opinions please

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zephyrsailor

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could i get some feedback on the website linked below. i am trying to convince the owner of it to let me overhaul it. he says its fine i think it could be better.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachting-school.com>http://www.yachting-school.com</A></font color=purple>
 
It is refreshing to see a simple web site which gets the message across. I HATE some of these flashy sites where you actually spend hours trying to find where you are going. This site says it all in one page..

My advice - dont change it.

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Good points -
Loads very quickly
Simple
succinct content

Bad Points -
Very bad choice of colours
Layout
Inconsistent design across the pages

Overall - contents is probably fine but needs a fresher / cleaner design that works across all the pages. Also you should get it checked in other browsers - most use IE but some may use Netscape and others.





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Horribel.....................................load of crap......................................get it off the web..........................UGG!....................................curdled my milk...............................by the way what did you do with the chair?

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web sites are expected to look a lot more professional these days
this looks like a very early internet site
and compared to todays standard , very crap.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=red>if guinness is good for you. i must be very very good</font color=red>
 
I think it does look a bit "home made" but it works so he may have a point.

It might be worth asking the question about does it portray the right image. However, if it generates the right level of business why should he change it?

Magic

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://hometown.aol.co.uk/geoffwestgarth/myhomepage/travelwriting.html>Click for website!</A>
 
As someone said - it looks a little 'old', probably because it all looks like typed text. A few boxes or better looking headers for each section would help. Try to make them look more distinct.
I'm not a web designer, this is just a personal view !

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I tend to agree with Chris, a site that is quick to load and has all the information you want on one page is a rarity. Some of the headings were less than obvious at first reading though. It comes across as a bit dry and academic: bigger text, prettier fonts and fewer words in places might make it easier on the eye but it doesn't need dumbing down, don't forget that yottis are intelligent and discerning.

The front page could be overhauled though, starting with the vomit-coloured but otherwise boring background. Some links to pictures of the boat & skipper would be a nice touch as well, maybe clickable links in the text to the relevant courses? People are used to looking for inter-page links and navigation bars, and will be clicking on highlighted text then logging off.

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It's hideous.

Makes every mistake in the book. If this brings in any business I would be very surprised.

It can't be found by search engines for several reasons - no titles, inefficient use of META tags, poor use of keywords. No excuse for this with such a good domain name.

The design is hideous, clashing colours, poor choice of fonts, useless navigation, and the background reeks of 1996.

One of the worst websites I have seen for a while, and I see a lot. The money spent on a revamp would repay itself in half a season. Of course, maybe the guy has enough business already, in which case why bother . . .

Well, you did ask. Hope this helps.

- Nick



<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bluemoment.com>http://www.bluemoment.com</A></font size=1>
 
'Amateurish' would be an understatement. Looks and feels hideous. Some of the links don't work, a fundamental mistake. A lot of the copy is difficult to read as it's on a textured background and sometimes in Times Roman and italic, a real no-no for reading online. Christ, and what's that whole email deal about - never seen anything that works like that, it's really complicated.

However, it does exactly what it says on the tin, no more, no less, and isn't full of flashy gimmicks (oh, except for the animated gif of the globe...eeyyuuwww..).

But I do think it's terrible, truly awful when compared to a lot of his competition. He needs to think about his audience - who are they? I'd think he's looking at attracting a lot of younger people? If so, they're used to the Web and are sophisticated users - if they see this they're not going to be impressed and they'll go somewhere else with a better site. It also needs to be simpler and easier to use.

I could go on, but then I'd have to charge you for my Interweb consultancy services..! /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
 
I agree with the owner. Perfectly OK, gives all the information needed with minimum number of clicks. All the pages I tried worked fine. It could be more flashy, nicer colours maybe, but better information? I doubt it. Changing it would be money down the drain. (I assume you are not offering your skills free of charge?)

The colours do look pretty horrendous, but is this not a selling point? I shall probably remember them long after the memory of other sites has faded. My only comment would be that I never use paler greens, because an ex-boss was colour blind and could not see them.

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Very home-made. Use of colours suggests it was done on a 16 colour Amstrad 1640 (nerdy comment). Times New Roman (I think) is just terrible. Nothing much wrong with the copy although I really didn't like the comment that you can book your YM and the rest of the students decide whether they want you to do the exam or not - which seem a bit rich.

The calendar presumably should update itself so that only future courses are shown.

Overall, pretty bad, but I am in the camp that hates slow loading over-elaborate sites with new windows popping up all over the place, so the simplicity is quite refrshing - it's just badly done aesthetically.

Not sure that calling for comments such as these on a public forum will do much for your business relationship however!

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It could be better. The trouble with websites is the smarter the website looks the higher the perceived credibility (Accurately or not) of the company. I would not even consider asking for a brochure because as people have said before it looks amateur which makes me think the company would be too.

Things that you should consider taking off:

The word cheap - It doesn't inspire confidence. There are other words you can use.

Using so much red - As someone said before there are problems with colour blindness and most people associate red with danger.

Old fashioned font -

I would have a mini picture and a bio on all of the instructors and yachts on a separate page, preferably leaving out the "my son" bit. The opening paragraph whilst pleasantly personal is not very well written or presented (for example it looks smarter if justified).


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Does the job - but looks very dated. The colours and texture put me off more than anything.

Also wondered what a supper yacht was?

Ruth

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Ifound the text a bit difficult to read in places.

Colours remind me of a pavement pizza.

Nevertheless all the info is there ,if Iwas a potential punter the standard of the website would not be a deciding factor in wether to book up or not.

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If you're trying to do a Barter, both of you could win out. Looked at the site before. It's simple but works for us sailing types. Providing it's kept simple and to the point, they could benefit by a face lift and therefore you could benefit too?

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I think everything that needs to be said about the graphic design has been said...
But what about the text?! Read the first para: "I, I, I, we, we ,we". All in short sentences. Kill the copywriter!

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>
 
It's appalling. Even if he doesn't want to change the design, he could at least put the numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes right. And is "Our latest Newsletter" really dated May 2001?

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Dreadful in every respect.

The layout reminds me of the projects students, myself included, produced at the end of an introductory HTML course in the nineties, religiously including (i) a gif image (ii) an animated gif image (iii) an unordered list (iv) a table (v) a local link (vi) an external link.... before learning about tables and frames in the advanced course.

Graphically it's hideous and inconsistent. Where's the consistency of look and feel between pages? Does the designer of this site wander round in red trousers, a green shirt and unmatched socks?
Where are the jpegs/ photos? You don't have to be a genius to get passable photos:- of the yachts; of each of the instructors; yacht interiors; happy smiling crew with their freshly signed CC certificates........ edit the pics down to 30-50K and they won't affect the load times too much.

The text is leaden, requiring some serious sub-editing plus the invention of a few quotes to be blockquoted out of the text in a different colour!



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