Critique Revised CLIENTELEVISION.com Design

Irwin Kramer · #1 (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 04:49 PM

Although our video-on-demand television network produces short-form features for multiple platforms and distribution methods, CLIENTELEVISION - Video on Demand from LTVN | The Legal Television Network: is the hub of our broadband video channels.

Having endured a number of strong critiques (including those of WebProWorld members about a year ago), we have made every effort to revise and refine the site and its design to create a clean, intuitive and user-friendly interface for visitors who turn to the Internet for expert guidance on business, consumer, financial and legal issues.

We will soon be adding video upload functionality to enable approved experts to contribute to the evergreen library of videos that we have started here. But I would be deeply grateful for your feedback on the site design, presentation and ease of use, together with any recommendations on further revisions to any aspect of the site.

davebarnes · #2 (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 11:26 PM

I went to How can corporate or business lawyer help entrepreneurs? | small business, LLC, LLC pros and cons, corporation, corporation pros and cons, starting a business | CLIENTELEVISION - Video on Demand from LTVN | The Legal Television Network and my first reaction was: how do I get more previews to show up on THIS page? I don't want to click and click to see what is available. I have a high-speed connection so show me 50 at a time.

My second reaction is that color scheme (beige, brown) is boring.

I was not happy when I click on Contact Us and an email popped up. I want to know who your are. Postal, physical, phone, fax, etc. Better yet, would be your DUNS number.

amxfan · #3 (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 11:29 PM

First off say hello to Baltimore, Maryland as that is my old stomping grounds, or should I call it 'Ballmer'

I see a few things you may want to address.

1. Your title seems a bit long. Keep your title to 66 characters or less including spaces. After 60 characters, Google will cutoff the title when its displayed in the SERPs. Don't repeat words in the title, although remember singular and plural are different words to Google. For the page title, the data shows the top ranking pages have an average of between 6 and 7 words in the title with a keyword density of about 17%.

2. You can remove this from your code as it is not doing any good.

Code:

<meta name="Generator" content="JoomSEO by Phill Brown (http://www.joomseo.com)." />
<meta name="Generator" content="Joomla! - Copyright (C) 2005 - 2007 Open Source Matters. All rights reserved." />
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />

3. Your sitemap uses protocol .84 you may want to update it to 0.9 as stated on Google "Google adheres to Sitemap Protocol 0.9 as defined by sitemaps.org - Home. The Sitemap Protocol is a dialect of XML for summarizing Sitemap information that is relevant to web crawlers. Sitemaps created for Google using Sitemap Protocol 0.9 are therefore compatible with other search engines that adopt the standards of sitemaps.org - Home."

4. You may want to check the use of 'h' tags. I noticed h2 tags used 3 to 4 time per page.

5. You may want to add titles to your text links.

When I first viewed the page to be honest I did not like the layout, but after surfing around on it for a bit I found it worked.

amxfan · #4 (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 11:43 PM

@ Dave

You have peaked my curiosity. Besides credibility, is there any other reason to put your DUNS number on your website? I am asking because I never gave it any thought to put my DUNS number on any of my sites.

Irwin Kramer · #5 (**permalink**) 07-07-2008, 12:01 AM

Thank you both for taking the time to review CLIENTELEVISION!

I thought that the "file cabinet" design would work nicely for this, i.e., visitors searching through our video files to find the answers. I wanted a neat, clean, intuitive site, but not one that followed the same drab templates that everyone uses. Something functional, sensible and distinctive is what I'm going for here.

If the color scheme is considered "boring", what do you recommend as alternatives? Also, if the initial reaction was less than satisfactory, can you elaborate on the initial impression and why you warmed up to it? My concern, of course, is that most visitors won't spend more than a few seconds to assess a page and whether they intend to stay. On the other hand, I realize that not everyone likes the same styles and that web designers may have more pronounced preferences. So the question is: What stylistic elements, if any, should I revise further and which issues do you consider the most important to address?

Again, I really appreciate this. After nearly two years of modifications, both large and small, it's quite important to get such informed and considerate critiques and I want you to know how much I value the feedback.

Irwin

P.S. - Candidly, I am not sure what my DUNS number is or whether I even have one. I don't think I've seen one posted online and would be surprised to see another television network post it.

amxfan · #6 (**permalink**) 07-07-2008, 12:48 AM

I wasn't fond of the navigation. You have broad, general topics. Without using the search feature, finding what you are looking for is just about futile. Example - I have no trespassing signs posted around my yard. If somebody trespasses onto my land and starts damaging my vehicles, or stealing plants from the garden, do I have the right to shoot that person, as seen in alot of TV shows - people walking out the home with a gun and telling the trespasser to leave or be shot. Is this legal?
Most people, I would assume, when they come to your site, they are there for one specific reason. Some may not know what the legal name of it is, but they can describe the issue. Without knowing the legal terminology, will they be able to find what they are looking for without using the search feature?
I warmed up to your site because I do not have a specific reason to be there. I am not looking for an answer to a specific law or legal matter, therefore I was just browsing around looking at the information you had. The information you have is properly organized and it is good information, but it is a matter of finding the specific information I am unsure of.

davebarnes · #7 (**permalink**) 07-07-2008, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amxfan

Besides credibility, is there any other reason to put your DUNS number on your website?

Not that I know of. I put it on my site as our company is a tiny, 2-person firm. Our customers are all businesses. Some of them subscribe to D&B so they can easily (and for a marginal cost of $zero) learn a bit more about our company.

Irwin Kramer · #8 (**permalink**) 07-16-2008, 10:38 PM

Hi everyone,
I just finished revising the site based on recent comments and would deeply [I mean DEEPLY] appreciate your comments ... preferably positive ones (just kidding, well maybe a little).

Irwin