Thread: My turn! Website review (specific page in particular)

okay- I'm in the middle of working with my favorite web-guy to update the site, & I've got one page that just has me befuddled. The Hire a Dancer page needs help. I had everything listed out- type of shows then specialties, but thought it would look better in columns for that section- but it doesn't. I don't like it either way- the first one was very long, the second looks cramped. do I just need to ax something? I still want to communicate that I do have specialties & am willing to work with folks to customize the performance, but should I grossly simplify? Please help!

The one other major change I am on the fence about is the list of special topics on the class page- right now I offer them as both ongoing classes, as well as workshops in an abbreviated form- since it helps folks know what they can expect in my advanced class, I like it there, but I would like to branch out & do some regional workshops, so do I need a separate workshops page? I don't know if that would be too many menu tabs? Hmmm.

Other suggestions on the website are more than welcome as well- as long as you know I am still working on getting some better quality pictures (breastfeeding boobs need to shrink so I can fit new costumes better!) and we are already getting rid of about half the paypal buttons on the class page & repositioning the ones that are left, and we are changing the menu tabs to a simpler font- anything else?

I'm looking at your site in Firefox right now and the pictures and text take up only one half of the screen, smooshing the rest into narrow columns.

First paragraph .. Do you really need this? Maybe integrate the info into Specialities (if not already there.)

Does anyone really care about the description of the 5-part routine?

Ixnay on the long descriptions of why some charges are extra. 'Mileage, and holiday rates quoted as required.' Put the clause about the delay into the contract.

Boiling your list of specialities down to a list that is easy to read:

- American Cabaret
- Turkish Oriental
- Egyptian Oriental
- Turkish Romani
- World Fusion Skirt Dance
- Modern/jazz fusion
- Folkloric (Egyptian, Lebanese, Tunisian)
- Props ( Veil, sword, cane, Shamadan, tea tray, basket dance, tambourine, and double veil)

However, both your descriptions and my list make the customer work too much. Why WOULD they want you to come do American Cabaret? Help them out. Maybe something like:
-American Cabaret, a theatrical crowd pleaser
would work better.
or
Turkish Oriental: Flashing skirts, clashing zills, a lively happy celebration!
You get my point.

There are lots of what I consider to be 'extra words' but this will do for a start.

Aren't you glad I'm on bhuz :P

Originally Posted by Lara L

okay- I'm in the middle of working with my favorite web-guy to update the site, & I've got one page that just has me befuddled. The Hire a Dancer page needs help. I had everything listed out- type of shows then specialties, but thought it would look better in columns for that section- but it doesn't. I don't like it either way- the first one was very long, the second looks cramped. do I just need to ax something? I still want to communicate that I do have specialties & am willing to work with folks to customize the performance, but should I grossly simplify? Please help!

I don't especially like the idea of navigating back and forth between separate pages, so I think you are stuck with one long page. What if you broke your information down into three sections: Performance Options, Specialties, and Policies, and hyperlinked the three of them at the top of the page with a bulleted list (under the existing first paragraph with a line of two of introduction)? That way when a potential customer came to the page, he or she wouldn't be overwhelmed with a lot of text right off the bat. You would either click into or scroll down to read three manageable-sized sections. The two-column style is hard to read and discouraging to look at.

and we are changing the menu tabs to a simpler font- anything else?

The current menu font looks blurry on my monitor (IE8 at 100%), and I don't really care for the style. It feels kind of halfway between Celtic and Middle Eastern to me, and the first two items look like "nome" and "nire a dancer." I don't mind the font you are using for your text, but I think it would be easier to read if you increased your line spacing by a point or two. (Especially on the two-column stuff, the ascenders and descenders are almost touching.)

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

The current menu font looks blurry on my monitor (IE8 at 100%), and I don't really care for the style. It feels kind of halfway between Celtic and Middle Eastern to me, and the first two items look like "nome" and "nire a dancer." I don't mind the font you are using for your text, but I think it would be easier to read if you increased your line spacing by a point or two. (Especially on the two-column stuff, the ascenders and descenders are almost touching.)

Yeah, this is the font we are moving *away* from- should be fixed later today
& the width thing was bugging me too, but I thought it was just me...

Thank you both for the input- Maura I am ALWAYS glad you are here- what would I do without you?

I agree with Maurazebra. The GP doesn't know the difference between Turkish and Egyptian dance and most don't care. Let them know how the stylistic differences can benefit them. Keep it simple.

Perhaps something like:

Lara's primary style is American Cabaret - a theatrical, eclectic mix, influenced by Turkish, Lebanese and Egyptian dance. This style often includes a veil dance, floorwork, zills and a sword dance.

Other dances she can present include:

Egyptian Oriental - a classic, elegant styling which can include an exciting cane dance.

Turkish Oriental - Flashing skirts, clashing zills, a lively happy celebration!

Turkish Rom - "gypsy" style with short description

Folkloric dances from Egypt and Northern Africa

Contemporary fusion stylings including skirt dance and modern/ jazz fusion.

Unless you have a lot of Lebanese folks in your area, you might drop the Lebanese style from your "hire a dancer" list. Dancers care about the difference between Lebanese and Turkish style dance, the GP for the most part starts snoring as soon as you mention things like that.

That still leaves six different styles for them to look at. Too many choices will just confuse people. Make it easy for them to get what they want - a little extra fun at their event.