VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rognog · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 3:47 pm Post subject: Overhauled Website!

Hey Guys!

My Yahoo web hosting service got upgraded today. I spent a good chunk of time turning my website from the lamest P.O.S. on the net to something marginally less poopy:

www.tomdheere.com

I haven't set up all of the links yet but I will soon. As always, your input is greatly appreciated!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

richvoice · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:32 pm Post subject:

Hi Tom,

Most importantly, I still didn't know your name after visiting your home page (I didn't realize that the URL is your name). Your name is nowhere to be found on the main page; I had to click through to the "Testimonials" page and read the first blurb before I understood the URL.

This may not be a problem if all of the people that you send to your site already know you. But it strikes me as a bad choice.

Cheers,
Rich

Rognog · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:42 pm Post subject:

Well, duh! I was so caught up in putting it together that I forgot to put in my own darn name. thanks, Rich!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject:

Can't say I'm a huge fan, Tom, sorry. It doesn't look professional, it looks like you did it yourself, which I assume you did. You're a pro voice talent, you need a pro website. Ya know how we say that business owners shouldn't try to do their own voice-overs because it isn't professional sounding? Same thing here.

Specifically:

1) The homepage has way too much stuff. I don't care if you are "dedicated to making my vision a reality". I don't even know what that means. I care about hearing your demos and seeing if you're right for my project. Make the demos the focal point of the website.
2) Same for describing your voice as "energetic" or "young". If I've got your demos, I can hear that for myself. Besides, what if that's not what I'm looking for? I may be turned away immediately without hearing your true range.
3) I don't understand that picture associated with your logo at the top. Is that a concert crowd? Dead people moving into the light? I'm not sure what I'm looking at or how it gives me an association between you and what I need to hire you for.
4) Your samples page has a bunch of samples of.... nothing! Amazing Grace, OK. Logitech, OK. But what's with the picture of the woman talking into a mic? And according to my library, someone else narrated the unabridged version of "Evolution, me and Other Freaks of Nature". Did you do the abridged or something? The point is these samples tell me nothing about you or why I should hire you.
5) I like your testimonials page and the references will give more weight if you tell me who some of these people are. I know who Kara Edwards and Ralph Hass are, but not everyone does. Tell me who they are and why their opinion of you is important.
6) Contact Us? Is there more than one of you?
7) Lose the "coming soon" in your newsletter page. Nothing screams AMATEUR more than having a section with nothing in it. If you don't have anything, don't put up the section.
8) Web Hosting by Yahoo. Is this necessary to advertise?

I hope you're not put off by any of my comments. I absolutely want to support you in your marketing efforts, and I think you can make a stronger display of your brand.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

Rognog · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:03 pm Post subject:

No worries, Jeff! This is version 1.0 so I know it needs some tweaking.

I checked out a bunch of our peers' sites and yours is one of the most Spartan so I understand why you feel the main page is too busy. Many of them have a mini-bio describing their strengths so that's what I was shooting for.

You're right in that the description of my voice may be limiting so I deleted that.

The crowd image is part of the template I chose. I'll look at the others to see if there is a more appropriate one.

Like I said in my original post, I didn't put in all of the links yet and there will be a sample linked to each image. As to "Evolution", I narrated the promo which is why that's in the "Commercials/Promos/PSA's" section.

I will flesh out the references some more.

I changed the "Contact Us" from plural to singular. Good eye!

I really will have the newsletter soon, I promise!

I deleted the "Web Hosting by Yahoo".

I'm flattered that you took the time to give me some thoughtful feedback in such a short period of time. How could I possibly be put off by such a generous act? Thanks, Jeff!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

Rognog · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject:

OKAY, here's what I did:

I cleaned up the main page so it's a bit less busy.

I picked a new page design.

I put in all of the links. Some of them will say the site is undergoing maintenance but that's because Yahoo is still finishing up the conversion to the new service.

I fleshed out the references and organized them so the producers & directors are on top.

Now I'm going to bed. Thanks again for your input, Jeff!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:23 pm Post subject:

Getting better, Tom. Can I suggest you not use so much centering? It seems that everything is smack in the middle. Look what it's doing to your demo section. The word "Demos" isn't aligned with the bullet points below it and the bullet points are kind of scattered. I'd align the bullets in a neater column. If you're using really basic HTML as opposed to CSS, then nested tables are your friend.

Also I'd lose the upper right corner where your phone and email are. It's causing your name and logo to be shifted to the left. And you've got the info up there already.

Alright, enough from me. I've beaten it up enough. Smile

_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

Bailey · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 9:52 pm Post subject:

Tom... I wouldn't even attempt to criticize your website (because my knowledge of site building could be written on the head of a pin)... but just an observation:
When I pull your website up, I see it all... except everything below actors access.
Is scrolling acceptable?
Lips Are Sealed

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"Bailey"
a.k.a. Jim Sutton
Retired... Every day is Saturday, except Sunday.
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Rognog · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 6:38 am Post subject:

Thanks for the input, Bailey! I did consolidate the content of the main page to minimize scrolling.

I just finished all of the links so I think it's in pretty good shape. I still need to put up the newsletter but I'll get to that as soon as I can.

Thanks for your help, guys!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

voiceofmichael · Guest

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the backlink to my blog from yours. Very much appreciated.

Just a few tips on the site. It's getting better, but still has some improvements to be made.

I agree with Jeff on all of his points.

The demos should be the main focus of the page and that means that you should be able to play them on the main page. The way I do this on my site (for the purpose of saving bandwidth and load times) is have a profile on voice123. When you post your demos on your profile there's a link that allows you to put your profile demos on your own webpage and even select the size and style of the audio player. You're limited to 10 with a free profile, but if you're a subscriber, you have a lot more space to play around with.

In my opinion, the things you currently have in the middle of the page should be in your navigational bar (ie Resume, Blog, and the things below it). This will free up room for a logo.

Do you have a logo? If not, you should have someone design one for you. A professional logo presents a professional image. You've got some great, professional-level clients on your resume, but that's not going to be interesting to clients if you don't have a professional image to go along with it. The logo should look great and be in a prominent position on your page (where "Tom Dheere Rognog Productions...Where Voices Carry!" is now) or in the center. You could have your email and phone number put on the logo so you don't have as much stuff at the top of your page.

If you want to put your logo in the center, you could get rid of the left hand nav-bar (for now) and put the demos around or beneath your logo image. Or, if you decide to put the logo at the top of the page, you should have the demos smack-dab in the center.

I would also make the bio blurb at the top of the page shorter and in smaller font.

Hope it doesn't seem like I'm being too picky, I just want to help you out. I've got an eye for these design things, so I figure why not help out if I can.

Good luck!

Rognog · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:28 am Post subject:

Hey Michael,

Thanks for all your input. I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to help me put my best foot forward!

I tried adding the V123 player to my site. Unfortunately, it does not accept HTML because I used Site Solution to build it. I wish I had the time & interest to learn HTML but I don't right now.

As to a logo, I would love to have one. I'll see if I can fit it into next year's budget.

As to the bio blurb, I've noticed that the vast majority of our peers have one front & center and some are pretty extensive. I'm not sure what would be best.

Thanks again, Michael!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

louzucaro · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:58 am Post subject:

Hey Tom,

Are you able to control how your links work? You really should try to get any links that open to other sites to open in a new window, so that you're not taking people away from your site.

Lou
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

Rognog · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:36 pm Post subject:

I did manage to set up a subdomain on my website that is HTML editable. So I dumped the V123 demo code in there and set up links to them on the main page of my site. The players don't show up on the main page but they do when you click on the links. I know it's not ideal but it's better than it was before.

Does anyone know of a good, low-cost graphic designer that could help me with a logo? I'd like to collect some quotes.

Once again, thanks again for all of your help and understanding!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com

donrandall · Guest

Rognog · Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Don!
_________________
Tom Dheere - The "H" is Silent, but I'm Not!
www.tomdheere.com