Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on December 23, 2011 at 7:17am

Brendan, no mockage necessary.  Your site is clean, clear and attractive.  What it isn't: engaging.  It looks static, as if I look at it again in a year, nothing will be different.  So I have no reason to revisit.  What makes your "Chicago Bicycle Advocate" page essential reading (and to be fair, you do link to that from your business web site, but the viewer would have to be motivated enough to go there) is that the content is interesting, vital and ever-changing, the direct opposite of your business front page.  Would it be worth posting one or two stories from your bike advocate page, in an ever-changing rotation, on your business front page, to draw the visitor back to your business page and then deeper into the links?

How about a quick bike law quiz to garner interest on your page?  Maybe something like: In Chicago, cyclists are only allowed by law to ride the sidewalks if they: a-are under 21 years of age, b-under 13 years old, c-under 6 years old.  Or: in Illinois, motorists must leave at least how much space when passing a bicycle: a-6 inches, b-3 feet, c-5 feet.  This could serve to educate both cyclists and non-cyclists alike, and be a fun way to draw in visitors.

 

And thanks, as always, for your bike advocacy.

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on December 23, 2011 at 8:54am

Brendan,

I googled "Chicago Bicycle Attorney" and you came up as the second listing. Bravo. Getting to the top of the list is the most critical first step. Then comes your web site. Why choose you over the first listing? Show that you are a bicycle guy. Show past cases that you have successfully handled for cyclists. Show you care; give some safety tips, or anything that shows you care about us and our fears and concerns.

Thanks for taking us on as your niche.

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Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on December 23, 2011 at 9:32am

Thanks folks!  These are some great thoughts and constructive criticism.  I have a lot to think about going forward, which is what I was hoping for.

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Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on December 23, 2011 at 9:34am

There is a photo of me on the "Experience" page.  Not enough?  Should it be on home page also?

h' said:

OK, here ya go:

-I don't know what P.C. in huge letters at the top refers to (oops, I see now-- when I scrolled to view the rest of the page it left only the P.C.). Can the text be shrunk a bit so that fits on one line?

-it's generally good web to present your homepage in one window with no scrolling required, if possible.

You have little enough content that you could eliminate scrolling with a very minor tweak or two.

-not crazy about any sentence starting with all lower case on a website

-put "Chicago" in google maps and you'll see where "the heart of Chicago" is (hint-- Chicago's heart burns hot . . . with coal). There must be a better way to describe the downtown.

-The links at the top need to be better spaced and better arranged-- try distributing evenly between two lines and center-justifying?

-Bullets are preferable to blocked text in web presentation--web users want key info quickly and are likely to just not read anything that looks too dense at all. Can the main block of text be broken up somehow?

There are a number of sites where you can see what your site looks like at different screen sizes/in different browsers e.g. http://www.anybrowser.com/ScreenSizeTest.html

And finally, as to content-- it's a little faceless. You're a pretty presentable guy-- have you thought about putting a nice pic of yourself up there on the main page?

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Permalink Reply by Brendan Kevenides on December 23, 2011 at 9:39am

Thanks!  Your points are well taken.  I'll have to think about that.  The new site is meant to supplement, not replace The Chicago Bicycle Advocate blog which will of course continue...

carfreecommuter said:

I'm a big fan of the Chicago Bicycle Advocate but I must agree with Thunder that your site does seem plain and although I enjoyed exploring it today I might not have a reason in the future to visit. I did like the results and press page and would be interested to hear of new court cases. Maybe a good direction would be to make the site more resourceful as referring/explaining the laws that pertain to the type of clients you represent. This is similar to the active transportation alliance's webpage "Know Your Rights" http://www.activetrans.org/knowyourrights

Your July 28th post, "After A Bike Crash, Go To The Damn Hospital", was educational and really did a great job outlining how to protect yourself after a crash. If you had a resourceful information page I would be more likely to check your site and to refer other people there.   

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Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on December 24, 2011 at 6:36pm

Note that, in regards to scrolling. Recent studies have show that people having to scroll has no effect on usability anymore. That said, if you site only scrolls a little bit, which it does not on my screen size, at least not for content, then you can make sure it fits in one screen just for ascetic sakes. Otherwise, it's fine if it scrolls.

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