Comments anyone?????

[Hooper]

Hi Guys-

I could use some constructive words of wisdom from the gang. I have mede up a modest homemade website in the hopes of attracting a few more charters next summer. My plan is to link my site to capecod.com. I hope that those planning a trip to Cape Cod who are interested in doing some fishing may find and then book me. [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

Here's the address where I can be found: www.stripersandblues.com

Go easy on me, remember, I did not know one thng about building a website before I started and I now know very little more!!!!
[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
-Hooper

[Trayder]

First time with web publishing????

You fooled me, nice site Hooper [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[John R]

Looks like you used FrontPage [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ...

I'd clean the images up a bit and try to use cleaner ones. If they are optimized a little better you can have better looking immages without much of a size penalty. Add similar drop shadows to the images for some consistency.

I would also move away from the big bevel and maybe go to a small shadow. You get a similar feeling of depth but a cleaner look...

Also, try a little cleaner common font like verdana, tahoma, or something. It will look a little less blocky.

Great first shot at it! Good luck! Nice URL too - how long have you had that? Need a webhost?

I did a quick update to your page for grins & giggles. Very minor changes: http://theboatzone.com/hoop/ but a little cleaner look using your layout

Oh - and you should probably put everything inside a fixed table so that it doesn't expand out too much. The different browser windows will make it look all funky...

Check out a couple sites I did for an idea of the fixed widths:

http://AveMariaCharters.com
http://Northeast.com
http://linesiders.com
http://striped-bass.com

By no means am I a webmastering guru - I do networks and some security but this is side work for me (and to support my site & fishing habits [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )

[ February 05, 2003, 09:25 AM: Message edited by: John R ]

[Mark]

I've never put together a website, I hire people to do that. That being the case, I shouldn't rag on yours. However, you asked for feedback, so here goes:

It's fairly busy and doesn't flow well

the are elements that seem like they were just added because they could be (blue bar down left side?)

the frames around the photos, as they currently are, really detract from the images (OK, this is something I DO know a bit about!).

Lastly, anglers usually want to catch fish and may not care as long as your site is easy to find. Therefore, all of my comments are moot. Get listed with the search engines - it works.

the simpler the site, the better it will look. (less is more)

If you want to see some really simple and effective fishing sites, check out www.savannahfly.com or www.wyattsfishing.com Both of those sites have everything that the prospective client needs to know about in a simple attractive package.

Good luck/
mark

mark@markpix.com

[John R]

Mark - those are nice, classy sites... Did you take the any of the pics? They were also professionally designed sites & not something done up with FrontPage. Different resources but HOOP - you asked for it [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ...

I will say that is already better than half the home grown northeast charter sites. Our scenery just doesn't look as nice as Belize or the keys in a photo [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Mark]

John,

Yeah, the Belize material is all mine. fishing for photos sounded like a deal to me, so I went for it!

I know nothing about software and what was used to make those sites, just that a friend of each guide did the site for free.

A friend did my site for me (markpix.com) for free as well, and he is not a web designer or anything, just someone who is a bit more tolerant of these machines than I am.

I think one thing that all of the most appealing sites out there have in common is visual simplicity. The more details that are provided, the less important each detail becomes. As an example, check out www.kevinmodera.com I count Kevin as a good friend but I still don't know if I've seen everything on his website yet, way too much info to efficiently find anything.

If any of you can create a website that actually comes up when you type it in, you have done something that I will never be able to do, so congratulations, ya done good!

[John R]

Your friend does some fantastic work. Those are very appealing sites and I'm going to study them a little myself.

It also depends on the site too. My site has too much crap on it but it needs a lot, fortunately not as much as others....

We should have a "Worst Site" thread - they are out there [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[Mark]

Have you seen that book of "worst post-cards"? they are so bad as to be really good!

[ocuyler]

Hooper,

Nice job. Front page is nice. I started using those same templates. It takes time to get your site where you want it.

It works for me and I get the message. I'd pay $375 just to cruise around the Cape for 5 hours.

Best of all, you're a REALLY luck guy to have a spouse that shares your love of boating and fishing. Good for you.

Otto

[Hooper]

John, Mark and Otto-

Thanks guys! I do appreciate the input. I have much to learn and I really don't know if I can or will dedicate the time it takes to learn it.

John, I tho't what you did with my site on the boat zone was really interesting, I have lots to learn.

My pictures are not so good I know. They're scans thats why. I am saving my pennies for a nice digital camera. But, the way I see it, It is a presence on the web...

As always, Thanks to the CSC site! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

-Hooper