Manchester, England, website promo, 2014

Subject: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 05:00 AM

This is blatant self promotion of a website I'm running in an attempt to increase visitor numbers. I feel the website serves a useful purpose but if people don't know about it I could be wasting my time. It is not a financial venture.

The unique selling point (apologies for commercial jargon - which I detest) is that I intend to keep it as up-to-date as possible, not always the case with some websites.

The website aims to advertise folk events in an area around Stockport, Greater Manchester (a small area but this helps keep it's contents current). The web address is www.pyramidfolk.co.uk.

If you live in the area or know someone who does please let them know about this site.

Suggestions for improvement of the site would be welcome.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 05:57 AM

Well done Ian - an excellent site for the Folk of Greater Manchester and miles around. Very clear, easy to navigate and looks uptodate.

Is Stalybridge Station Saturday night missing?

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 09:04 AM

Thanks for the comments Les.

I'm poised to add Stalybridge Station Folk Night as soon as I can find out if it definitely still happens. An internet search hasn't found much but if there's someone who can tell me that it still exists it will be added straightaway.

I'm in a similar position with the Acoustic Collective at The Wharf Tavern, Stalybridge. The website hasn't been updated lately and I got only an automated response to an e-mail. Does anyone know anything about it?

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Leadfingers
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 10:04 AM

Nive one Ian ! Hope you get a good response . It will be useful for anyone visiting the area .

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Mary Humphreys
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 10:49 AM

The Star Inn also seems to have a broken link.

It is very good to see a local website, especially for people like me who can't keep up to date because we live so far away. Well done Ian.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 10:54 AM

Very impressed, looks great.

A couple of very minor points:

I don't think that you need the opening screen. Why not go straight to the map?

Also, your guitar icons for The Bridgewater Hall and RNCM are the wrong way round. The Bridgewater is the more northerly (Canal Street is further north than both)

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 01:23 PM

Thanks Mary, the Star Inn now has a new website (which doesn't mention the folk club unfortunately) which I have now linked to.

Thanks Ed, I always thought that a small sized, quick-loading 'splash' page was good practice in website design but I may be wrong or out of date. Sometimes the map can take a little while to load and if the computer user isn't connected in less than 10 milliseconds they are prone to click to be taken elsewhere. As for the geography of central Manchester I am happy to be corrected. Though I live just a few miles away I haven't ventured there for over a decade! I'll change it now.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 01:43 PM

Geography of central Manchester now changed.

I am genuinely grateful for comments, even when they point out my mistakes! I probably would never have noticed the incorrect positioning of these venues.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 02:21 PM

Well, that was quick! And looks about right.

Thinking again about your 'splash' screen. I think that you're probably right to keep it. My initial thought was that it was an extra 'wasted' click.

However, it's a very clean and attractive opening page. It contains information that if you attempted to squeeze onto the map page would probably make it look messy (although you clearly have a good eye for web design).

I don't think loading speed of something like that would be an issue for pretty much anyone these days, but hey, what's one click?

One finally thought. Having lived in and around the area for many years, I know what the 'Pyramid' is. I suspect that many visitors may not. Maybe a link somewhere explaining the reason for the name?

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Brakn
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 03:03 PM

Swinton Folk Club

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 03:43 PM

Thanks Brackn,

Swinton Folk Club has now been added - though it was not obvious on the website that it met on Mondays! There is also a Swinton Folk Club YouTube page. I'll need work out which is the best page to link to.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Mo the caller
Date: 29 Dec 13 - 05:14 PM

I like the days index on the folk clubs page, why doesn't the dance page have the same? It even leaves you to work out for yourself why some swordlocks are yellow and some green. OK not a big problem, you've done a good job on it all.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Bugsy
Date: 30 Dec 13 - 04:52 AM

Thanks for posting that Ian.

Reading the subject title, I thought it was a promo site for Manchester as a City.

This is much more interesting.

I'm coming over to UK from Western Australia in September and this is exactly the sort of info we tourists need.

Hopefully I'll be able to get to the area and maybe visit a couple of clubs.

All I need to know now is which ones serve a good pint of Mild. ;)


CHeers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 30 Dec 13 - 04:57 AM

Can I suggest - from a wider perspective that Ian's site is exactly the scale that works best. Most of us in that area could get to anywhere else within 30 minutesof so - and often by public transport. And secondly - it's of a size that is relatively easy to keep uptodate.

Thanks again Ian - I will put it on our Home Page on Folk at The Beech.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 30 Dec 13 - 05:04 AM

We try to keep uptodate with all kinds of stuff on our website. One thing we do is to put a link to a song or tune performance each day on the Home Page.

For the next few days the link will be to Ians Pyramid Folk hub:

Folk at The Beech

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 30 Dec 13 - 06:59 AM

Thanks Les,

Your comments about the scale of the site are 'spot on'. I started out with clubs of which I had personal knowledge and that had to expand to be all inclusive rather than a personal selection. Now there are many clubs listed about which I know very little, so I will be reliant on people using the site and hopefully communicating with me.

As I think I have demonstrated, when I am near a computer, I am able to update the site very quickly and am happy to do so. One of the things that annoys me is out-of-date websites and I will be trying very hard to not to become one of them!

Bugsy, thanks for your comments. With regard to a good pint of mild you should be OK but pubs are closing at such a rate over here it would be better to wait to nearer the time of your visit before getting recommendations. Meanwhile some of us will just have to do our best to ensure that pubs are well supported.

Regards,
Ian

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 04 Jan 14 - 07:37 AM

Oh dear, this is a bit embarrassing.

Links to this website have gone a little askew.

TEMPORARILY the website can be accessed via www.pyramidfolk.magix.net/

All links mentioning northcheshirefolk will cease to work.

The main domain www.pyramidfolk.co.uk will be working as soon as redirection kicks in correctly.

If you have bookmarked any links you might have to change them.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 04 Jan 14 - 12:58 PM

Fingers Crossed : Normal Service Resumes

http://www.pyramidfolk.co.uk

is the fully functioning up-to-date website.

Other routes to this site will be re-instated asap.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: GUEST,John Foxen
Date: 04 Jan 14 - 02:29 PM

Congratulations on a very good and useful website. I haven't been to Manchester in years and don't know when I'll be there again but I'll make a note of your site for my next trip up north. Keep up the good work.
All you need now is for a Mudcat elf to put folk club into the thread title so people don't think you're plugging City or United.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 05 Jan 14 - 03:57 AM

If this model was adopted across other areas of the country it would be most useful for people seeking folk music home or away.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: LesB
Date: 05 Jan 14 - 05:27 AM

Excellent web site, I like the map & must investigate how to do one for my area, (I only put clubs with guests on mine owing to the transitory nature of singers clubs & the subsequent upkeep). So that might do for those. Next time we get someone mixing up Southport with Stockport I can point them in your direction.
Cheers Les (Bothy Folk Club )

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 05 Jan 14 - 01:36 PM

Good one Les - go on do it

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 05 Jan 14 - 02:23 PM

Ian: The big problem with folk activity websites isn't getting what's atarted going on, or is going on NOW, it's finding out when things STOP happening. Which is seriously often. Perhaps if someone suggests a site, insist that they give you an email address. Contact that address, say, once a month, and ask them if it's still going on ( obviously put this up front in the website entry details). And if there's no reply after a very short time - I'd suggest two goes- mark the venue as "perhaps dormant".

Just my $0.02

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 06 Jan 14 - 04:44 AM

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the advice. I think I was beginning to appreciate such a problem.

Fortunately the site only links to a small number of sites (some of which give no contact details anyway) so I will be using a web link checker on a very regular basis and, more importantly, visiting the sites personally to find out if there is any activity.

I have already removed one of the sites which has not replied to an e-mail inquiry; a site which hasn't been changed since early last year and there's one club which I believe might exist but I've no confidence that it still does.

A lot of folk club websites leave a lot to be desired. If they are to attract a younger, more technologically savvy, audience/participants then they will have to improve. It's amazing how difficult it is sometimes just to find out the dates and times when they meet.

I don't think it is just a coincidence that a couple of clubs which have perhaps two of the best websites in our local area (kept very much up to date and with excellent content) are thriving. Clearly the active websites reflect the active clubs but there are other important factors as well. There's one very popular club with regularly large audiences which has a dreadful website, full of errors and non-working links.

Thanks again.
Ian

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Stanron
Date: 21 May 14 - 06:16 PM

Is this zombie thread being resurected by a blank posting? Dammit! I did that.

Subject: RE: Manchester, England, website promo, 2014
From: Ian Hendrie
Date: 22 May 14 - 11:52 AM

Not sure I understand the previous comment but thanks for reviving this little plug anyway.

The site has been going for some time now and is achieving my ambition of providing an up-to-date information service (though there was a little pause recently when I was on my holidays).

I still get most of my info about what's going on in local clubs by trawling their websites and may therefore miss other events. If anyone in the appropriate area wishes to advertise an event just send me the details.