is this site rubbish?

[baronmunchowsen]

Hi,

Would appreciate some (constructive?!!) criticism of the following site:

http://www.nottinghamshiretsg.com/

The site's been up for around 6 months now, and there is something about it that I just can't put my finger on. What do you think...?

[creativeinsomnia]

I think the site is just a little on the bland side. It doesnt really utilize flash, once the preloader is gone, you can't tell if its flash or html. Maybe some subtle animation here and there, a soundtrack, introduce some more colors, just something to liven it up. Also, I didnt like the fact that when i clicked on a photo, it opened a new window containing a flash image viewer. I'd suggest overlaying the image viewer on top of the current flash movie, inside that same window...to make it more seamless, thats one of flash's strong points...anyway keep it up, it'll get there.

[mal pacino]

you need some sounds on the buttons. A nice subltle rollover sound and also a nice hit sound.


as creativeinsomnia says, a nice music loop would be good.

I am sure at some point you will do a complete redesign but until the - a few sounds would be nice

good luck - i like the orange by the way

[baronmunchowsen]

I think that's what it is: I've always liked the sceme of the site; the colour and the style, but it's just not 'flashy' enough. It may as well be HTML. I think I'll start a rebuild in a month or so. I have to admit, that since building this site 7 months or so ago, I have become more skilled.

As far as sound loops go, they're one of my pet peeves. I don't know if anyone else listens to music from their PC's while they work, but I do, and sound loops from sites are a major problem. I would always recommend to people that feel the need to include sound loops, or a site 'sound track' to ask themselves:

1. Why does my site need this sound loop playing in the background (n.b. it certainly doesn't increase interactivity)
2. Is the inclusion of this sound loop really worth the increased bandwidth/filesize needed to play it

After asking yourselves this question, and still feeling the need to incoporate a sound loop, I would always default the sound loop to the 'off' position and leave it up to the user to decide whether to turn it on.

Anyways, that's a whole different story... Perhaps we should start a discussion somewhere.

But thanks for the advice. To summerize:
(i) Make more use of Flash
(ii) Add some button effects
(iii) Do not ever include a sound loop (ha ha, just kidding! or am I???)

Peace out

[mal pacino]

i agree with baron about the sound loop in some ways and always always include an off button for the sound loop

An example I made was for an artist. at the bottom is a music player which plays some music if you feel like listening but you actually have to turn it on - so it is not in any way a problem for those of us who listen to our own music whilst browsing

http://www.alanhiggs.com

[creativeinsomnia]

I disagree to some extent about the sound loop. A sound loop is one of those things in flash that is abused, people tend to just throw any old loop in just for the fact of having sound. I think a correctly chosen sound loop can set a mood and feel for your site, while on the other hand, an incorrectly chosen sound loop can instill a sense of amateurism and bad quality. So choose wisely...and if you cant find the perfect one, nor can you make one yourself, then skip it...because it'll just end up hurting the site.