First attempt at Joomla

[sapanbehar]

Here is my first stab at Joomla. I have been wanting to learn how to use it for a while and spent the last three weeks doing so. The site is by no means complete, just the layout and the design. I still have to figure out a way to integrate a blog into it. Any ideas?

Oh, it already is on the second page for Fraser Valley condos -

www.fraservalleycondos.ca

[GetSmart]

i don't see anything on the landing page that will make me say, "man i got to buy a condo.". hope you can take constructive critism, but i think the site is boring. the most interesting thing on your site is the 20% rebate, which shouldn't be.

you don't use any words to make my mouth water. with condos you have to use words like lavish, plush, wonderful view, upscale, state of the art decor and etc. talk about the design and lay out of the condo.

plus you didn't hold up to your word "This site has been created to help you become an informed buyer and help you make the right choice as you look to buy a Fraser Valley condo. This site will help you understand the basics of owning and buying a condo. Whenever you are ready to purchase, we will help you through the buying process, from start to finish."

i am not informed about condo living at all, and after reading your site, i want more information, but i am finished looking for it at your site.

also i am not sure what demographic or type of people you are trying to target. people want to be viewed by categories which this would leave people to believe that there is nothing special about these condos you have.

just my opinion.

[thataway61]

You are off to a good start.

Joomla is set up as a content management system meaning there are really no web pages, but generated pages of content from the system.

The whole site is like a blog. You can set up the site so that there is a page that indexes and archives all entries (i.e. your blog page). You must be careful setting up so that you don't create a bunch of duplicate content doing so. I think I am correct about this.

You will find that it is very seo friendly, especially using the seo friendly URL rewrites which it appears you are doing.

Did you get the Mambo/Joomla book? If so, didn't it make it a lot easier and weren't the concepts exactly opposite of your thought process?

[sapanbehar]

Getsmart: I can take, and solicit constructive criticism. The site is still in development, I never intended for it to be indexed, but somehow it got indexed before any links pointing to it....

Different markets maybe, but here people don't need to be forced to feel "Man! I gotta buy a condo". With the average price of a single-family detached home approaching 600K (and double digit gains for the last 5 years), condos are all most can afford. However, I don't mean the site to be just limited to the first page, so you will never see the first page giving off that impression.

The text on the page(s) will change about a 1000 times - I don't ever anticipate taking a step back and saying "Thats it! I am done!" As for the mouth watering text, I am saving it for when I actually talk about a condo complex.

As well, I am working on the content, will probably add a few hundred pages over the next little while - what you see is a couple of hours worth of work - only because the site got indexed and started ranking and I felt I had to put something on that remotely sounded like the site was about condos and not Joomla!

I really don't know what you mean by "people want to be viewed by categories".

About the 20% rebate- well, its really a business model - no can really say if it should or shouldn't be. If it works for me - it should be.

However, thanks for reviewing the site. It really took me about 2 weeks to get the basics of Joomla! down and about a week to finalize the template and set it up. If nothing else, it gave me an appreciation of what the staff at REW do on a daily basis!

Cal - Yes, I got the book and it broke it down to the basics. Anyone considering Joomla! should get that book. I found that it was too basic at times and once I understood how the content is generated, I really didn't need to refer to it. I see what you mean by a blog, but as it is Joomla! 1.5 doesn't come with a good commenting system (at least that's what I read) and there are few plugins that you can use to create a blog. However, how well they work is disputed.

[GetSmart]

Getsmart: I can take, and solicit constructive criticism. The site is still in development, I never intended for it to be indexed, but somehow it got indexed before any links pointing to it....

Different markets maybe, but here people don't need to be forced to feel "Man! I gotta buy a condo". With the average price of a single-family detached home approaching 600K (and double digit gains for the last 5 years), condos are all most can afford. However, I don't mean the site to be just limited to the first page, so you will never see the first page giving off that impression.

The text on the page(s) will change about a 1000 times - I don't ever anticipate taking a step back and saying "Thats it! I am done!" As for the mouth watering text, I am saving it for when I actually talk about a condo complex.

As well, I am working on the content, will probably add a few hundred pages over the next little while - what you see is a couple of hours worth of work - only because the site got indexed and started ranking and I felt I had to put something on that remotely sounded like the site was about condos and not Joomla!

I really don't know what you mean by "people want to be viewed by categories".

About the 20% rebate- well, its really a business model - no can really say if it should or shouldn't be. If it works for me - it should be.

However, thanks for reviewing the site. It really took me about 2 weeks to get the basics of Joomla! down and about a week to finalize the template and set it up. If nothing else, it gave me an appreciation of what the staff at REW do on a daily basis!

Ok thanks for taking the time to clarify, i guess here in NC you have to set yourself apart from others. I guess if you have a model that works, then work it like you know you should.

Hope i didn't come across as being to harsh, just wanted to give you an honest opinion.

[DenaDavis]

I like the layout. But I am with GetSmart. You need some really enrolling photos on the front page. It looks too generic. Way too generic. The layout is nice. I think you are off to a good start.

[TheRealOBX]

Joomla offers a blog component. MojoBlog. It still it relatively new but is an easy upgrade. My site is joomla and the blog is mojoblog.

[over40]

Hi-

You might consider putting a grabber graphic on the front page so that it shouts "condos" or something. Something simple for us old folks to understand... those of us over 40.

[sapanbehar]

Good points - that is something that I had planned to leave till the end. But at the moment just have very limited time

[jay.robinson15]

Photos would definitely add some personality and some credibility, along with a feeling of friendliness, to your site. Overall though, you have something good going there.