What do you make of this? - Page 2

fultron89 · #11 (**permalink**) 12-06-2006, 11:38 PM

...I have never seen so many frames on one HTML page before....

LukeD · #12 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 12:44 AM

I no how it feels for your site to be critsied ( Trust me ive been there 3 time

). But i think you could probaly do alot better if you tryed. I could attempt to create you a layout if you ewant me to?

komatoast · #13 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 09:31 AM

http://www.caravanchannel.co.uk/ - it looks just like the other site.
the content may well be useful and interesting to people who already have an interest in the subject but surly having info on a website should at least try to get other people who have only a small interest even more interested.

a website is a powerful thing and in my oppinion should try to be aimed at a wide audience.

i agree bandwidth usage from people browsing can be a bit of a catch 22 as you need bandwidth but it has to be used if people are to visit. i would go for a package which allows unlimited bandwidth - check out www.streamline.net they are quite cheep and no bandwidth limits!

as far as shows go, what kind of thing are you looking to host? are they going to be specific to you area or will you have different chanels for different areas of the country? it may well be something that we will interested in and come up with some videos with a w.yorks feel

The Guru · #14 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 10:10 AM

Got to agree with ChrisG on this one.

Why try to re-invent the wheel or compete with the established sites?

I personally think that caravans should be used to test heat-seeking missiles and be banned from the roads during daylight. It doesn't matter how attractive the website is, I'm not going to visit it. Therefore it makes sense to make the site appealing to caravanners (adverts for cardigans and tuppaware, for example). Why try to attract hip-hoppers to a caravanning site?

Since Chris does this for a living, he has to optimise his income. By being honest and open about the content of his sites, he attracts visitors who are interested in the subject, and doesn't "con" unsuspecting people to visit and bump-up his figures. His sites have nothing in common with You-tube in that: His sites are about something specific (local news, caravanning, whatever) and not just about showing videos. The videos are there to supply content, they're not the stars per-se (as in Youtube).

Edit: Chris's local-TV website only shows videos made by the contributors, unlike youtube, you won't get thousands of excerpts from the Simpsons, exerpts from "blooper" shows or awful spoof horror-videos. That makes his site something I (as a videomaker) would want to visit.
The visual style is also spot-on....!
The layouts have the same "feel" as a local newspaper or a caravanning magazine (ie boring, conservative and a bit home-made) so visitors feel at home there. Flash logos and swish banners would put people off. (A clever strategy in my NSF humble opinion.)

ChrisG · #15 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by fultron89

...I have never seen so many frames on one HTML page before....

These sites don't contain any frames (in the html definition of a frame) at all.

Tables, yes . . .

ChrisG · #16 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by komatoast

http://www.caravanchannel.co.uk/ - it looks just like the other site.
the content may well be useful and interesting to people who already have an interest in the subject but surly having info on a website should at least try to get other people who have only a small interest even more interested.

a website is a powerful thing and in my oppinion should try to be aimed at a wide audience.

The truth is that I'm not actually interested in capturing the interest of the vaguely interested, I really only want to address the already interested, with whom I don't have to do a sales job as such.

I think the second comment is just plain wrong - sorry! Websites are much more easy to produce, promote and manage than any sort of ink on paper publication, and therefore are ideal for the smallest niche publication - I know that this is true because it's how I've made part of my living for some time. I've also published a few small magazines and journals, and written for dozens more.

Websites, if you study the research, are becoming more and more personalised. I was talking to someone who's depth of web development knowledge I seriously respect; his view is that within three to five years, the depth of personalisation applied to CMS-based sites will be such that many mass-media sites will not look the same on any two users machine . . . so the version of "whatever" you see will be the one you like, and your next-door neighbour will see exactly the same site quite differently.

The same thing is becoming similarly true of TV channels with the proliferation of them. They'll be increasingly niche operations . . . catering to smaller and smaller audiences. "Wide" audiences are also diffuse audiences . . . so your specialist brand will be paying for just a small segment . . they'd rather pay the same money to hit that small segment directly, without paying for all the by-blows.

komatoast · #17 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 12:48 PM

thats a fare point and if you make money from it then you are clearly doing something right.
i did say it was my opinion and we all now an opinion cannot be wrong as it an opinion not fact

ChrisG · #18 (**permalink**) 12-07-2006, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by komatoast

thats a fare point and if you make money from it then you are clearly doing something right.
i did say it was my opinion and we all now an opinion cannot be wrong as it an opinion not fact

Sorry, Koma, didn't mean your opinion is wrong - aim your website where you will! But I don't agree at all that websites are powerful - in fact they seem very weak and transient as a means of mass communication. There are very few that live for a very long time, in real terms; many have a period where they appear to be strong, but the nature of the web is such that there'll be another, stronger site along soon!

Mark W · #19 (**permalink**) 12-13-2006, 05:52 PM

' The same thing is becoming similarly true of TV channels with the proliferation of them. They'll be increasingly niche operations . '

Spot on.

You tube aint the same thing as Chris is doing, it's just a liscense for crap to multiply.

One of the greatest restrictions on the acess to television has been the regulatory framework, set up for very good reasons - bandwidth scarcity (old analogue sort) and censorship. The world has changed, now internet TV is possible and the whole debate on what is 'decent' or ' proper' has been blown out of the water by the net in our the post modern era.

All we need now is decent content for these possible micro channels, and that really may be the biggest hurdle.

irishmark · #20 (**permalink**) 12-19-2006, 05:28 PM

OUCH! - Sorry dewd but that hurt my eyes! Its very messy, busy and way too loud!

As its your first attempt I congratduate you as webdesign is not easy if you dont know what you are doing. When i first started my designs were awful. My advice to you it to look at other webpages and try and mimic their layouts as this is the most important thing in design. A website that helped me out in the design part was www.pslover.com Look at the interface section for inspiration and it will help you design with a lil more elegance.

Good luck!