Hey guys,

I am working on my new website and I would like some feedback. Right now it is in a very rough form, so please don't comment on the navigation or the copy. (We can rip that apart next week ) I am just trying to get a feeling for how the over-all look is working. I am trying to go for a look of classic magic without the cliche demons and stuff.

Please let me know your thoughts . . .

Thanks,
Richard

http://mysite.verizon.net/rtgreen1

Looks pretty good. Not wild about the photo crop, but the over all lay-out looks nice and professional.

There is some kind of javascript running on the site that caused some issues on my end so I imagine this site is being dynamically created. You might want to seek out your own hosting and primary domain.

Make sure you put key words on it too.

I just realized the java was for the mouse overs- not sure why it was creating issues. Hmmm

But- ALL of that is super nit-picky sutff. You did well!

Thanks. It's interesting about the rollovers having trouble. Every now and again they become sluggish on my office computer, too. I think it has to do with the server. It is my "free" space with Verizon and I've had a lot of trouble using it to host sites. I'm thinking the problem will go away when I move the site to the real domain.

Since you mentioned the photos, what is your feeling about the transparent gif cutouts as opposed to full frame graphics? I have mixed feelings about them.

Thanks,
Richard

The first thing I look for is to whom you are pitching. After spending about 1 minute, not reading the text, I couldn't determine who your target audience was.

"Comedy" jumped out, the site overall look is good, but I still could not tell to whom you are pitching.

I went back and still couldn't tell who your audience is!

Just my viewpoint.

Dennis

Good points Dennis. In the next day or so, the front page will be changed and will much better focus on the product I am selling and who will benefit from it. I would very much appreciate it if you could check back in a few days and let me know if I am better hitting the mark.

Thanks,
Richard

Fundamentally good - you don't need rollovers [simplify, simplify] - love the graphic design - on that header, are you able to add WHO said that?

I agree with Den- It looks nice but from the first page I couldn't tell to whom you are selling.


Yeah, you don't need the roll over- the curser changes normally for a link anyway, so people can tell.

If your going to have image links at the top I would suggest having normal HTML text links at the bottom of each page as this will help with your marketing to google and possibly the other engines out there.

Very eye-catching and colorful. If I was a client, I would next look for a description of what you have to offer. I didn't see this, but I'm sure you just haven't gotten to it yet.

I've made quite a few changes this weekend, so if you would like to check out the new version, please go to http://mysite.verizon.net/rtgreen1

I just registered my domain http://www.smallmiraclesentertainment.com and I'll transfer the site to there as soon as it is active.

Thanks,
Richard

Change the color of the words "Family Entertainment" in the header so it jumps out that you are focused on family entertainment. The movement of the changing pictures keep my eyes away from the header. I purposely looked for the focused theme and missed it for a good 30 seconds.

The pictures are good and they tell me you are a "Magician for All Ocassions"

What the site doesn't show is your audience having a fanatastic time. A good "laugh-photo shot" would do it. What the opening shots do say is they are focused on you. This doesn't mean good or bad, just it says it is focused on you. Is this the message you want the receiver to get?

The design is clean and nice, still broadly focused. If you use it as a doorway, don't have them come back to that page. Below the pictures have the focused show buttons that take them away to the area they are most interested. If it is school shows, then have a button for School Shows, if it is Birthday Parties Have a button for Birthday parties. On those pages, make it a killer page with all information focused on that one page like Andy Walker's pages. (This is discussed elsewhere.) It is a good alternative. Keep to the three click rule: "No more than three clicks to the page where I want to be."

The movement of the pictures keeps the eyes from looking elsewhere on the page. is this what you want to accomplish?

Thanks Dennis, I really appreciate the thoughtful comments. I'm getting closer on this, but there is still a way to go.

Thanks,
Richard

Looking good, Richard. Just a couple of comments.

Your Vision page is good, but it's visually inconsistent in terms of historical styles. In fact, I couldn't figure out where the blue brocade fabric background fit into the overall scheme until I read this page. I think if you're going to push the old classic stuff, you should bring this page more together and then go from there. For instance, even if you went with a maroon brocade fabric (think LB's Monte Carlo Theater), it would tie it together better. That, and changing that yellow/tan color and typeface.

I'm not sure about the marquee on this page being right under the main logo; maybe it just needs to be smaller so the two don't compete with each other.

If you haven't looked at Drew Heyen's (aka JackScratch) page, take a peek at it. It's themed too, and it's pretty consistent throughout.

Keep us posted!

I agree with some of the above mentioned inconsistencies. I've got a great idea, though. Either would work equally well.

First is the cheaper way, run your photos through Photoshop and give 'em a sepiatone feel. Add some scratches and voila! I've attached a sample.

Second, and I think better, would be to hire an artist to re-draw the photos as sketches. I'd stay away from Photoshop for this because even though it can do a cheap "sketch" it looks cheap and you seem to be looking to more "high-end" and "high-class." Spend the cash.

Class cannot be faked.

Good luck!

Scott

P.S.
I don't know if it was just me, but your second photo (the one with several white balls and a larger blue one, with your hands outstretched) reminds me too much of the Clinton Esquire photo. Proportions are wrong due to photographer using a short focal length.

Click here to view attached image.

Nice page. Why not give it a title? It just says "Untitled page" when you look at that line on top of the screen where you normally see the name of the program.

Edith

Thanks Edith. Naming the pages was one of those small things I totally overlooked That's my first project tonight.

Thanks,
Richard

Thanks George. With your background in set design, I value your opinion very highly. As an experiment, I changed the background on the home page. Is it more what you were thinking?

Thanks,
Richard
http://www.smallmiraclesentertainment.com

I think that ties it all together in a stronger way, because now we're pulled into the content instead of out into the border. I may have just changed the color on the original wallpaper, but that's just me being picky.

You're getting there! Looking good.

Hey everyone,

I made a lot of progress on the site and am pretty happy with the look (though there is still some tweaking to do). Now it is time to start looking at the actual content.

I realize I am probably opening a big can of worms with my next question, but hey, here it goes:

Check out the SHOWS section of the sight. I have written the copy and done most of the design and layout. You will notice I offer a number of specific shows in addition to general strolling and custom work. I feel the important selling points on these specific shows are theme, timing and cost. I have no problem talking about the theme and timing of the show, but what are opinions on quoting a price for each upfront? I have very mixed feelings on this, so I would love to hear what you think.

Thanks,
Richard

http://www.smallmiraclesentertainment.com

Looks really good thus far..... cheers chris

Why?



Why?

Richard, I really like the site. A few suggestions if I may:

Edith's suggestion is important. Give each page a title that the browser can read. At the moment each page says 'Untitled Page' right at the top of the browser. Your site will look better in search engine listings with titled pages. Also, add keywords to the HTML for those search engines that still value keywords. I agree with the earlier suggestion to change 'Family Entertainment' to a different colour so it stands out. Finally, under each testimonial quote I might suggest adding the name of the individual or venue that gave the testimonial.