http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/
Sorry to get geeky, but for a web site that they no doubt spent a *lot* of money on - it looks awful! There is some random large W where it says Welcome and then just below that there is a link to some PDF which isn't even linked! The logo also looks strange - surely the black background should continue across the whole page? The 'chunky' pop-up menus don't look particulary neat either.
It gets worse...
If you go to their "Buy It" page (which is where I started) then you will notice the title of the page is "littlecreature.co.uk" and not Sheffield Theatres! Didn't anyone bother to check the site before they launched it?!
Sorry to use this forum to rant, but it really annoys me to see companies waste money on badly designed sites and then not bother to check they look/work correctly. There are plently of better web designers in Sheffield, so why on earth did they use a company called "idaho" who are based in Manchester!
Please tell me this Sheffield Theatres web site is a work in progress?!
Tony Ruscoe
22-01-2004, 12:37
Originally posted by Geoff
Please tell me this Sheffield Theatres web site is a work in progress?!
If it is, it shouldn't be available to the public. Simple as that. :rolleyes:
What's more, I bet they got charged an arm and a leg for the site!
:evil:
Originally posted by Tony Ruscoe
What's more, I bet they got charged an arm and a leg for the site!
Yep I reckon so. I also reckon they were 'wooed' by some 'flashy' agency in Manchester with an oh-so-original name, when in reality they should have supported a local Sheffield company who might spend more time on their client's sites and less on their own (http://www.idaho.uk.net)... ouch I'm getting nasty now :P
Judging by the agency, we are lucky that Sheffield Theatres didn't get talked in to paying for a abbey style (http://www.abbey.com/index) rebranding!
I used their website months ago and found a number of errors and problems, including not being able to purchase tickets on-line?!?
I sent them an email, via their "Your Views" form, with my suggests and comments but (you guessed it) got no reply.
Tony Ruscoe
22-01-2004, 12:53
Not wanting to get too bitchy... but:
The link on the home page to the Embassy World Snooker PDF file doesn't even link!
I notice there's an excessive use of image instead of text (i.e. http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/sitemap.asp) with no alt text at all - so it's practically useless to search engines!
I could go on...
Originally posted by Tony Ruscoe
Not wanting to get too bitchy... but:
The link on the home page to the Embassy World Snooker PDF file doesn't even link!
Bah... Tony are you meaning to repeat my post or did you just skim read it... lol :P
Originally posted by Zamo
I sent them an email, via their "Your Views" form, with my suggests and comments but (you guessed it) got no reply.
It's funny you should mention the issue of contacting them. I was thinking of kindly tipping them off that someone forgot to change the title on their buggy "Buy It" frame-set pages. But then I thought a) they wouldn't know what I was talking about, b) it's probably not in their job description/contract to deal with the web site and c) the web designer is probably still on that luxury 12 week holiday.
Tony Ruscoe
22-01-2004, 16:14
Originally posted by Geoff
Bah... Tony are you meaning to repeat my post or did you just skim read it... lol :P The second one :blush:
ncrossland
22-01-2004, 17:58
Originally posted by Geoff
the web designer is probably still on that luxury 12 week holiday.
i'll have a job there, please!
ncrossland
23-01-2004, 07:29
I'm sure Geoff has experienced this too - so this is kind of a rhetorical answer.
The problem with sites for organisations (particularly public sector ones) like this is the fact that there is no motivation behind them.
It will no doubt been decided 'on high' that 'we should have a website - don't know why, but everyone else has one'.
It is then passed on to someone who is already overworked with their existing job (usually someone in the marketing department), or even worse, someone in the IT department!) who has no time to devote to it, doesn't want to let it interfere with their existing role, and has no expertise or interest it.
It is put out to tender (or to someone in accounts' nephew who knows how to use Frontpage) without any clear vision of what is required, and no critical evaluation of whether the design company is producing something that is valuable to the business / organisation.
There is nothing worse for a designer than working on a site where the client (or your contact within the client organisation) has no motivation to provide you with design feedback, content or any input whatsoever. This in turn demotivates the designer - if their client can't be bothered to put any effort into the site, why should they?
Once the site is complete, by this stage without a proper content management system, or any plans as to who within the organisation is responsible for the site and its updating (or replying to e-mails) it is then left to rot - it isn't helping the business as a whole, so no more money is 'thrown away' on it - and you end up with something like the Sheffield Theatres site - unloved, no use to anyone, and giving (lets be honest) a pretty pathetic view to the whole of the outside world of what is in fact a great institution.