Re: CRITIQUE REQUEST - Madison Avenue Games (http://www.madave.net)

        Hey Dave,

The following is purely IMHO. Please read at your own risk. :)

Powermac 275mhz 64meg RAM  24-bit, 832x624, 15" monitor
33.6 dialup  NN 4.03

URL: http://www.madave.net

<SNIP>
- Page loading time

        Good. Around 1.2-1.5k per sec.

>- Browser compatibility

        Didn't have any problems with NN 4.03, so...

>- Layout critiques

        Basic, simple layout. As a graphic designer, I can't say a lot for
it, but as a potential customer, it works.

>- Suggestions as to how to better format this site without using expensive
>shopping cart software.

        There *are* ways to create a very inexpensive shopping cart. One
version was developed by a friend of mine, and uses some very neat CGI
tricks, but shouldn't be hard to duplicate. Try thinking of a separate
shopping-cart-style form on each product page, combined with a single order
form and a CGI parser.

>  I am used to criticism, so if you have a problem with the site, don't
>hesitate to tell me. Thanks in advance.

Index.htm
1: The animplane.gif animation is *very* jerky and has several frames with
horizontal lines that overscore the text. IMHO, this gif really needs to be
redone. Also, I would suggest dropping the animation. Since the moving
image is supposed to be a link to another page, and most surfers are
surprisingly uneducated about HTML, I can imagine some poor surfer chasing
the image around the page, trying click on it. :) Or, some visitors might
not even figure out that the image is a link, in which case you'll loose a
lot of traffic.
2: Are the December Specials still applicable? If so, some text saying that
would be nice.
3: Drop the winner.gif. It's just not needed on the index page. Perhaps it
would be better suited on an Awards page?
4: I'm a little confused about the Email address. There's one MAILTO link
beneath the game listing, to the fetch(at)madave.net address. However, there's
a different MAILTO at the bottom of the page, with the business address, to
fetch(at)madisonavenuegames.com  Do both addresses work? Could a form be
better suited for business email? Also, don't forget to write out the email
address with every MAILTO.

Register.htm

1: There's a radio button with the text "Would you like to be a member of
our Game Club?" followed by two choices "Yes" and "I am already a member".
My question: is it required that the visitor join the Game Club to be able
to enter the drawing? You might want to clear that up a little.

Order.htm

        (Total download time was a 1 minute 50 seconds.)

1: Hmm... At 832x624, and with a full-width browser window, this page still
didn't fit completely (horizontal scrolling in the right window).
2: IMHO, you could very easily drop the calculator. In my case, with a fast
processor, it was still *extremely* slow (35 seconds to add 25 + 34). Also,
try viewing the page with Javascript turned off. Is the calculator worth an
entire frame and significant download time?
3: There's a Fetch image in the left frame window, as well as one in the
right window. Also, the right hand image has a grey transparency, which
looks bad.
4: Is the 4.75 S&H for *any* number of products ordered, or is it per
product? Also, how are the games sent (FedEx Overnight, or 6th Class
Postal, for example)? What about international delivery? Are there any
areas you can't ship to?
5: Ordering by credit card: Is this a secured server? Can you prove it? Who
handles the credit card number once it reaches the business? (Is the number
held confidential, or is there a sheet of them lying on the front desk?)
6: If something goes wrong with my order, who can I contact, and how? Will
I be informed when you recieve my order? Will I be informed if there's a
problem with my order?
7: IME, convincing people to order online takes a *LOT* of credibility and
trust. The best way to establish credibility is to answer every possible
question the visitor might have, which is why I've nitpicked this so much.
:)
8: What about people who don't want to order online? Perhaps you could
provide a version of the order form that can be printed out, then sent by
snailmail.
9: The table ordering system is very large, but I guess it works.
10: "100% Satisfaction Guaranteed" What does that mean? If I don't like the
game, you'll refund my money? I guess I'm still harping on the credibility
theme, but I can't stress how important that is...

        Overall, I would suggest more information about the ordering
system. Otherwise, the site is functional and should work well. I didn't
check the code, but everything appeared to work with NN 4.03. Good luck!

                                                        Will Bower

>Dave Gruska
>Graphic/Web Site Designer
>mailto:dave(at)cyberia.com
>Cyberia Communications, Inc.
>http://www.cyberia.com
>(717)848-1439

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