What makes a website interesting

[mwilleson]

Hi all,

I will be taking over the web site for our carving club and I'm looking for ideas on what makes a carving web site interesting and what makes you come back.

I'm thinking I'd like the site to be broader than just for club members...in other words I'd like all carvers to enjoy the site.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Hadn't given much thought to interesting, but the one thing that will kill a site for me is slow load time. I don't know how many folks are in the same pickle I'm in, but can't get anything but dial-up. If they take to long to load, a lot of the time I'll just dump it. I guess content would be the thing that makes it interesting. If it's got something I'm interested in, the rest is usually gravy. Glad I couldn't be of help.

[Ashbys]

Mike , one thing , I like to see are progression pictures, where you can see the work progress over time , like wades chairs, If nothing else happend here on WCI fourm , I would return just for those. I would think many people would like to see what happens in clubs. For those of us who are not close to one or have the time, seeing new projects and watching them advance would be a good reason to return.

Seeing finished projects are great , but the steps getting to the finish are just as important and often more enjoyable.

And I would think a few quick projects or post like a monthly or bi-monthly project and let the people outside your cub try it at the same time and give a place to post pictures so they could match it to the clubs.

Of couse I know nothing about web pages, just a couple of things which I think would be unique. I think that is why I enjoy this site so much in a lot of ways it is like an online club.

Ash

Mike, It would be interesting to see the existing site if one is currently up online, what address?

Other ramblings to consider:

Patterns posted to share with others, we're always looking for great neat patterns to try out.

Tips & tricks section: alot of carvers have fantastic ideas that need to be shared for others.

Carvings for sale gallery: helps out club members who really can't market items on a web site but might get noticed via the clubs site.

just my two cents worth.

[kaiserb]

Along the lines of slow load times and poor design: http://www.useit.com

This guy is a web consultant for useablity and while a club could not afford to hire him, he does publish a lot of free ideas on his site for making a website a useable, and useful place.

Conference pay-per-day prices

1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days Early Registration
until Sept. 23 $729 $1,325 $1,861 $2,338 $2,769 $3,119 Advance Registration
until Oct. 21 $810 $1,473 $2,068 $2,598 $3,076 $3,465 On-site Registration
after Oct. 21 $1,010 $1,673 $2,268 $2,798 $3,276 $3,665

I read his book and it is one of the best web design books I have ever seen.

[mwilleson]

I appreciate the ideas....keep them coming if you have more.

I've added the website address to my signature. If you visit, you'll find that what's there is old and it's pretty incomplete.

Mike

[Ron D]

just registered looks good how longs it been up

[squbrigg]

Quick load time is important, as is a pleasant and interesting page. Your opening page should say a lot about you and your club. A good selection of their work and a clearly defined menu on how to get to see more helps too.

If you have special features: like a members gallery keep it fresh, a WIP section updated weekly, a tutorial should be subcatorized to direct to specific tutorials, perhaps a links section, and business links section, and members list.

Just a few thoughts. Good luck.

Bob

[Paul_Guraedy]

The first two things that quickly enter into my decision to explore a website are: 1. Too slow to load. I will wait for only a short time before moving on to somehting else. 2. MUSIC. My first reaction when music sunddenly blares out at me is to hit the back button and get out of there. It amazes me how many sites still use it...when so many folks express irritation with it.

[cb1959]

I agree with Paul, to slow to load and blairing music, I will quickly move on on either point. Another thing that I think is important is to update your site often. I have looked at some sites that have not been updated in years, one comes to mind that the last update was in 2002. At one time it was a good site with demos and featured carvings. For a club site you need to update monthly to keep your members going back. ing newsletters there is also good.
Charlie