Website opinions...

[mjr]

Ok, hopefully I can convey this well enough.

I'm still working on my website, it's by no means done. It's basically a skeleton site, and I hope when it's done it'll be database driven, and done in either PHP or .NET, but that's beside the point.

I guess my question is this:

Would you rather visit a musician's website that is aesthetically pleasing and informative, and just that -- an informative website with good imagery and such, or would you rather visit a website that is informative but is also an experience?

A website that is professional-looking and interesting enough to make you tell your friends, or a website that makes you say "Wow!".

Also, what does everyone think of putting short videos on their websites?

Just curious what everyone thinks. I know, as a professional developer, that "over-doing" it can be bad, as well. I guess the big question there is where I draw the line.

I think an interactive website is good, but not everyone has flash/javascript enabled in their browser.

I'd rather visit a nice clean, professional looking site than one with a bunch of flashy graphics and animations on it.

Don't forget a lot of people are still using dial up internet, and they don't want to sit there while the page loads...they'll probably leave if it takes longer than 10-20 seconds to load.

Also, what does everyone think of putting short videos on their websites?

I think videos are a cool idea, you could use a flash player, or Windows media player embedded in the page.

Do you have a link of what your site looks like so far...?

[JoeBannon]

I'm working on our site right now and I hope to do it all. Are you a designer as well? I'm doing the PHP for my site, but I can't do graphics.

http://www.zeroheroes.com

[mjr]

Originally Posted by JoeBannon

I'm working on our site right now and I hope to do it all. Are you a designer as well? I'm going the PHP for my site, but I can't do graphics.

http://www.zeroheroes.com

Yeah. I do design and development.

[mjr]

Originally Posted by danny.guitar

I think an interactive website is good, but not everyone has flash/javascript enabled in their browser.

I'd rather visit a nice clean, professional looking site than one with a bunch of flashy graphics and animations on it.

Don't forget a lot of people are still using dial up internet, and they don't want to sit there while the page loads...they'll probably leave if it takes longer than 10-20 seconds to load.



I think videos are a cool idea, you could use a flash player, or Windows media player embedded in the page.

Do you have a link of what your site looks like so far...?

My site

[JoeBannon]

I need someone who is really good with photo shop.

[mjr]

Originally Posted by JoeBannon

I need someone who is really good with photo shop.

I can give you the email address of a guy who is GREAT with photoshop. Send me a private message, I'll send you his email address.

I think the site looks okay, clean and simple, but kind of boring.

The graphic at the top is kind of pointless. Maybe you should put a logo or something up there. I think you need some more photos/pictures/graphics in general.

The white content area should be a little wider unless this was designed for people who use 680x400 resolution.

I would replace the menu on the left with graphics/buttons with the hover effect. Something to make it more interesting.

I would also add a Copyright © thing at the bottom center to balance out the page, and of course, to mark your content as copyrighted.

The favorites page looks good. It shows that your site looks a lot better with graphics.

The contact form is okay. I would make the message box a little bigger/wider though.

I would have the Sample Audio link open a page rather than a link to your m3u file. I would also use a flash player or something to play your playlist. And possibly have information about each song.

Overall I think it's a good start to your site, but it just needs more to it.

[mjr]

Originally Posted by danny.guitar

I think the site looks okay, clean and simple, but kind of boring.

The graphic at the top is kind of pointless. Maybe you should put a logo or something up there. I think you need some more photos/pictures/graphics in general.

The white content area should be a little wider unless this was designed for people who use 680x400 resolution.

I would replace the menu on the left with graphics/buttons with the hover effect. Something to make it more interesting.

I would also add a Copyright © thing at the bottom center to balance out the page, and of course, to mark your content as copyrighted.

The favorites page looks good. It shows that your site looks a lot better with graphics.

The contact form is okay. I would make the message box a little bigger/wider though.

I would have the Sample Audio link open a page rather than a link to your m3u file. I would also use a flash player or something to play your playlist. And possibly have information about each song.

Overall I think it's a good start to your site, but it just needs more to it.

Thanks for the input. There will definitely be changes made.