Hi Randall

rencal — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 18:20:57 +0000

Because I know your site well (having been a member in the past) I think the advice you are getting here is great. The site is very simple, maybe too simple. Esthetics is everything today.

There is an Open Source Dating Site system called OS Date that you may want to look at for ideas to update the site. It can be found at http://www.tufat.com/script39.htm

It is Free and can give you some ideas on how to update the site and scripting.

Jim

demonhale — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 02:47:11 +0000

My 2 cents coming up:

I like the simplicity of you site, You need to create an identity though, like putting a logo or a banner, and reposition your images to make it work better, I forgot the link to read on at ALA about great designers redesign or something that could help you rethink the positioning of the site.

The main content area could use a little organization since it looks a little too cramped and difficult to read at a skim and scan.

Your color match for the hues on top, and at the left should be taken from the BG image on the main body, your text colors and bg colors on texts should match these too, to make the site stick together...

EGS — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 01:36:05 +0000

joemeca wrote: Bored an i made this for you

That should definately make it better.

joemeca — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 01:11:32 +0000

Bored an i made this for you

Janson0 — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 21:44:21 +0000

I'd say one of the most important things for you to work on is this:

A consistent layout and design throughout the website.

This will no doubt help you seem more professional and will drive up memberships. The layout, as Megan stated, is looking good on the front page, but then it definately goes back a few years when you move past that.

I hope that helps. Send me a message if you want some more indepth looks at the site.

Good luck bro!

Very good info Megan..

intruth — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 01:53:22 +0000

Quote: I think it would be good if you could browse profiles to some extent without being registered. Most sites allow you to do this and I think it's really important.

I think that idea will get you the most sign ups..

My 2 cents is check out the most popular online dating websites like http://match.com I believe they will help set you on your path of change.

The search by zip code is a great feature...Nobody want to set up a date 300 miles away...lol

Randalusa — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 03:19:15 +0000

Excellent feedback, Megan. I appreciate the time spent thinking it through. Some great suggestions. I am unsure what you mean by templates. The rest is clear enough. And I probably should know what templates mean.

Since the last visit, I have managed to figure out where most of the pages are in the file system, then even commenced making a few background and font color changes, plus other stuff, all fairly easy, though quite visible.

I love the idea of being able to view actual profiles without signing up, along with providing more information.

The photos are definitely on my list for disposal. Too pretty, too obviously models, or, as you say, stock.

Oh, I'm not sure what you mean about font size in content area.

As for cost, there is nothing hidden, completely free. Still, one of my pet peeves is not to be told right up front what the thing charges. Even being free, that information is not available on my tour or front page, leading me to ironically (if there for the first time) become frustrated at what is generally people trying to hide the cost, in this instance an unexpected free site.

Yes, it does appear very 1997. Fortunately, that part isn't unbearably difficult to rectify. Updating features is another matter.

Megan — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:20:39 +0000

Hi Randalusa,

Sorry we haven't gotten to reviewing your site yet. It's been a little slow here lately with the holidays and everything.

I can't answer your first question, unfortunately. I'm really not sure what sort of scripts are available for this sort of thing. Here is a hotscripts listing that might be helpful:

http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Match_Making/index.html

Since this is run in PHP Frontpage will not be able to handle it. Dreamweaver might be able to handle some of it though - it depends on what is running the site on the backend. Someone else can hopefully help you with that.

I will give you a little bit of feedback on the design, since that's my area of expertise. The front section looks okay, and compares reasonably well with other sites of this genre. If you had some funds available you could hire a designer to do a better template. The logo isn't great (plain text, really, not a logo), and the stock photos look too "stock". This should be personalized more to brand your site as something unique and special.

One thing you could fix easily is the font size - in the content area it's too small to read comfortably. People shouldn't have to strain to read the content on the site.

Everything in the acutal system really needs a lot of work. The templates look very out of date and plain. This looks like something that was created around 1997. Again, I'm not sure what the system is that is running this but there should be a way to customize templates - if not, a new system may be in order.

The tour basically goes through the system but dosn't say enough about how this all works before you get to the mail point. People will probably be comparing your site with others so they'll want to know how the process works and how it's better than other sites. How do members exchange messages? How much is free? Who pays, and how much? Some sites require a flat membership fee while others have tokens for sale that allow you to send messages.

I think it would be good if you could browse profiles to some extent without being registered. Most sites allow you to do this and I think it's really important. On a site like this you have no clue how many other singles are in the system and what kind of quality there is. You don't know if there might be someone you'd want to meet in here.

Hope that helps,