I would appreciate it if members could have a look at the web site bellow. It is my first attempt at a site and we haven't the funds or know how to create a site on a domain, so I have used the geocity site to get up and running. Please give constructive criticism... But don't be too rough, I hurt esay.
http://www.geocities.com/riverina_vwclub 
Sorry I dont know how to link the address, if anyone can let me know how I'll fix it.

Cheers,

Tim.

go to http://www.dot.tk  and become a member then u can use the website u have already created at make a domain name at dot.tk and use it to redirect it to your site making people think u have a domain......ie. instead of typing http://www.geocities.com/riverina_vwclub  people would only have to type www.riverina_vwclub.tk .....if that was the domain name u chose

Thanks Anthiron, I'll give it a go!

Anthiron,
Just tried to regester name, however the server I am currently using (work server) won't let me. I'll give it a try from a mates place and see how it goes.
I'll et you know.

rightio....after u get it to work go into the "my dot.tk" menu thingy on the dot.tk site and click on "dot.tk linker program" on the left and follow the promts and select that u do not wish to have a banner on your site......this gets rid of the dot.tk popup when people access your site. so there will be no ads

ps: if u wanna check out my site.....click my signature

bugger, the only criticism i have of your website is that i initially thought the home page was all it was until i scrolled over your buttons...all you could do is link the words next to the buttons and thats not hard to do..

Thanks Crusin,
A good point. No sense in spending the time on the site and have people miss most of it,
I will get right onto it.

:thumb

Have you seen Buggybrad's deal on hosting?

Very good rates and you can have a real domain!

here's the link

http://www.aussieveedubbers.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=22710#pid172051

love the bug jumping thats cool the font of the riverina emblem seems a bit thin un like the fat lettering and hot little fat bug but youll play around and get it looking sweet good onya

Hi, Congrats on getting your first site up! Now you've made one you'll want to make more (if you're anything like me that is).

Here are some gentle bits of advice:

1. Don't bother with the "splash" page - the one where I have to click "Enter". Splash pages will put some people off, and they don't add any extra value, so on balance you're better off without one.

2. On the menu, make the words clickable as well as the yin-yang balls. That's how most people would expect the menu to work.

3. The "Back" link at the top of each page isn't very obvious (I missed it the first few times) - maybe put an obvious "Back to menu" link at the bottom of each page as well.

4. The most important thing of all: the key to a great website is great content. For example, that's what makes aussieveedubbers so good, isn't it? You've made a good start with some interesting content, so keep writing more stuff/articles/info (as long as it's interesting!) and keep the site growing. Don't forget to remove old stuff as soon as it becomes out of date.

Thanks for the constructive comments. I will certainly try and get some great articals going, I dont know what I can do about the club logo though. It wasn't my design and the issue is fairly inflexable.
I'm not sure if the club wants to pursue their own domain name, the web page is pretty much my idea, so we may be stuck with the 'freebee' for now. I will certainly have a look at Buggy Brad's deal and see what they say.
I think your right about the splash. It is probably worth giving it a miss.
I'll keep at it.
I've attached the club logo that I was hoping would be used. What do you think?

Hi Tim,

Good to see another website up and running

I've added your site on our ( http://www.flatfour.org ) Links page too.

We have a splash page on our site for a couple of reasons.

One is we wanted to show a clear copy of our Club logo and having it on a splash page enables us to put a large size version up without encroaching on other content which may happen if it was predominantly displayed on another page.

I think (and hope) that if you were to go to our website that there is nothing on our splash page which would turn you away and in fact we hope it would entice you to look further.

The other reasons for our splash page are technical ones. Having a splash page enables me to have an simple entry page whose content is not likely to change frequently and I then save copies as index.html, index.htm, default.html and default.htm.

Admitedly this is a solution to solve problems that would not often occur anymore but use to in days gone by. That is, older browsers may look for a page named a particular way to load up the initial page of a website. Also if a webserver is not configured correctly, it may also not load up the page that you think it should. Call me old fashioned and paranoid but it's a simple way I like to cover my bases.

Not in the case of our Club website but you may also find that people may still use a splash page if there overall website is contructed using frames. Unless you know how to code your pages correctly, it is possible that a website may not be picked up by search engines if it is frames based. A splash page provides a workaround to at least capture the site is you're not sure how to code correctly for search opimisation.

Having said that about searching, there is generally not alot of content on a splash page so to increase the possibility of your website being picked up by search engines, ensure that you have decent meta tags included to help your cause (you may need to do some reading up on this if it's as clear us mud!).

Anyway, enough rabbitting on, keep up the good work


Cheers...Scott

Clearly I need to do a lot more research and playing around with the website. I have not the foggiest about working in code or what program to use when we decide to gain our own domain, (this is the reason for cutting my teeth on Geocities). It is easy to use without having to get into using codes. Saying this however, it is something I will neeed to look at if the website and I are to progress.
Thanks for linking 'us' Scott, will do the same for 'Flat four".
The feedback has been sensation. Thanks everyone and keep it coming. It is great 'food for thought'