A new look to www.blondepoker.com........

[TightEnd]

Next time you pop across to www.blondepoker.com we'd be grateful if you'd take a fresh look at our home page, as we have changed it for you.

I hope you will agree the layout is now less cluttered and more user-friendly. We have concentrated on getting the content on the front page that your feedback shows most interests the blondeites.

The left hand column is Poker News and latest articles

The middle column is dedicated to the card-room and you'll see there is fresh news up there on April Events, and information on the tournament schedule on the network

The right hand column is an Information service. It covers live updates, the UK live scene tournament schedule and the popular results service and.....coming soon....two new features:

Firstly we are launching an online blondepoker clothing shop.

Secondly, and something that we are all excited about, watch out for the imminent launch of blondepedia. blondepedia is a player profile database written by snoops and a number of blonde writers and at outset it will contain biographies of over 700 players...including most of you! I'll let snoops fill you in more in due course, so watch this space

More features are planned, and as ever we would appreciate your feedback...good, bad or ugly!

[KingPoker]

Am i being really stupid in saying that it looks almost exactly the same as before.

[delurk456]

I hope you will agree the layout is now less cluttered and more user-friendly

Disagree... still a low signal-to-noise ratio.  When you view the page with the most common 1024x768 resolution, there is hardly any visible content... it has been pushed out of the way by an overly-tall blondepoker logo, gratuitous mugshots (who actually cares what Snoopy looks like?), another large banner ad taking up the whole middle section of the screen, and more banner ads running down the centre of the screen.  There is no visible link to the forum, which is your most valuable and/or popular asset.  You have to scroll about three pages down to find the articles -- a real shame, because some of them are quite well-written.

Basically, all the important stuff should be immediately visible... no one wants to fuck about scrolling around searching for stuff.  And you can't just shove advertising in people's faces and expect them to bother coming back.  I never go near the blonde homepage.

Someone should fix the photos...
Before: After:

Also, read this page; and you need a site map.

[TightEnd]

thanks for the comments

there is a forum link, rhs second section

the mugshots are temproary til the content is ready. Beleive me as soon as a pic of a hungover Beagle can come off the better!

I have referred the technical concerns re resolution to my IT department, all 27 of them beavering away as we speak.

[jakally]

New Layout of homepage....................................  +EV

Length of Homepage..........................................   -EV

Blondeshop.......................................................   +EV

Blondepedia......................................................   +EV

Losing most recent posts from homepage.............   -EV

Keep up the good work.

[TightEnd]

Losing most recent posts from homepage.............   -EV

Keep up the good work.

Thank you

the most recent posts aren't lost from the homepage. the posts relating to live updates are top right. all other latest posts are in the left hand column.

anything beyond that press the archive button

[Lee]

I haven't been on there for at least a year, on returning to it, it looks the same old too narrow jumbled mess it always did to my eyes. It's fundamentally flawed on a number of areas.

1. It is too wide for 800 res screens and it is far too narrow for 1024 screens, so much wasted space.

2. The logo at the top is blanked out by a block of red, if you have ad blocking on (it is picked up as an ad). Likewise with the adverts on the side of the forum.

3. Three column layouts on a 800 wide site layout do not work, period. If you are going to shoehorn things onto a page, expect people not to look. It is mandatory for 3 column layouts to have space around to define and make it easier to navigate.

4. If it is designed for current blonde members, then adverts left, right and centre plus the blonde family album are a total waste of space and bandwidth. Anyone with blonde knows who these people are couldn't give a monkeys what they look like. IF however it is designed to attract new poker players into blonde, then the SEO is appalling and undoubtedly will be failing.

5. If the site succeeds and gets me to the blonde home page, i am then greeted with adverts for other sites. I find this quite incredible, having got somebody to your homepage, they are then provided with adverts to go use other sites. Show me any other website/business in the world that advertises it's competitors? What's the aim with this site?

6. Blonde used (to me) to mean a poker family/community with a website for it's users. It just looks like a site trying to make money from any possible avenue nowadays.

7. The greatest asset you have, the forum, does not have it's own direct link on the homepage (in view) - this has to be one of the craziest decisions ever made. Why do you insist on having things hidden away in sub menus which search engines also despise.

8. If you are going to redesign your site, then redesign it, don't codge it and give it a flick of paint here and there. It looks identical to me, although i accept you may have changed a number of things, the fundamental layout and clutter is the same. If you think anyone will hit that page and think "oooh a redesign, this looks good". Then you are very very wrong.

9. Scrap the old layout ideas and come up with something totaly different, a brand new fresh idea with some new input, if you don't do this then you are just wasting your time. It's old, it's stale and it's boring.

10. Have a look on your web page view stats and notice what people actually take a look at. Work out why, make these areas easy to find and then re-assess it regularly.

11. Where's the RSS feed?

12. 20% of your content will be servicing 80% of your visitors, never forget this. Make the 20% visible, easy to find and a joy to read.

13. The colour scheme is drab and has been the same for what appears an eternity, business branding is fine and a good idea, ideally your logo should provide this (if it can be seen), leaving you free to create a new fresh, modern and exciting look. If you insist on yellow and black for everything, then at least do black on yellow for section title etc. This would make a big change to the eye. It looks like a huge bumble bee currently for no other reason than lack of creativity. The current section titles just blend into the site. If you want to define areas on your site, then define them, NOT blend them.

I do a lot of site reviews and at least 80% of people (when they ask for a site review) are actually just after a pat on the back. Don't fall into this bracket, whatever you do. Those who listen and take on board criticisms from reviews are the ones who create better websites - 100% guaranteed. It's not about what you think and like to see, you are the huge minority.

I was asked to do this by someone who cares about Blonde, use it as you wish.

Good luck.

[Ginger]

Thanks for doing that Lee, your review WILL be looked at and taken on board. Feedback is always a good thing, whether it be good or bad.

[tikay]

I do a lot of site reviews and at least 80% of people (when they ask for a site review) are actually just after a pat on the back. Don't fall into this bracket, whatever you do. Those who listen and take on board criticisms from reviews are the ones who create better websites - 100% guaranteed. It's not about what you think and like to see, you are the huge minority.

Thank you. It's a work-in-progress, & well-informed feedback is exactly what we need. We will never please everyone, but we are trying to make the site better, & we will.

As to promoting rival businesses, it may seem daft, but it's a short-term plan, until bpc revenues enable us to stand on our own two feet, independent. Until then, we have to pay the bills, & it's the temporary lesser evil, enabling us to get from A to B. We intend that the very expensive to produce Live Updates will always remain free-to view, hence, in the short-term, we need Sponsors, to whom we are immensely grateful.

Keep the feedback coming, please.

[snoopy1239]

thank you for the feedback. I'm sure Tighty and Bongo will take it on board and make the necessary changes to improve the site.

Does anyone have any comments regarding content?

Please feel free to let rip. All comments are welcomed.

[TightEnd]

Thanks for the great feedback

a lot of it I agree with (in an ideal world!). Rest assured that wrt 10 and 12, we've done that..or tried to!!

[Lee]

When you work your nuts off and the resulting feedback is (possibly) not as you hope, it can be one of the most demoralising feelings that exists. I was a consultant for a number of years and i watched peoples hearts sink as they were told things. However, i also got to see them smile like cheshire cats at the end of projects, without that i could not have continued in the role.

If i could only provide one piece of advice to use in this area of business, it would be to "listen religiously to any new person that joins your team in the first 6 months". New people do not have the scars OR the broken window syndrome(explained below). They are fresh, clean, full of ideas and will display an enthusiasm that even your most interested existing members will not be able to. Treat new people and their ideas like the crown jewels (as long as they have a pulse and can spell their own name of course).

Forget what you have and concentrate on what you want. Never look at the old and say lets move this here, start afresh on a new clean piece of paper.

Broken Window Syndrome Defined

Your front door has 9 panes of glass, by accident one of them gets damaged one day. If that is not repaired within the first week or two, then it will probably remain unrepaired for years. Our brains have pictures of things in our minds, if this picture does not change (which it won't do after a week or two), then the damage is no longer seen and is duly ignored as it has become the norm.

[Lee]

thank you for the feedback. I'm sure Tighty and Bongo will take it on board and make the necessary changes to improve the site.

Does anyone have any comments regarding content?

Snoopy, this is one of the most frustrating Chicken & Egg situations. Your website has fantastic content, by now (if it already isn't) it should be what is classed as a "Hub Site", a central poker resource site for want of a better name.

The problem being that if people cannot find the resources or it's not interesting to find and read, then it will not succeed at this aim. The content, resources and information available is not in question at all, this is a pure design issue IMO. I defy anyone to say there are things missing or things need adding, if anything there is too much.

Live updates must cost a fortune, could one of these be scrapped once in a while and that money invested into the website? Is every live update that you do, one that people actually want and care about? I have no idea, i do not understand the intricacies of Blonde, but if cashflow is an area of concern, i would imagine that these kind of updates are very expensive - i may be naive here with this statement though.

I remember from some time ago your daily record on your poker challenge, i found this fascinating, reading the highs and lows, the tilts and the buzzes at wins. A poker diary of someone interesting, something that you could follow regularly, that would be a great read would be a fantastic addition. One central place to keep up with someones poker life, not mixed in amongst others etc.

We all recall how interesting the diary of Adrian Mole was at times.

I'd lock Peter Costa in a room until he says yes personally lol, this dude has the ability to keep you interested in long articles. Anything along the lines of how he writes would be great IMO.

[tikay]

thank you for the feedback. I'm sure Tighty and Bongo will take it on board and make the necessary changes to improve the site.

Does anyone have any comments regarding content?

Snoopy, this is one of the most frustrating Chicken & Egg situations. Your website has fantastic content, by now (if it already isn't) it should be what is classed as a "Hub Site", a central poker resource site for want of a better name.

The problem being that if people cannot find the resources or it's not interesting to find and read, then it will not succeed at this aim. The content, resources and information available is not in question at all, this is a pure design issue IMO. I defy anyone to say there are things missing or things need adding, if anything there is too much.

Live updates must cost a fortune, could one of these be scrapped once in a while and that money invested into the website? Is every live update that you do, one that people actually want and care about? I have no idea, i do not understand the intricacies of Blonde, but if cashflow is an area of concern, i would imagine that these kind of updates are very expensive - i may be naive here with this statement though.

I remember from some time ago your daily record on your poker challenge, i found this fascinating, reading the highs and lows, the tilts and the buzzes at wins. A poker diary of someone interesting, something that you could follow regularly, that would be a great read would be a fantastic addition. One central place to keep up with someones poker life, not mixed in amongst others etc.

We all recall how interesting the diary of Adrian Mole was at times.

I'd lock Peter Costa in a room until he says yes personally lol, this dude has the ability to keep you interested in long articles. Anything along the lines of how he writes would be great IMO.

Thanks Lee, Pete Costa is a personal friend, & a free spirit, but we are encouraging him, & others of his ilk, to Post more often. Only today, I have written to el blondie, John Duthie (who made a brief Post a few days ago) & Harry Demetriou (used tgo Post a lot, saw him in Monte Carlo & he promised to Post more if I reminded him) encouraging them to Post, & we shall continue to try & make the Content as interesting & varied as we can.

Site Design, well I am afraid I simply don't understand it, so I leave the guys to get on with it, but they are trying (very, sometimes) & they are listening.

[Lee]

I guess it's down to what people want to see. I would happily lose a few live updates to have a years diary from Peter, it would offer me so much more. That may be exclusive to me though and just a few others, which would make it a terrible decision for a website.

I can tell you guys are working your nuts off and a little frustrated and maybe a little lost, get yourselves together and have a team hug and redefine the blonde values that you started. It would also be a good idea for you all to stand back and take look at what you have achieved so far, it's an immense resource, a fantastic community and well on it's way to something big.

Keep your chins up.