SuburBots (FRC 2115) Website Advice

[SuburBot]

Hello,

The SuburBots website is up and running for 2011: http://suburbots2115.wordpress.com/.

Before kickoff, I'd like it if you could give me some feedback. Are there any broken links I haven't seen? Could the colors use some work? Is the content in need of some clarification? Is there anything important to a basic FRC team website I'm forgetting?

Please keep in mind that this is a wordpress site. The ability to change major components is very limited. That being said, if you're familiar with wordpress or know how to tweak specific aspects, I'm all ears.

Thanks for the help,
-Alex

[Dustin Shadbolt]

Overall, it's a really nice site for being simple. sometimes we think a site has to be complicated in order to be successful, but this isn't the case. Your site meets the needs of communicating your mission and FIRST. Also, the twitter feed is a nice add. you could add a list of mentors and team members somewhere. It's also my instinct to click the large logos in your header image to go to the respective sites. I don't know if you have the ability to change that via the wordpress free hosting. You might wanna make a page promoting your RUV competition ;0). Again nice site!

[MaxMax161]

I think it's a good core theme, but the snow in the front might get marked down. Personally I've used the wordpress free hosting and as someone who has used a full wp install I can say it can't compare. The free hosting is a toy. What I did when making my tech blog (see signature) was use a free host. Here's their site http://www.xdwebhosting.com/, these guys really run a great host. It's not to hard to set everything up and even with no experience it should only take a few hours. If you're team is willing to shell out a few bucks (about $10 or so per year) you can register your own domain name, which makes your website look much more professional. I'm sure that once you see the difference between *.wordpress.com and a real install tons of ideas will come to you. If you need tech support with any of this feel free to email or pm me and I'd be more then happy to help.

[Duke461]

Originally Posted by SuburBot

Hello,

The SuburBots website is up and running for 2011: http://suburbots2115.wordpress.com/.

Before kickoff, I'd like it if you could give me some feedback. Are there any broken links I haven't seen? Could the colors use some work? Is the content in need of some clarification? Is there anything important to a basic FRC team website I'm forgetting?

Please keep in mind that this is a wordpress site. The ability to change major components is very limited. That being said, if you're familiar with wordpress or know how to tweak specific aspects, I'm all ears.

Thanks for the help,
-Alex

The first thing you should alex is read these two threads. They both posed the exact same question for their teams, respectively, the other day. (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...threadid=88225) (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...threadid=88213)
As for the website, it definitely looks sharp. I would suggest not having the MHS suburbots paragraph above every link you click. Maybe put that on the side at least if you want to keep it. Or at the bottom as a "signature" like we have on CD. Lastly, you should check out teams that have won awards, such as:
boilerinvasion.org
simbotics.org
femaidens.org

[SuburBot]

I think it's a good core theme, but the snow in the front might get marked down.

What do you mean by marked down? I just put it because it seemed festive, and it's scheduled to stop by the end of today anyway.

Personally I've used the wordpress free hosting and as someone who has used a full wp install I can say it can't compare. The free hosting is a toy. What I did when making my tech blog (see signature) was use a free host. Here's their site http://www.xdwebhosting.com/, these guys really run a great host. It's not to hard to set everything up and even with no experience it should only take a few hours.

Given that kickoff is only four days away and that the wordpress account has already been activiated for this year, I think that it's most practical to stick to this template for this season. I will, however, look into the host you recommended for next season. It's good to know there are free, much more flexible hosting places out there. Thanks for the reference!

you could add a list of mentors and team members somewhere.

I was going to add one under about us, and will as soon as I get a chance to get full names written down and pictures taken.

It's also my instinct to click the large logos in your header image to go to the respective sites. I don't know if you have the ability to change that via the wordpress free hosting.

I don't know if I can either, so the easiest solution is to modify the banner. I'll get to that as soon as I can.

You might wanna make a page promoting your RUV competition ;0).

Done: http://suburbots2115.wordpress.com/ruv-comp/

Thanks for all the advice! Still taking suggestions.

[SuburBot]

No more advice for the site?