FabSwingers.com forum: I think its time something was said

By *lackCherry OP Couple
over a year ago

Bristol

As an IT professional, I think some of you clubs need a serious kick in the ass about the standard, presentation and up to dateness(sic) of your websites.

With so much of swinging moving to the online world I can only imagine how much damage a lot of you do to your business with what at times are quite frankly terrible sites.

At times its like going back to 1996 with the design and layout of them and there is no need for it in this day and age, this is a primary place of contact I would assume for most of your "trade" and these poorly laid out barely readable outdated maze like websites must put all but the most determined off.

A few simple things to help you

Clear welcome page

membership page (with prices/proccess for signing up)

up to date pictures of the venue

a contact form with an email (thats actually responded too, phone number thats actually picked up and location details)

Events page - please special events, other events some do this very well some its like a sort of mystery.

Then add whatever colour pages you want, about us is always good, a rules section, dress code section, what to bring or not, facilities etc.

I'm quite willing to help and advise any club owners if they want for free just drop me a mail.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Kev is happy to help also

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

So it's not just me then? The only half decent website I've ever seen is for VA.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

nice bitof touting for trade there webmaster......;-)

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

And whatabout FS? It's like 1994 with a barely functional forum and the hideous photoshop filter logo.

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By *lackCherry OP Couple
over a year ago

Bristol

"nice bitof touting for trade there webmaster......;-)"

I'm an infrastructure manager in charge of a team of tecchys.

I did web design at uni and have banged out a few sites for family/friends/businesses, got no interest in getting paid just want to help people have less shit websites.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

lol been thinking that for ages some sites are dreadful!!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"As an IT professional, I think some of you clubs need a serious kick in the ass about the standard, presentation and up to dateness(sic) of your websites.

With so much of swinging moving to the online world I can only imagine how much damage a lot of you do to your business with what at times are quite frankly terrible sites.

A few simple things to help you

Clear welcome page

membership page (with prices/proccess for signing up)

up to date pictures of the venue

a contact form with an email (thats actually responded too, phone number thats actually picked up and location details)

Events page - please special events, other events some do this very well some its like a sort of mystery.

Then add whatever colour pages you want, about us is always good, a rules section, dress code section, what to bring or not, facilities etc.

I'm quite willing to help and advise any club owners if they want for free just drop me a mail."

Totally agree with you as its the first point of contact for most customers and some websites are really awful to look at and difficult to navigate.

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By *lackCherry OP Couple
over a year ago

Bristol

I'm glad most agree so far, I would welcome comments from current club owners and their thoughts and feelings on the importance of the website.

Personally as I have already bored you to death with I think its paramount in this day and age I would think almost all people attending a club for the first time will at least check out the website and if this is a mess, horrible to navigate and looks like its out of 1996 how many will it put off ? no way of judging the numbers but im sure its costing some clubs money.

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By *lackCherry OP Couple
over a year ago

Bristol

"And whatabout FS? It's like 1994 with a barely functional forum and the hideous photoshop filter logo.

FAB gets a pass for me because in the world of swinging websites its probably the best to use, its clear easy to use and has a lot of "grunt" under the hood.

I agree parts arent pretty but its simple and thats always better than overcomplicated.

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By *lubPartyPeepsCouple
over a year ago

London

Agreed, and even some of the best clubs really do need updating.

Even our favourite clubs, most of them haven't done new pictures in absolutely ages.

We have an easier way navigating our way around some of the German sites, than some of the clubs in the UK.

Of course some of the venues over here are trying to serve a dual purpose, so they end of getting in a bit of a mess as a result.

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By *aydeesclubCouple
over a year ago

Bedfordshire

i think our website for jaydees is about right lol.

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By *utumnWoman
over a year ago

leeds

Try looking at La Chambre they seem to have got it right, forums open to public,full price and event details a great chatroom and a private members only area, can't ask for more really!!!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Yes, parts of the Fabs site are bland and not pretty.... But at least people with older pc's and slower internet can use it.

Laden the site with HTML,flash or other fancy gimmicks then performance for some would degrade.

We all crave for faster Internet only to find web pages are beefed up with more bandwidth consuming junk..... Where will it end?

Keep it simple I say.

Steve

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

But I do agree that the web design of some clubs is like something off teletext....

Just no appeal to look further at some of them

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

shall we have a "Frame of Shame" (kind of a website designers joke..ahem) and list our worst websites or would that be going too far?

We totallo agree with the original poster. We have been left exasperated by the crapness of websites that are meant to entice you into their establishments.

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By *lackCherry OP Couple
over a year ago

Bristol

The inherent problem with a wall of shame is the bitching it will bring and problems.

Quite often these people with terrible sites dont see any problem with it or "arent interested in that silly website".

There are some utterly horrible sites out there, I would say unique to the swinging world (after some looking) the majority are actually terrible and un appealing.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

yep that's true. People aren't good at taking constructive criticism.

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By *lackCherry OP Couple
over a year ago

Bristol

Nor does it do much to dispel the myths around swinging when most of the sites look like 1997 frame laden porn sites.

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By *ayseanMan
over a year ago

Cardiff

You are 100% right,most of these club websites are rubbish,and definitely need to be updated

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By *rummiePartyManMan
over a year ago

birmingham

"...Laden the site with HTML,flash or other fancy gimmicks then performance for some would degrade...."

Exactly. Those people using Windows 95 on their Pentium 2 powered PC's viewing the web on Netscape Navigator should definately be allowed to hold up progress for the rest of the world!

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By *ustcutieWoman
over a year ago

edinburgh

well not everyone can afford to buy the latest tech...my child comes before that for me..

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By *rummiePartyManMan
over a year ago

birmingham

"well not everyone can afford to buy the latest tech...my child comes before that for me..

Fair enough, but I believe that they will be turning off black and white television in Scotland soon...

Seriously though, that excuse has been around for years and I don't buy into it any more. Banging on about how you can't afford "latest tech" is the excuse that club owners use to keep their web sites rooted in the stone age in order to keep you happy.

You don't actually need "latest" tech. None of my PC's are under 3 years old, but are capable of accessing all current web technologies. I don't think I'd get as much as it costs to buy a mobile phone if I were to sell my PC's second hand.

Which brings me to my next point. And that is that modern web sites should also be adapted to display on mobile phones. Some call it "having an app" whereas in reality it's just a smartly designed web page. But with increasing access to the web being made off mobile phones, that's something that few if any club owners are taking the blindest bit of notice about.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

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By *ustcutieWoman
over a year ago

edinburgh

not a club owner....

not very technical or computer minded...

poor me...only one computer....

guess its back to the old gramophone player for us backward scots

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By *ustcutieWoman
over a year ago

edinburgh

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

i agree

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

Disagree.

We only go to clubs who show themselves in a good light and what facilities they have.

Thats why its mainly VA and Libs for us.

To get to clubs it's expensive travelling, entrance and membership - You need to know what the club is like prior to making the expense of a trip.

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By *r and Mrs SnogalotCouple
over a year ago

Glasgow

"Fair enough, but I believe that they will be turning off black and white television in Scotland."

Woot - we are getting an inside toilet installed on Thursday and running water on Monday

Seriously though even the government and civil service have realised the vale of online marketing and many local authorities have fb and twitter accounts. I agree that some of the websites could be a bit better.

Shy

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By *ustcutieWoman
over a year ago

edinburgh

"Fair enough, but I believe that they will be turning off black and white television in Scotland.

Woot - we are getting an inside toilet installed on Thursday and running water on Monday

Shy

aww how are you getting one n i still have to pee in a bucket lol

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By *r and Mrs SnogalotCouple
over a year ago

Glasgow

"Fair enough, but I believe that they will be turning off black and white television in Scotland.

Woot - we are getting an inside toilet installed on Thursday and running water on Monday

Shy

aww how are you getting one n i still have to pee in a bucket lol

Would I be boasting if I said I was getting electricity too

To the OP sorry for hijacking this post. But another comment I have is that whilst I live that fab is easy to navigate I don't understand why it can't have a better private chat function.

Shy xx

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By *ouplekinkCouple
over a year ago

kink town

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

You speak for everyone do you? Because we use clubs and certainly use the websites.

We agree about the poor state/out of date, websites, club owners need to do more.

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By *kmale421Man
over a year ago

wirral

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

You speak for everyone do you? Because we use clubs and certainly use the websites.

We agree about the poor state/out of date, websites, club owners need to do more."

"To the OP sorry for hijacking this post. But another comment I have is that whilst I live that fab is easy to navigate I don't understand why it can't have a better private chat function"

I agree with both these posts above. I visit several clubs, but often check the club wecsite to see whats happening before deciding which club to venture to. I also often check club websites that I haven't been to to see what they offer and frankly most are pretty rubbish. Cupids and Atlantis Evolution seem to have fairly new websites and it would be interesting to hear what others think of those including the OP and I know Xtasia are in the process of getting theirs updated. Speaking of which, I have to admit that the how to get there video on Xtasias website did make me laugh.

As for FAB i generally like FAB but I agree that chat room facility on here is pretty poor, which I guess why I hardlt use that part of the site. It's also a pity that you can't see a history of messages that you have sent/received to people when you open up their profile, but generally speaking FAB is ok

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By *yrdwomanWoman
over a year ago

Putting the 'cum' in Eboracum

"...Laden the site with HTML,flash or other fancy gimmicks then performance for some would degrade....

Exactly. Those people using Windows 95 on their Pentium 2 powered PC's viewing the web on Netscape Navigator should definately be allowed to hold up progress for the rest of the world!

Some of us can't afford a new laptop every year. I have Windows XP and IE 7 and so do have real problems with sites laden with Flash, but I cannot afford to upgrade. We're not all Luddites.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The site does exactly what it says on the tin. Making it bigger, faster, flashier will not guarantee any user a better sex life.

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Technology for technology's sake is vain glorious.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

Disagree.

We only go to clubs who show themselves in a good light and what facilities they have.

Thats why its mainly VA and Libs for us.

To get to clubs it's expensive travelling, entrance and membership - You need to know what the club is like prior to making the expense of a trip.

Here here

We have to check and double check so we need those web sites.

It costs us £50. in taxis then to get in another £50. so we need to make sure as we don't drive. We dont have trains and buses running all night to us as we live in a village. So if we spent all that money and it was a dive we wouldnt be happy.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Well quite an interesting debate! Club's in the UK are in the main way behind the continentlas! Membership fees we disagree with - having been stung for lifetime membership & then go bust/ change owners. We don't go to clubs that often but are prepared to pay premium for a decent club. In the end it's the ppl who are there on the night that make a difference. Website is important you don't get a 2nd chance to make a gd 1st impression! But then as some said "it dies what it says on the tin" suggests owners look at the competition and get inspiration from the continent

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By *abioMan
over a year ago

Newcastle and Gateshead

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

actually... those on the fence about whether to go to a club first will do research, and make a decision based on impressions and a clubs website is part of that.....

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By *yrdwomanWoman
over a year ago

Putting the 'cum' in Eboracum

I've had a look at a few websites for continental clubs and am really not seeing why people rave about them. Most of them are a mess of pictures, with scrolling text covering most of the pages and hiding the important information. I really struggled to find the relevant info when i was on them.

Sure, some UK club sites could be better, but there is a happy medium.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

its about time people learn to grow up nothing wrong with one clubs website we vist not going to say which one some do need a kick up the ass as you say but the club we go to doesnt you make out that all clubs are all the same love

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

and yes some clubs like VA are not cheap to get we use to go alot but stopped going in end 1 to much to get in and 2 use to be very quiet on a friday night .dont think its fair why single guys have to pay so much money to get in there yet single ladies its free cant work that out

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By *rummiePartyManMan
over a year ago

birmingham

"Some of us can't afford a new laptop every year. I have Windows XP and IE 7 and so do have real problems with sites laden with Flash, but I cannot afford to upgrade. We're not all Luddites."

A myth that you need new hardware every year. Windows XP will work very well with IE8 which is a free upgrade on the Microsoft site, and the latest version of Flash is also a free upgrade from the Adobe site.

You can also try the Firefox browser (again free) if Internet Explorer is giving you grief.

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By *yrdwomanWoman
over a year ago

Putting the 'cum' in Eboracum

"Some of us can't afford a new laptop every year. I have Windows XP and IE 7 and so do have real problems with sites laden with Flash, but I cannot afford to upgrade. We're not all Luddites.

You can also try the Firefox browser (again free) if Internet Explorer is giving you grief."

I have upgraded Flash but IE8 is not compatible with Windows XP so no luck there.

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By *lubPartyPeepsCouple
over a year ago

London

[Removed by poster at 11/08/12 12:44:14]

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By *lubPartyPeepsCouple
over a year ago

London

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

We disagree.

At the moment we are prioritising which clubs to review for both ourselves and our team in Europe primarily on the basis of the content of the sites and as its an extremely costly exercise we will try and at least veer towards one that looks inviting.

Prior to this, back in the days when we were scene virgins, the websites were the only point of reference we had for information and for many people thinking of going to a club for the first time, who have little or no experience of the scene otherwise, they are not too likely to be able to ask anyone else where is good, and the chances of them being on a site like this are small.

Although we meet a huge percentage of people on the scene who are on one site or more, we meet and equal number who are on none at all.

A website is the same as a shop window, it is your first point of contact with your passing trade, so it better look inviting if you want them to come in and then the experience obviously needs to be good in order to get them to come back, but getting people through the door is always the hardest part.

Probably the most important thing is decent looking pictures of your club, that is the first thing people will always look at. Getting those right is essential. We have lost count of the number of times we have heard people say 'We were going to go there, but the pictures made the place look awful...'

Any club that thinks it can survive on its exisiting membership alone, would be unwise to think so. No established venue will tell you that's enough to get by.

Clubs need to revise their websites and pictures at least every 12 months. If people get a sense that the site is unloved, they are going to think the same about your club.

These are all basic good marketing and common sense strategies.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"People who use clubs just actually go .... they dont give a monkeys about the web site

We disagree.

Although we meet a huge percentage of people on the scene who are on one site or more, we meet and equal number who are on none at all.

Any club that thinks it can survive on its exisiting membership alone, would be unwise to think so. No established venue will tell you that's enough to get by.

Clubs need to revise their websites and pictures at least every 12 months. If people get a sense that the site is unloved, they are going to think the same about your club.

These are all basic good marketing and common sense strategies.

There you go. Very well explained. It really isn't

rocket science. Updating your website at least once a year with new pctures must surely be benefitial to your business. We always look at websites and have been put off going to places initially but have gone later on friends recommendations. The site doesn't have to be flash(y) just clean, simple with all the relevant information easy to access.

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By *arambarMan
over a year ago

swindon

Ooh ooh ooh, a chance to be techie... to go back to the subject of people with old browsers it's very easy to code a site so that it detects what browser and what version (and what screen resolution) is being used. Users with "state of the Ark" machines can then be sent to a version that's less resource intensive whereas everyone else can get the version with bells and whistles.

Personally I'm struggling to think of any club that doesn't have a shite website. The tip in Swindon has a better website than pretty much every club I've seen.

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