I was wondering if anyone could be so kind as to tell me what they think of my new website intro ... its not Flash, but rather JavaScript and should work on all JavaScript enabled browsers - if it doesn't work for you, please let me know what version and what browser you are using.

The link is in my signature, if you have been to my site before and see the "showtimes" page press your browser's refresh button.

Thanks,
JoeJoe

2 things came to mind while watching the video:

1) It will take forever for someone with a slower connection and;

2) Where's your audience?

The outdoor shots, particularly at the end, look rather odd in that you are taking the immense bow to no one.....

Lee Darrow, C.H.

As Lee said, the opening page took a long time loading with my dial-up.
One rule I follow when designing a site is to have that opening page load as fast as possible. Most people will walk away if it don't.
That first page should also have overall info about the site and what you do. people will then know that they found what they were looking for and it will also help your listings in the search engine a bit.
Videos and large image files should be elsewhere and visitors should have the option of going there or not.

I have a bad connection today, 38kps. I'm a slow typist and your home page is still loading as I finish this sentence. I'm going to other pages.

Photos, images and the JoeJoe title image are really rough around the edges.
OK enough criticism from me.

I suggest you also put page links on the bottom of your pages as well so visitors don't have to scroll back to the top nav.

Best to ya,

JOEJOE - it was different and entertaining. It needs a better transition.
JCPENNY
Simply Magic

It does nothing to sell your services. I had to wait (Broadband) to long to get that unclear dark picture.

I agree with Den, intro pages are bad IMO, take them right to the meat, BENEFITS

I have streamlined the intro to apporimatly 60k. I removed the animated images and cross-fade the images instead. The effects work on MSIE5+ and NS7+ (maybe 6). The intro should work on all other browsers, only without the cross fading.

I do feel the intro is important, as it showcases the service I sell: myself. With one billion search results, the most likly scenario is the majority of people coming to my site are NOT looking for my site. I feel its important to catch their attention, get them to slow down, and become more interested so they will stop.

I keep looking for improvements and have some ideas: like timing the 60k dialup download to determine connection speed ... if it is broadbandwidth, continue loading the full intro. It can also be sped up by streaming the images instead of preloading them. I'll keep working on it.

If you return to my site and press refresh, you can see the new streamlined version. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

JoeJoe

Let the viewer decide if he want to view those pictures. It still doesn't say what you're offering. Given a choice, I still would choose another site hat immediated focuses on what I want. I still don't know what you do? I am guessing from my wait for the video.

Is this another video site of the strange and weird people in the world (First thought) (And there is lots of them)



Are you selling something? Are you showing the world what you can do? It is an ego driven site and not a "reader want fullfilment" site. (IMO) Even "joejoeonline.com" doesn't give me a clue other than Joe Joe performing something "I never saw before" It has no definate focus which someone can intantly understand.

(No disrespect intended. You asked and I'm replying as a lay person, web designer and surpressing my magic knowledge. )

None taken ...



Most of my traffic is type-in traffic from people that have seen me perform and heard my pitch: "here is my website address where you can learn more about me and my magic including pictures and video of me performing". During the summer, my traffic more than triples from this type-in traffic.

This is not an ego trip, it is about making "JoeJoe" a little more "sticky" in the minds of my audience. It allows me to go from "performer" to the guy that comes into their living room and hangs out with them at the computer. I feel this is important and have spent a lot of time and money planning how to go about it, including signs flyers cards pitches as well as the actual website, the blog, videos, etc etc etc.

Thus, the main objective of my site is to showcase myself and my magic. Instead of being just a guy on the street that did a 10 minute magic show, I become someone they know and like and want to see more of in the future. The effects in the intro are all effects I either created or am well known for doing. Most of the surfers will have seen me perform at least one, but not all of them.



The wait should not be long now, I clock it at 7 seconds on my connection which includes the time it takes to "connect" to the website in the first place. It has been a while since I was on dialup, but 60k is about the size of a decent quality picture so it shouldn't take long. In light of the comments here, I have opted for still images instead of animated clips ... after adding a cross-fading effect to the images, I liked it more than the animation anyway.

Once I add DHTML text effects, I can load things in the background and it will load just as fast as any other webpage online. In other words, while you are watching "he stabs himself with swords" and the picture is fading in ... the script downlaods the next picture so there is no wait at all. With the right scripting, it can load just as fast as any other webpage - faster than a flash intro even.

I initally thought cross-browser compatibility was more important than load time, but from reading this thread I believe I was wrong so I am working to correct that issue. I may just redirect old browsers to a splash screen or dump them onto the showtimes page. But it will continue to focus on "JoeJoe" as a performer, as that is what I am and that is what the majority of people coming to the site expect to find.

JoeJoe