[Grinder] So what makes a good indie website?

[sandmanx]

Greetings Gamers,

I was noticing everybody had a website to go with their products.  What do you feel is important in a website?  I just started to build mine for the game I'm making.  Has anybody seen something really cool they would put on a website?  I included my url, but it is brand new. (not a lot of content yet)  I put a few hours into it, and of course it will develop as I get more feedback.

http://members.cox.net/dobbsplace/index.htm

-Sandman

[Andrew Morris]

I think one of the first things you should consider is the URL. Three things to remember: keep it short, keep it simple, and keep it short. While free sites with non-specific URLs might work early on, they really do convey a lack of professionalism. As Clinton says in his article How to Make Your Own Role-playing Game (Cheap), free sites lead to "the drug-addled madness that can occur such as 'http://users.freecrap.com/BigApple/~game43a2." To be blunt, that was the first thing I noticed about your site...no way in hell am I ever going to remember that URL.

On the up side, your site is clean and easy to read, which is very important.

[Sifolis]

I say howdy hi.

The web-site thing can be a nightmare...one i admit im afraid to embark upon. if your going for a professional url (and you should...) then what im about to show you is prolly not the road you want to take....but if your not too anal about having a pro-domain, this may help you.

google ".tk"

its run by a small island community, they use a simple redirection link system that can allow people a short cut to any site. our band uses this, since the band is more of a hobby then a professional music endevor.

www.drkweb.tk will lead you t our geocities site...the real url is dredfully long, but the ".tk" site makes it easy to find my simply redirecting you. there will be one pop-up but other then that, you will be able to get a name like

www.grinder.tk

check it out....if you care.

[Jack Aidley]

You need to unify your website, make it have a common look-and-feel and maintain the sidebar in all pages. At the moment it feels like a disconnected set of pages, each done in a conflicting style. The front page layout is ok, but you need to sort that graphic out so it looks right at that res.

And pay for a proper domain name, nothing screams clueless amateur like www.freehost.com/whatever/my_pages.htm

[Jack Aidley]

And since I may as well put my money where my mouth is, check out the two links in my sig to see what I think a low budget indie website should look like.

[sandmanx]

Thanks for the tips so far.  The website you are looking at for Grinder is just a test run site.  Only you guys have the address.  The real site will go up shortly with the more professional name is acquired.  I will run to see some of the sites for advice.