Please tell me what you think of the work I did for these people.
http://www.yankeeroofing.com
thank you,
Erik Mermagen
http://www.theBuzzOven.com

(Edited to comply with Site Review Rule#1: Paulo)

Using IE6
Resolution 1152x864

Really cool site. I like it, simple navigation with tastefully-done flash to make it stand out. The mouse-over taps got a little obnoxious for me after a couple of minutes, but I don't know if an average user will mind or not. Maybe a button to turn the sound off? Until I had some "Client Remarks" to put up, I might take that part down. It looks "naked". You have two layers of the brick background, I'm not much of a flash guy, but I assume you had to do that for sizing or something, but I think it would look better if there was just one layer. Why don't you squeeze the footer stuff up and get rid of the browser scroll bar?

Everything loaded fast for me (I'm on a satellite connection getting about 1.2Mbps down). I liked the intro. I must have clicked on the "Contact" link 10 times just to watch that map zoom in effect again, really nice. Is your client going to care about the "tattoogalaxy" link? You used a different font for the left nav menu on the contact page, I don't imagine this was intentional. Can you anti-alias the logo a *little* bit better (again, I'm not sure if regular users will notice this either)? Here (mouse over "Zoom In") it says "Flash to house", is this roofer jargon, does it mean flash as in "wham-ding, zoom in" or should it say "Flush to house"? The pictures and detail shots with the transitions from one to another is really cool. Some information about what areas they service would be helpful...I don't know if they are nationwide or only work their town. If they are local, you will probably want to add the names of the cities and towns they service to the meta tags.

There are a lot of "flash haters" around here who will preach about the evils of flash. I however like what you did, it gives the low-tech image of the construction industry a makeover which might give your client an edge over their competitors. Most of my suggestions and observations were very subjective and opinion-based, I'd like to hear some other opinions, especially anyone who knows anything about the construction industry. Great site, good work.

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Takes too long before it gets to anything abour roofing. Each click initiates a whole production which takes too long to get to anything having to do with why, amongst all the options, users should choose this firm. Takes too long to move from page to page on the site. The graphics, while quite clearly graphic, are not as informative about roofing as they could be.


...Now ....what's this Flash thing?

Hi Erik,

I agree with Flood. Although it is a bit slow - it's pretty darn cool!

There is a lot to be said for an interactive site and this one has a fresh look. I like it.

Lori

I loved the flash..! but I am on DSL so it went quickly...I really like the site. My only negative comment is that you have virtually no text...the photos are great... gives a potential customer a sample of the work the company has done, but you really really need some text...something for the wee spiders to read...and the text should be on every page... not just one page about the company

you have my vote!
Mary Ann

Beautiful site, one of the slickest Flash applications I've ever seen. Unfortunately I'm on dial-up, didn't have a whole lot of beer, and I gave up waiting on it all to load after about 4 or 5 pages! And, my dial-up screams!!

It is amazing work, absolutely beautiful. If your client, is targeting predominantly wealthy clients in a localized area, who are for the most part going to be inclined to have and want the best in everything, which would likely be expected in this application. They'll probably all have DSL, want the Flash Application, and thus I wouldn't change a thing! If on the other hand he's trying to reach the less affluent as well, or possibly those that live far enough out in the country that they're stuck on dial-up and don't have a choice regardless of how big their pocket book is, you might want to re-think it, because it does get to be a wee bit time consuming.

Rocky
www.rtfi.us

Hi mermagen,
I will start by saying I'm not a flash hater I love flash. I think your site is beautiful and love the look and layout of the site I also love your logo. Do I think it will sell your product no. If I'm looking for a company to put a roof on my site will I wait for the flash site to load no. I'm not looking for the best website in town I'm looking for the best roofer. I want some one with a site full of information about who they are and what they do. I could care less about the cute little design. The site should me nice clean and tell who you are and what you do in 3 seconds.
I herd that a lot of people now use the internet more to find information then the yellow pages. Being in the top of the search engines is very important. A flash site makes it about 50 times harder to get there.
If I was Coke, Disney, Six Flags, Ford or any other big name company I would have the best flash site around. But if I still have to compete for business then that's what I would do.
You have a lot of people telling you how neat your site is but how many of them would wait for the site to load and choose your site over one with information on the home page about the company that loads and gives the information they need to less then 5 seconds.
I herd that internet searches are worst then TV searches they will change to another site quicker then a TV surfer will change the channel on a TV because of a commercial.
People are looking for information not a pretty site. Although the site does need to look professional.

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Flash hater.

EDIT: This was meant to be a humorous stab at someone whose site review opinions are always dead on, whose opinion I value, and whom I respect about as much as you can respect anyone you've never met. Her fan club apparently wasn't impressed...

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I think Janeth pretty much told it like it was! She in fact stated the same thing I did. She just translated it to a level flood6 understood!

We both commended the work, but we both indicated we felt load time to be a problem. I think Janeth has a very valid point, in that if my roof is leaking, the last thing I'm going to be doing is sitting there patiently waiting for your Flash presentation to load. I'm going to want to talk to someone about getting up there with a bucket of tar and fixing it, NOW!

In that it's very obvious you've put a great deal of work into the site as whole, you might want to consider backing it up with an HTML counterpart like you did on your own site. Let those who have time for the show take the scenic route, and those that don't move along in the fast lane.


Rocky
www.rtfi.us

I love the site just like I would love a Corvette but I know with a family of three the Corvette would be to small. I think the site looks great but just do not know if it will sell the product.
I knew before I posted it I was going to make some people mad.

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Okay - still love the site...

But here's some second thoughts after these thought provoking comments and re-viewing the site.

1. You need a big, bold promise. It needs to grab your potential clients immediately. What is it? And what's your guarantee? Someone else might have nice pics too. Why should they choose you?

2. On the pics of the jobs - what if you had a thin black line leading out to a small box telling something about the job. What it entailed.

3. First page - bold promise, guarantee - and what makes you tick. I don't know anything about roofers. I want my roof done. I live in Ct. So - sell me with some words. Why is your work better then the next guy? And his quote is $800 less. What's up with that?

4. Details page - same thing. What are those pics?

I wouldn't loose the flash. That's just me. I WOULD add some text. Educate the visitor.

Good luck!

Lori

Yes agreement all around, that is a NICE site and I might add it to my "deadly sites" links - if and when I ever get back to finish it.
I just picked up a roofing (bye the way, it's pronounced 'rufe', eh) client and around here it seems that people are very interested in; #1 - prices, and #2 - when can you do it and how long will it take?
I like the map, easier than image mapping etc.
Need back or home button, to get to home page again, on 'Details' closups pages AND (sigh) javascript error "clickWindow is null....." when loading details page.
I'm comin' to you for my flash, though !

I love these sites made by theBuzzOven. I looked many of the Flash sites mad by Eric and they are very "flashy." I have Cable hookup so the presentations are fast.

I have a question which I hope someone will answer:
Can the text in Flash built websites get indexed in the search engines?

Heather