Sneak Peek...

[[old] c2bill]

we are developing a new website for concept2 us - it is NOT complete - you will find links not working and content missing - however the overall look and feel is nearly done.<br /><br />take a look if you are interested - please post comments and feedback on this thread.<br /><br />-bill<br /><br /><a href='http://www.concept2.com/_05' target='_blank'>http://www.concept2.com/_05</a><br /><br />

[[old] hennmart]

The new website looks very good (the old one looked good also!).<br /><br />Greetings from Holland.

[[old] John Hendrie]

Hi Bill,<br /><br />Looks great but it raises a question - I have the C2 log, rankings, etc as "favorite" icons. Will they still work or will I need to establish new "favorites" after the new site is operational?<br /><br />Good work, john

[[old] andyArvid]

pretty slick. but a little slow loading. Pity those modem users. The layout and design seems very professional and well-done. Everything important seems easy to find. Text-scaling is a nice feature. It does not resize very well, designed for 800x600?<br /><br /> Well done.

[[old] LaurenS]

Great looking page, just a few comments on the HTML/JavaSciprt side of things<br /><br />There were very few spots in the source that use the alt tag. Each graphic should have some sort of alt tag to make the site screen-reader/text only browser compatable (if there is no alt tag, a scren reader says there is a graphic, and that's all the user gets whereas if there is an empty alt tag ("") the screen reader skips over it).<br /><br />Also, I would suggest you use separate files for your javascript (as a precaution against hackers).<br /><br />It really is a well designed/thought out site. The text-size adjustment is a nice feature, and the UI is well laid out (particularly the color contrasts)

[[old] KathiS]

Looks nice, but I couldn't find the heart monitors, seat pad and extra log card page. I did find the link for clothing though. It is probably staring me right in the face, but I didn't see it. Is there a link for the other products?

[[old] dadams]

Very Nice!!

[[old] John Rupp]

1) Cookie security problem - a cookie does not match the site address;<br /><br />2) Page took 1:30 to load with DSL;<br /><br />3) Who is your target market?<br /><br />It occurred to me this morning that a great many people know what a Total Gym is, and a lot of people here have one, but not many know of the Concept2 rowing machine. I don't know of anyone in this area who has one, including fitness centers.<br /><br />There is something about the marketing and appeal of Total Gyms and other fitness equipment that is working very well.

[[old] breccia]

I liked the new web site. It loaded pretty fast on a 56k modom. <br />

[[old] SimonB]

Looks great<br /><br />Loaded very quickly with satellite DSL < 10 seconds.<br /><br />John, perhaps you did not have flash player on your system and that is why it took so long.<br />

[[old] c2bill]

lets see - answers..<br /><br />1. online log/ranking URL is not going to change at all - so all bookmarks should stay the same - except 'workout of the day' which will change.<br /><br />2. sized for 800x600 - doesn't resize well - agreed - but it does print well - which we believe many of our customers do.<br /><br />3. extras/hr monitors haven't been added yet.<br /><br />4. load time on my modem is quite fast - plus the main links load very quickly below the flash nav section - allowing for quick 'click throughs'.<br /><br />5. target market - very hard questions. you (forum users), new rowers, oar customers, dealers, health club owners, etc. that is why we've tried to cluster content together so that anyone can find them selves a home...<br /><br />thanks for the feedback - more work to be done on monday...<br /><br />-bill

[[old] John Rupp]

Just tried it again:<br /><br />1) Cookie Security Problem<br />A path in a cookie does not match the page address<br />You might want to ask the site's webmaster to set legal cookies<br /><br />2) Took 3:30 and still not loaded when I left the cookie message up and when I clicked off the warning it took 19 seconds total. Comparatively, the forum home page takes 1-3 seconds or less.<br /><br />3) With the picture on the new site it looks like your target market is competitive heavyweight rowers with shaved heads. I don't normally see many of those walking around in every day life, but see a lot of people who use Total Gyms that run about the same price. For example a woman, who's about 100 pounds, uses a Total Gym for an hour each morning, and her husband uses it in the evening. They're now on their second machine. But I don't see where these people are targeted or welcomed on the site.

[[old] akit110]

I liked it. It loaded quickly via my cable modem. It has a cleaner and more modern look than the current website. My comments are about content more than layout. <br /><br />Suggestions? Well, might you place some material under the Compare section subtly why it might be the best choice in an indoor rower. Commercial quality at a home price? Choice of Olympians and collegiate crews? World famous customer support and online community? Hits more bodyparts than a treadmill, burns more calories than a bike etc etc? Industry leading performance monitor? I mention this because I imagine there are many people who do a lot of pre-purchase research by hitting your website. And I think your advantages over your competitors is not immediately obvious to a neophyte. In contrast, I have seen one competitor's website, though not as well developed, it does make these explicit and implicit comparisons to air resistance based rowers.<br /><br />This is a much more minor detail. But I wouldn't mind seeing even more variety in terms of the people who use the machine (i.e. the section where you have pictures of user testimonials). How about people of a broader range of nationalities/ethnicities? How about someone with physical disabilities who uses adaptive rowing? How about someone in their 70s or 80s or teens? It seems like it's a broad community who uses the C2, it couldn't hurt to reflect that here.

[[old] John Rupp]

Simon,<br /><br />I do have flash player.<br /><br />Is satellite DSL a reasonable cost and performance?

[[old] Steve_R]

I like the site, great color and layout. The only comment is that it seemed like I should be able to click on the the top "oars" in the flash nav to get to the "main" pages like the main links below.<br /><br />Great job.<br /><br />Steve