but do it gently. Constructive feedback is appreciated. I know the email links are not working yet.
I like it. Graphically, very very good. Nice design. Fast too- no stupid Java script pooh-pooh. Well done.
More photos please. People love photos.
Oh, I am told black background websites are too spooky. That is why ours is nice pretty white and blue.
Very good though. Copy is well written too.
Cool site - I like the graphics. The font on the front page is kind of hard to read and the copy font on your other pages is a bit small. The content is succinct and easy to follow. Good luck with the biz!
Ditto Tom’s comments…Simple and to the point… and, more photos would be best… what makes the internet different from other forms of media is it’s visual appeal. Pics are a crucial aspect of that concept…
FWIW Joe Moya
On my laptop the site looks a little ‘fuzzy’, images are not that clean but navigation was ok.
The layout does not properly display in Firefox or Netscape 7, little misalignments and layout moves around. Maybe to many images used for alignment and it does not render 100% all the time.
Too many images used for me, you could use proper styling and text to achieve the same results.
From a web application programmers point - its a T model or worse a horse and buggy!
Its static, no dynamic content and or the ability to post dynamic content. There is now where on the site for athletes to login and review programs, training logs, athlete/coach discussions or post forum style questions to the coaches. The information does not show any relevance to when it was posted, there is nothing on the site that shows any things like camps, group training etc etc.
The contact form opens in a new window, not great, and does not work.
it looks like some images just below the nav bar are not aligned right. The ones with the thin red line. using MS IE.
Everything worked great with Mozilla Firefox 1.0 on the 1.5Mbps broadband. Lightening fast loads, perfect alignment. Keep the black.
I swear I’ve been passed by that Spencer guy in a race a few years ago. Has he ever raced in the Northwest?
When I’m done with school, I might sign up.
Brett
Contrary to previously expressed opinions, I think the copy is pretty bad.
Right off the bat, bad copy on the 1st page. “…all levels of athletes from beginners to elite level athletes…” Yikes.
Next page…
OK, there’s this on your “about Us” page; “a peak fitness” needs to read either “a peak OF fitness” or “peak fitness.”
Onward…
Trifecta - all three pages I looked at have basic grammatical/stylistic problems; It isn’t possible for a goal to have needs, and please, never say please more than once in the same sentence, please?
I will stop now - you really need to have the entire site copy edited professionally, or at least well. Bear in mind that I think the copy on 99% of the sites out there is at least as bad as this - but I won’t read them, either.
I wouldn’t have let any of this past my desk when I was copy-editing, and I would have a hard time hiring someone who sent this to me as a resume - and that is exactly what this is, for your company.
Sorry if this was too harsh, but I wrote it with love…
PS - I just read further on the site -Yikes. Seriously, there are even more flagrant basic grammar problems in your program descriptions. You really, really need to re-write, or at least edit, everything.
Full disclosure: E-grammar is a pet peeve. It bugs the crap out of me that so much of what I read on the net wouldn’t pass muster in a HS term paper. You can do better!
I like the overall of the site.
I don’t find it as smooth as it could be if you used a top frame for the menu and a downframe for the text.
I would change one thing for sure. The red on the background. I find it quite uhm… kinky… but maybe that’s just me. I would put it in black and as the “main frame” has white borders, it wouldn’t be necessary to change anything else.
Anyway, simple and objective… nice work 
Basically I like it. Not overly complicated, but doesn’t need to be. Might be a bit copy-heavy in places - I would pare it down to the bare minimum; people tend to skim that anyway. I love the photo of the swim start. I think that captures the essence of tri swim start chaos.
I like its feel.
Needs some fine tuning-text, more pics that are hopefully on the unique side.
Try a Fisheye lens w/ fill in flash…example: Have a friend shoot each one of you from a moving car while you’re out on the bike, or run w/ this camera /lens combo…It makes for outstanding pics w/ drama.
Impressive backgrounds on all 3 of you.
Good Luck!
all meant with love…
on the homepage, the red is harsh (red=anger) and the black is a little, well dark.
agree with the above poster when he said more pictures.
how about testimonials and articles. the latter will keep people there for a little while at least.
overall, good. it’s still missing that something that will make the potential client think that to get better, they have to work with you.
You would love to hate my company’s website. I work for a large company in the recreation industry - I don’t want to give it out 'cause… well, I’d be scared of retaliation of some sort. Anyway, after the tsunami disaster, a letter from the CEO appeared. I know he didn’t write it as he is one of the most articulate people I’ve met. The copy included, “… in light of the wave of Tsunami’s… areas effected…” It’s been cleaned up a bit since, but the one that floors me, wave of tsunamis, is still there. That’s just so poor.
The rest of the website is riddled with typo and grammatical errors. We also publish a lot of materials and have a copy edit policy. It just has not been extened to review website copy. I’ve heard the reason is, the manager of web services believes having slight errors shows we’re human and approachable rather than a corporate entity. What a crock!
dude,
Klep is right on the money, especially about the red.
Brian -
If your only goal is to point people to your website, it’s a darn good site. I like the graphics, branding and overall messaging. I don’t nitpick copy b/c that is easily changed…but personally I would have recommended text over images for quicker changes. People do not continously come back to static sites. Perhaps adding a “tip of the month” or a newsletter would provide more benefit to non-customers. In addition, having a password protected extranet would allow your client to view their daily logs, workouts, etc.
If your goal is to generate traffic and web business, it’s as poor as one could get. The designer did not use ANY of the proper tools to place keyworks, text, labels, headers, etc to give you any sort of prescene on any search engine. How are people going to find you? Check google right now for “brian stover accelerate 3” or “accelerate 3” or “accelerate3” or “triathlon coaching”. You are not even on the 100th page of the results! ;o) Once again, it depends on your business goals and your market. If you want traffic, the site needs a massive overhaul to accomodate keywords. If you need some help in this department…let me know.
k
A couple things I would add/change besides any and all grammatical errors.
Coaches bios - I’d play up the racing resumes a bit more. You and I may know that a good race result doesn’t mean you are a good coach but a lot of people looking for coaches think it matters.
Athlete results same sort of thing. Names, give me names. List those races out and give me years and maybe times if they look good. For instance “**Athletes have won several Multisport events” **Which athletes and which events?
Most of this comes from Seth Godin, author of many books on permission marketing. I was lucky enough to take a class of his at NYU a couple of years ago.
What do you want from the site?
If I am to assume the answer is, “I want people to sign up for coaching” then you need to have something on the main page that captures their email address (ie sign up for a free weekly newsletter etc.). So that if they don’t sign up today, you can always try again tomorrow.
Also, Godin says to test often. Change the layout and track how many people sign up for the newsletter or read the other pages. Obviously keep the design that has the best results.
Finanlly, limit the bells and whistles if it is at the expense of speed. People don’t want to wait around for things to load.
Hope this helps.
Cool site, I dont think Id change anything but I guess Im not as critical as some of the other folks. Does Spencer still live in the Indianapolis area? He and I go at each other pretty heavily during a Duathlon, hes a strong cyclist! I didnt see him at many late season races last year so I just assumed he moved.
Spencer has moved to Tucson. his wife took a job there. He has lots of family in the area.
Thanks everybody for the suggestions/comments. I’ve started work on the next revision and an athlete password protected section is in the works. More comments are welcome