Review: onlinegaming4u.co.uk

ajkendall · 05-16-2007, 01:45 AM

Hi guys,

First topic in here so here goes. I currently run a website: UK Online Casino and would like to know what you think.

Please be honest in your opinion, tell me if you don't like it or what you'd change, both negative and positive feedback all help and help me build a better site in the future.

Thanks in advance

Alan

StrongInTheArm · 05-17-2007, 05:56 AM

Hi Alan,

First impressions first, it looked busy and I didn't know where to look first. It took over ten seconds to load and I'm on 4mbit broad band.

It might be because of all the graphics, have you optimised them all?

I don't like the underlined links, it disturbes the flow of the text IMHO. And there is so much already competing for your attention on the page it makes reading difficult.

You have a lot of borders and grids on the page which just makes it look a little too 'busy'

Your tables on the front page and on the other pages just look too complicated, is that four or five different borders I count around the cells?

The 'online gaming 4u' background is interesting, but with the page being so busy I don't know if this is just over the top.

I do like the rounded corners on the outer frame, and the colour scheme, blue, grey and black is fine. I think there is just too much competing against each other on the pages. Sometimes your eye needs a place to rest.

Just my opinions. Technically I would say there is nothing wrong apart from the slownest of loading. The rest of my points are subjective design decisions you have to make for yourself at the end of the day.

I hope this helps. YNWA

ajkendall · 05-18-2007, 01:42 AM

thanks for the constructive feedback, much appreciated

jv16 · 05-20-2007, 12:47 AM

I don't usually like to review gambling related websites, but I'll make an exception this time.

First of, I disagree with StrongInTheArm about the links. Underlined blue links usually convert the best with most target groups. I don't usually like the way underlined blue links look, but in my book the way something works is more important on how something looks like. But don't trust us, do a/b split testing with a few different link styles and see which converts the best.

Everything looks good, I can't see any obvious flaws. If I don't count the annoying animated buttons on the bottom.

But I would polish your copy. First of all, you say "that is aimed at providing unbiased". That's a politician talking. There are three kind of people you don't usually want to relate to: a politician, a lawyer and a crook.

Why not just say: "Welcome to Online Gaming 4U – an independent casino website based in the UK that provides unbiased and genuine reviews for top uk poker and online UK casino websites." However, that's rather a long sentence, you could think about breaking it to two sentences.

The Guarantee logo makes you relate a bit to the crooks. If you offer a guarantee, you should define it, make it measurable and real. Now it's just a piece of graphics that doesn't have any actual meaning, isn't it? If you want to make a guarantee, do one and write about it, or remove the logo.

Any experienced browser can see by hovering the mouse pointer over your Visit links that they are affiliate links. This can kill your website, you just lost all your credibility. "All this guy says is because he wants me to click his affiliate links to make money" is going on the visitor's mind. To avoid this, you should make your links look more like this: http://www.onlinegaming4u.co.uk/out.php?site=titan, which would then forward the visitor to your affiliate url.

And by the way, there's no need to link to the XML sitemap from the front page. Just submit the sitemap to Google, there's no need to link it. To any visitor clicking the link it just looks like there's something wrong with your website.

ajkendall · 05-22-2007, 02:40 PM

thanks for the comments and feedback jv16 some excellent points there that i'll be taking into consideration and making ammendments based on them

cheers, Alan

StrongInTheArm · 05-23-2007, 02:39 AM

I think the table on the front page looks better.

Visually I can't see any other changes.

magz123 · 05-25-2007, 10:58 AM

To be honest, your front page confuses me. There is just too much content, and the header is too small. Also your background has these subtle patterns which confuse the eye.

ajkendall · 05-25-2007, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jv16

This can kill your website, you just lost all your credibility. "All this guy says is because he wants me to click his affiliate links to make money" is going on the visitor's mind. To avoid this, you should make your links look more like this: http://www.onlinegaming4u.co.uk/out.php?site=titan, which would then forward the visitor to your affiliate url.

excellent point... just out of interest how would i go about putting such method into place, as in your example; would there be a page called titan.php containing the affiliate url which redirects them to the website

cheers

css25 · 05-25-2007, 07:07 PM

I like the way you designed your website. It simple but informative. The combination color are nice. Well done and keep it up

**John Scott** · 05-25-2007, 09:20 PM

The design seems a bit simplistic, not flashy like I'd expect from a casino site. Honestly, it looks cheap. I don't mean that as an insult, just being 100%.

Best-online · 05-29-2007, 11:29 PM

Yes the website is simplistic, but for website about gambling can be one oppurtunity.
Ajkendall if you wish that your website become one portal (then one big website), you should better the design.

ajkendall · 05-30-2007, 07:05 AM

but won't that complicate things?

the audience i'm looking to attract should find it quick and straight to the point without searching around tons of tiny text links looking for uk betting websites