VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Bailey · Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:28 pm Post subject: That's what friends are for...

... as he ponders in deep thought.

Since retiring last December... Smile

... I have come to the realization that money doesn't grow on trees... Frown

.
My V123 site will run out next month. I know that it will still be there, but it will just be a "holding place". I have had another website... free of course... that I haven't developed too much. I'm sure many of you have heard of Freewebs. So I wanted to run this up the flag pole... and see what happens. I used only the tools that were available through the website... although I think I read somewhere that you can develop it better if you are comfortable with HTML and all that techno stuff I have trouble with. As Frank knows... I do have a domain reserved, but I haven't used it as yet... ( www.jimsvoice.com )
Ok... no more boring jabber...
The cheapest VO site on the NET.
I'm open to all suggestions, opinions, critiques... whatever, about turning this into a silk purse... or a nice wallet... or a change purse...
_________________
"Bailey"
a.k.a. Jim Sutton
Retired... Every day is Saturday, except Sunday.
VO-BB Member #00044 W00T

.gif" alt="W00T" border="0" />
AOVA Graduate 02/2004 ;
"Be a Voice, not an Echo." Ninja

bobsouer · Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:38 pm Post subject:

Jim,

The one thing that jumps out at me, something I would change immediately, is that animated "click here" business. I don't think you want to annoy people when they visit.

Overall, the design is fairly clean. (I'm sure you're familiar with Deirdre's thoughts on microphones in a VO site design.)

When I have a bit more time, I'll write again with more thoughts.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:12 pm Post subject:

I'd lose the following:

1) Counter. Does anyone besides yourself care how many visitors you've had?
2) Google search bar.
3) I'm not sure what maranethe chapel is, but you might want to move it to a links page. Unless you only do VO for Christians, it might be a turn-off for those who aren't.
4) Don't underline anything in your text unless it's a hyperlink. People will try to click on it.

And a curiosity: You have a mic with musical notes. Are you a singer?
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

Yoda117 · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:51 pm Post subject:

The

needs to die.

Likewise the google search and counter, which have already been covered by other posters. Additionally, I'd toss the top banner if you could... it has nothing to do with you and doesn't fit the site in general.

Additionally, the links. I see the usual stuff, but you're missing one that might be of some importance, that being your gear. Tell me just a bit about what you're using, because your demo might be great, but if you're using a $19 logitec headset mic, I'm going to have some issues using you. If you don't have confidence in what you're running to let me know, I'm definitely going to be a bit wary.

Finally, the left side needs work. Match the background of the clipart (BTW do you have something that's more VO since that's what you're trying to sell me.) with the strip that goes down that side. Going from grey to white just kind of takes away from your site. Keep it consistent.
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

Donovan · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:46 pm Post subject:

I agree that some of that stuff should go.. but in his defense, I'm pretty sure that with FREE websites, those banners and search bars are not removable. Having that there allows for the free-ness.

But the crazy "click here now or die" button should be ixnayed.
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Donovan

www.DonovanVO.com

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:54 pm Post subject:

Dave · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:10 pm Post subject:

Yoda117 · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:44 pm Post subject:

Bailey · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:49 pm Post subject:

OK... I've made the changes that were suggested... I think I covered all of them, and I sterilized the site of microphones. I do realize that a "free site" does have its drawbacks... like Ad-zilla. To make myself more legitimate... and right with the world... I'll look into a "paid for" website... as long as I can still use my domain name that I mentioned at the beginning of this thread.

Many thanks for all of the time taken to review and respond... it is greatly appreciated. I'll do a search through the threads for info on price, and where to acquire a "real website".
Smile

_________________
"Bailey"
a.k.a. Jim Sutton
Retired... Every day is Saturday, except Sunday.
VO-BB Member #00044 W00T

.gif" alt="W00T" border="0" />
AOVA Graduate 02/2004 ;
"Be a Voice, not an Echo." Ninja

bobsouer · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:58 pm Post subject:

Jim,

A significant improvement.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

Bailey · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:06 pm Post subject:

Donovan · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:14 pm Post subject:

I use lunarpages.com to host my site and have been really happy with the pricing and service. Just another thing for you to check out.
_________________
Donovan

www.DonovanVO.com

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:28 pm Post subject:

Yoda117 · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:09 pm Post subject:

I'm with the others... much better.

not wild on the generic banner at the top of your page (not to be confused with the advertising), but it's 1000% better than what it was.
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

jrodriguez315 · Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:43 am Post subject:

Have you ever thought about using a pre-designed template? There are even sites that have templates you can use for free. Here is one you might want to browse. At a minimum, you might get some ideas from it.
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Joe Rodriguez, Bilingual Voice Actor | The Voiceover Thespian Blog