phypon Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Looks very functional, and I'm sure you put a good amount of work into it, but I think it looks like that typical crappy local news website. You know, the one in everyone's home town. It just doesn't seem to have a "fan site" feel to it. Hard to explain the last part, but definitely reminds me of the local news type site. I don't like the font for "Two Bills Drive". Other fonts look okay though. Perhaps the way the colors are presented is what makes me say what I say? Not sure. Not sure if you have the time, but you should try experimenting with a couple of different designs if you are going to change it. I actually like the regular design. You should make an option available to let people use the old design or the new design and see which one gets more hits over time. That will tell you if the new design is effective, maybe. I don't mean to sound harsh, but that's just a few quick things I see from the .png.
Beerstm Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 It looks great. I also want to say thank you for all the work you and others do to keep this site up. I have been a member on and off since 96' and have enjoyed getting by Bills news and discussion from this site. It is the best one I have seen! Keep up the good work. You represent the Bills well. I really appreciate it!
KnightRider Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Is there a widget out there to rate the links if you are logged in on this side? I am thinking of the amazon type thing where XX number thought this review was useful.... That would be a little innovative, and would help to id which articles to read if you don't have time to read them all. That way the better articles would get more traffic. For example, I haven't read a Jerry Sullivan article in a very long time. However, he gets credit for the hit because I am not sure which Monday morning link is his from TBD. Chuck Pollock is probably my favorite writer covering the Bills, but unless you read TSW (i.e. most of the people the go to TBD), you might not know the Olean paper has a better sports page than the News. Personally, I have never used the search on TBD, so maybe I don't have the right perspective. But, why not drop the search into the red menu area?
krazykat Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Just an FYI for those who are interested in such things. Looks pretty cool! Nice job!
Lori Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Is there a widget out there to rate the links if you are logged in on this side? I am thinking of the amazon type thing where XX number thought this review was useful.... That would be a little innovative, and would help to id which articles to read if you don't have time to read them all. That way the better articles would get more traffic. For example, I haven't read a Jerry Sullivan article in a very long time. However, he gets credit for the hit because I am not sure which Monday morning link is his from TBD. Chuck Pollock is probably my favorite writer covering the Bills, but unless you read TSW (i.e. most of the people the go to TBD), you might not know the Olean paper has a better sports page than the News. Personally, I have never used the search on TBD, so maybe I don't have the right perspective. But, why not drop the search into the red menu area? Interesting idea. (And I'm all for sending more traffic toward Pollock's stories, of course ... )
Lv-Bills Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Looks good scott, but i have 2 comments 1. Get Poz off the banner. He's been hurt once, we dont need to jinx him even more. 2. I like the "Bills news" redesign, but you forgot one important thing. realfootball365 is not news, and doesnt belong up there with Buff news and espn articles. 365 qualifies as "news" in the same way that the sh-- i took yesterday qualifies as "food" I second this. I still maintain, sometime from that site is related to someone here.
Just Jack Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Ur so dreamy, Scott. It's gonna take more than that to have your picture in the banner. Remember the two Hooters waitresses that used to be up there?
KnightRider Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 It's gonna take more than that to have your picture in the banner. Remember the two Hooters waitresses that used to be up there? Maybe if she had a Panda...
Dan Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Very nice, indeed. Although it seems you could have saved yourself alot of time and maintained the old design, just add a hot blonde to the banner. People would still love it. I definitely like the simple yet tasteful design (FWIW). Clean, functional, and easy to navigate to the information you want are the most important features of websites and are often the first ones overlooked when people redesign. So, excellent job. But, of course, a few suggestions/thoughts seem appropriate: I assume the Email link, Bills History, Russert Charity, and other such items are on the bottom of the page? You seem to have plenty of room on the top menu. Maybe adding a few of the "Team Reports"; "Local Media"; and "BuffaloBills.com" links could fit in just prior to the "About Us" and not alter the design too much. I agree with the one poster, the font for 'Two Bills Drive' in the banner could be jazzed up. Not sure it's that big of a deal, not what font, but it seems like it could use some thought. What about '2 Bills Drive' just to be different? I agree with the comments on the image in the banner. Please lets not jinx any players. Based on the board opinions, I'd rotate hot blondes up there. But a good montage with players, Buffalo skyline, the Stadium, etc. would look pretty good. Does the youtube video take you to you tube or play within the page? If it plays within the page, I'd consider a few more vidoe links underneath it. Maybe a link to the BB.com video page or NFL.com video page? Awesome addition by the way! Finally, rather than the gray striped page background, have you tried a solid color? Maybe the throwback blue? I'm not sure if that would clash with the other colors or just be ugly. But just a thought. Overall, I gotta say I love the new design. You maintained all the functionality while cleaning up the existing design. It's a great step forward! I've been looking at it off and on since you put it up and the current design is looking more and more dated with each glance.
SDS Posted July 26, 2008 Author Posted July 26, 2008 I'm getting a lot of good feedback with the snap shot, although some comments I think are off the mark simply because you are looking at a picture and not the real site. I might as well show you the development site and let you see the full functional entity, so more precise feedback can be given. http://www.twobillsdrive.com/ee/ Most of the navigation links are inactive as the inner pages are not yet developed, and even the navigation headings/subheadings, etc... might change. So, just keep in mind that there is a lot of work to be done.
BillnutinHouston Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 Took a look and it's very cool. Nice upgrades. I do not understand how some sit back and come up with laundry lists of criticism, but I will share one personal comment - I NEVER come to TBD to look at Sabres news. That to me is wasted space. Thanks for the overall great job!
boomerjamhead Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 I'm getting a lot of good feedback with the snap shot, although some comments I think are off the mark simply because you are looking at a picture and not the real site. I might as well show you the development site and let you see the full functional entity, so more precise feedback can be given. http://www.twobillsdrive.com/ee/ Most of the navigation links are inactive as the inner pages are not yet developed, and even the navigation headings/subheadings, etc... might change. So, just keep in mind that there is a lot of work to be done. I take it there are no issues using the iCal icon? Site looks great, nice job man.
SDS Posted July 26, 2008 Author Posted July 26, 2008 Took a look and it's very cool. Nice upgrades. I do not understand how some sit back and come up with laundry lists of criticism, but I will share one personal comment - I NEVER come to TBD to look at Sabres news. That to me is wasted space. Thanks for the overall great job! constructive criticism is good and is exactly what I'm looking for. Designing can become very myopic because you tend to design to your tastes/needs/work flow. Having others chime in is always helpful.
Golden Wheels Posted July 26, 2008 Posted July 26, 2008 And I, for one, can't get enough Sabres news. I like the new look!
KRC Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 I'm getting a lot of good feedback with the snap shot, although some comments I think are off the mark simply because you are looking at a picture and not the real site. I might as well show you the development site and let you see the full functional entity, so more precise feedback can be given. http://www.twobillsdrive.com/ee/ Most of the navigation links are inactive as the inner pages are not yet developed, and even the navigation headings/subheadings, etc... might change. So, just keep in mind that there is a lot of work to be done. Overall, I would say "Well Done!" A few comments: -Are you going to have a history section? -I agree with the comments about getting Poz off the banner. It might be best to put retired players up there. How about just HOFers? I will leave it up to you as to whether OJ goes on the banner. Other than that, it looks relatively clean. The ads detract from that clean look, but there is not much that can be done about it. Ads are necessary and they are designed by the advertiser. I think you did your best to incorporate them is such a way to please the advertiser, but to minimize the impact on the visitor.
Amstel Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 For one, it looks great but how could I not like the design of the true bills fan website and to boot it's a free site!
Taro T Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 Scott, It looks very good. Is there a way to let someone skip to a particular date / article for the archived news items? Having them going back to 1999 is pretty cool, being able to look at something from 2003 without scrolling through 1000 pages would be even cooler.
Charles Romes Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 No way should Poz be the feautured guy. He's only played 2 games. Edwards before Poz. Lynch? Not with the recent incident. If its going to be a current player, Evans would be a good choice, but is probably gone after this year. My vote would be Peters if he signs and then Mcgee. Solid vet CB, great special teamer, which is what the current team is noted for.
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