Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

hi Sergiu

Yes, i have heard about Moldova. It was once part of the Soviet Union and had substantial Soviet military presence/bases. Moldova became an independent country after the demise of Soviet Union in 1991.

honestly, this is the first time i am looking at a website from Moldova. i am curious, your site has three language option, i got English, Russion, what's the other one (you mentioned ROM), is that Romaninan language?

now regarding your site, the following are my comments:

Top News Page
# its better to have dates as Jan 20, 2006 or 20 Jan 2006 rather than the way you are currently having.
# there should be some pictures along with the news items.
# the news should be a little more descriptive under the link news and i suggest you place shape them in squares (visit BBC website to understand what i mean)

Other news pages
# on political page i only could read the details of 19th Jan "AMN...." news, there was no link for the other news items.
# the same scenario i also faced in other pages. so please fix it.
# Instead of placing them, put the other news link pages like Political, Sports etc. as Tabs on the page to make the page look beautiful.

Products Page
# the "sample BASA business" etc. should be highlighted to ensure they stand out and readers visit those page

Overall
# you must highlight points or links that readers/viewers are likely to click on/read/view. currently those are completely lost.
# the overall color schemes are good and soothing to eye

thats all for today. once you correct then will get back and have another look.

cheers!!

Well, I seem to be in dissent. (But you must be familiar with that - ha!)

I lived a long time in Budapest, assisting businesses and cultural projects in meeting the demands of prospective investors. Plenty of colleagues and friends have spent their development time in Moldova. I'm quite impressed with your action and your delivery.

. I disagree about changing the date format. It's perfectly natural and understandable and European as is.

. If the site loads slowly (and it does), I assume that it's your server. You're using CSS, with very little graphic content ... is all of your dynamic code compressed? At any rate, if it's your server ... perhaps you'd change servers? Of course, it's a bit difficult when you're positioned as a Moldovan enterprise to use a server in the US or Western Europe, isn't it? Perhaps you could explain, briefly, in your marketing material.

Generally speaking, apologizing for technical difficulties is probably a deal breaker. But ... you can fairly presume a very real and specific need of your prospective site visitors. Is it equally fair to guess that you are not targeting 'average' citizens but the international business community? (I don't know. I'm asking. I have a hard time imagining computers and internet access being widely available in Moldova.)

Also, are you acting sort of a wire service for the region?

. Yes, your language options need to be highlighted better. Visitors are a little more accustomed to the Romanian flag, British flag, etc.

. Is your digest sent out in a daily email? IHT does it. I love it. I live for it. Yes, it's owned by the NY Times and so has the same editorial policy, but ... it's invaluable.

And can be offered on your home page.

. IF, in fact, your target audience is there for the news, I'm not so sure you need to change your 'look' - I mean, the aesthetics aren't so important. That said, small photos actually DO attract the eye to a headline. And tell half the story before anyone clicks through.

. And finally, if you're actually trying to lure international attention to Moldovan stories and news ... sigh. I don't want to suggest this lightly ... but ... perhaps you could take turns as columnists. (Even as I write, it's not even for the internationals or outside Moldova's borders). I'm not suggesting a column of opinion. There's plenty of that. And certainly, it could be done in the spirit of objectivity - but a column that provides context, that puts a news story or cultural development IN context ... very valuable.

Anyway. Those are my remarks.