So I've been a bit quiet of late - we've been working to get our latest effort up and running - a community house!

What is a community house? We're describing it as:

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ACH FAQ says:
Anchorage Community House is a social space where people of the community can gather, learn and grow. Anchorage Community House provides educational, cultural, social and recreational opportunities for people of all ages. A key feature of Anchorage Community House is that it is a small venue allowing classes and events to remain small and personalized. In addition to classes, programs and special events for every member of the family, Anchorage Community House is a venue that can host small gatherings.

Most often, someone dies, leaves their larger estate to the public for some common good - e.g. [www.winnetkacommunityhouse.org] - but not us! Rather than just have another rental, we're trying to turn the place into somewhere that is more value-added for the community, while at least covering our costs.

So I'd appreciate your thoughts, questions and suggestions - you can find the website here: [www.anchoragecommunityhouse.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2015 03:55PM by Z.

The PNG image on the front page should be cropped much closer to the edges and exported for web, because it's at least 5 file sizes too large. I'd also incorporate either the watercolor/tea stain effect—or at least that color—on the other pages, perhaps in the headers. Hide the address in the prototype so that random forum members don't just come over.

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Le poète doit vivre beaucoup, vivre dans tous les sens. - Verlaine

More pictures of Little Z will improve ANY web site!!!

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It is what it is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2015 04:59PM by N-OS X-tasy!.

You are right – we want to avoid those forum members

White space is good, but you have a little too much with that title graphic on every page pushing the content down.

You have a nice big splash graphic on the home page, which is good. Make a new version of that, including the color, and put a smaller logo in the top left of the inner pages rather than pushing the content below the fold.

Re: About Us and Rentals drop downs.
Personally, I'm not a fan of having to click twice for something that should only take one click. I would either have those menus activate on hover, or have the click on the top level actually take you to a relevant page.

Event Calendar:
Could you find a way to let people select the month they want to look at?
Let's say someone wants to do some planning for several months, or even up to a couple years out – they could be scrolling through 100 weeks on one page. Could be easier.

Good and needed comments on the logo - will work to optimize. And agree that we've got the main body pushed down too far.

Will see what I can do on the menus or move to the top level - don't want it too busy - but something with a hover-over should be possible.

Event calendar - need to dig into that plugin - we're using memberfindme for the calendar and registration backend...

My, little Z is no longer so little!

Can't give too many productive comments regarding the web site, though I do agree that the green color effect, if not the logo, should appear on all pages to keep them looking consistent.

And I'm glad to throw the question open wider - do things make sense to you? Additional information that might help?

This sounds like a great idea. Good luck with your project.

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Sam3

Can't give too many productive comments regarding the web site, though I do agree that the green color effect, if not the logo, should appear on all pages to keep them looking consistent.

Maybe incorporate the text in with the logo for the page continuity and to allow more room above the fold.

Have the primary information above the fold.
Incorporate pictures into the text, so that the story or information leads me down the page rather than having to scroll down to find the story or information.
Have Meg be more prominent in the picture, since the article is about her.
Login small and on the edge or upper right corner of the first page.

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"Rent Our House" Make the "Anchorage Community House" Your House

How did Meg get away without having a z in her name, or do you call her Megz?
Is the dog's name Zeek?

Good tips here so far.

This is much, much easier said than done, but try as hard as you can to create a strong call to action. You are obviously passionate about your new endeavor, but what are you trying to accomplish when visitors come to the site? Letting them know that memberships and rentals are available and asking them to book an event is a start, but unless they have something in mind, their interest may screech to a halt right there.

Folks may not understand the ways they could benefit from community house, so you'll need to do your best to show them. Unless they have a strong motivation to learn more, they may never get past the front page. It's not easy, but put yourself in the shoes of the visitor, and think of what might appeal to them. Find ways to show them how this could be a great thing for their family or organization.

datbeme - agreed - the call to action part is the challenge.

All - appreciate the feedback and comments. Keep em comin'!

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Z
And I'm glad to throw the question open wider - do things make sense to you? Additional information that might help?

Sounds like you're asking for people to pick it apart, so I'll try to oblige.

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First, it's mentioned several times that this is a private home. That makes it sound a little weird, like someone might live there.

On the "About ACH" page you mention that nobody lives there 24/7. But what does that really mean? Someone lives there 16/3? Or they live there 24/7, but not at this time of year?

All the talk about "home" and even mentioning the possibility of someone living there muddies the understanding of what the place actually is.

- Don't use the word "home."
- Be choosey about how you use the word "private."
- Don't make references to people maybe living there or not living there.
- Find a phrase that accurately describes it, and use that phrase consistently.
- Don't refer to it as "our house." Instead, refer to it by its proper name, or call it "the house," or "the community house."

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I would not explicitly refer to Meg as the owner. I'm trying to get an understanding of this community house, and then I see "Meg is the owner..." and "... had the opportunity to buy the house...", and it is a little jarring to me. It makes me start thinking it's less about community and more about profit/investment. It just doesn't need to be stated.

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Home page and About ACH page's text is too dense. Use shorter, bite-sized pieces to draw people through. With a dense wall of text, people may or may not invest the time. With small scannable pieces, readers may see something that catches their attention and then get drawn in.

Use bulleted lists when/where you can.

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You might ask for some feedback from users. When you hear something good, two things - 1) can you use it as a testimonial on the web site, and 2) can you put it in your own words and incorporate it as a new "benefit."

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It's a bit foggy to me how the membership works and what you get.
Can you rent the house without membership?
Separate from renting, can members just show up and hang out, or do they need to schedule something?
If they can just hang out (as in "Maybe you want some place to hang out other than the coffee shop"), WHEN can they hang out? Are there regular "open" hours?

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I would show more info about the house, describing each room of the rentable space, as well as possible uses.

Can people rent just one room, while something else is potentially going on in other parts of the house? You mention renting out the art room or library. I would list each room and specify which can be rented individually and which are part of the whole house deal.

How many square feet of usable space total and in each room? Can the land/backyard be used for outdoor events/activities (other than gardening)? I'm thinking more along the lines of BBQs. If so, how much space?

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FAQs page -
Break it up - differentiate the questions from the answers by bolding the questions.

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Again, bulleted lists.
Each of the chunks under About ACH and Membership could be broken up into more easily scannable information.

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If there are classes that you guys arrange, separate from any group that rents the house, you might want to make that a separate page and explain your plans. Maybe also ask for specific feedback about what kinds of classes the community would like to see.

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That's it for now. Sorry if I was too picky!

Following up on datbeme's thoughts...

I agree. It would be helpful to focus some more the actual things people can and do do at the community house.

This will also help in terms of being found in google searches. Knowing what people can use your space for and talking about that will be much better than just saying "hey, we have space."

Think of all the types of people who might benefit from the space, and exactly how they might use it, and get those keywords on the site.

Family reunions? Small business company retreats? Book clubs?

Also, in order to get some buzz going, you might consider donating the rental space to some different groups who want to do something positive in the community. Some group is trying to get a new dog park or monument in the city? Give them some meeting space.

On the membership page, I found the Person aspect confusing:
Our house ...
Why do I need the space...
Maybe you need ...
Members can ...
... You may want to ...

I would prefer more consistency in the perspective as I felt it bounced around from I to me to us to members.