Re: I need help

I was able to navigate just fine. Site was interesting. I read more than I usually read when Visiting showcases of new sites.

Re: I need help

I am going to say something that I hope is not mis understood. First I would personally donate a couple hundred dollars if there was some way to to verify this site as being authorized to collect. There are sooooo many scams that when someone like yourself tries to help it alerts the skepticism in people like me. I DO NOT question your motives or authority, just think it would help. If I spoke out of turn or because I did not read enough...although it should be up front ( the donation authorization thing), Sorry.
Will check back with you. I found the site easy to navigate. The Archives are confusing, all that I thought to be links were not. What are they for? Excuse my ignorance. There is just so much on the pages and one gets iterested quickly, it they want to help, I thinks it is a overwhelming sense not that it is not navigatable. Good luck, and I'll check back, thanks for what you are doing with the donations.

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Thanks Choco777, I have never donated to my own site by going through the site. I thought that by using the JustGiving www.justgiving.com whose parent company is the succesful American FirstGiving charitable donations handling company. That any financial transactions would be handled both legaly and securely. This method seems to satisfy the Royal Liverpool Childrens Hospital. Alder Hey and whose patronage includes Yoko Ono, hence the name "Imagine Appeal".
I have tried to balance the need for a fund raising element with that of news and support. A few people have suggested that the donation aspect should be more prominent and your suggestion regarding its spelled out security and authority to collect money will be shortly introduced to tjhe site.

Thanks for having the time to make what are valuable and honest suggestions

Re: I need help

Peter....

I like the concept of the site, but in a purely technical perspective, it comes across as such a hodge-podge that it makes me want to jump right away!

Without suggesting you put a crimp in your creativity, I would suggest you try to grasp the real reasons the majority of websites have a degree of "conformity" to them with regard to layout and navigation (even beyond SEO precepts): simplicity=favor.
1. You may wish to consider the use of a more "complete" Menu system, which would present a logical organization of Content and navigation to the site. Let visitors have clearly self-defined options, and the first step in this is displaying a true "index" of the site to select interesting avenues of discovery rather than mixing up a short Menu (which is actually labelled "Navigation" and need not be labelled at all!) and other items in a Table format.
2. If you are considering the use of a more formalized Menu system, you must also make an effort to "unify" your functions: you have a confusing mix of Go Menus, Forms, etc. scattered about when they should best be presented on the relevant interior page. For example, why not have "Links" have it's own page (available via a button on your Menu), where you can actually write a short note of each Link for the benefit of your visitors? Does this make sense?
3. And (if I haven't nit-picked enough), your use of multiple scrolling marques makes for a much busier and visually distracting page, especially when combined with such vivid colors and backgrounds.

Hopefully, you will see the things I've mentioned in an "overall" perspective, one that considers the "whole picture" and how a smooth layout is desirable.

I like your site, what it's all about, and the fact you have some great ideas. I think with a little refinement, it will emerge just as you envisioned!

Re: I need help

Peter d,

What Vasili advised or suggested are the answers to the most important problem you face right now. Getting it under control. He is right that maybe some of the extra "go tos" and "click heres" could be dealt with by a left had border menu or any other place, and break the pages down into more than just the two or so you have. You can always link back to important items with text links or like he suggested a links page. Just try a few and see what you feel comfortable with using.

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thanks guys..

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Peter... many thanks for sharing this heartfelt story.

Having had to take a step back from my own website effort (a makeover soon to be completed) I found I needed to remember some stuff I learned several years ago when writing screenplays. 1. Many times less is more. 2. If you can't tell the story in one sentence then the idea isn't complete. 3. Your best friend is the one who tells you what you don't want to hear.

Your first page just explodes! Vasili has his finger on it, and Choco mirrors the need: Control. I won't focus on the technical piece because they already say it better. My thought here is more subjective, in that each page should tell its own story... simple, elegant, easier on the eye... perhaps a bit more subdued opening, a fund rainsing activities and results page, Conor's story on another page, etc. Let it breathe.

Choco also mentioned the fund raising aspect and I respect this concern he raises. Peter, you also provide an excellent explanation which serves to relieve the issue, but that message of legitimacy must be clearly conveyed on the page due to the unfortunate state of affairs with charity scams on the Internet.

I work with children, not in the same element as you, but those who suffer none the less. Your page hit me right between the eyes and evoked an emotional response. Excellent! There is powerful energy in those images.

Keep that emotional energy intact while you work out the technical stuff. It's all there. Just a bit more work and you'll have it! Thank you for sharing your site, Peter.

Best Wishes!

Poppi

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thanks for your help and suggestion, and thanks for your post on the site.
My son has just been featured on the BBC International News broadcast and several regional broadcasts and National and Local Newspaper features.
I would like to include the video footage on the New and Improved site, what would any of you guys suggest.
Thanks again. Peter D

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Hi peter
glenmike is right, when I first started building pages in Blue Voda, it was three weeks untill I completly knew how to publish any pages and have them link up with the rest of the site. During those three weeks of support tickets and alot of frustation I was basically left with my index page and that was it. Having only one page to work on, I ended up putting as much info on that 1 page as I could and left nothing up to the imagination so my web site consisted of my index page. After learning how to link and publish and explore, I have been able to streemline the index page and get the viewer to want more out of the site than showing all in one shot and now my site has expanded to around 30 pages and personally I think it is fun to navigate through. I can understand that you have alot to say but if you follow glenmikes rule of thumb, your site may be easier for you and any viewers that enter it. Just a thought kenb

Re: I need help

better put the menu's on the top ... hover with a background ...
and a contact page would be okay :D
GOOD LUCK