Burnden Aces - Football/Soccer

[Manny]

Hi guys,This is an ongoing project so I'm always looking for improvements and feedback so as the title says, rip it to pieces. What's the general view on this?http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/I await nervously!

[End User]

I got this:Warning: mysql_connect() [function.mysql-connect]: User burndena_admin already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connections in /home1/burndena/public_html/burndenaces/Sources/Setup.Database.Connection.php on line 8Couldn't connect to the database.So, my review is as follows:In a bracingly antideconstructionist denouement, the Burnden Aces site reinterprets the dichotomatic nature of classic Hegelian dialectics in the semiotically heterodoxical form of understated anticipatory tension, in which users are at both tempted to view content and also prevented from doing so, thereby satisfying the inherent drive to do so, which in turn represents, inter alia, a signification of reordered desires versus unfulfilled needs.

[Manny]

Isn't it great when a site goes down when you ask for feedback! It's back online now for anyone who wants to see.

[dubesinhower]

from a purely (amateur-eye) visual standpoint, the site does look pretty sweet. the only two things i would like to see improved:1. the news page looks very ad-like. almost like that page was ads for something unrelated. im not sure exactly how you might fix this.2. i think the home page could use more white space around the text. not white space, per se, but padding between the text and the box that the text is in.also, i'm not sure what's going on with the logo. it looks kinda cramped. i see the soccer ball, and the flower, but is that an elephant in there? maybe i'm just out of the loop.other than that, it is a very accomplished site. just my two cents.

[real_illusions]

Personally I dont particularly like it. Its very boxy and looks like it belongs in the late 90's. It does need more space around the all the text as dubesinhower mentioned, it does feel very cramped.

[wirehopper]

My opinions:The home page shouldn't just be news and stuff. I'd rather see a statement about what makes the Aces special, general information about where they play, how long they've been together, professional affiliations (leagues they're part of), etc. A three column layout is common - the left is often news/RSS/forum information, the middle is the page content, and the right might be ads, additional links/navigation, etc.You might want to look into 'vanity URLs' for the affiliate domains - to be honest, I don't like seeing that at the bottom of the page, it makes me wonder who is watching what I click on, and why.Facebook and twitter links could be smaller, and each could also be followed by feeds from them. There's a facebook mention at the top of the page, I'd put all the facebook stuff together and perhaps add one of those social networking bars at the bottom of all posts so visitors can submit the URLs to facebook, twitter, AddThis, digg, diigo, etc.You might want to limit the number of characters allowed on the search.I'd add a bit more padding/margin between the text and background.Possibly more images in the text.I like the design and the colors. The site is easy to navigate. The forum is nicely integrated.

[Manny]

I know what you both mean with regards to the box look. I know this is largely an American site so for those who aren't familiar with Sky Sports in the UK, let me point you to their website:http://www.skysports.com/A lot of sports websites are based on this and to an extent, so is mine. For some reason, I find the home page the hardest to design.As for the logo, the club that the site represents is called Bolton Wanderers. The town of Bolton is in Lancashire and the rose is the "Lancashire Rose". The emblem of Bolton is an elephant, so with the rose and elephant, along with the ball, that's how the logo came about.

[dubesinhower]

I know what you both mean with regards to the box look. I know this is largely an American site so for those who aren't familiar with Sky Sports in the UK, let me point you to their website:http://www.skysports.com/A lot of sports websites are based on this and to an extent, so is mine. For some reason, I find the home page the hardest to design.As for the logo, the club that the site represents is called Bolton Wanderers. The town of Bolton is in Lancashire and the rose is the "Lancashire Rose". The emblem of Bolton is an elephant, so with the rose and elephant, along with the ball, that's how the logo came about.

even that sky sports page is very cluttered. just because it's popular doesn't mean it looks good.also, i agree with the fact that you should have a more "personal" page, that explains the team better. something that will make the visitors interested in what your team is about.

[Manny]

I should have mentioned, the website is a fans site for a real football club. Burnden Aces is just the name of the site.Here is the club's official website, which a lot of people have huge issues with:http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/Home/

[Manny]

You might want to look into 'vanity URLs' for the affiliate domains - to be honest, I don't like seeing that at the bottom of the page, it makes me wonder who is watching what I click on, and why.Facebook and twitter links could be smaller, and each could also be followed by feeds from them. There's a facebook mention at the top of the page, I'd put all the facebook stuff together and perhaps add one of those social networking bars at the bottom of all posts so visitors can submit the URLs to facebook, twitter, AddThis, digg, diigo, etc.You might want to limit the number of characters allowed on the search.I'd add a bit more padding/margin between the text and background.Possibly more images in the text.I like the design and the colors. The site is easy to navigate. The forum is nicely integrated.

By vanity URLs, are you recommending I use something like (domain.com/england) to take a user to the England kits? Even though it's on an external affiliate site.What is it you don't like at the bottom of the page? I'm guessing the "Who's Online" part of the forum?Our Facebook and Twitter accounts are pretty much just the news feed, so having that duplicated on the home page doesn't seem ideal.We tried the Meebo bar at the bottom of our pages but it wasn't beneficial and many users actually complained. As for AddThis, we have also tried that but as it only had around 4 or 5 clicks a week, it was taken down.Limiting the characters in the search is a good call, that has been added.

[wirehopper]

I don't like seeing that at the bottom of the page,

in the status bar. Sorry, I should have said in the bottom of the browser. I know you have to pull in content from several places, but I think it makes a more cohesive site if people believe all the content is coming from your server, even if it isn't.I used the term vanity URL to refer to masking the affiliate URL. I don't know if it is possible, and it may not be practical, but it may be possible to create a subdomain of www2.burdenaces.co.uk which actually points to the affiliate cart. That way, when people click on the link, it looks like they're still in your site.You might want to make facebook and twitter smaller, instead of listing the content.Thanks for the note about users that didn't like the social networking links - I thought people liked them. I never use them, but they don't bother me either.Regardless, good luck with the site - and the team.

[Manny]

I'll have a look into setting something up with vanity URLs. I have thought about setting up an advertising subdomain in the past, which would allow our advertisers to log in and check on their clicks, because not all our ads are through affiliate agencies. I could do something there.As for the social networking links, it was AddThis and Meebo that we tried but neither were successful. Instead, I've added Facebook "Like" buttons. One at the top of the page and one on our news pages. The one at the top represents the whole site, while the one on the news pages relates to that individual article.I liked the AddThis buttons and might bring them back in the future, but you can't please everyone I suppose.Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

[jeffman]

I still use a 1024px-wide display at home. Since the length of your page requires a scrollbar, your 1018px width pushes the total width of your page out of my window. A bottom scrollbar appears, and several characters of the bottom two bars cannot be seen without scrolling left. So that part of the experience is a bit annoying and unprofessional looking.You probably had 1024 in mind when you chose 1018. It just isn't enough.

[attila2452]

i love the simplicity! but i think you should change the red bad make it a graphic instead of a colour. it would make it stand out more visually. (just like the blue header)..but great job. - Attila2452

[AElliott]

I have to agree with previous comments saying it could do with some more padding. There are some places where the text hits the edge of it's container, which is a bit off-putting. This seems to appear with slightly larger text.And yeah, those "standard" club websites aren't great - though it does seem to depend on club to club as to how well they're run. In general I like it, a bit more spacing is the only major thing.Here's to Danny Ward not impressing enough for first team football. We want him back at the County Ground for another season.