[quote=“Edgar Allen”]sillyBunnie
ok, but the other 200 people I needed didn’t so I guess you wasted your time. Nice effort though. 
[/quote]
At least I set an example inspiring people to follow eh? 
Ok I think we are making progress.
I took over the daily updates and got some lessons from Tash on how to use Dreamweaver, use FTP etc. This also allowed for some other changes to be implemented, such as changing “Community” to “Forum”, fixing the hit counter (which had never worked), adding a “Tell a Friend” and fixing the dead links (hopefully all of them).
With direct response to the initial feedback: -
Tash has agreed to help me fix this, and some other visual stuff that is beyond me.
I am still thinking about this, and adding images.
I have downloaded a form tool but am still working on how to get it onto the page without messing up the existing stuff. Am sure I will get there.
[quote=“myury”]
The ‘Contact Us’ page looks odd in Firefox (fonts, border). Perhaps because it’s in PHP for some reason. [/quote]
A couple of people have raised this I will definitely get it fixed.
[quote=“myury”]
And about headings, well, your web designer should know that html heading tags are important, though it doesn’t appear that he used any. They help search engines read the site and make sense of it. They also help humans too, if the heading text is larger, different colour, font, etc. [/quote]
We will work on this, along with the design elements.
[quote=“myury”]
Since you have so much text (which is not a bad thing), it may be useful to summarize each page in one prominently placed sentence. That way a viewer can quickly decide whether to start reading the page or not. [/quote]
I originally thought the title for Today’s BIG Idea did this, the logic being that most readers will choose whether today’s idea is something they are interested in. Maybe we need to rethink the design as suggested by MTK along the lines of Early to Rise who have just re-designed their whole site very effectively.
All the feedback has been useful. Changes may appear slow but this is a learning process for me. Many thanks.
It’s a cool idea for a site. Good luck.
Thanks Buttercup.
I finally managed to get the archive up and running, added a tell-a-friend button and some other small victories. It still isn’t going to win any award but definitely improving.
Your site is now a daily ‘must-go’ for me, together with earlytorise and forumosa, especially since I’m leaving my job and contemplating business ideas over the next few months.
I’m not a web whiz, but I like all the text on the site’s first page, because that’s actually the content I’m looking for. Saves me from having to switch through to another page, which could be slow.
As to the business ideas, they’re quite interesting, whether about buttons or spa supplies, though sometimes they’re maybe not Taiwan-specific enough. Anyway, good luck with the site, and I’m looking forward to visiting it as often as I can.
Enzo
Many thanks for the kind words. Do feel free to sign up for the email if it is more convenient than logging in every day. Also if you want to thrash any ideas around am happy to do so in person or through the site’s forum.
I have deliberately designed the site to appeal to a western audience as my chinese is not up to running a Taiwanese version as yet. I have someone interested in trying it in Chinese but we first need to build this and prove the concept.
Good luck with your upcoming change.
Edgar Allen,
I agree with the others in regards to the layout of the site needing some work to make it look more professional. I also noticed that if you click on the Login tab, when you login page loads up, the word “Login” is not written on the tab (that you just clicked). Also, the “please contact us” link for if you forgot your password just takes you back to the same page without giving any way to contact you.
The ideas provided in the site are quite interesting though, keep up the good work.
Vertigo
We are in the process of fixing these glitches and toning down the overall design. My web designer quit before the end of the first week, so things like the login area never got sorted, as the concept has developed we may actually do without a login all together now.
Appreciate the feedback, and apologise for not getting back to you sooner.
Well, we have made it to idea #050 and almost 1500 visitors in approximately 7 weeks. I have learned loads about online marketing and am using my holiday time to learn more about this. You guys have been so helpful on the web design side. Does anyone have a favourite idea so far?
then can I write a simple review for my blog about your website?
I think it would interest some of my readers at http://www.investorblogger.com.
I’ll say some good things, in about 50 words or so. Wouldn’t mind a reciprocal link, too.
Let me know via PM if you are interested.
Today’s Big Idea is flipflops.
The Raven is pretty sure that’s already been tried in Taiwan. Does anyone know for sure?
Question: who is this site targetted at?
Second Question: why are you doing this?
The Raven
It is difficult to answer this kind of post without being defensive. I am re-writing what I wrote about half an hour ago, so apologies to anyone who read the earlier version.
The site is aimed at people who want to start a business, possibly part-time, with a minimum of investment; and are not sure what to start. None of the ideas is original. We will hit #060 tomorrow and if you review the archive you will note that they are all tried and tested. Some of them sound a little weird but they are all workable.
The fact that flip flop shops has been done in Taiwan is one of the reasons that I have noticed it as a business I could write about. I am trying to cover 365 so even the strangest will count. You will note however that I try to cover different distribution methods and am a strong believer that you can beat any existing business through creativity and/or persistency.
I am finding a reader base who are interested, with a steady number of repeat visitors each day and a growing subscriber base.
If I am honest I see my reader base as being primarily western due to the lack of language support and the fact that many of the ideas revolve around exporting from Asia to developed markets. The margins within Asia are smaller and the competition fiercer.
I hope this helps to clarify, and would like to thank you for your interest in the site.
Edgar Allen
No need to be defensive. The question was prompted by a bit of confusion about the target market, that’s all.
Are you aiming at foreigners in Taiwan? A foreigner at a nightmarket selling unusual flipflops might do well just on the novelty value, but with such a crowded market how big are the profit margins likely to be? And how much time would be wasted on free English lessons for curious passers-by?
If you’re talking about export of flipflops then that’s a different matter, but your mail focused on retail. So is your target market physically located overseas?
[quote]I am finding a reader base who are interested, with a steady number of repeat visitors each day and a growing subscriber base.
If I am honest I see my reader base as being primarily western due to the lack of language support and the fact that many of the ideas revolve around exporting from Asia to developed markets. The margins within Asia are smaller and the competition fiercer.[/quote]
You didn’t answer the question of why you’re doing this. You’re putting a lot of work in, but there’s no obvious return other than PR, relationships, building a future advertising channel.
Hats off to you for doing this, whatever your agenda. These are good mails to find in your inbox every morning. They get the mind working.
Target market is primarily overseas. I imagine US, UK, Australia. Long term value comes from having a loyal interested user base, advertising, and possibly some consulting.
We have the test site for the new design up and running.
All comments on design are welcome, note that it is all in HTML and there will be some changes to CSS over the coming few days.
Assuming no major league bad feedback we will be live this Sunday…would rather have the feedback and fix it than miss something though guys, if you know what I mean?
Only speaking for the look of the front page, it looks much better than before. Only thing that immediately caught my eye was this image:
It looks like it was saved as a jpeg first, then changed to gif. The initial saving as jpeg has made the image look bad. Personally, I would redo it and save it straight to gif. Otherwise it stands out from the otherwise totally clean and sharp web page.
Iris, sharp eye… wouldn’t have expected anything less from you! 
We changed the logo last minute and I haven’t optimized it for web yet. Rush job. Will definitely take care of it before going live.
[quote=“tash”]Iris, sharp eye… wouldn’t have expected anything less from you!
We changed the logo last minute and I haven’t optimized it for web yet. Rush job. Will definitely take care of it before going live.[/quote]
Ahh… you see Edgar Allen? This is what you get for using amateurs!
(only joking)
[quote=“irishstu”]
Ahh… you see Edgar Allen? This is what you get for using amateurs! [/quote]
Bite my shiny amateur ass!
EDIT: I don’t mean to discourage any potential critics. This is just joking between friends, please don’t take it seriously.