Nhra.com (1 Viewer)

[Fast16Racer]

I like it. Stuff is easier to find.

That was my first impression too. I didn't pay much attention to how fast it loaded before or now, seemed OK both ways, but I'm usually looking on my office computer which has a fast connecton....

 

[MHayes]

Funny - John must be reading a different thread. There are no less than 11 suggestions for improvement in the first 5 emails.

Funny, I thought John was spot on with his comment! Maybe you could point out the 11 "suggestions for improvement" that you see in the first 5 posts because I sure as hell don't see them

 

[Jah]

Sorry - I was off by one...here is a list of the 12 suggestion:

1. Too many active animations. Causes distraction and confusion. Takes the eye away from the piece you are looking at, or the piece the customer is looking for. Recommendation was for less animation.
2. Observation was change was “not needed” which means it wasn’t pre-communicated to customer buying base. Recommendation was to tell them in advance what you are doing, when, and why it benefits them.
3. Too many commercial names. Indicates that the site is a billboard and not informational. Suggestion was to reduce the number of “advertising” focused elements and stay with information, or most frequently viewed aspects.
4. Website Designer was not mentioned. No understanding of the qualifications or the history of the designer. Was this an in house project? Suggestion was to more clearly tell WHO was designer, and the intent of the design.
5. Suggestion was made to add more “self-selecting” banners like the event schedule.
6. Observation was made that elimination of “pop-ups” and “pop-overs” was a good thing and should be encouraged.
7. User indicated that the site was too heavy in self-promotion and lacked info and analysis. User indicated that competitor sites were more useful in this regard. Recommendation is to have less promotional pieces and more data and analytics.
8. Observation was made that alternative browsers had not been adequately tested. 24% of computer users use Explorer alternatives and cannot access the site correctly. Recommendation was made to rectify the issue and provide further pre-testing in the future.
9. Recommendation was made to reduce the side of the side-bar graphics to more adequately highlight content and make navigation easier.
10. Suggestion was made to re-test IPad presentation and connectivity issues.
11. Observation was made that the website looked “cheap”. Recommendation is to reduce “jangly” colors especially in light of the crowded nature of the home screen.
12. Observation was made that there were too many logos on the home page. Logos are “intense” in terms of presentation value. More than 10 on any one page are dilutive to the advertiser and distractive to the buyer.

+++++++

Now for my editorial. This is a business. The users are customers. They make choices. ANY dialog from the end user is a god-send. A blessing. It is free research that allows you to get better.

In my business, I just pray that my clients stick around long enough to make a complaint so that I have a shot at fixing it. Whiners? Hardly.

They feed my family.

 

[Jah]

Sorry - last point on this. Then I think I've made all the points I have!

There are 32 logos on the NHRA page. If you go to Google and search the word "logo" in the graphics area - there are 24.

Less logos please. More pictures of Courtney. I'd take 32 of those....

 

[Randy]

More pictures of Courtney. I'd take 32 of those....

Wrong web site.

 

[rckymtn3]

I love how these guys jump on in with what they think is a parental "zinger"...like, that'll show them. Jeez....it's a web site, a discussion board, and there seems like there's a good sized handful of people that want the board to be a bunch of cheerleaders on Prozac...."everything's fine...in fact, everything is GREAT....nothing could be better. We're so lucky to be living right now. Gosh, you're a beautiful man, and so are you, and you're so smart, so are you! Let's hug, share an ice cream, and skip through the carnage singing show tunes!"

You can take your opinion, and your whining about whining, and eject. (you are whining you know this, yes?) Either join a conversation, pro or con or neutral, or don't. But you guys that jump in these threads and call everyone moaning whiners, then leave like you gave us all the "what for" just come off as people with control issues.

I'm fine either way with the NHRA site, though it's busy as all get-out, it seems bells and whistles is what is liked more than disliked. I get to see great photos of almost every race without ever having to step foot in the NHRA site. So between kind members that share their photos from the race they just went to, Drag Race Central, espn3 and the tube, I get what I need, so I'm happy, except for the "father knows best" types that try to shame the posters on this board. It's called having an opinion. Not everyone shares your opinion, but there's no need to try to belittle people for having a view different than yours.

 

[MHayes]

Sorry - I was off by one...here is a list of the 12 suggestion:

1. Too many active animations. Causes distraction and confusion. Takes the eye away from the piece you are looking at, or the piece the customer is looking for. Recommendation was for less animation.
2. Observation was change was “not needed” which means it wasn’t pre-communicated to customer buying base. Recommendation was to tell them in advance what you are doing, when, and why it benefits them.
3. Too many commercial names. Indicates that the site is a billboard and not informational. Suggestion was to reduce the number of “advertising” focused elements and stay with information, or most frequently viewed aspects.
4. Website Designer was not mentioned. No understanding of the qualifications or the history of the designer. Was this an in house project? Suggestion was to more clearly tell WHO was designer, and the intent of the design.
5. Suggestion was made to add more “self-selecting” banners like the event schedule.
6. Observation was made that elimination of “pop-ups” and “pop-overs” was a good thing and should be encouraged.
7. User indicated that the site was too heavy in self-promotion and lacked info and analysis. User indicated that competitor sites were more useful in this regard. Recommendation is to have less promotional pieces and more data and analytics.
8. Observation was made that alternative browsers had not been adequately tested. 24% of computer users use Explorer alternatives and cannot access the site correctly. Recommendation was made to rectify the issue and provide further pre-testing in the future.
9. Recommendation was made to reduce the side of the side-bar graphics to more adequately highlight content and make navigation easier.
10. Suggestion was made to re-test IPad presentation and connectivity issues.
11. Observation was made that the website looked “cheap”. Recommendation is to reduce “jangly” colors especially in light of the crowded nature of the home screen.
12. Observation was made that there were too many logos on the home page. Logos are “intense” in terms of presentation value. More than 10 on any one page are dilutive to the advertiser and distractive to the buyer.

Impressive that you got all of that out of the first 5 posts, as you said! LOL!

Regardless, you do make some good point in your list and the recommendations are appreciated! Could they have done a better job and set up a site with less clutter, of course. I'm just guessing the folks at NHRA hear it from sponsors that say, "we're giving you money, so we want our logo prominently displayed". NASCAR is fortunate in that their product draws in so much money that they have much more leeway in what they can do compared to NHRA.

I do think the changes to the website are positive relative to the prior website, and yes, that includes speed (at least in my experience). hey, it's a step in the right direction if you ask me.

 

[None]

Go back a few years when NHRA.com failed every race weekend. What they just got rid of was great compared to what they had before. I don't like the new change, but I will get used to it. As long as it works on race weekends it will be fine.

 

[Michalek Brothers Racing]

Just for piece of mind, for those of you that don't like NASCAR.com's site, could you list some of the biggest downfalls that you see with the design?

We are working on a website for our race team right now and it's pretty modern compared to most racing websites (a la NASCAR.com) and I want to make sure that we're not going down the same path that would potentially turn off visitors the way that their design appears to be doing.

Thanks!