new samples

[Metman]

Ken,
Theres a lot of cds on the site,that I have no idea what the band sounds like. any chance in the near future will you be updating the sound samples?

 

[Metman]

Any feedback on this Ken,

 

[lasercd]

On the "to do" list.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Wow, really? That's gonna be sick! Actually, now that I think about it, I think the website itself could use a make-over. The amount of awesome that this site is, is not given justice with the layout!

I do like that it's straight to the point and easy to navigate, which is obviously most important.

 

[lasercd]

Out of curiousity - what would want to see added to the site in terms of functionality? We will be migrating over to a new site that has been designed for some time. It looks virtually identical to the current site but has a better back end which will help us process orders and track inventory with better accuracy. Eventually in 2010 I would lilke to tear the site apart and go with a completely different look.

I've always like the idea that you can "get in and get out" of our site. I don't really want to clutter it up too much. I've been to too many sites that were attractive but there was so much eye candy that it was hard to figure out how to order something or it took too many steps.

But - I'd be happy to get feedback. You never know...and now would be a good time to voice your ideas.

 

[Liquid Tension]

This is the only site that doesn't save the discs in your cart if you leave so I'm for having that implimented...

 

[lasercd]

Jeff:

The site will save discs in your cart for a period of time. The system automatically cleans up "abandoned carts" after 36 hours - otherwise it would drain system resources.

If I can make a suggestion - make more use of the wish list. Perhaps its better to put items in your wish list instead of the cart and then you can transfer items over when you are ready to make a purchase.

Ken

 

[Liquid Tension]

I knew you were going to tell me to use the wish list.... LOL

I'll set it up...

 

[Metman]

OH God, I have ""OCD"" I hate change!!!uke:

 

[mpj1]

Out of curiousity - what would want to see added to the site in terms of functionality?

I know this question was not directed at me, but I'll take this opportunity to mention something that bugs me about the site when I use it.

I find that the search results aren't often presented in an ideal fashion. When I search for something, I'd expect the closest matches to be at or near the top of the results page, but that is often not the case. A couple of recent specific examples that pop to mind are "IQ" and "Soundscape."

Otherwise, I find the site a joy to use, and I agree that having a lack of clutter is a good thing.

Thanks for listening.
Matt

p.s. I look forward to the time when soundclips are available. For what it's worth, I love whatever progarchives.com uses as a front-end for their mp3s.

 

[lasercd]

Matt:

The problem is what progarchives.com does is illegal. I don't have rights to put up mp3s of songs that I have not licensed...and neither do they. BTW, I have banned progarchives.com from posting mp3s of our artists. They posted them without asking permission and I forced them to take them down. Other labels have followed suit.

The way search engine works is it doesn't search the artist name or title - it searches the entire database including the descriptions. If you search for IQ, everytime IQ is mentioned that result will come up. When we finally switch over to the new version of the software it has a more robust search engine.

Ken

 

[mpj1]

Matt:

The problem is what progarchives.com does is illegal...I forced them to take them down. Other labels have followed suit.

Ouch, that is a shame on both counts. I was not aware they were posting those without permission. On the other hand, I can think of at least a dozen cases where I bought CDs I would not have bought otherwise after listening to songs on their site.

The way search engine works is it doesn't search the artist name or title - it searches the entire database including the descriptions. If you search for IQ, everytime IQ is mentioned that result will come up. When we finally switch over to the new version of the software it has a more robust search engine.

I look forward to the more robust engine.

Thanks for answering!

Off to get ready for the drive to Bethlehem. See you there.

Matt

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Shit, sorry, Ken! I didn't even realize that you posted a comment asking for some feedback.
There's one thing I'd really like to see implemented, and that's genre selection. Label selection would be decent, but not very important to me.
Also, when you click on " Your Wishlist" from any page, other than "Your Account" page, it asks you to sign in, even when you already have. That used to bug me before I found out that clicking "Your Account" and THEN "Your Wishlist" would skip that glitch.
One last thing, which will probably be corrected after your update: The search engine doesn't always bring up matches to what I've typed, even when I KNOW it's on your site.
Overall, I definitely like the ease of use of this website. Maybe a little eye candy wouldn't hurt. Some nice graphics, rather than plain writing for your links along the left side, for example. The screen is also very small, and centred (black on each side), but that may just be my computer, lol.
Hope this provides some assistance

 

[lasercd]

I think the search engine on the updated platform should be able to search the genre. That's why I've been adding that in the past few years. Might take some customization but I don't think its a big deal.

Can you give me specific examples of things that wouldn't come up in the search engine? The search engine hates things like apostrophes. It doesn't like Spock's Beard very much.

I already spoke to Chad about the redesign. There will definitely be a bit more bling on the new site and it will DEFINITELY be wider (the mothballed redesigned site already is). I don't want to go overboard - I want the page to load quickly and be easy to navigate. When I go to a website I want to get in and get out if I'm purchasing something. Been to too many sites that are overthought and overdesigned. We'll keep it relatively simple but attractive.

 

[Crazy Booduh]

I will second (third?) the need for a better search engine. The one in place right now seems way too specific. You're right about the apostrophes, for a while I didn't think you had any Pagan's Mind CDs because nothing would come up in the search. However, once I searched for just "Pagan" it came up.

Recently I ordered Jeff Loomis' CD "Zero Order Phase" but searching for "Jeff Loomis" didn't come up with anything except for "Enemies of Reality" by Nevermore. However, I then searched for "Nevermore" and the Jeff Loomis CD came up. The problem was it was listed as "Loomis, Jeff."

 

[lasercd]

Well the reason for that is he has to be listed as "Loomis, Jeff" for his solo album because I want him to appear in the proper alphabetical list. I wish we had the resources of Amazon to do better than this. I guess is something I can float past the designers and see what they say.

 

[Crazy Booduh]

Right, and I completely understand that. But it seems like any respectable search engine would still pull up his CD under a search for "Jeff Loomis." The search engine isn't too bad once you understand it's limitations but I think you should implement some "search tips" to appear whenever no matches are found or something along those lines.

Good luck getting the new site in order! Looking forward to it.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

I'm pretty sure what I was searching for were names with apostrophes, now that I think about it.

Pagan's Mind, Spock's Beard, Dali's Dliemma, Abigail's Ghost... Those are probably the ones I was thinking about.

I agree with your choice of adding a little more bling, but not overdoing it. LaserCD does load up instantly on my virus-infested computer, and it's much appreciated, lol.

 

[johan68]

Personally, I think the web site is perfect. I really like how the search engine gives you multiple entries of related bands and artists. All graphics are great as well.
Could be because I'm somewhat involved with a certain metal cd site that is bare bones to say the least... (Den, if you read this I won't give you away...), and that makes LE look like the Rolls Royce of mail order cd sites...

 

[lasercd]

At Nearfest, Chad and I had a conversation about the site. I'm not sure when we will actually start playing with it. First I want to finally "flip the switch" and migrate over to the new version of the software and make sure that is running ok. The summer is slow so it could be the right time...although I said that last summer too.