# Website Comments Needed



## billval3 (Feb 26, 2009)

Hi all. After a long period of no significant web presence for my work, I've got a site back up and running. She ain't much, but she's mine! :| 

Any comments or criticisms would be appreciated. Here's the url:

http://billarnold.typepad.com


----------



## midphase (Feb 26, 2009)

Seems pretty nice and clean. My main feedback is that I'd get rid of the software section...I really don't think anyone gives a crap what you use. Personally I also find composers who put photos of their "set up" on their site are asking for trouble. Unless you have a 90 input SSL in your studio, photos of a Mac and a keyboard controller won't impress anyone.


----------



## Hal (Feb 26, 2009)

i didnt see the studio pic Midphase is talking in general term i think.

Billval3 the site is organised and clean,nothing impressive tho.

to tell you the truth there isnt much over what u can get from a facebook fan page where u can put music pictures info and videos of you..am expecting your personel website to be much more sophisticated.

well at least uve got ur page  i dont have mine yet i better shutup ! lol


----------



## billval3 (Feb 27, 2009)

midphase @ Thu Feb 26 said:


> Seems pretty nice and clean. My main feedback is that I'd get rid of the software section...I really don't think anyone gives a crap what you use. Personally I also find composers who put photos of their "set up" on their site are asking for trouble. Unless you have a 90 input SSL in your studio, photos of a Mac and a keyboard controller won't impress anyone.



Will do. Thanks.


----------



## billval3 (Feb 27, 2009)

Hal @ Fri Feb 27 said:


> i didnt see the studio pic Midphase is talking in general term i think.
> 
> Billval3 the site is organised and clean,nothing impressive tho.
> 
> ...



What you say may very well be true. I haven't really looked into the facebook fan page thing. I'm thinking that even though this is pretty simple, I'd rather be able to direct people to something separate.


----------



## billval3 (Feb 27, 2009)

lux @ Fri Feb 27 said:


> Hi billval3, in general its clean and works.
> 
> However it has a bit that "mytemplatesite" flavour that you could get rid of with just a few bits of work. At first try to substitute the standard type on the top left title (your name and the quote below)= with something graphic related, i mean do that title with some cool font in a graphic editor, or even better ask someone to do it for you. At that point just substitute the text with the gif and youre done.
> 
> Personally i would also replace the helvetica font with a standard verdana or tahoma. Helvetica has some difficult reading on many computers. The font is no longer supported by default due to copyright issues i guess.



Thanks for the tip on the font. As for the template feel, I agree. I can create my own in typepad, but unfortunately they don't give you as many options. I can't even set the way the navigation bar looks, which is one of the things that bothered me about my customized template. I CAN create my own banner, though, so it may be worth it to switch.

Are there recommendations for other web design services that are affordable. I don't want to spend a bunch of time learning HTML and I don't think I have the cash to hire someone at the moment.


----------



## Hal (Feb 27, 2009)

billval3 @ Fri Feb 27 said:


> Hal @ Fri Feb 27 said:
> 
> 
> > i didnt see the studio pic Midphase is talking in general term i think.
> ...



take a look at this then if u want to see how it could be.
heve got discography,music player,pictures,videos and ofcourse the famous wall and *information* where u have the biography etc..
this is Paul Haslinger.
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?ref=searc ... 7437&ref=s


----------



## erockrazor (Feb 27, 2009)

I like it Bill. Well organized. I think the picture works .. you look like a nice guy to work with! Plus your music helps prove that as well. I like the layout with the music on the sides.

I just made a website but I'm not good with the html. I created it all myself. I need some improvements to be made ... cause it looks like a 10 year old made it.

http://www.ericgieg.com (www.ericgieg.com)


----------



## billval3 (Feb 27, 2009)

erockrazor @ Fri Feb 27 said:


> I like it Bill. Well organized. I think the picture works .. you look like a nice guy to work with! Plus your music helps prove that as well. I like the layout with the music on the sides.
> 
> I just made a website but I'm not good with the html. I created it all myself. I need some improvements to be made ... cause it looks like a 10 year old made it.
> 
> http://www.ericgieg.com (www.ericgieg.com)



Thanks for the compliments...flattery will get you everywhere! :wink: 

I see you're from Jersey...me, too. Where are you going to school?


----------



## PolarBear (Feb 27, 2009)

I think it's nice and clean and best with no clunky design or "features" getting in the way. Probably the best to keep lazy customers on the site. However from what I gathered the web presentations aren't generating much business even for bigger composers anyway, so this seems more about pleasing your fan community also. :D

You should worry about spam. It will get back to you in 3 or 5 years and could make an email account unusable. But you don't wanna miss out on personal emails to that account I guess. So it's best to have it displayed unlinked in an image file. That's not totally spam-proof either, because of pictures being OCR-able, but chances are little yet that bots will identify that as potential picture to scan for an email and put you on a spam list. Once on these spam-lists you can never get out of this loop again unfortunately.

I'd also have the facebook link opening a new tab or window if that's possible and if you think that this link should stay (tho I'd not do that kind of thing on my personal web... but that's a matter of taste I guess).


----------



## erockrazor (Feb 27, 2009)

fwiw, i'm not trying to flatter you! Maybe I'm just biased since you're from New Jersey. I'll like anything you do. :shock: 

I'm at Brookdale right now with 59 of 60 credits for my associates in audio production. In the fall I'm leaving NJ for the University of New Haven to get my bachelors in Music and Sound recording. Then staying there for my masters in Education.

Now I'm taking a guitar course and logic. But I'm also getting music theory lessons cause I dont know jack about jack.

Sorry, I'm done rambling about myself. Where in NJ are you from?


----------



## billval3 (Feb 28, 2009)

erockrazor @ Fri Feb 27 said:


> fwiw, i'm not trying to flatter you! Maybe I'm just biased since you're from New Jersey. I'll like anything you do. :shock:
> 
> I'm at Brookdale right now with 59 of 60 credits for my associates in audio production. In the fall I'm leaving NJ for the University of New Haven to get my bachelors in Music and Sound recording. Then staying there for my masters in Education.
> 
> ...



I'm from Pompton Plains, which is near Wayne, up in North Jersey.


----------



## erockrazor (Feb 28, 2009)

Cool. My sister lives in Newton right now.

You think it's harder to get work up there? 

I'm from Sayreville and I'm trying to get more involved with a network of New York filmmakers.

I guess the times are a little different now in which you don't actually have to meet face to face, thanks to the internet.


----------



## Waywyn (Feb 28, 2009)

Hi Bill,

looks really clean, ordered and well done.

One thing confuses me is that "typepad" in the URL?
It might be me again, but I checked Google for it and it seems to be a free hosting service or something.

It might be really just me, but you are going (or already are) a professional composer looking for jobs, applying at companies, generally show and present YOU and YOUR skills. There is also nothing wrong about using free or low cost hosting services, but it shouldn't at least be visible in the URL.

If I check pricings of Typepad and I can see that you are just willing to spend 4,95$ a month for your website .... 

Again cheap, free or low cost stuff doesn't mean to be bad. I am using a Wordpress system myself, but imagine you don't have enough money for a phone, so you take a sponsored service and everytime people call you they have to dial NOKIA-xxx-xxx-xxx :D

Again, it might be just me here and I may overdoing it a bit, but if I see an additional term in the URL which might be a free hosting service or some Google ads on the website itself, it instantly leads me to the thought:

free webservice/ads = no money, guy doesnt have work

Sorry if I sounded asshole-ish, but I think you get the idea.
All in all your website looks really cool, clean, ordered and I find what I want to find.
What I liked most is that a smiling and friendly face welcomed me on the starting page. On some pages out there you don't even know who the guy is or how he looks like. Imho this is very important for bizz relation.


----------



## rgames (Feb 28, 2009)

I think it's a bit too plain - you're selling yourself as a creative individual but your site doesn't reflect creativity. Remember that simple doesn't have to mean plain.

Branding also helps - logos and catch phrases can give you a more professional look.

rgames


----------



## billval3 (Feb 28, 2009)

Waywyn @ Sat Feb 28 said:


> Hi Bill,
> 
> looks really clean, ordered and well done.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the input, Alex. I can probably get my own domain and have it simply forward to what I have set up. Honestly, I probably won't keep this type of site for too long anyway, though. I'm really only looking for work from student directors anyway at this point, but I'm not saying that means I can slouch on things too much.

I'll definitely take it into consideration, though.


----------



## Audun Jemtland (Mar 14, 2009)

Hey William, if you ask me it should be something like this:

http://uploading.com/files/5P258XMF/William%20Arnold.PNG.html (http://uploading.com/files/5P258XMF/Wil ... d.PNG.html)


----------



## billval3 (Mar 14, 2009)

audun jemtland @ Sat Mar 14 said:


> Hey William, if you ask me it should be something like this:
> 
> http://uploading.com/files/5P258XMF/William%20Arnold.PNG.html (http://uploading.com/files/5P258XMF/Wil ... d.PNG.html)



That's pretty cool. I don't know that I'd want my picture on banner, though.


----------



## madbulk (Mar 14, 2009)

audun jemtland @ Sat Mar 14 said:


> Hey William, if you ask me it should be something like this:
> 
> http://uploading.com/files/5P258XMF/William%20Arnold.PNG.html (http://uploading.com/files/5P258XMF/Wil ... d.PNG.html)



Am I the only one who's sick of these free uploading intermediary sites!? Crap! Cut it out!!

Don't mind me. I've had a few glasses of wine.


----------



## madbulk (Mar 14, 2009)

Awright as long as I've already prefaced this with, "hey, I'm drinking..." 
WTF? We rant and rant about the value of music and why do garageband users take our gigs and lower the bar and the rates, and yet we all think we can open up some rinky dink piece of garbage like dreamweaver with some iffy typefaces and fire up a great piece of website!
William, your site looks fine. Better than any of the last few "how's my site look" sites here. Don't goof it up trying to make it slick if you haven't got any game in that area which is no crime.
Not to William specifically, in fact less to him than most:
Find someone who's a designer like you're a composer and give them a chance to help you and pay em a few bucks or some kinda trade or something. They can do more for you in three hours than you can do in a week with a "for dummies" book on your lap.

All this, with love. And wine don't forget.


----------



## TheoKrueger (Mar 14, 2009)

Hi William,

I think your current page works very effectively but I surely encourage you to make one in your own server and ftp. There are many templates you can download for free and some don't ask for "Keep the designer's name in the page" sort of license. I think it will be better to have www.billarnold.com rather than http://www.billarnold.typepad.com (www.billarnold.typepad.com) , it will look better and more professional.

Also, the smaller the name of the site, the better!

I'm not really a designer either (something that is very obvious once you look at my own website ) , but here are some more thoughts that come to mind when I look at your current page.

First of all, I believe that the first page should be called Home instead of About. It is something standard i think because the Home page usually has the structure of the website and the links leading to other sub-parts of the page. So whenever someone is confused or lost in a site, they go back to the home page and start again from there. The name "home" also signifies that the visitor is surely looking at the main page and not a sub-page.

When you click on your name in the banner it underlines the link and then opens a different page. I think that is not nescessary unless you are testing something out and I fell on it at the wrong time 

The general layout of the site if very generic for my taste.

On the good side, i like the players and the red letters, they make a nice effect. I think you could add a splash of colour to your picture instead of it being 100% black and white. The general feeling is a bit "colourless".

Another note, the symbol on your banner that looks like a cross, is kinda "generic". I think a musical staff or something like that would be more suitable.

The video link with the Buddha could have some sort of play button or graphic next to it, it could also have a small text with some words about the film.

That's about it...

Usually i'm not so picky and i'm sure that 99% of the visitors don't pay much attention to such details but instead they try to find the main content and information on the page. But its the attention to detail that makes the difference and the feel.

I hope this was helpful somehow.

Cheers,
Theo.


----------



## billval3 (Mar 15, 2009)

madbulk @ Sat Mar 14 said:


> Awright as long as I've already prefaced this with, "hey, I'm drinking..."
> WTF? We rant and rant about the value of music and why do garageband users take our gigs and lower the bar and the rates, and yet we all think we can open up some rinky dink piece of garbage like dreamweaver with some iffy typefaces and fire up a great piece of website!
> William, your site looks fine. Better than any of the last few "how's my site look" sites here. Don't goof it up trying to make it slick if you haven't got any game in that area which is no crime.
> Not to William specifically, in fact less to him than most:
> ...



I wouldn't necessarily make it more slick, just more individualized. I don't like sites that splash pages and flash animation that you have to wait for.

I would love to involve a designer, but at this point I'm just trying to get something up so I have a web presence.


----------



## billval3 (Mar 15, 2009)

TheoKrueger @ Sun Mar 15 said:


> Hi William,
> 
> I think your current page works very effectively but I surely encourage you to make one in your own server and ftp. There are many templates you can download for free and some don't ask for "Keep the designer's name in the page" sort of license. I think it will be better to have www.billarnold.com rather than http://www.billarnold.typepad.com (www.billarnold.typepad.com) , it will look better and more professional.
> 
> ...



Thanks, Theo. I'll have to get a domain name soon. That's not just a designer, it's a blog company. What you're looking at is simply a blog altered to look more like a website with what they call "pages." Corny, I know, but I already subscribe to the service and know how it works from blogging for years, so it's an easy way to get started.

I have no problem with having a page called home, but there is no real home page in this structure. The navigation buttons always stay the same and my music is always to the right no matter what page you're on, so there's no real need for a home page. That's my thought, anyway.

I don't mind people picky. I'm picky myself, it's just that I don't have the capability of doing everything I will eventually want to incorporate in a permanent (if you will) site.

Thanks again for the feedback, guys. I also want to add that a lot of that music is older stuff done with GPO. Hopefully, I will be replacing the tracks with stuff done more with live players and VSL in the near future!


----------



## PolarBear (Mar 15, 2009)

TheoKrueger @ Sun Mar 15 said:


> First of all, I believe that the first page should be called Home instead of About. It is something standard i think because the Home page usually has the structure of the website and the links leading to other sub-parts of the page. So whenever someone is confused or lost in a site, they go back to the home page and start again from there. The name "home" also signifies that the visitor is surely looking at the main page and not a sub-page.



An my thoughts already back then were exactly the opposite: Wo thank god someone had the guts and cancelled that "home" garbage with absolute no info other than you probably typed the web address correctly...

FWIW... Cheers!
PolarBear


----------



## Markus S (Apr 6, 2009)

..a little late to the party..

Nice site, easy to navigate and orientate. I agree on the software section, I'd better not put it up, it is true that a potential client couldn't care less about this stuff. Same problem with the "comment section", it is a nice comment you got there, but until you cannot list, say 5-10 comments, I'd wait with it. I'd also not so much rely on comments from people you know, and who you work with, but better use some press stuff, and make a press section. Now these folks do not always write the kind of stuff you want to read about your music (IF they write something about the music), so put up only the super positive stuff.. (not the "the music sounds nice and does fit the picture quite well..")

Best and good luck,

Markus.


----------

