Everything & Anything New York City

M4RKM

Robin1036 wrote: »

Way too many people were getting ripped off on their Broadway tickets. The site is called thebigappleunpeeled.com
I haven't launched it formally yet so any advice or feedback would be much appreciated.

Agree with the bear that you've got duff info on the site, but you're up against the likes of BroadwayBox to get discount on Broadway and Off Broadway tickets. The design ain't great really, but that's me as a pretentious web designer whinging.

CityPass isn't that great, but they're paying you commissions to sell their tickets, and I'm sure there are sites out there with better advice on roaming than just turn it off (m4rkm.com/iphone for example!)

I'll stop whinging now, as I've got work to go to.

M

phatbear

Right had another look at your site and heres my thoughts.

Ignoring the design and layout i just dont see the point of the site.

If you do live in ny you're in a perfect position to give an insiders view of ny, i.e places to eat/shop/visit etc, rather than all the obvious places. However all you've done is kinda copied and pasted really basic info about ny, some of which is wrong and other missguided.

Think you need to find a niche rather than just making your site look like a school project.

poor_johno

shot down in flames

bleepandbooster

Or as we say around these parts ............... "Bechod"

Cofion
David

daisy1111

i actually quite like the layout of the pages but i do feel there isnt enough information on there.

when i go to new york i have a full list of places to see and which order to see them in to see as much as possible per day. i.e. is it quicker to go straight from the empire to central park or can you see other things on the way? well yes you can but tourists need someone to tell them how and where they should go.

Robin1036

Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to look at and comment on the site. Feedback and opinions appreciated. This is actually the first time I have pulled a website together - which some of you may have guessed so it has been a good learning experience - the design is definitely one more for ease of navigation over aesthetics!

Other than this I may be opening myself up here - but if you could highlight exactly what you believe the "duff", "wrong" or "misguided" info is it would be great to pinpoint it... other than the taxi example above - thanks for that.

Daisy - I like the idea of putting on maybe five or six recommended routes around the city and approximate timing to help people plan their day.

Thanks again,
Robin

greenface

Robin firstly welcome to the New York mse forum. I have looked at your website and its ok . (nothing new but alot better than i could ever do)good luck and keep adding to it. Tell a little about you and why you moved and where you are living in USA . Things to do ---You could split NYC into 6 areas easy even 20 and 20 more around Brooklyn/NJ/Bronx etc easy. Also everyones thought about what to do is different so it would be intresting to read but difficult to please the reader.

M4RKM

Robin - Firstly, if you want your website to be around great navigation, it might be worth researching great navigation on some of the design blogs, The more you look at other websites, and get information and snippets of ideas, the better your overall design will be. All you really have right now is one long page that gets dull and boring to read (there is no navigation, you can keep on scrolling and scrolling, and scrolling).

I'm also bemused by your post that you said that "the best offers reserved for new yorkers" - I can't see any offers on that website, that are not freely shared on this website. You've even missed off the likes of broadwaybox which is the best place for theater discounts, and you're also missing off things like $4 off a carmel pickup from the airport, which then makes them cheaper than a taxi, etc etc etc. (to which I also disagree with "This will almost certainly be the quickest route " for a taxi, as AirTrain / LIRR is always quicker into Penn Station!)

Promoting illegal apartment rentals also isn't a good start, so clarification that with airbnb people should choose "Private Room", and housetrip.com basically lists illegal apartment rentals.

The Currency section is bit misleading - the best card is a MetroBank Debit Card, and using that along with TD Bank ATMs, mean you have $0 withdrawal fees, also, it's only 99¢ to withdraw from an ATM situated in a McDonalds, thus saving even more.

Also, I know you're trying to make money off the site (all the affiliate links in images are a bit of a giveaway), however, the reviews of the "skyride" are atrocious, and I know you brand it as tacky, but if you're helping people find "discounts reserved for new yorkers" the first thing you really should be saying is to avoid such a tacky, expensive tourist rip off!?

Letting people know that if they bike Central Park means they have to stay on the bike paths, and you see a very limited section of the park would be good advice, again, affiliate link to create money.

Please take this as constructive criticism, you're either trying to make money, or you're trying to help, and finding a balance between the two is always very difficult. I'd get rid of the affiliate links, and be helpful, and sign up to google adsense, and from there, ads are served up in banners, and people know they're adverts. You can easily make a few quid each month from that, but at the moment, it seems to me as someone who has been to NYC a reasonable amount of times, you're trying to pre-launch a commercial venture, and it offers nothing new to reading a guide book to NYC does.

M

phatbear

What he said!!

Also some other "bits" neither macys or bloomingdales have a "foreign visitors desk" they are both customer service desks, and the discount is not only valid for international visitors its actually an out of towners discount.

Your "checklist 2 weeks before" section does concern me, why, unless its a real out of the blue trip, would anyone leave it till 2 weeks before they fly to apply for their esta? what if they got refused it would'nt give anyone enough time to appeal against the descision, and refusal of an esta is'nt covered by your travel insurance.

Your "to do in new york" is purely about the city pass/new york pass. Sorry to say ive been to ny 6 times and have never used either and i always find plenty to do and still leave wanting to do more.

Oddly i've never used nytix before, i always head towards broadwaybox.com for theatre or stubhub/ticketmaster for sports tickets. However you suggest signing up and paying a membership fee for a site where you could potentially get discounts for the theatre? what if after you've paid your membership fee you realise they are no cheaper than any of the other tickets sellers, do you get your money back?

Mark pretty much hit the nail on the head regarding your affiliate links, therefore your site can never be objective.

Sorry to say I see no purpose, other than lining your pockets of course, for your site

greenface

What they said !
Have a butchers at the wired New York city guide for visitors . I like the layout (some of the forum regulars are a little pompus but so are all the others here i suppose)(except me)
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=24