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View Full Version : Could use some help on a website



boogle
10-04-2010, 10:28 PM
I am opening up an organization teaching kids music. I was doing this through another organization for about 4 years, left, and am now starting my own. The site is no done, and I know some links do not work yet, but in terms of readability, flow, and design, I would love some feedback. This website is pretty important to me so shred away if you see things that are bad.

Thanks!

boroproductions.com/rockschool (http://www.boroproductions.com/rockschool)

KristineS
10-05-2010, 08:40 AM
I like it. Nice design. The only thing I would say is missing, and maybe that's because you're still working on it, is more about who will be teaching. I'd want to know who the teachers were and how they were qualified before signing up, and I'm sure most parents would want to know that before signing up their kids.

Gail O
10-05-2010, 10:02 AM
I too like the design and I too would like to know something about the instructors. I would also like to know about what age of kids are targeted here. Elementary, high school. Are parents expected to stay with their kids?

vangogh
10-05-2010, 11:58 PM
I also like the design. My first thought though is why so little color. I think given the subject (music) and the audience (kids) more color would work well. The layout is good and I do like the background design. I would like to see more color.

On the home page in the Take Action section every bit of content starts with At Murfreesboro Rock School. It's too much. No need to mention your name so many times. In the content that shows by default it's ok. After that it's too much. I'd also place some content that really sums up and explains what the site and school are about in a sentence or two somewhere near the top and highly visible. Assume I've just landed on your site with no idea about who you are or what you do. Tell me quickly in a few words. You have to let me know I'm in the right place as soon as possible so I'll stick around and read more.

All the content could be fleshed out more, though I'm guessing that's coming and is a result of the site still being a work in progress.

How about some music? I'm not suggesting having music play by default, but why not options to play music. You probably don't have this yet, but once the school is more active maybe featuring a different band each month or even week. I can even see recording some performances and having concerts shown on the site. Seems like the kind of thing kids would get really excited about and tell their friends how their band will be on the site.

It looks like you'll have to types of kids joining. Those that already play and are looking for a band and those that are looking to learn. I'd make it obvious either group is welcome as soon as possible.

I'm not sure I'd ask for donations on the home page. It's too soon. People won't yet be sold on the idea and seeing all the donate requests might put them off a bit at first. I would think you'd be better able to collect donations at the school itself. Make the site more for the kids with information readily available for the parents. My guess is the kids will be discovering the site first and then recruiting their parents. Build the site mostly for the kids and get them excited about the idea. If you make something visible, a big button, that says For Parents" or similar the parents will easily be able to find the information they want.

In time you could even have a backend parents could log into to see the progress their children are making. The kids could have their own profiles as well. I would think the site lends itself very well to social profiles and connecting students.

Overall I think you're off to a good start.

boogle
10-07-2010, 10:28 AM
Thank you for taking the time to offer such in depth feedback. I have worked on the homepage, taking into consideration having a better description of what we do right on the homepage, you can see that under the heading "helping kids, one power chord at a time". I also worked on the tabs so they do not all say "at murfreesboro rock school". I took the donate tab out, but I left the button. We send people to our website who want to donate online, I agree it is too early to try and push a donation, but if someone is there to make one it is important that we make it easy for them. If you think it should just be on the menu on the homepage and ditch the button in the bottom right let me know, I am certainly still open to the idea.

As soon as we get up and running I plan on adding more video with audio for people to see, def. needs to be there, I just need to get it first. I like the interactive idea for parents to see their child's progress, I am not fully sure how we would integrate that yet, but it is simple and could be a lot of fun for the parents and kids.

My staff and I have had a lot of conversations about the color. I do not generally like too much color on a webpage, I want to keep the focus on the text and menu. I feel like splashing more color into the background, or adding an additional accent in the design would only cause more distraction. I also feel like it really draws you into the pictures who will do a lot more to create an emotional response than a background will. I am no pro at this and open to a more in depth conversation, but I really like color to b/w balance right now.

Thanks again, means a lot to have a good set of eyes on this.

vangogh
10-12-2010, 11:44 AM
helping kids, one power chord at a time

That's a great line. It's fun and I think it really expresses what your business is about.

The content in the tabbed are is definitely reading better now. I think it's fine to ask for donations on the site. I would just be careful not to push it too much too early. For example you mention that you send people to the site for the purpose of making a donation. In that case I'd suggest it would be better to have a single dedicated page you send them to. That page could explain why you ask for a need to donations and where the money goes. You could do a lot to help persuade someone to make a donation. Then I would direct links and buttons on the site to that page.

The thing about it being on the home age is it takes away from your message. Are you really helping kids or are you just wanting me to send you money. Think about the person who's new to your site. I found you via a link somewhere else or through a search engine. I know very little about you and what you do. I'm not about to donate anything at that moment. You can put all the links and buttons you want and I'm still not going to until I know more about you. However all the requests for a donation are sending a message to me right away telling me your site is about asking me for money. I may not stick around as long as I would otherwise to find out enough about you to make me want to donate.

Again nothing wrong with asking for donations and even having a link or button on the home page. It's just that if you make that the primary call to action on the home page it's not likely to work since it's too soon for me to think about a donation. Anyone you're sending directly to the site you could easily send to a deeper page.

dojo
11-13-2010, 12:50 PM
Never been a fan of such extreme contrasts (black/white), but you made it work. I love the site ;)