Website Review

TornadoTom

Thats a great idea for a new thread....Rate my website !

I like the site for its simplicity, having said that its just an information site. You would expect it to be plain and simple.
Problem with these kinds of sites are that they dont bring people in and keep them there. Ask yourself, would you read the same paper over and over again ? Theres nothing for them to do in the site. You need to put things in there that change regularly, especially on the front page.
I would put a date clock in there - this gives the impression that your website is upto date.
How about a random quote generator ? Fill it full of music related quotes. You could have randon quotes placed anywhere on the page whenever they refresh the page.
How about a RSS feed newsreader. The reader will display current music related news feeds
I think the photo gallery is a waste of time if you cant expand the pictures. You need good vision to see the pics as they are.
How about a message book, find out what people think about your site.

Hope I've helped with not too much crticism !
Tom

Gordon_the_Moron

Thanks for the helpful replies everyone, I've thanked you all

OK, firstly I know the band I'm not one of them.

I like the ideas suggested, though I do like the buttons as they are. Clicking the images for the profiles is a good idea. As for the point about what year, when the band give me some 2007 dates I'm going to create a 2006 and a 2007 page.

The random quotes and RSS feed are a good idea, we'll consider it and possibly include that but I'll speak to the band as they might think its a bit off topic for what the site is intended for.

The gig guide will probably be what most people look at the site for.

Gordon_the_Moron

* bumpety bump bump *

meher

This is very useful suggestion

TornadoTom wrote:

I would put a date clock in there - this gives the impression that your website is upto date.
Tom

Gordon_the_Moron

Showing todays date and time possibly doesn't show the site is up to date, just that you are displaying the date and time (to me at least) but showing the date is a good idea I'll do that in case anyone doesn't know what the date that day is and gets confused over a gig.

skintchick

If some of those dates were 2006 and have gone, I'd strike them through so as not to confuse people like me..:o

Gordon_the_Moron

Good idea, thanks.

Gordon_the_Moron

***bump***

martindow

Good to look at, navigation is clear and easy to cope with (but see below). Good well optimised photos - pages should be quick loading even on dial up. Well coded - external css etc but you can cut some meta tag clutter.

Technical stuff. As your links are images, I don't think search engines will be able to get beyond the home page. Google has indexed only
***Links removed by boardguide***

which are both the home page. I would either change the links to text links or put text links at the bottom of each page. Search engines can't see pictures! I think this is the most important thing to attend to - people are more likely to find your site and it doesn't really matter where they enter the site.

I would use h1 tags as a heading for each page and make the page title the same - helps with listing. You've got a lot of meta name tags that are not really needed - author, distribution, robots. The only ones really worth keeping are content and keywords but change these for each page - I think you are using the same set for all pages. Also avoid having words there that do not appear on that page - some people think that this can cause you to be penalised. Author, copyright etc I would put as a footnote to each page. I'd put alt text on all of your photos - the thumbnails on the photos page don't have any. I would put key words like Scunthorpe and other towns you play in more prominently on one of your pages and maybe in the title too - presumably you want to be found for searches for things like "band scunthorpe".

Aesthetic stuff. I would take out the w3c and firefox logos and leave them just on your credits page. I'd agree about striking out or removing gigs that have already happened. Maybe have a link to a page of previous gigs and remove them from the main listings. I think it might be a good idea to put the day of the week as well as the date. A good idea to put 2006 as already suggested and start listing into 2007 too. Sound clips would be a good idea (but make them as links people can click on if they wish- not files that automatically play on a page) and maybe reviews?

Hope this is helpful and good luck with the band (and the site!).

albertross_2

Nice clear site, I've come across the year problem before on another bands site, always a good idea to put the full date on, cos it can get confusing and potentially lose ticket sales.

The page 2 of photos doesn't work properly, but I imagine that's a bit you are still working on.

Have to say, a few of the photos are a bit naff, not sure if they are intended to be arty, or just taken in a low light level/slow shutter speed.. but you could sharpen them up a bit in paint shop pro etc..

The profiles page doesn't line the photos up with the musician.

If any of the venues have a website, a link would be good. The easier you make it for people to turn up, the more likely they will come.

A section for reviews from punters, and sound or video clips may help boost ticket sales.