Please help, and Review my music site.

[Xaviz]

Hi all, I only recently started designing my web Site and as far as I can now see Its complete. Please, please take a look and let me know what you think. Criticism or compliments all will be taken in good heart, but if you have any ideas for my site or things i should change or get rid of please say so. My site is at http://www.miotal.com

Thanks all

Xaviz

[YvetteKuhns]

The site topic is obviously really interesting. The fonts for the logos are cool. The black background is appropriate, but the site seems so dark and the fonts are so small that I find it difficult to read the gray text, though the white is okay.

The downloads page has links to other sites that do open in a new browser window. The music downloads are found at the mp3 link. They are zipped mp3 files to be downloaded, then played. The zipped files are much smaller to save bandwidth and streaming music as m3u is not an option.

The contact link didn't work. The forum matches the color scheme of the website. I am not a fan of seeing webstats posted or accessible from a website. I saw some things I did not expect on the about page, but I won't discuss it here. Someone else will. ;)

[mrmagill]

Hi all, I only recently started designing my web Site and as far as I can now see Its complete. Please, please take a look and let me know what you think.

Ok, let me first express my initial thought when I arrived at the site: What's a "Miotal?"

Browsing the home page doesn't give much of a clue what a "Miotal" is either. Site name? It kind of looks like it might be a band name or perhaps music review service. That huge empty space on the home page and subpages is a HUGE EMPTY SPACE. Maybe you could fill it up with something? Or reduce the size of the framed empty box?

Maybe its someone like me that Yvette is talking about, but I wonder about the comment about your site having 2 GB of RAID storage, uptime, etc. Such stats might interest a tech person looking for a site host if you had identified whom your site host was.

One thing you might want to consider right away: The top right-hand corner of a website is "prime territory" for a visitor. People in the US are taught to read left to right starting at the top of the page, and that's what we do by habit. You have (no offense) boring site stats there. You might move your much-more-attractive-for-surfers MP3 or Videos box up to that position and place the relatively-minor-interest stats in lower left or lower right corner.

I'm about 50 years old and find the white-on-black text easy to read in your sidebars, but the greyish color of the center column is not as clear to me. I suggest you take it to white also.

Best regards -

[gardensafari]

I hate the music (but you shouldnt worry about that, I like Bach and Norah Jones), but I loved the site. Mark is right about the center part being quite empty, though. And I don't understand why you put the videos in a zip file. The original of the Grave video is 19.7 Mb, the zipped version 19.1 Mb. For a fan that's a tiny difference he'll overcome. I downloaded the file and to my surprise PowWeb gave it to me quite rapidly (I am on cable, but this file is too big for people dialling up anyway), so it took only a short time before I could "enjoy" the concert take out. It was extremely dark there anyway, so I suppose black pixels take up the majority of the 19 Mb's :-))
But overall: it is a good site, exactly matching the music it is serving (and now I am not smiling ironically).

[mrmagill]

And I don't understand why you put the videos in a zip file. The original of the Grave video is 19.7 Mb, the zipped version 19.1 Mb..
I was thinking it was perhaps due to the peculiar ways browsers handle certain files. For example: The sermon files I have on my website are in MP3. When I put them up as MP3, some browsers would try to download them, some would try to open them, and some just choked. However, all of them knew what to do with a .ZIP file. So I zipped them all to make sure all likely browsers would know what to do with them.

[gardensafari]

I understand what you mean. Most modern browsers however will give you a choice between opening or downloading. Now it is true that opening big files often is not a good idea. If the download slows down, so will the play back. And often it will come to a complete stand still. Putting large files into a zip will force visitors to download first. Good thinking, I didn't realize that at first.

Cheers,

Hans

PS: I still don't know what a Miotal is. Kind of ground hog, I presume..... :p

[YvetteKuhns]

I hate the music

My husband didn't like it - he said it is horrible crap! It reminds me of the speed/death metal music I used to hear in the 1980s. Anyone remember Sepultura? Megadeth was more mainstream than that but still in that genre.

I wondered why the files were zipped. As pointed out by gardensafari, it didn't make the file size smaller. Maybe it will protect your music from being searched by mp3 searches that will use bandwidth.

[gardensafari]

My husband didn't like it - he said it is horrible crap!

I don't know about the crappy part. Never got over the horrible bit.

[YvetteKuhns]

That style of music doesn't top my list, either. I used to listen to Black Flag's
"Annihilate" while driving on the highway to college. But it was appropriate as so many tractor trailer trucks would force you to drive over the speed limit as you are boxed in. The old Chevy would shake, pushing her to her limit.

I prefer "feel good" songs to which I can sing along. Maybe those of us over 22 years old don't have so much angst that we don't relate to the songs. Or maybe we just like to express it differently. ;)

[mrmagill]

Hans wrote -
Putting large files into a zip will force visitors to download first. Good thinking, I didn't realize that at first.


... and there was the problem for me. See, I came from many years of dial-up. It always annoyed the bejabbers out of me when I'd click on a link and the browser would try to open a file and hang. Many of my site visitors from less-developed countries tell (what we in the U.S. would consider) horror stories of how difficult it is to connect and stay connected to the Internet. That's why all of my files are small. Also, if a person is downloading a file, download managers can allow them to resume the transfer at a later period if the connection breaks, whereas if the connection breaks during an "open" it has to start all over again.

I think his decision to zip the files, even though the space gain is negligible, is also valid for this reason. Also, it takes guts to say "Pick my site apart." and this is the sure sign he'll do fine overall.

[Xaviz]

Thanks for the comments, firstly ill tell you what Miotal is, it means Metal in Irish. As I am Irish, and the entire web site is based on Metal Gigs that take place in Dublin. I had to put all the files as Zip files because most Irish people are so stupid they never think of Save Target As... So as far as I can tell I dont have much to do, just lose the stats, fill up the Empty Space which will be filled up with Future gigs eventually when they happen. Ill consider changing the grey text but im not sure about that, as it will make it harder to distinguish a link. As for the E-mail and contact I dont know why they are not working?

[gardensafari]

When I click on contact, my mail program (ThunderBird) opens immediately and the email address apparently is info@miotal dot com, so nothing wrong there! Glad to know what miotal is. And the 'save as' option is a mystery to many surfers, certainly not the Irish alone. I personally know of a blond not knowing it exists :D

[YvetteKuhns]

firstly ill tell you what Miotal is, it means Metal in Irish

I am not Irish, but I knew that, because I do listen to some metal rock.

I had to put all the files as Zip files because most Irish people are so stupid they never think of Save Target As

There are so many people that don't know how to use the Internet. That is no surprise. Though it was unusual to see the Zip files instead of the direct link, it actually saves your bandwidth and is more practical.

So as far as I can tell I dont have much to do, just lose the stats, fill up the Empty Space which will be filled up with Future gigs eventually when they happen.

Yeah, we don't like seeing stats on websites. You can even put a picture there until you have something else to fill the space.

ll consider changing the grey text but im not sure about that, as it will make it harder to distinguish a link.

You could make the text bolder or larger to make them easier to see.

As for the E-mail and contact I dont know why they are not working?

I noticed that the link isn't working for many sites. I think that Microsoft messed that up for us.

[YvetteKuhns]

Using mailto links on your website is an open invitation to spam. Malicious programs called "email harvesters" search the internet looking for these links. When they find yours, they will add it to a database for spammers. This is why people use a contact form rather than a mailto link wherever possible.

I haven't found proof of it yet, but I believe some change in the standards has rendered the mailto link unusable recently to prevent spam! It is strange that so many sites have a broken mailto link today. Or am I just paranoid?

[Xaviz]

Well thanks to you all for checking out my site, i just e-mailed myself using outlook express and the e-mail address seems fine to me, but thanks for checking it out for me. I dont like using mailto links either but most people wont bother to contact you through form mails because they feel like they wont get a reply, which is why I have a Forum and a Shout box, but I may get rid of that.

Thanks again to everyone.

Xaviz

[YvetteKuhns]

i just e-mailed myself using outlook express and the e-mail address seems fine to me, but thanks for checking it out for me.

We were not questioning your email account, just the link. Go to your website and click the link. I get a "page not found" error with this web address: http://www.hotmail.com/secure/start?action=compose&to=info@miotal.com .

I tested my own site after looking at your code and noticed the same thing. Personally, I copy and paste the email addresses, since I do not use Outlook or Outlook Express and usually send and receive email through my business account with PowWeb. The stupid browser Internet Options > Programs only gives the choices Hotmail or Outlook and I use neither.

I dont like using mailto links either but most people wont bother to contact you through form mails because they feel like they wont get a reply,

I don't always use forms, because they often ask for more info than I care to give upon first contact for some websites.

which is why I have a Forum and a Shout box, but I may get rid of that.

You may want to ask your visitors which they prefer. Your audience may prefer the forum and/or shout box.