a website to look at

[Xue Sheng]

You don't have to go for plain white, just make sure it's pleasing to the eye and easy to read.

Exactly

And I like what HKphooey is saying.

As for plain white, think of walking into a brightly lit room from a dark room. Does that sound pleasant?

Go for softer tones in color and use fonts that stand out on whatever background you use. Yellow and bright pink are rarely good choices for color.

You have some great suggestions here and I never considered myself a Web designer or developer, just an admin so I am mainly worried about accessibility and dissemination of information. My first page I always like it to fit in one screen so the user has little scrolling to do when they first get there. After that if they click a link scrolling is fine.

Also remember not everyone has high-speed internet so at least the first page, in my opinion, should be set up to load fairly quickly for someone using a 56.6 modem

As to Shrewsbury for his response to criticism :asian:

 

[HKphooey]

Also remember not everyone has high-speed internet so at least the first page, in my opinion, should be set up to load fairly quickly for someone using a 56.6 modem

Correct. I believe the latest stat is around 56% of the US is on high-speed. Keep away from Flash if possible. It is great looking, but tougher get high indexing in the search engines.

 

[funnytiger]

Just along the same lines with the basics:

- Always design for the lowest common denominator. That includes screen resolutions, internet speed, etc.

- Less is more. Keeping your website clean, crisp and simple will go a LONG way.

- No one likes to read. Its sad, but true. Don't get too wordy. Keep the information relevant and easy to read. I know the website I designed for my kung fu school has quite a bit of text on there and if I could edit it waaay down I would. Unfortunately content isn't under my control.

I'm hopefully going to be launching v2 of our schools website soon. Cleaner, simpler, neater. Gotta keep it fresh!

If you want some tips/tricks/help please do not hesitate to PM me. I love what I do and would be more than happy to lend a hand.

- ft

 

[ArmorOfGod]

Shrewsbury,
Where does your web page hosting come from? Is it provided by the company who gave you your dotcom, or is it from one of those free sites like tripod.com , geocities.com , topcities.com , moonfruit.com , or webspawner.com (I listed several on purpose).

If it is from your server, you may want to open a free account at one of those and build a typical site using one of their templates, then use your dotcom provider's "redirect" option.

Remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Find a site or two that you like and copy their format. Search using google.com , then search within tripod.com and geocities.com to see school sites.

By the way, I agree with one of the above posters to above flash. Think about us poor 56k people and how slow we are.
;-)

AoG

 

[Shrewsbury]

All of you are wonderful and I appreciate your time and comments for a complete stranger. Though I am quite busy and it may take a while, I think I will change some things around. your advice is invaluable.

Again thanks!!

 

[ArmorOfGod]

http://www.whitecranefist.co.nr/

Shewsbury, click that above site for a very straight to the point, clean website. That is the site of one of the members here (not me though) and I like how clean the site looks. Also, it is easy on us 56k people.

AoG

 

[Andrew Green]

http://www.whitecranefist.co.nr/

Shewsbury, click that above site for a very straight to the point, clean website. That is the site of one of the members here (not me though) and I like how clean the site looks. Also, it is easy on us 56k people.

AoG

COuple of comments on this one

The centered text on most of the pages should go, keep things left aligned apart from titles or little blurbs, just makes it easier to read.

You could probably also do away with the nave section at the bottom, all those links already exist in a much more convienient place.

And on a non-design related not, I have doubts about your "facts". Good for being honest, but I think that advertising should be geared towards what you are, not what you aren't. What can you give people? Don't bother telling them what you can't, at least not in ads, and especially not on the front page of your newsletter.

Fact: Most people really don't care about your lineage, or your titles, or the politics of the style, just what you can do for them.

 

[funnytiger]

Fact: Most people really don't care about your lineage, or your titles, or the politics of the style, just what you can do for them.

Sorry Andrew, I would call that opinion. You may not care, but there are a great deal of people who do. I would wager that more people care what kind of "credentials" you have (ie lineage, titles etc.) then not. Especially someone who is new and doesn't know what to look for other then those things.

The white crane site is nice. It could possibly be condensed a little, but its a good site none-the-less.

 

[Andrew Green]

Sorry Andrew, I would call that opinion. You may not care, but there are a great deal of people who do. I would wager that more people care what kind of "credentials" you have (ie lineage, titles etc.) then not. Especially someone who is new and doesn't know what to look for other then those things.

The white crane site is nice. It could possibly be condensed a little, but its a good site none-the-less.

Nope, I think more people that have been trained to care will, but for people that have no training, they don't. And even if they did, why state what you don't have? Focus on what you do.

 

[funnytiger]

Nope, I think more people that have been trained to care will, but for people that have no training, they don't. And even if they did, why state what you don't have? Focus on what you do.

I can't tell you what your experiences have shown you, but I know from personal experience, I've always seen the opposite.

People who come to our kwoon who have no experience always ask questions about "credentials". They want to know how you can prove that you know what you know. They don't know what they are looking at most of the time. lol

However, in my experience with new students, the ones who have come from MA backgrounds are not as concerned with a "resume" as they are concerned with "show me what you've got".

*shrug*

Again, what you stated was an opinion and not a fact. My statements are also opinion and not fact. Purely based on my observations and experiences.

- ft

 

[Carol]

I can't tell you what your experiences have shown you, but I know from personal experience, I've always seen the opposite.

People who come to our kwoon who have no experience always ask questions about "credentials". They want to know how you can prove that you know what you know. They don't know what they are looking at most of the time. lol

However, in my experience with new students, the ones who have come from MA backgrounds are not as concerned with a "resume" as they are concerned with "show me what you've got".

*shrug*

Again, what you stated was an opinion and not a fact. My statements are also opinion and not fact. Purely based on my observations and experiences.

- ft

Personally I think you are both right.

Customers generally make decisions based on what is in it for them. That's the reason why I bought groceries this morning. There's something in it for me. Food, and not just food, the kind of food I like.

Its really not that different for a customer of an MA school. What's in it for the customer? If a customer starts shopping with the perception that certain types of ranks or lineages are better for obtaining what the customer wants to get from their training, that perception is going to drive the customer's decision-making process.

The crux of the consultive sale is to understand and manage the customer's expectations. The most successful salespeople in any industry can repeatedly close and deliver what the customer wants, not what a customer needs, or what the salesperson thinks the customer needs.

 

[Andrew Green]

And regardless, it is just bad advertising to list waht you don't have. Let them call and ask if they are curious, then you can at least tell them why those things shouldn't be important. But say what you got, not what you lack.

 

[funnytiger]

And regardless, it is just bad advertising to list waht you don't have. Let them call and ask if they are curious, then you can at least tell them why those things shouldn't be important. But say what you got, not what you lack.

Completely agree.

 

[funnytiger]

Personally I think you are both right.

Customers generally make decisions based on what is in it for them. That's the reason why I bought groceries this morning. There's something in it for me. Food, and not just food, the kind of food I like.

Its really not that different for a customer of an MA school. What's in it for the customer? If a customer starts shopping with the perception that certain types of ranks or lineages are better for obtaining what the customer wants to get from their training, that perception is going to drive the customer's decision-making process.

The crux of the consultive sale is to understand and manage the customer's expectations. The most successful salespeople in any industry can repeatedly close and deliver what the customer wants, not what a customer needs, or what the salesperson thinks the customer needs.

Probably why I sucked at sales when I worked retail many years ago. LOL
I could never bring myself to convince someone to buy anything that I felt was something they didn't need.
- ft

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

COuple of comments on this one

......Fact: Most people really don't care about your lineage, or your titles, or the politics of the style, just what you can do for them.....

Not so, I would never have picked my instructors if I couldn't verify that they were legitimate.

Why would I want to pay someone to teach me when it turns out they appointed themselves 6th Dan Sensei in Aikido and didn't get past 1 Kyu, or the extent of their Tai Chi was from watching David-Dorian Ross DVDs.

You're absolutely wrong on this count.:mst:

 

[7starmantis]

Not so, I would never have picked my instructors if I couldn't verify that they were legitimate.

Why would I want to pay someone to teach me when it turns out they appointed themselves 6th Dan Sensei in Aikido and didn't get past 1 Kyu, or the extent of their Tai Chi was from watching David-Dorian Ross DVDs.

You're absolutely wrong on this count.:mst:

Working in the martial arts field I can honestly say you are in the minority then as far as people joining MA schools today.

7sm

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Working in the martial arts field I can honestly say you are in the minority then as far as people joining MA schools today.

7sm

Is that good or bad?

 

[Jade Tigress]

Is that good or bad?

That's a good thing.

 

[funnytiger]

Working in the martial arts field I can honestly say you are in the minority then as far as people joining MA schools today.

7sm

Can I ask what your involvment with the "martial arts field" is?

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

That's a good thing.

:ultracool