tulip-radio.co.uk/testydesign

please give opinions on this prototype website

not all pages there.

thanks

www.tulip-radio.co.uk/testydesign/

i would also like feedback on loading times for 56k, 256k 512k and 1k connection speeds.

I would get rid of the periods after each of your menu items at the top. I also get a 404 error when I go to photos or contact. (In case you don't know yet.)
EDIT: I just re-read your post. It looks like you do know about it. *Sorry*

I have a broadband connection (oc3) and it took about 15-20 seconds for the flash object to load. I don't know what that would be like on 56k.


I like the layout. Its kind of playful, (which is good for a radio station website, I think.)

what speed in KBPS is oc3?

somewhere around 3Mbps, maybe faster. I don't think I've ever maxed it out.
Your server would probably be able to transmit as fast as it could, and I'd have a little room to spare.

How big is that flash object on the first page? That is what slows it down the most. Everything else loads really really fast.

Um... its 1.22mb

i think i might try and add a pre-loader.

any other comments anyone?

1.22MB is rediculous!
Get rid of the flash thing. I hate being as harsh as this but it looks like crap anyway. You can see where the images you've used overlap!

Get a nicely put together jpg and use that. 20 odd KB job's a good un!

It was intended to show a snapshot of the stations activity in the community.

Would there be a better way of showing those images, because 3 is simply not enough?

ive added a preloader if that helps.


is there any way i can improve it if ?

geee, I don't know.... maybe have an area on the site like a photo gallery (still less than 1.22MB) or a "Tulip radio in the community" section. Come on man...

Flash is going down like the titanic anyway man... don't bother with it.

Yea we do have a foto gallery.

do you think exporting it as GIF would work or not? EDIT: Nope!! i just tried.

Only took 16 seconds on my 1Mb broadband connex.
Don't think that's too bad.
I agree about the periods after the menu items. Looks odd.
I like the Flash item but the overlap is caused because you've not cropped the pictures properly and chosen to fade images in and out.
As each image fades out the opacity level drops. So, when it gets to say 30%, the levels on the overlap are combined and effectively double to 60% for that area, meaning you can see through one to the other and it looks different to the rest of the scene.
By properly cropping the images properly, you'll reduce its file size and the swf file containing it.

OK, does the preloader give you a good enough indication you are expecting something to happen?
Any ideas how to fix, i do agree with you!

This is because originally (www.tulip-radio.co.uk) it was three animations (the pictures) and then a layer with the text on it. It was changed because it looked pants on 800x600 and when favourites menu was open etc.

just take away the full stop after each menu item. Whats hard about that?

oh! periods! i thought u ment the spacing..

thick moment

Okay just emptied my browser cache and visited it again.
It all loaded much quicker.
The page and pre-loader were immediate and the swf loaded after only 10 more seconds.

Re the full stops (periods); If they're images rather than text, it means doing them again. If it's text, just edit them out as you would in a text editor.



p.s. 'Spalding and South Holland' - odd catchment area, lol.

- south holland is the area in lincolnshire, not the place near germany!!

and the periods are text in a css menu.

LOL. Thx, never heard of that so I'm glad I mentioned it now.

[digress]Used to have connections with the power stations in Spalding getting gas generators up there. Got some great pics of some arriving by sea, behind some nearby local houses and dwarfing them in the foreground somewhere.[/digress]

loaded in roughly 8 seconds on 2k connection, but to be honest, the Flash is irritating - but don't like anything in Flash - so dont take it personally.

its on now @

www.tulip-radio.co.uk

i have added a random coluored background which i think looks smart.

opinions on this and the buttons at bottom are wanted, and also general comments.

thank you!

It is looking a lot better, I gotta hand it to ya.

Your falsh is looking a lot nicer now too now that you've lost that overlap issue.

There are still, however, some fundimental flaws to the site.

• It's still made using tables based layout. Now, I realise that short of starting again from scratch there's not a lot you can do about this but I just wanted to stress that it is quite important and you shouldn't totally overlook it.
• Your "interviews", "photos" and "Whats on diary" links at the bottom give no feedback to suggest that they are links. It wouldn't take long to give them a simple rollover effect and it would add a lot more functionality. This is the same with any link. You must always let the visitor know that they are hovering over a link of some sort. A colour change or underline is the most common but the same thing can be accompliished by a size change or even a sound (although I don't reccomend these.)
• Your navigation looks a little funny. Because you've matched the banner hieght to the graphic on the left and the navigation is only a quarter of that, it all looks a little empty. It might be better if you sat the navigation at the bottom of that banner rather than ion the middle.

But, over all a vast improvement. Keep it up.

Not a criticism of your site...,

It's just that...,

Ummm...,

Why, when you're wishing England well in the 2006 World Cup, would you show a couple of animated rugby balls either site of the greeting?

I know we haven't played particularly well thus far (possible exception; yesterday), but...