OldGit Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 From the FAQ "Question: Why does your website look so cheap? Answer: Because we're spending our money on speakers instead! Also we want to have a lot of content on this site and so it needs to be easy to change or expand." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Just a quickie. [attachment=24952:barefaced01.jpg] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnylager Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='paul h' post='483140' date='May 8 2009, 05:21 PM']Just a quickie. [attachment=24952:barefaced01.jpg][/quote] Wow. That would have taken me 18 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='paul h' post='483140' date='May 8 2009, 05:21 PM']Just a quickie. [attachment=24952:barefaced01.jpg][/quote] Nic cab pic shop job ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tl Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 I like the idea of the cab pic in the above pic, but here's one I chucked together: [attachment=24956:bfb.png] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 The prototype new site: [url="http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/"]http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/[/url] (that sired this thread!) Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='483205' date='May 8 2009, 06:29 PM']The prototype new site: [url="http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/"]http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/[/url] (that sired this thread!) Alex[/quote] Ahhhhhhhhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='483205' date='May 8 2009, 06:29 PM']The prototype new site: [url="http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/"]http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/[/url] (that sired this thread!)[/quote] Ah, so all these people working busily on their mockups were wasting their time. Never mind. S.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='483233' date='May 8 2009, 07:20 PM']Ah, so all these people working busily on their mockups were wasting their time.[/quote] Well I wasn't asking for the opinions of every web designer on basschat, just that of the average bassist! My apologies if I've wasted anyone's time, I simply wasn't expecting those kind of responses, just ones like "more pictures, less confusing menus, less text, etc". Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='~tl' post='483201' date='May 8 2009, 06:25 PM']I like the idea of the cab pic in the above pic, but here's one I chucked together: [attachment=24956:bfb.png][/quote] Nice. I like that one. [quote]Well I wasn't asking for the opinions of every web designer on basschat, just that of the average bassist! My apologies if I've wasted anyone's time, I simply wasn't expecting those kind of responses, just ones like "more pictures, less confusing menus, less text, etc". Alex[/quote] I don't think we are wasting our time. It's quick to bang up a quick idea and we only do it because we are genuinely interested. Funny how my and ~tl's ideas are so similar. P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 [quote name='paul h' post='483303' date='May 8 2009, 08:57 PM']I don't think we are wasting our time. It's quick to bang up a quick idea and we only do it because we are genuinely interested.[/quote] Excellent! Like me and DIY speaker designs. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 (edited) Would have been handy to start from where you actually are rather than where you were apearing to be... Edited May 8, 2009 by OldGit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eight Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='483205' date='May 8 2009, 06:29 PM']The prototype new site: [url="http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/"]http://barefacedbass.bassmandesigns.com/[/url] (that sired this thread!)[/quote] Yeah I quite like that. Especially if you lose the browny/orange theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomEndian Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 [quote name='Eight' post='483747' date='May 9 2009, 03:04 PM']Especially if you lose the browny/orange theme. [/quote] +1. Very retro. Or very IBS bowl-splatter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tl Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 [quote name='paul h' post='483303' date='May 8 2009, 08:57 PM'][quote name='alexclaber' post='483240' date='May 8 2009, 07:34 PM'] Well I wasn't asking for the opinions of every web designer on basschat, just that of the average bassist! My apologies if I've wasted anyone's time, I simply wasn't expecting those kind of responses, just ones like "more pictures, less confusing menus, less text, etc". Alex[/quote] I don't think we are wasting our time. It's quick to bang up a quick idea and we only do it because we are genuinely interested. Funny how my and ~tl's ideas are so similar. P> [/quote] Agreed. I enjoy mocking up websites – for some reason it's infinitely more enjoyable than working on websites that I actually have to get done! The new site looks great Alex, certainly a vast improvement over the current one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-basser Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Looking good. My only input would be do not under any circumstance put auto playing music in, nothing pisses me off more than listening to my favourite albums when browsing and suddenly something else blares through and I have to find out where it is coming from and how to stop it. Not saying I thought you were going that way with your site but just my 2p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 If you don't mind me sticking my oar in (as a pro web designer), but your new site will gain better google juice by having real indexable text on the front page and on the headings on the inside pages instead of the pictures of text you currently have. Also it would help to separate out content from presentation by using css rather than tables to position elements. If you want to get into SEO (search engine optimisation) further, make the pagename go before the sitename in the page title meta tag & include a description metatag on each page that summarises the content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 Good points! Have had quite a few enquiries due to google picking up the site so I think the basic text site is good for the search engines. I think I did put meta tags in the original site too. Colourwise I'm a great fan of orange but Markbass have already claimed that. Blue doesn't feel right. Hmmm... Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='486262' date='May 12 2009, 07:16 PM']Good points! Have had quite a few enquiries due to google picking up the site so I think the basic text site is good for the search engines. I think I did put meta tags in the original site too. Colourwise I'm a great fan of orange but Markbass have already claimed that. Blue doesn't feel right. Hmmm... Alex[/quote] I thought Markbass had yellow? I believe that the amp manufacturer that you're thinking of might be... Orange. S.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tl Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 [quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='486199' date='May 12 2009, 05:58 PM']If you don't mind me sticking my oar in (as a pro web designer), but your new site will gain better google juice by having real indexable text on the front page and on the headings on the inside pages instead of the pictures of text you currently have. Also it would help to separate out content from presentation by using css rather than tables to position elements.[/quote] I didn't notice that... agreed wholeheartedly. Text should be presented in the browser as [i]actual[/i] text where ever possible – not only is it better for SEO, it's better for people with disabilities, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 That's a great improvement on the old site, obviously, Here's a few points .. As far as I can see it doesn't actually say where you are in the world .... (edit - ah yes it does in the strap line but that's virtually illegible 'cos it's too small and needs a bit of sharpening... ) Add a (edit: legible) location to the header graphic, Contact Us and About Us pages.. Oh! No About Us page? er.... That's as important as a contact us page for a small business like this... So: add an About Us page That's where you show your location, professionalism, your passion for the subject, your picture and why you are doing this. It's where people work out if they trust you to do the job and order stuff from you. These are all essential in these early days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currrls Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I think you could improve the FAQ page by making the questions stand out more from the rest of the text, by making the whole of the question bold for example. This makes it easier to quickly find the particular question you are looking for, rather than having to read throught the whole text Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Also, you need to change the way that those expandy-questions work a bit. You need to make them visible by default, and then use JavaScript to make them disappear as the page loads. Then, if people don't have JavaScript enabled, they'll still be able to use the FAQ page. S.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomEndian Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 And if you want more web traffic? Get your cabs on [i]This Morning[/i] with Phil & Fern! It's amazing how much sway that programme holds -- it's like a lesson in herd mentality. A couple of products that we sell got featured yesterday, and our web traffic doubled through the afternoon and evening (and into this morning), with probably a 300% increase in people either adding stuff to their baskets or actually buying. And we're just a new, tiny business in the nursery industry. The big players must have been inundated. Just imagine Fern Britton's endorsement, delivered straight to camera: "I've never come across another 1x15 cab that has pummelling low end, driving mids and just enough highs to cut through, yet weighs less than a 3-year-old girl. And it's so loud that Phil's ruptured something. This is a must-have for every gigging bassist." Seriously though, once everything's sorted in terms of website and production, if you get your PR campaign right, the sky's the limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 You have a lot of time sensitive stuff on various pages- this means you have to go and edit a lot of pages if things change. Eg there are references to "when our current stock runs out" and prices in the FAQ section eg on "can I get a tweeter with that?" That's not where I'd look for the price of a tweeter .. Actually the pricing needs to be a lot easier to find. It's still buried away down below the fold on each product page .... If the pricing info, with all options, was on a single page you could easily edit the prices - and date stamp them and have a "prices may change at any time" rider. Using a date on the copyright means you have to edit it every year. You need a T&C's section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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