I was just sat there waiting for something to happen.

[OneSteve]

That was one of the things I found irritating. It was only due to inadvertently moving my mouse that I spotted the buttons. I was just sat there waiting for something to happen.

Did some research on this last night, the buttons only show up on 1280*1024 resolution or above with 32 bit colour depth, will need to make that more friendly. Larger Text & more interesting soundbytes are on my "to-do" list.

This is in no way the completed article, I only started playing around with Flash on Friday night, still got a lot to learn. Thanks for all your comments.

[Shaun]

Did some research on this last night, the buttons only show up on 1280*1024 resolution or above with 32 bit colour depth


These are the settings I use. I still didn't see the buttons till I inadvertantly hovered over them.

[Mark Wild]

Steve, you have to think about the people using the site and whether or not your site is going to convert their initial visit into an enquiry, that's the job of your website. I personally quite like it mate, but, I think your bounce rate is going to be through the roof. People surfing the internet to purchase a product or service have very little patience and that landing page will test peoples patience massively. Keep it simple, all singing all dancing flashy websites don't really count for much when someone wants to book a disco IMO. ;)

[Vectis]

It's lovely. Really.

















If you're selling photographs or art pieces online.

It doesn't work for me as a mobile DJ site... sorry. I know you've put a lot of work into it and it must be hard to take the feedback that this thread has generated - I know I'd be gutted.

You really need to go back to the very beginning and think about the customers you're trying to attract, and how you want (need) to sell your service to them. Most don't know what they want, or what's achievable. They need guidance; they don't need to be rummaging around a multimedia website trying to work it out for themselves.

Lose the sound effects. If you must use flash, save it for sidebar navigation or moving slideshows etc. but write up the majority of the site in clear decent-sized high contrast text interspersed with graphics and pictures.

There are a lot of very successful DJ operators on this forum - take a look at their websites. Marginal (if any) flash. Simple layouts. Guided formats. SEO best practice adopted. Nothing too pretentious. That's what works for this target market.

[ExtremeFoam]

Hi,

A bit late into the thread....

However, I couldn't see any site, as my work laptop doesn't have flash.

Granted, at home I would be able to, but just a thought.