Boardsies: Please review my online Irish lessons site

eoinoc333

This might hurt, but what the heck.

Bitesize Irish

It's very basic. The site is there to teach you some of the Irish language, in bitesize lessons. As you complete each lesson, you can mark it as finished or revised. Audio accompanies any Irish language text.

It was launched last month, and I would appreciate any thoughts you have on it. The free "Learn a Little" plan was just launched this weekend. 30 additional lessons are being added this month for paying members.

(Price currently in USD$, but will be changed to Euro, and http://www.bitesizeirishgaelic.com/ targets people overseas).

tricky D

Having 2 domains with the same content is a bad idea for a few reasons (SEO, overheads, brand etc dilution...). Just provide a currency switcher option and use a 301 redirect to point the inferior to the superior.

Homepage could do with more text focusing on what you can do for users. The Free offer could be in a special offer badge and should appear above the fold not so far down the page. People like free and feel more obliged to do business if they get something for free. The bite/shamrock graphic is too big and uses the space where there should be text selling your products. Use the logo version which you do on the other pages.

Quotes/testimonials are good to have, but the grey on the background is hard to read. Up the contrast by making it darker.

Put more contact details up and be sure to include a postal address as it helps trust.

Don't like the use of Flash for the audio. Would prefer something with more controls: volume and progress bar.

I'd prefer to have a bit more info on what I'm getting and I especially want prices. This is important info which makes my purchase decision much easier.

hth

eoinoc333

Thanks for the thorough review.

tricky D wrote: »

Having 2 domains with the same content is a bad idea for a few reasons (SEO, overheads, brand etc dilution...). Just provide a currency switcher option and use a 301 redirect to point the inferior to the superior.

Thing is, I want to target both Irish and Americans, and further afield. Many Americans will only search for "Gaelic" or "Irish Gaelic", whilst many Irish will turn away immediately at the sight of "Gaelic". Perhaps developing differing content for both sites (rather than simply changing language name) is the only option.

tricky D wrote: »

Don't like the use of Flash for the audio. Would prefer something with more controls: volume and progress bar.

hth

I'll try to find a HTML5 implementation. Although, I'm not sure if controls are necessary since most of the recordings are very short.

Taking it all onboard, go raibh maith agat

Cianos

Who is your target audience? People who need to improve their Irish for school etc, or people who want to learn a few words here and there just for the laugh?

If the former, you should emphasise your qualifications so that people know they're learning from a reputable source.

If the latter, you should make the exercises more fun. Counting to ten, learning vocabulary and the like might bore people who just are doing it out of curiosity. So maybe you should look to combine the more technical aspects with some more lighthearted stuff.

eoinoc333

@Cianos It's targetted at people curious in the language who might never have heard it before. So, I take your point on upping the lightheartedness.

Along the way, anyway, I've added video that you can respond with through webcam. I think it should help with making it more personal and interactive to some degree.