i'd like some feedback! (BandPortal.tk)

They have: 9 posts

Joined: Jun 2008

Hey, just created this site a while ago! Let me know what you think:

www.bandportal.tk

The site was created completely free thus does have some ads provided by dot.tk the site is a portal for musicians with links relating to guitar, drums, keyboard and singer!

Sam

greg's picture

He has: 1,581 posts

Joined: Nov 2005

Well, for a first website it's ok. If you are just learning about making websites then you have made a start in the world of webmastery Smiling

But, the honest review follows...

It's not much to look at.
All you have is a few textual links and a purple background.
I don't like the two google ads you have at the top. As they both look identical and one is directly on top of the other, it's a bit intrusive and untidy.

When I click a link and goto the wiki or another page, the whole site suddenly changes, as if I went to another website.
Wait, that's because I am being shown another website's pages and content.

Even if you have permission to use other site's content like the BBC (which I would doubt you do) what advantage do I have coming to your site?
The websites you link to are not very helpful either. When I click "How to sing" the first thing I read is "Find a vocal coach". That wasn't really helpful, was it?

I could find all that from Google.
Perhaps you should think about researching your own content for your own site.

If you do this, then you should also decide on a theme, colours etc and try to maintain it throughout your entire site.

Basically all you have is a few text links to other websites. And that is probably why you aren't getting much feedback from other members here.

If you are into music and play an instrument such as the guitar, then having a drive to write your own articles about how to play, how to read tabs etc should be enjoyable.
Even if you don't play an instrument, you should have a love for music and want to write articles about how to play one, how to read music and tabs etc.

Also, you should read a few tutorials on CSS. Using   like you have is a bad, very bad, habit to get into.
The very least you could do with your links is put them in a table, but CSS would be better.
Here are some good tutorial sites for beginners

www.tizag.com
www.w3schools.com

JohnnyD's picture

They have: 44 posts

Joined: Jun 2008

I tried a few times to access the site to give a critique, mainly because I wanted to see what greg was referring to. Unfortunately, I couldn't even do that. The page wouldn't load. That in itself is a negative mark in my books. Unless of course you've taken it down to re-design since greg's critique? I'm not sure. But I really would like to see what you designed to hopefully give you an honest critique.

I am currently re-designing mine because of a few helpful hints I received from some members of this forum. But I'm keeping my 'old one' active until I upload the changes and such.

They have: 9 posts

Joined: Jun 2008

Hi, thanks a lot for the feedback I appreciate it alot, I'm looking at the css tutorial link you sent me. Which also has loads of other information regarding site design. Can I ask what advantage there is in using tables? The dot.tk forwarding seems to suffer some downtime. Should be working fine now.

Many thanks,

Sam

greg's picture

He has: 1,581 posts

Joined: Nov 2005

Tables...

Some people say you shouldn't use them and use CSS instead, some say it's fine.

As long as you use them in the correct places, I.E. don't have your whole site layout with one big tabe, then a table to house a specific group of data is ok.

Your site would be better using CSS to be honest. A table would work, but I say use CSS as you only have a small amount of content.

You want to be looking at using divs and some margins and a bit of float.

Have a read of these:
http://www.apaddedcell.com/what-div
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/stylesheets/csslayout.html

They have: 9 posts

Joined: Jun 2008

Incorrect link please ignore

They have: 1 posts

Joined: Dec 2008

Honestly the homepage was boring-I was thinking music...this should be fun and upbeat. Maybe even a little edgy.
Once I clicked n a specific topic (how to read drum music) the site wasn’t so bad. It was easy to navigate around in and informative. It loaded fast too.
The customer testimonials for the training system with actual videos was good.

They have: 15 posts

Joined: Nov 2008

the top ads are from .tk which they put so u can use their domain names

They have: 1 posts

Joined: Dec 2008

Add some relative pictures to the website might help.

They have: 5 posts

Joined: Dec 2008

The index page does not appeal to me much. I think you need a proper header instead of Google Ads which identifies what you sites is about. A proper menu above Google ad, be it side bar or top menu will also help your visitors understand what they will get in your site.

________________________________________
Mining is What I Do
I Offer Mine Jobs
________________________________________

They have: 6 posts

Joined: Apr 2009

This site is good. I think it would be better if you redesign your home page so it looks attractive and keeps the user interested. Maybe have a top navigation menu with drop downs. For each of your menu items have it so once the user hovers over the menu item the other subcategories will show.
For example:

Guitarist

  • How to read music
  • Guitar Tabs
  • Guitar Videos
  • Guitar For beginners
  • How to read Guitar Tabs

Maybe add some text in the body of your home page that describes what your web site is all about.

Brutal's picture

They have: 134 posts

Joined: Feb 2009

404 - File Not Found

The URL you requested cannot be found. The file you were looking for may have been moved, renamed or deleted. You may contact the page owner if you know this is a mistake.

Your site not work today?

greg's picture

He has: 1,581 posts

Joined: Nov 2005

This thread is from July 2008. There are a number of possibilities why the site may no longer be working.

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