I am currently rebuilding my website and would love your feedback. I know what I like and dislike about sites when I visit them. I like good information,search buttons and photos. I also know my site could be improved. What do you like or dislike about websites when you visit them?
- pictures-lots or few?
- search button
- members only section
- about us page
- shopping page
- contact page
- FAQ page
I am also guilty of not sending out newsletters like I should…I know this because some of you email me and ask me ‘why haven’t I received an email’?
What do you like to have in a newsletter?
Leave your ideas for a chance to win this DVD!
- upcoming events
- sale items
- videos
- private ‘member’ only section
- contests?
I also like contests. I do! I’m a sucker for a gift card or other prizes for answering questions.
In keeping with that thought I am going to give away three Jac DVD’s to people who leave comments below this post offering their insights. If you just post ‘hello’ or something…that won’t count but if you leave ideas you will be entered into a random drawing!
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Looking at your website.. The only thing I don’t like about it.. The wording all runs together. You might want to do a page? And then turn the page for the blog before and so on. Or use spacers to let you know it’s separating the days that you post a blog. And contest to win products are always good for fans. Lol
Thanks for asking fans for input and our opinions.
Kristi-YOU ARE A WINNER! Can you contact me with your info? Shoot me an email at info@westfallhorsemanship(dot) com and put your name and contest winner in the subject line. I need your address to mail you your DVD!
Tabs across the top for different sections. Eliminate having to scroll up and down if possible. Videos, videos, videos. A map of your travels, clinics, shows. A map where followers can add great trails to ride.
I really enjoy your site now. When I’m looking at pages search buttons & menu’s are almost always my first go-to.
I like websites that are simple!! I like pictures/videos especially if you are teaching us something new. Keep fonts simple for easier reading and if you have a dark background us lighter font colors or vice verses. Personally I like brighter colored sites, to me they are cheerful.
An easy to navigate site is obviously a goal for every site so keeping it simple is important. I think adding a search bar would be very beneficial as well so I wouldn’t have to dig through the website to find the content I wanted/needed. I enjoy seeing pictures and being able to get a little background on each horse (maybe in the About page?) and watching/reading little tutorials on some training/riding tactics.
I really enjoy reading your blogs – thank your for all the time and effort you put into it!
Simplicity above all else when it comes to websites. Pages littered with buttons galore and options for this or that are irritating.
Pictures are a great enhancement, especially when they directly correlate to the message being sent and are imbedded into the page and not just limited to a list of photo galleries.
Pages have to also load quickly. Any page where a person has to sit and wait for content to load, gets lower traffic times.
Keep side panels to a minimum. Readers like to read without having to constantly scroll further and further down a page that is squeezed due to side navigation bars run-amok.
Newsletters shouldn’t be a walking advertisement for sponsor after sponsor. Content should always exceed advertisement.
Updating your website in general is a great idea to do. I think it would be neat too have a section on the horses you own and ride. Talking about the different challenges and unique things each of them posses. Having alot of pictures is always nice, especially in the shopping section so people can see what they are buying. You do not have to change a ton to make a website better either. It is a great idea to get other peoples opinion. Thanks for your time, Erin.
P.s contests are always fun!!!
I think a Q&A section for us “little people” would be great, lots of pictures, and maybe a featured person/member of the quarter or month? Also, I personally, would really like an activity idea for families to do a horse related training or something along those lines, in order to get the kids involved with horses. 🙂
My best advice is to have a separate mobile layout that visceral to navigate from a phone or tablet.
I like everything about your site now. I, too am a sucker for pictures of your horses. A shopping page would be fun. Overal, I can’t add or subtract from other comments given 🙂 I liked your advice for older horses .
I like having
About us
Training tips/advice
Contact us
Pics, lots of them!
Maybe a forum, where fans can talk to eachother to get tips/advice
Shopping
Faq
Simplicity is the main goal of mine when I go to a website. Also the choice of colors people use in them, I personally feel the brighter the colors the more drawn people are to your website. Picture….yes definitely the more the merrier.
Simple layout, a top horizontal menus with key topics. Side menu for submenue. I do not like multiple level sub menu in a drop down format too difficult to use with handheld devices. When designing keep in mind your followers who use phones to visit your site. Stay away from script fonts. Use high contrast background / text ( example:light text against dark background). Four personality types will visit your site 2 love tons of photos and graphics the other 2 like detailed information. Homepage huge photos and a video frame with you and jack & mission statement. Other pages offer tons of content. Set up a members area for that content access (PDFs & video tutorials get analytical here). Make sure your branding is consistent with other materials (brochures videos blog etc).
I like all of the above, but also easy to navigate and fast loading, the pictures can be small to load fast but clickable to bigger ones
Stacy
I really like the style of your blog; I don’t usually like brown (except for in horses’ coats), but it looks really nice on the blog and it is a certain very definite style of its own. Maybe adapt this for the whole of your website?
Your content is obviously right up there too! Short or long, all your writing is top notch and always a treat.And I like the “related articles” section right underneath each article in the blog. I have found some gems that way that I somehow managed to miss otherwise!
I’m a sucker for pictures. You’ve got gorgeous horses; so keep showing them 🙂 I also love these random little clips of your horses (like Popcorn playing in the mud), but I couldn’t mind if I saw them via your webpage or your youtube channel.
And of course never do away with the DO NOT ENTER section. I think what it tells you is an intergral part of your whole mindset and it’s great fun to discover as well!
I don’t care very much for newsletters; the reason being that social media already provides sufficient updates from you- and it is probably easier for you as well to just throw out a 2-liner about what you’re up to or special sale items on facebook, or a 30 second clip on youtube rather than compiling enough information to be worth it making a newsletter with. This might exclude people who don’t want to do facebook and the likes, so I would never just dismiss a newsletter to keep in touch, just thinking there are easier ways 🙂
And then one last thought- have you ever considered a forum?
I like sites where you can easily see what is where – with colours friendly to the eye and big, clear headings. Pictures are always welcome (especially if they fit in with the text!), but they shouldn’t be too big (high res) as some people have limited data for the internet. It is nice when the pictures are there in a decent resolution so you can see clearly what is going on, but if you want a high resolution picture you can perhaps have one load when someone clicks on the picture (but you already have this here!).
I feel a search button is very important and it must be clearly visible (so you don’t need a ‘search’ to find it). It must also do a decent job with the search and maybe have an advanced option or two. 🙂
A private ‘member’ only section would be cool, but please try to not put so much one there that the ‘non-members’ feel completely left out. It is good to have a dangling carrot to entice ‘non-members’ to join, but it mustn’t be so extreme that they leave because it is ‘one of those sites where you have to be a member if you want to read/see anything of value’. I don’t expect you to go this ‘super exclusive’ route, but I thought I’d mention it.
I feel an about us page is very central to a website as that is usually the first place I go to when visiting a new site. That and the FAQ page – you quickly get a feel for the people involved when reading these. It would be especially great if the FAQ page is often updated as more questions come us. But then it must be grouped nicely so it is not just one big body of questions. A contact us page with all the handy info is also central to the site. As for a shopping site, well, who doesn’t like shopping from the comfort of their home? 😉
I LOVE getting newsletters. I prefer it to have minimal pictures (or small ones) with mainly short descriptions of whats going on, new posts, competitions, videos (etc) and then a link to each of the items’ full pages with all the pictures and bling you want. So even from a phone you can see what is in the newsletter and then you can load the pages that you are interested in.
Oh, and competitions are always welcome. They don’t even have to be that big, any small, but relevant and useful prize will be great.
I can’t wait to see the changes!
I like the pictures & videos. I like the FAQ section too. I like it when the information is broken up into articles that I can skim through, with a “click here for more” line so that I can read what is important to me at that moment.
I’d like to recommend my friend (& fellow horseman!) Bruce Gemberling to help build your site! He built Peet’s Coffee, topdrawerlingerie.com, bottomlinepublications.com, and several others! Check out his work. You can reach him at gemberlingb@gmail.com
I’d like a Q & A forum. Searchable. A few pictures, but not a lot. Thanks
I’d like to see information to help older riders with training, tips, setting realistic goals etc. We older women are still riding, training and taking lessons. Short Clips included in your current website are great visual aids especially with the narrative.
I like all of the above, but also make it easy to navigate and fast loading, pictures can be small to load then clickable to bigger
I like to be able to have search buttons that work”my horse won’t bend…” And it brings up areas where you spoke to narrow the search options. I also like pictures with some explanation of what’s happening. It is also great to be able to interact with the site as well. “Free” challenges are also great.
I like a website with lots of pictures, videos, and animations. A search button is also very useful, and great information is a must! For a newsletter, contests and events would be nice to learn about. Also, training advice coloumn, or describe how to use/perform a new exercise with your horse would be great.
I love the idea of a search button and a shopping page with all of the training tools you use and where to get them! An easy to use website is also appreciated. Having all of the website pages clearly labeled (home, about us, etc.) is very helpful. Also, having a page with all the past training questions other people have asked on your Jac page and your answers to them would be extremely helpful!
I think your website is pretty amazing, as are you! Music is usually too loud and that bugs me. Pop up ads are another!! Videos are great so I can see just how things are supposed to work. If I could every have been half the awesome woman you are…Show horses are buried out back and I am too old, no truck. Please just keep on doing what you do, where ever you end up and hopefully one day I can get down to the expo and see you in person!! Safe travels and Angels on you Shoulder, Sue
First off I have to say that this is one of the better blog or horse sites I have seen and the ONLY one I can stand to visit regularly. I would love to see upcoming events I love how personal it is! I tried to subscribe to the page but I do not get notifications when you add things other than on my FB. Personally I do not trust FB and would love an email notification when something new is posted. I LOVE lots of pictures but not when I am reading. Personally I like a few pictures in a blog post that show what you are talking about but then a separate page of pictures of your horses and adventures.
I have to admit I tend to only skim newsletters so it would have to be catchy. I really dislike video newsletters (some bloggers are doing this now). I LOVE watching your videos but I like to know when I open something that it is a video. If I open an email and it is not in print I close it. A link to videos would be welcomed though as I always look forward to a new video!
Easy to navigate! I find websites with a ton of information overwhelming to search through and look at. Clean and concise is the way to go, with a lot of visuals. I like how you answer questions that people send you – you could do a weekly Q and A column!
I love pictures, but only if they are ‘changed up’ on a regular basis (maybe every 2 mos?). For someone who visits a site regularly… something fresh to see is always MUCH appreciated! (This is a general observation, not specific to your site, Stacy). I like ‘whats new’ sections, and also ‘just for fun’ for items that may be a little off topic or light-hearted. While I can see it has its purpose, I am not a fan of “members only”: to me, it comes across as “we are better than you, you are excluded”. I guess it depends on what is in that section. It almost seems to go against the helpful spirit of wanting to help ANYONE who wants to learn or improve. Maybe its just the wording of the title I don’t like. I love a more “open door/everyone welcome” feeling. That’s just me. Also, I’d say FAQ are a keeper/must, as well as the online store. Good luck, and thanks for all the help you never knew you’ve given me and my horses!!!!!
I enjoy pics and videos. Always looking for new information and tools for the very early horse person. I agree the contests are fun and keep people coming back and interacting. FAQ is also good with upcoming events. I love to see what is going on and see how you would fix or reward the behavior.
I like sites that are easy to follow. Yours does pretty good. As much as you like contests, I like free! So, some of my favorite clinician sites are those with free training even if they are short clips about the DVDs. Schedules, shopping area, and about are all important to me for a site like yours. If I don’t know much about you I would want to know your “philosophy” on horses. I do not like web sites with sounds other than from videos. Overall, I like your sites. The one thing on YOUR site that I might like is an easy way to see an episode of Jac. If I missed for awhile and didn’t know what I missed I have to scroll around and try to figure it out. Not too much of a problem, but something tidy and nice may help folks keep up. Oh, I also do very much enjoy the contests and Weaver freebies and I do tell them thanks for supporting you.
I personally love a search bar. It helps to find your blos or tips on a certain problem solution I need. It’s also fun to have a store section, people who love you want to advertise for you with shirts and has and tack that you endorse. I always appreciate it when you explain why you endorse a certain piece of tack. A newsletter, monthly would be great to find out where you will be and maybe highlight a training technique. Thanks for always reaching out. I have enjoyed your posts on Facebook.
I’d love to see training tips that include some insider tips on confirmation, swirls, things you look for and what you find in different outcomes based on those things. Also products you recommend or use and why. So glad I’m getting back to my passion, 3 years out of the industry feels like a lifetime.
ideas for a website… hmm lets see
pictures-lots or few? – Depends on the subject, talking about the horses and/or training advice, i would do a lot of pictures, but talking about contact info i would do a few
search button – always, it would get pretty annoying if you have to click through 6 pages to get what you want
members only section – depends, do people have to pay to become a member, or is it just free, to see how many people are fans?
about us page – that’s always fun, you learn a bit about the people who the site is for, it also helps to get rumors to get set straight
shopping page – that’s a briliant one, how else are you going to sell your dvds?
contact page – depends on what for, to mail you for a question? or to actually visit? it’s a good idea but it could go two ways, next thing you know and you have a thousand people standing infront of your house, lol
FAQ page – that’s always nice, then people know if the question they wanna ask, has already been asked, so that you don’t get a hundred mails with the same question
what also would be a fun idea is a Horse page, so that the fans can see some info about the horses
videos are a fun idea too, but most people already know your youtube page and this blog
about the news letter
upcoming events – always handy, that’s what a news letter is for
sale items – also quite handy, that way you actually know that people know you’re having sales and not that they suddenly find out when they wanna but something, and it could help, i mean who doesn’t love sales?
videos – depends on the videos, cause i think most also follow the blog and if you get two mails about a new video of Jac’s training, it would be a bit dubble
private ‘member’ only section – but aren’t you a member to get a news letter? so basicly it’s already a member only section?
contests? – those are lots of fun to do, and it makes the people who win happy, and those that don’t win, enter the next one, just like now with us giving you advice for the website and to be able to win a dvd
pardon my english if there are weird mistakes in there, i’m dutch and my english isn’t the best there is
I like your website now because of its simplicity. I don’t like websites with a ton of ads. Seems like I always click on one by accident and it’s annoying to have that happen. I also avoid websites with pop ups that require closing continually. A members only section is something I never use. You always have the right amount of pictures and video. But the main thing is your content is relavant and useful and conveyed in terms we understand. Anyone can have a fancy website but really we are here because of YOU and the info you so graciously give us. But what ever you do don’t remove the “Do Not Enter” section!! That’s brilliant!
I also enjoy pictures but for the users with slow connection, maybe a pictures page of the website so some pictures can be seen but if you are a picture person then they decide to click and load the picture page. I like all of the bullets outlined above but would also consider a video page so all of your YouTube Video links could be accessible from a page. Search is always good but everyone seems to like clearly labeled “buckets” or pages for the item they are looking for (pictures, videos, blogs, shopping, members only, etc.). Good Luck! 🙂
I like the new layout, pretty easy to use. Love the pictures and events so far no dislikes.
Great job rebuilding!
I like a site that is easily accessed, hate going back and forth and not finding what I am looking for. I love questions and answers.
Hi, I don’t know about other people but I don’t like the search button however I do believe that websites are best when they are easy to find information. Sort of like drop down menus etc. lots a pictures, videos and training information. Possibly events that are happening or achievements also sale items are great like merchandise and other items. Possibly a comment area where people can comment thanks or what they are having the most troubles with their horse etc.
Hope that helps!
With very little time to sit & read it’s a great help for me to see a visual example. IE: a small 2 minute video of a good example & then an equally short example of improper handling. Would love to see more contests to win a spot in a clinic for mentorship .. some of us oldsters never stop looking for ways to improve
Simplicity! Yes, photos. You already have a great website. I personally am not a big fan of “members only” stuff…simply because I don’t like having to sign in…Its a lazy thing, I guess. 🙂 Shopping? yes. About page? yes. I have yet to use the search button….I love how open your website feels. Okay, there is that “do not enter” button. I really like the info listed on the right-hand side…and can browse through topics, and its nice. So, good luck with the re-model…I’m excited to see it!
I like seeing pictures of your horses. I really like newt and popcorn. upcoming events would be good too.
Hi Stacy, I like websites that are easy to navigate and get you where you want to go fast without taking you thru too many pages to get there. I also like alot of pictures because pictures can tell a very good story with out alot of words. Websites should be full of tons of information, thats why I visit them, and I am so disappointed in the ones I visit and there is nothing there to read or learn from Another big turnoff for me is when the font is either so light or so blended into the background you can’t read it..I like websites that give the visitor insights to training where you don’t need to spend alot of time scanning the pages but they are there sporadically on pages to help you and motivate you. In your newsletter I like to know what things you are upto and how you handle setbacks in your life. We all have them but I like to hear about how the professionals handle them. So excited to see your new website
Newsletter: all of the above that you mentioned; also love members questions – sometimes they ask things that I think I’m the only one that doesn’t know that!
Pictures: few – or thumbnails with links – too many take up too much space/time. Other stuff listed is all good.
I don’t mind sporadic newsletters (variable reinforcement works best :-)). Means you are busy doing real stuff, not sitting at the computer.
Questions/contests – yes; makes me think and gives opportunity for interaction, not just a monologue on your part.
Love your site and the Jac series. My mare will foal any day now and this will be my first ‘from scratch’ opportunity to train. Thank you.
I would like to see upcoming events that you’ll be competing in. But I would like them well in advance so I could get tickets and plan for the trip. Lastly I love pictures they are good tools for teaching and are enjoyable ! Thanks for asking !
Karen-YOU ARE A WINNER! Can you contact me with your info? Shoot me an email at info@westfallhorsemanship(dot) com and put your name and contest winner in the subject line. I need your address to mail you your DVD!
Hi Stacy, Since your site is a mix of informational, instructional as well as commercial I think you should have clear and easy access to all the sections but also keep them separated and grouped together. For me a site like yours is a gold mine of information and I like to be able to navigate it easily without having to use a lot of back buttons or having to make several clicks to get to a single piece of information. Incorporating a search feature would be extremely useful. It might even help if possible to use slightly different color schemes for different sections. I hope this helps some. David
I actually manage a website for a local tack shop and from experience I can tell you people like organization and a good search bar. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to find what they are looking for. As far as your website goes pictures and videos are going to be essential, but make sure they don’t take forever to load up. While your web visitors may be more patient than say someone shopping for something online, no one likes waiting forever for a video to buffer (though sometimes slow times are a result of their internet soeed & connection). In general keep file sizes on the small size to increase download speeds. When putting pictures on a website they dont need to be as high of a resolution as if you were printing it. A lower resolution increases download speed.
Hope that helps Stacy!
Videos are good, but only as long as they have a written transcript or synopsis at least. It’s frustrating when the videos don’t load, but if there is a transcript, at least I can read about it.
I like lots of pictures, sadly my computer doesn’t 🙁 I like websites that are easy to navigate and a big bonus is when finding older blogs ect is easy!
what I like to see in a web site is/are meaningful pictures, easy navigation, comments section. I really hate sites that are hard/impossible to find needed info.
I would love a newsletter! I’m not sure what a private “members only” section would be for….it feels a little exclusive to me. I like that everything on your website is readily available to everyone for free. I also LOVE contests, though I never win haha. But I think upcoming events in a newsletter would be nice.
I like the layout you’ve got going, with a search button. I like fewer pictures so I don’t crash my computer! FAQ, about us, and contact pages are appreciated.
For a newsletter, I’d like upcoming events and contests (I too am a sucker for prizes, even though I’ve never won any lol). Happy redesigning!