# New site



## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Hi Guys
I wonder if you will be so kind (if you have the time) to take a look at my (prototype) site. It is a work in progress, but I need some feedback to find out if I am on the right track.
Thanking you in advance and looking forwards to your input
The site Here


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## richjohnhughes (Sep 24, 2007)

hi mate - my 2 pence worth.......

the overall layout and colours works well. this might be just me - but i dont really like Flash based websites. you might be surprised how many people dont have flash on there pc - therefore, wont be able to look at your site. 

as it stands - you cant come away from some of the pages once you have finished reading them. 

the round layout of the images is ok, but i think something more simple would be better. checkout "simpleviewer" or the like. 

good luck mate.


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Hi John
Thank you for the input.
Which parts of the site are you having trouble with?
It works fine for me on Firefox and IE. 
The site is being built from scratch to suit my needs, so "simpleviewer" is not going to make it for me. The site is pretty much as it will be in its final form, I will not deviate from the design. 
I need feedback on functionality, is it hard/easy to navigate, is the rotation too fast, How easy (or difficult ) do you find it to click on the thumbnails, do you find the images too big/small in the enlargement page, once there would you find a next/previous buttons useful, are the colours hard on the eyes.. you know that kind of things. As for flash, I use it because it makes it harder for people to nick the images (and the site itself for that matter). ). A light version of the site with minimum functionality and link to adobe flash is provided in those cases were flash is not detected. 
Incidentally Why don't you like Flash websites?


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Maybe it's just the way Flash is working on FF3 under Linux but that homepage is like some sort of game - try to click on a moving thumbnail 

I do like the music though :thumb:



IGADIZ said:


> Why don't you like Flash websites?


Just because Flash is available for your browser/OS combination doesn't mean that everyone wants to install it - like RealPlayer and QuickTime.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, it appears to be a commercial site. Are you targetting commercial customers? If so, then many firms block Flash content, a) because of bandwidth, and b) to stop people wasting the working day browsing YouTube type sites.


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

I didn't particularly like chasing images round in a circle  I also found the images rather small which because they were rotating, made them difficult to see. HTH


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## richjohnhughes (Sep 24, 2007)

IGADIZ said:


> Hi John
> Thank you for the input.
> Which parts of the site are you having trouble with?
> It works fine for me on Firefox and IE.
> ...


in my browser - IE. when you click on one of the links at the top of the page ie, ABOUT. the page pops up and the image at the top covers the links. i cant go back to the home page or any other page for that matter. the links are still there, cos i get the finger (you know what i mean) but you cant see them. even the back button doesnt work. i had to close the window and reopen it to get to the home page.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

spitfire said:


> I didn't particularly like chasing images round in a circle  I also found the images rather small which because they were rotating, made them difficult to see. HTH


The other thing the designer needs to consider is people with mobility issues - Parkinsons and severe arthritis for example - who may find chasing the images difficult or even impossible (and even painful).

Now, if you really want the thumbnails in a circle layout, why not have them static and when you mouseover a thumbnail a larger version appears in the centre of the circle?


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

parish said:


> Maybe it's just the way Flash is working on FF3 under Linux but *that homepage is like some sort of game - try to click on a moving thumbnail *
> 
> I do like the music though :thumb:
> 
> ...


That line had me rolling on the floor. 
It is supposed to work that way, But I too find it somewhat difficult to click on my chosen thumbnail. The final version will have a constant rotation speed ('coz it looks way cool) but I will provide a stop rotation button on the middle of the wheel so that selection is made easier. This, and other cool new functions, I'll be adding over the next month or so, when the site will go live properly.
Yes the great Flash conundrum... I am planning on targeting Commercial people and I am aware of their flash blocking policies. That's why I provide the light, limited functionality none flash version. This part of the site kicks in automatically if no flash is detected.

Thanks for the input Parish I do apreciate it :thumb:


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

IGADIZ said:


> That line had me rolling on the floor.
> It is supposed to work that way, But I too find it somewhat difficult to click on my chosen thumbnail. The final version will have a constant rotation speed *('coz it looks way cool)* but I will provide a stop rotation button on the middle of the wheel so that selection is made easier. This, *and other cool new functions*, I'll be adding over the next month or so, when the site will go live properly.
> Yes the great Flash conundrum... I am planning on targeting Commercial people and I am aware of their flash blocking policies. That's why I provide the light, limited functionality none flash version. This part of the site kicks in automatically if no flash is detected.
> 
> Thanks for the input Parish I do apreciate it :thumb:


Now, if you don't mind me saying, that is part of the problem. *You* think they're cool but surely on a commercial site it's what visitors - i.e. potential customers - think that is important? If it was a personal site then it matters not a jot whether I, or anyone think it's crap (I don't think it's crap BTW) as it would be a personal expression and we're all different.

Just had another play and noticed that when the cursor is at the centre of the circle the images stop rotating and the further from the centre - i.e. the closer to the thumbnails - the faster they rotate. Why not just reverse that so with the cursor at the centre they rotate at maximum speed and the closer to the thumbnails you get the slower? That should be easy to do and would make it so much more usable.


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Hi Parish,
Well, I am going for originality here, I have not seen anything like it anywhere, so that will work on my favour. As with everything we humans do, It is impossible to please everyone. I am going with what I think is cool, if other people finds it cool too then great, if not, there is little I can do about it. I will try to make the site as easy to use as possible (which ultimately, is what customers want)and change its functionality accordingly. But as far as design is concerned, my mind is set on concrete, I will not change that for the world. Having said that, Your idea of reversing the rotation speed interface is very good. I will implement that together with the Stop button in the middle, so that people can stop the rotation altogether, and select the thumbnail they want to enlarge with ease.
Again thank you for your feed back.:thumb:


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

richjohnhughes said:


> in my browser - IE. when you click on one of the links at the top of the page ie, ABOUT. the page pops up and the image at the top covers the links. i cant go back to the home page or any other page for that matter. the links are still there, cos i get the finger (you know what i mean) but you cant see them. even the back button doesnt work. i had to close the window and reopen it to get to the home page.


You must have a 15" monitor then.
I'll try to fix something up, maybe a resize the images according to screen resolution (an awful lot of coding there).
Thank you john I use a 23" monitor so that info is invaluable.


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

spitfire said:


> I didn't particularly like chasing images round in a circle  I also found the images rather small which because they were rotating, made them difficult to see. HTH


Thank you Spitfire.
I am going to provide a stop button in the middle of the wheel, and as parish has suggested, a reversal of the rotation interface (slow out fast in). I will try to implement something for the thumbnails, they are that size to accommodate for small monitors, but parish suggestion of a larger version in the middle is a good Idea worth investigating. (again a lot of coding right there)
Thank you again.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

IGADIZ said:


> But as far as design is concerned, my mind is set on concrete, I will not change that for the world. Having said that, Your idea of reversing the rotation speed interface is very good. I will implement that together with the Stop button in the middle, so that people can stop the rotation altogether, and select the thumbnail they want to enlarge with ease.
> Again thank you for your feed back.:thumb:


Just to clarify, I'm not criticizing the general design concept - I actually quite like that - is more the usability of it :thumb:

Two things to bear in mind.

1) If a potential customer visits your site and doesn't like it (finds it hard to use or whatever) they'll simply go elsewhere and you'll not know about it.

2) There was a study a few years ago looking at browsing habits and one of the big things was usability, for example, they found that for the majority of users, if they couldn't find what they were looking for within 3 or 4 clicks then they'd simply move on to another site.

It's good that you are also having a static non-Flash version but as well as having it auto-detect why not have a button/link to the HTML-only version then people can choose - I often click such a link on Flash sites.

BTW, I've still got your homepage open in a tab so I can listen to the music - what's the track called?


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## joe_0_1 (Apr 7, 2007)

http://www.igdimages.co.uk/#/Gallery/Formula 1/19/

Awesome :thumb:


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## INWARD123 (Oct 28, 2007)

Anyone who has bullfighting on their site is asking for trouble NO IF's about it...putting that type of material on a site is almost inviting someone to stick you 300 plus lens where the sun doesn't shine


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

joe_0_1 said:


> http://www.igdimages.co.uk/#/Gallery/Formula 1/19/
> 
> Awesome :thumb:


+1 :thumb:


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

INWARD123 said:


> Anyone who has bullfighting on their site is asking for trouble NO IF's about it...putting that type of material on a site is almost inviting someone to stick you 300 plus lens where the sun doesn't shine


I don't particularly like bullfighting, But I am Spanish and is part of my culture. Sadly is not going away anytime soon... 
This will be a commercial site. I will be looking to attract potential clients, I need to put in portfolio which highlights what I do well.. Taking images of Bullfights pays very well indeed and I am good at it. Also, it shows I am not afraid to tackle controversial subjects so they stay...


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## Pieface876 (Nov 14, 2008)

Some of your image quality is poor with a lot of noise, and a website, especially commercial in my opinion should have just top quality.

This is when I click the links such as Services (And I do know it changes). Also same problem with hyperlinks for me. 13" Macbook screen.


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

parish said:


> Just to clarify, I'm not criticizing the general design concept - I actually quite like that - is more the usability of it :thumb:
> 
> Two things to bear in mind.
> 
> ...


Parish 
Thank you for all your input you sure have been helpful
I really appreciate it.
The track you seen to love so much is Principles Of Lust by Enigma


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Pieface876 said:


> Some of your image quality is poor with a lot of noise, and a website, especially commercial in my opinion should have just top quality.
> 
> This is when I click the links such as Services (And I do know it changes). Also same problem with hyperlinks for me. 13" Macbook screen.


The links in small monitors is being looked at. 
The site is a prototype and as such the images loaded are small and supper compressed. the final version will be top notch. 
Thank you for the input.


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## INWARD123 (Oct 28, 2007)

Well good luck, but you will turn off some clients. I accept your point of view and all that but I think you will also turn off a lot of people and possibly attract some unwanted attention.


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

INWARD123 said:


> Well good luck, but you will turn off some clients. I accept your point of view and all that but I think you will also turn off a lot of people and possibly attract some unwanted attention.


The old saying comes to mind. "You can't please all the folk all of the time". I'm not being sarcastic. It's just a fact. It's a part of Spanish culture and as such will have a market.


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Menu links on small monitors should be fixed now. Those of you that had the problem, could you confirm the links are now visible and operational?
Also the online form is now fully operational...
The rest of the modifications will have to wait for after Xmas as there is a huge amount of coding I need to do to implement the changes.


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## Pieface876 (Nov 14, 2008)

Yeah it works now.


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Thank you Pieface


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## richjohnhughes (Sep 24, 2007)

hi mate - just had another look - all works ok. 

i really like the over all design and layout of the site and the colours used. 

however, you might want to think about more information on your home page - including your company name and contact details somewhere. 

also, you can find your way back to the home page from other pages, which is important. 

you have to try and think of how Joe Public views your site and moves around it - which is hard, as you know the site inside out.


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## richjohnhughes (Sep 24, 2007)

INWARD123 said:


> Anyone who has bullfighting on their site is asking for trouble NO IF's about it...putting that type of material on a site is almost inviting someone to stick you 300 plus lens where the sun doesn't shine


i know what you are saying here mate - i dont like bull fighting but i can kinda see the art in the movement and the shapes they make.

you have to remember, here in Spain, Matadors are as famous, if not more so than footballers. there is certainly a market for it.


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

IGADIZ said:


> Parish
> Thank you for all your input you sure have been helpful
> I really appreciate it.


You're welcome



IGADIZ said:


> The track you seen to love so much is Principles Of Lust by Enigma


Thanks.


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

richjohnhughes said:


> hi mate - just had another look - all works ok.
> 
> i really like the over all design and layout of the site and the colours used.
> 
> ...


I am trying to get out of the box here.
All sites have a home page, splash page, intro page..etc, etc.. Here, I get you right in to the Peoples Gallery of the site. This was not a random event. It was well thought out, is a photography site and I will be dealing with people all the time, so I thought the people gallery should be the first page, there is no home page as such, once you are in, that's it, navigate anywhere you want. The main links are at the top, so you can find out about us, or contact us within a click. As there is no company name (other than the site name on the explorer bar) Most people will click the about us link, there they will find who we are and what we do. I think is a novel concept. Time will tell me if I am right.. if not I can always change things.
Thank you all for you kind input. :thumb:
A lot has been taken onboard, and the next version will implement some of your suggestions. Keep an eye for the 15th of January when the site will be properly launched.


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## JasonRS (Aug 8, 2006)

Anyone tryng to sell themselves online in any form, regardless of the product or service, really should be reading this

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

All of it...


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Hi guys
Not been here for a while, as I've been busy coding for the site, release candidate 1 can be found here
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

don't think the space photos should be there



richjohnhughes said:


> but i dont really like Flash based websites. you might be surprised how many people dont have flash on there pc - therefore, wont be able to look at your site.
> 
> good luck mate.


agree


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## IGADIZ (May 21, 2006)

Hi buckas
Thank you for taking the time to look at the site.
I understand not everyone likes flash sites. There is a light HTML version of the site that kicks in automatically if flash is not detected, is a very simplistic version at the moment, as I am still coding that part of the site.
The background images for the different text sections of the site are still being worked on, they will eventually be a collage of different portraits and events we have covered, so that it represents what we do and who we are.
Things that I have changed since the last version are.
Bigger thumbnails that keeps the aspect ratio of the original image, behaviour of the wheel, countdown clock, enhanced enlargement page with thumbnail strip, on the fly resize of main image, it now changes size [up to maximum resolution], according to window size,( try it) next /precious buttons, shopping cart, , password protected videos, and galleries, scroll bars on the text pages, option to start music (it was on by default before).
I am now working on preserving aspect ratio for portrait thumbnails, the buttons besides the main image and the thumbnail strip, (they will look and behave differently), and the countdown clock will get revised with a newer version. 
Suggestions and comments are welcome.


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