My first web site. Some feedback please. (Full Version)

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yanagapa -> My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/2/2002 20:22:15)

I would like some feedback on my web site.

Some of my customers have given me great reviews, but I would like to know what all you at Outfront think.

After all, if it weren' t for the help of some of you, I' d probably still be thumping my head against the desk trying to figure a lot of things out. :)

www.ilporcellino.com



Gil -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/2/2002 20:58:35)

The plain white page with only the word " enter" would have had me gone if not for this forum. Why force people to click a link to enter the site?

After entering, I found it a rather nice site. Very clean and easy to navigate.



yanagapa -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/2/2002 21:50:04)

Hi Gil,

The plain white page is a flash animation with my company logo, I put the link there to enter the site outside of the animation area so that people could skip it if they chose to. I also put it there cause I read on the boards here that some people can' t load the animations without the flash or shockwave plugins, and I don' t want to feel like I' m forcing people to get something they may not use.

It usually loads quite instantly even on a dial-up connection.

Should I rename that link to " skip intro" as opposed to " enter>>" ?




Gil -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/2/2002 22:43:18)

quote:

Should I rename that link to " skip intro" as opposed to " enter>>" ?


That would be a good idea, IMHO.

Since I choose not to load Falsh movies, the load speed wasn' t an issue for me. I think you have a done a really nice job - I just cannot understand why anyone (not just this site) would have a index/default page with no content at all. If I were searching for restaurants in Mississauga I would want to see something that grabbed me on the first page or I' d just jump to the next one in the list. But, that' s just my opinion - you' ve developed a nice site. Good luck...



yanagapa -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/2/2002 23:09:29)

Thank you for your honesty Gil. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

I' ll see if I can incorporate some interesting content on the index page outside the flash movie as a first peek into the site. Or just scrap the index page completely.

I wouldn' t want people who found my site to leave before they even got there. It' s already hard enough just to get people to find it among millions of other restaurants world wide or even just the thousands in this region alone. LOL




reelyredd -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/3/2002 4:59:19)

I reely like your site. I liked the little pig gallery very much. only have 2 suggestions -

one - the word " recipes" is misspelled in the side links
two - maybe the restaurant address ? didn' t see it, sorry if it is already there.



yanagapa -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/3/2002 6:25:56)

Thank you for pointing out that typo. FP didn' t pick that one up for some reason.

The address and all contact info is on the contact page. The link to it is on the very top right hand corner of every page.

Would it be wise to also put the address in the main page ? Maybe under the hours of operation or in the left side bar ?



Helene -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/3/2002 9:15:45)

I like the cleanliness and simplicity of your site, but since you' ve asked for feedback, here' s my two cents worth:

1) Like others, I see no point for a flash intro page that really does not perform any function other than doormat.

2) I think you are wasting valuable screen real estate just below your header bar on each page. You have about two inches of blank space there on every page. I suggest you move your content up and take advantage of that space.

3) Yes, absolutely, the restaurant' s address should appear at the top of every page. No question, in my opinion.

4) You content alignment on the home page is somewhat off. The first paragraph that begins " Below is an image . . . " is all flush left, but the content below it is a mix of flush left and centered . . . or that' s how it appears on my screen. I have a personal aversion to centered text. It' s fine for headings, but I suggest you keep your subsequent paragraphs aligned like the top one. The other pages look fine.

5) On the home page, above the little Flash anim. you have something blue that looks like a button but it isn' t. What is that and why is it there? It looks like it wants to be clicked, but serves no function that I can see.

Good for you for getting to this stage and for joining the forum! I wish I' d known about this forum when I was starting out!

Have fun --



Peppergal -> RE: RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/3/2002 9:39:59)

I would align the text on your left navigation to the left instead of to the right...it looks weird the way it is.

Other than that, I think it looks really nice. Love the pig! :-)



Swirl -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/3/2002 13:11:56)

Hey Yanagapa

Here are a couple of things that haven' t been mentioned yet...

I' m not sure about your choice of colors for the site. The blue and gray bring to mind industry or manufacturing instead of food. I read somewhere that oranges and reds stimulate the appetite and you will find that many restaurants use this color scheme to do just that. Many include these colors not only in their decor, but in their menus as well. The Il Porcellino logo has red, green and white, why not just carry those colors through the rest of the site?

How about adding a few well placed, pictures of some of the dishes you serve? I' m sure you can find lots of stock photos to use if you can' t/don' t want to take some of your own. I' d even throw in a few photos of some of your customers enjoying dinner at your place, just don' t over do it, and keep the file sizes small so they load quickly. You could easily stage a photo like that using your staff, friends, family, or even " real" customers if you can get their permission.

Spice the site up a bit and you' ll have them standing in line around the block to get in (if they aren' t doing that already that is, yummy)!

BTW, if you have any free samples, you can send them to me via email! [;)] I LOVE Italian food!

Swirl [:)]



Charles W Davis -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/3/2002 15:22:48)

yanagapa,

I suggest that you make the address available on every page. Repitition is important in an individual learning process. In TV advertising, thats why in a 30-second TV spot you' ll see and hear " ...Call 800-555-5555 Now! live operators standing by...," " ...Call 800-555-5555 Now! live operators standing by...," " ...Call 800-555-5555 Now! live operators standing by...," " ...Call 800-555-5555 Now! live operators standing by...,"



yanagapa -> RE: My first web site. Some feedback please. (10/3/2002 19:54:28)

Wow, I get in from work, and I guess I have loads of " after work" work to do LOL.

I thank everyone for ther input.

I am now in the process of adding and deleting things here and there.
It may take me a couple of days to get through it all. I have a couple of banquets to tend to this weekend so I' m strapped for time.

In the meantime, if anyone else has any additional input, I' ll check back tomorrow.

I will also put in a reply here when I get everything updated so you can check it out all over again LOL (Probably on monday or tuesday)

Again, thank you everyone.



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