Help with my biking website

[JonRoyle]

hey,

i decided to build a website for my uni course based on offering some basic hints and tips for new bikers (specifically 125 riders like myself)

i have to have external evaluators look at and critique my website. i was hoping that you could help.

below is a small questionnaire.

it would be much appreciated..

Please rate the following attributes of our website from 1 to 5: 5 being best

Overall Layout/design:
Ease of navigation:
Accuracy of information:
Quantity of content:
Meeting the needs of user: (someone wanting info on 125 motorbikes)

What areas do you think can be improved?

https://www.125ccmotorbikes.net23.net/index.html

the contact page does not work on the free webhosting i am using but the page is complete!!!! also it does not work well in internet explorer for several bizarre reasons. (apologies to ie users)

[glynlowen]

Overall Layout/design: 3.5
Ease of navigation: 4
Accuracy of information: 3.5
Quantity of content: 3
Meeting the needs of user: 3(someone wanting info on 125 motorbikes)

What areas do you think can be improved? First off, the punctuation is not very good. It would look way more professional if it was just correctly punctuated!
Also, most people who are looking at 125s would surely want info on learning too...? And, maybe linking to some specific links for REVIEWS of the motorcycles would be helpful, rather than the manufactures blurbs. And maybe a buying guide, ie. what to look for in a second hand bike.
Hope this helps!
____________________
Passed Theory-19/07/11 Passed Module 1-5/09/11 Failed Module 2-23/10/11 Passed Module 2-16/11/11
Past Bikes-Honda CG125, 2005 Kawasaki ER5, Suzuki SV650S
Current Bike-Need a car now!

[The Artist]

Make the main font smaller.
Go through it again, capital letters etc
Rather than sportsbikes and Naked bikes, just have Manufacturers.
The 3 models on the left hand side might be a bit confusing to a newbie as they appear to be random selections you made.

Is this just for Uni or do you plan on running it for a while? If so get set up with a proper domain name. £10 for a couple of years and some places include basic hosting with that.

[Slacker24seve...]

The stuff about the RS125 doesn't look right. The 4T doesn't make that much power; the old one did. I might be wrong but the pictures you have are of the 4T.
____________________
Triumph Daytona 675 track bike + girlfriend's Honda Hornet 600
Selling a hack/winter bike for less than a grand? PM me.
Banger rallies are ace

[JonRoyle]

thanks for the replies. iv not had chance to check the grammer yet. probably should have already but had to finish the assignment side of it.

at this moment in time i will not be hosting it online. i only put it online so i could get feedback.

thanks again for the comments. much appreciated.

[cdlxxvi]

[J.M.]

I really dislike the design, I didn't really bother reading the content either because the font was just too big. Kind of annoyingly so.

Also, the navigation bar doesn't fit properly on smaller screens (see attached-pic), it overflows.

Extending from that, on a device where hoving over the items isn't easily possible, like a tablet/smartphone, you lose access to menu items.

Can you really get away with designs like that? I was in a website design competition a few weeks ago and had 4 hours to design, plan, create and test a website, including full documentation (write up). It's not like I do websites as a career either, I'm 18 in college, not even at Uni yet.

I know that the thing you can be least arsed with is how it looks... I think a lot of coders are probably the same... but it's very important and you can do better.

On the plus side though, the pages do show layout consistency which is good for the user and the text is easy to read colour wise.

Back on to a negative though, black backgrounds don't work for me. Users are used to light coloured backgrounds with black/dark text - this is where they will initially look on screen for information. Different coloured text feels weird and unfamiliar to me and makes me not want to read.

But, as I say, you can do better Not trying to have a go at you, I'm hoping this post was constructive criticism.
____________________
2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[P.]

Cheap linux hosting package and Joomla will be your friend for the layout etc.

Pick up some reviews from here.

Booya.

[Teflon-Mike]

I'm not going any further. I cant read it. I'm on my desk-top on an old CRT monitor, with 'narrow-screen' proportions. See some pics but I cant read a sentence.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[CaNsA]

IMO it looks like an Ebay item description.

[JonRoyle]

ok thanks very much for input. really appreciated,

someone commented on copyright, this isnt going online, i needed feedback and would prefer it from people who know what they are talking about with regards to content rather than people saying oh isnt it great

anyways i digress, the copyright is part of the criteria. and had to be put in, as well as numerous links to websites etc.

this was done on notepad and its my first website so iv had to learn everything basically from scratch. i chose the colour because i liked it, then had to change a lot because of the testing validation.

anyway again thanks for the input. especially the people using smaller screen resolution or hand held devices. it was not something i needed to test and never looked into it. but definatly something to look into next time i build one.

[alexknight200...]

Overall Layout/design: 3
Ease of navigation: 4
Accuracy of information: 4
Quantity of content:3
Meeting the needs of user: 2

The font is to0 large, navigation is simple, which is what you want, content ok, but would improve over time. I imagine if the site was run for a while (i know this is just a project) more detailed content would be added.

Not sure on the colour combo, design is not my strong point.
____________________
Current stable: Yamaha XVS 650 1996 - Honda Super Magna VF750 1988.

[supZ]

[JoeDougieDoug...]

Yeah, its alright, but double-check your grammar, especially on your main page. Also, it might be an idea to not copy MCN's paragraph about the CBF 125

Overall Layout/design: 4
Ease of navigation: 4
Accuracy of information: 3.5
Quantity of content: 2
Meeting the needs of user: 3.5

Hope this helps.
____________________
CBT Passed - 22 / 10 / 11 >> Theory Passed - 16 / 02 / 2012 >> Mod 1 Passed - 07 / 03 / 2012 >> Mod 2 Passed - 18 / 05 / 2012.

[Andy_Pagin]

Obviously grammar, sorry that should NOT be an afterthought, not for a fourteen year old yet alone a university student.

Lots of factual errors, even at a glance....

Compulsive Basic Training - What's that then?

A CBT test Its not a test is a 1 day course that entitles you to ride a 125cc motorbike with a Bhp of no more than 15Bhp. this lasts for 2 years, then you must either retake the test or do an A1 restricted licence or a direct access (only if you are over 21)

A1 Restricted Licence

The A1 licence entitles you to ride a motorbike of up to 250cc completely wrong with no more than 33Bhp. After 2 years the restricted licence is automatically upgraded to a full licence and you are entitled to ride any Motorbike.

before taking the test both a hazard perception and theory test must be successfully completed. Misleading - they're one test


Your description of the YBR125 isn't great - 90mpg, I'd be worried if mine dropped to anywhere near that bad, basic dash? Well its got a rev counter & fuel guage which is a cut above basic IMO.

The stated purpose of this website is to provide information. Therefore you need to do your research thoroughly. To me it looks like you've just skimmed through some google results and cut & pasted.

So

Overall Layout/design: 3
Ease of navigation: 3
Accuracy of information: 0 - sorry if it's not 100% correct its useless.
Quantity of content: 2 - little originality, just loads of cut & pastes.
Meeting the needs of user: (someone wanting info on 125 motorbikes) - 0 due to inaccuracy.
____________________
They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[Andy_Pagin]

[map]

The menu under home is wrong, as in shouldn't be there.
In my experience home is home. Firstly there's no real need for it at all on the actual home page, that's just lazy/sloppy design. Second it only has one function, that is goto home page, it's not a menu option.

Suggest create another tab (e.g. Information) for the options currently under Home option.
____________________
...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[c_dug]

Obviously it's not an English course, but if you expect a site to be taken seriously then you need to be on top of the spelling, structure and grammar.

For instance I think this would be a better way of wording the first paragraph without changing it too much from how you had it.

[Alpha-9]

That's a terrible website, it looks cheap and the images are stretched and resized badly, the text is in one big block and is full of typos and incorrect grammar.

1/10 would not browse

Your site's about as bad as the KKK's
____________________
Fzr-600 1999

[supZ]

[c_dug]

To be honest the grammar and spelling, even the layout, all of it is forgiveable for a first draft of a site from somebody who hasn't done a site before. I know on the design side of things I probably wouldn't do much better. Wouldn't know where to start to be honest.

The thing that is an issue for me is the factual errors and inconsistencies throughout the side. It is posing an a place to come and find all of the information you need in one place, but honestly Wikipedia would be more useful! The content needs a real good looking at before it goes any further.

That said I'm sure it wont be marked on the accuracy of the information it provides, more how accessible it is.
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Teflon-Mike]

Overall Layout/design:
Looks identikit wizard made. Not badly, but theres nothing particularly eye catching or imaginative there.


Ease of navigation:
You have 4 pages! whats to navigate!

Accuracy of information:
See below


Quantity of content:
See below

Meeting the needs of user: (someone wanting info on 125 motorbikes)

I want to ride a motorbike.

1/ Do I need a Licence?
2/ How doi I GET a licence?
3/ What kinds of licence?
4/ Is a 125 the ONLY size bike I can ride?
5/ What is 'Direct access'?
6/ What are these 'new' licence Laws I keep hearing all about?
7/ What are the benefits of starting out on a 125, rather than doing a course and getting a 'big-bike' straight off?
8/ What is CBT?
9/ What training do I need?
10/ What insurance do I get?
11/ What security should I buy?
12/ Should I buy new or used?
13/ is a 1500 budget 'realistic?
14/ Are there any Chinese bikes worth buying?
15/ I live in Sweeden. Does all this apply to me?



What areas do you think can be improved?

All of it!

You have? an intro, suggesting that the site will answer everything a learner may neeed to know.... then you offer half a dozen catalogue promo-breifs.

You aren't telling any-one anything; your site has no user 'value', its simplt re-gurgitating other peoples sales blurb.

see list of FAQ's. Use 'search' by username; enter mine, & screen by the Newby forum. READ.

Feel free to plagereise as much as you like.

Start with thesis I wrote on differences between bike genre's that concluded that all 125's so close in performance its not worth worrying about & pointing out that all but 'boring' commuters are asking you to pay HUGE premiums to have a bike thats NOT as newbie useful.

Read up on CBT, & get the CBT 'menu' and work through it, explaining what a complete newbie needs to know to get on the road & what they will have to 'do' during CBT.

Explain what comes next to get a FULL licence.

Tackle the common misconceptions of DAS. not all newbies HAVE to start on a 125... again, plagerise away promoting WHY its still a good idea even if they dont have to.

Newbies DONT need to be told dfetail specifics about bikes, this is all irrelevent detail they can get elsewhere AFTER they have got an idea about what they have to do to ride ANY bike.

Read the forum. Seee what the FAQ's are; see what the advice offered is.

THAT is what you need to tell people; NOT re-advertise Honda's ~& Yamahas you are not selling!

Content is ALL - get that first then worry about organising it & dressing it up.

Can be pretty and as well structured as you like, but without user 'value' no one will give it a second look.

Get the content; ANSWER the questions they want answered, they will forgive a few ectra mouse clicks to see it & less than pretty design.....

back to the drawing board I think.
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[map]

[doggone]

Some rather over harsh comments so far, I thought it loads quickly, easy navigation. Simple but effective and co-ordinated style.
I guess it contains useful information for anyone with only sketchy ideas about what bike they can ride and might be best for them.

I'd knock the font right down to about 10 or even 8.
You don't want to make people scroll down even if you need more pages.
Seen far worse, good start point for further refinement, and you've got to grips with the technical aspects pretty well.

[Rogerborg]

You asked about "Accuracy of information:", so you've put the content up for debate.

If you're going to just steal and publish other people's content then don't pass it off as though it were your own. Be up front about it and make your claims to fair use. Your CBF125 text is certainly stolen straight from MCN. And is this content yours too, or have you just blagged it all wholesale?

Don't whinge about Bigger Lecturers Made Me Do It. They're a bunch of work shy parasites who live off the public purse. Be better than that.

It's your site, it's publicly accessible, and if you've got any aspirations to making a living from creating things, then start respecting other people's rights to do the same. Sort it out.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike