Testing Tiki Diablo's site

Hey everyone, I've been putting together a site for Danny, AKA Chiki Tiki, AKA Tiki Diablo, AKA Allouishous Stompwhopper, oh wait, scratch that last one. Anyways the site is almost done but something that we were dealing with in making his site is that we made it look like a tiki bar. This means a square format, not a scrollable format. In the old days of web design sites were made at 800 x 600 pixels. That was back when everyone had tiny screens though, I think most people have bigger screens so we made the site for a higher resolution. I was considering going back and making a duplicate version of that is at 800 X 600 though just in case there is anyone out there that still has their screens set at that resolution. I'm going to put up the site for a couple of days as a test so you guys can tell me if there are allot of you that have your screens at 800 X 600, you'll know cause you won't be able to see the whole bar, it will be cut off on the bottom and on the right. Also if you spot any broken links or anything like that just let me know. A couple of sections aren't done yet like the accessories and clothing stuff but we'll get that ready soon. Also sometimes things apopear right on some browsers and not on others. This is a general test to let us know if there are any drastic fixes. The site is image heavy so please be patient with the upload time if you are on a dila up modem.

Of course you all know how much Danny values you guys's opinion so you guys are checking the site out early for testing purposes before he starts putting his site out there.

http://www.tikidiablo.com/

Hey SS,
Just checked out the site, and it looks good. I even sent an email inquiry about some product, but the address isn't valid yet. The one thing I might change is the size of the space that shows the product. I would make the logo graphics a little smaller and the product area larger. But the items look great! Can't wait for the finished site!

tikigreg

[ Edited by: tikigreg on 2003-09-15 18:08 ]

Yeah I just turned on the emails, and me and danny were actually talking about instead of having each product appear within the bar area maybe having a pop up window appear wfor each prddouct when you click on it's item. We just weren't sure if people would be annoyed by little windows popping up for each product they clicked on.

[ Edited by: susane on 2004-01-20 06:07 ]

Looking good. It's about time. Now if only Bamboo Be...

It doesn't work on my screen at all. Everything is way down below and I can't scroll. Not good for tiki. Not everybody has the latest moniotrs. Innovation is cool but you gotta make it accesible to as many people as possible. Also the word Tiki in the title isn't very visible as a few letters run off. Look at my site http://www.tikijungle.com It's almost too simple. Updated images coming tomorrow I hope.

Good luck on the site Sam, I like the black background....similar to TC's and Bosko's.

[ Edited by: jungletrader on 2003-09-15 21:28 ]

You should enable scrolling. As it stands now, I cannot see the entire image. If you ever want to add additional content, you don't have any more page space.

I know this is a test so make sure that you ENLARGE the images so that ChikiTiki's awesome products are clear and easy to see.

Nice work Sam. Looking forward to doing a little Shoppin

Monkeyman

Hey Sam,
Looks really good!
I have been doing websites professionally for 7 years now, so take this for what it's worth, though (as you know) I have not checked it out on the "assembly line" (different version editors, computers (old-new), etc..).
I know that’s a volcano on the right, but it needs more body / visible cone (dimension) on the bottom (for the clueless observer). I’m just trying to be helpful, not righteous.
I would be happy to visit this website. The only thing I would like to see added — is that I could order a mai tai to be delivered at my doorstep. :)
Nice Job!
http://www.audioautographs.com

A Tiki Cheers To You!

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2003-09-15 22:08 ]

Now if only Bamboo Be...

My 9-5 job gets in the way.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

p.s. website soon...

Cool , thanks guys, thats exactly why I wanted some feedback, I'm hearing some good stuff. First off I will definitley have to make the products bigger. I'll probably go with the pop ups so that people will see more of the detail on Danny's work.

Hey Unga, don't worry man, I can take criticizm, it's the only way you know hat needs to be fixed. As for the volcano it was actually intentional not to build out the volcano and only put in the blast. I was basically trying to fake the effect of some Leeteg velvet paintings I've seen where you only see the high lights and everything else falls away to black. I could see putting in more detail on the volcanoe closer to the edges of the explosion, figures that the blast would light up the area around there. In a couple of days I'm going to go back to work on the site taking all the suggestions I hear into account.

Well its about f'in' time! The site looks good Fred. Here's my two cents:

1. The product pics definitely need to be bigger. I like the idea of a separate pop-up for each product. As a potential customer, I like to see clearly what I'm spending my money on - especially if its going to be something more pricey like a tiki, tiki bar, etc.

2. Thumbnail some of the products details along with the products dimensions (bar widths/depths/heights, tiki heights/diameters/finishes)

3. Definitely make the site scrollable. I agree with JungleTrader when he says, "Innovation is cool but you gotta make it accesible to as many people as possible." I think is better to NOT assume that everybody views the net at a high resolution and has a high speed connection.

4. I know this is more work but, consider a secure shopping cart for some of the non-limited edition items (like t-shirts, mugs, etc). Makes it easier for customers to buy items spontaneously and not have to "jump through hoops" to purchase an item.

5. Add an "About Me" page to tell about Chiki Tiki Diablo's background (and if you need a sappy pic for it let me know :) ). Every Artist page has one.

My .05 cents. Hope it helps.

Hey Sam I Am, who are you going to use as your webhost for Dan's site? I suspect my site is down because my host is in Virginia and Isabel is blowin' them away. Therefore I'm looking for a new host on the west side. Any suggestions?

It looks great! I've only got one recomendation that hasn't already been mentioned; after selecting an item to view, have a link to view the next item. It was mildly annoying to have to go back and then select the next item.
A

I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions, please keep them coming folks.

Hey jungletrader. Danny's host is http://www.nomof.com the initial set up fee is $200 but after that it's only $70 per year. They charge once per yaer as oppossed to charging monthly fees. I know it's to late in your case as it was in Danny's cause both of you already hace your names registered but, if you register your domain name with them they cover your registration fee each year as a bonus. Yeraly registraion fees are $35 so if thery are covering that for you it's like you are really only paying $35 per year for hosting.

I have to agree with what everybody else is saying. The graphics are great but you have to really cater to the lowend user regarding screen size. I still design to
640 x 480 and have never had a complaint yet that the size was to large or small. I dig the graphics and of course the goods. Much luck to you with the new store!
Check out cheap hosting options at these two places. Very cheap and impressive options:

http://www.ipowerweb.com

http://www.ixwebhosting.com

Cheers,
Chongolio