Best site designs out there?

[markwolff]

A quick survey on what you feel to be some of the best sites designs out there right now. Which ones convert the best, and entice people to join. which ones look the best, ( stylish) and still convert well. Which ones have the best navigation etc etc.

[basschick]

stylish tours don't convert as well for us as simpler tours and reality tours.

[markwolff]

Any examples?, i find that sites, that are both stylish, yet simple and clean convert and retain way better than the cookie cutter type sites, but that is just my experience. I will kick it off with a few sites i think are good as far as design and style. www.collinoneal.com www.menatplay.com both sites have a clean yet stylish design, good type fonts and color scheme. It's also easy to follow the tour, and i know these sites convert well.
Any other examples out there that stick out from the rest of the pack? or are doing something different that draws you in?

[tombarr]

Your site design seems to be more sleek and modern....what's wrong with it?

[A_DeAngelo]

we did a lot of research and thought our site through pretty well prior to our launch - so far, no complaints....

content aside, quick and easy navigation, well organized and presented in a simple format

and reviewers like it (a lot)

http://barebackMasters.com

[Xstr8guy]

Since Tony is plugging his own site design... I'll nominate our's.

UKnakedmen is simple yet eye-catching, easy to navigate and it gives surfers a good idea of what is inside.

I also like...

http://www.berlin-male.com/ although the thumbs should be much bigger

http://www.menatplay.com/ I do think their previous tour was better than the current one

http://www.englishlads.com/ has a totally unique and ingenious tour but I think it can be a little confusing for surfers

[Xstr8guy]

I think the most important thing that often gets overlooked is going for design over content. The content should be the main focus. Overwhelming background colors, small images and unnecessary graphic flourishes only distract the eye from what is important.

A site like www.barebackmasters.com may not have the pizzaz of www.brokestraightboys.com/ but it lets you easily see the content without too much distraction.

Of course, this is a terrible analogy since there probably isn't a better converting site than BrokeStraightBoys at the moment. Lol.

Btw Mark, I think your sites do an excellent job of featuring the content AND have pizzaz at the same time. I would worry a little about the amount of Flash you use especially with the current state of browsers and operating systems. There is too many technical unknowns. Do you offer non-flash tours as well?

[markwolff]

I do use a fair bit of flash on the markwolff.com and jockbutt.com front pages and right now i don't offer a non-flash tour, but maybe i will in the near future, as i have had a few inquireies from webmasters for that. The thing i love about flash is it let's you showcase a good bit of content in a 10sec dose, and sometimes that's all the time you have, to entice the surfer to want to see more, and flash works great at drawing surfers in. That being said, with my new markwolffvideo.com site we are still using flash, but only a single box, with a 20 sec video loop inside, and a static header. I do like some of the sites mentioned so far, and i agree content is allways first over design. I am allways interested in what others peoples perceptions are on good design, and what makes people want to go through a site tour and join.There is also a fine line between having a nice looking well designed site, but not being too fancy, that the site dosen't convert. I think you can create a site that will do both, but it takes some fine tuning. A trend that i am starting to see on some good sites, is the use of very large high res photos in the tour. Some sites seem to be cutting back on the amount of photos on the tour and instead using a few very good, high quality shots that are quite large. I have been told by several experienced designers, that sometimes just one shot, with just the right expression on the models face, can be more effective than 20 so-so shots of the same model. I think this technique would require some trial and error in selecting the right shot, then tracking conversions. Any more sites out there that are well thought out, as far as design or are trying something new? I am working on a new project and just wanted to get some more feedback on what you feel to be well designed sites.

[MiamiB]

Here is the way we think of it...surfers can check out sites so fast that it is like walking to a magazine stand...there are so many choices...the first thing that must get the surfers attention is the cover (in this case the front page)...that gets them to pick up the magazine (in this case continue the tour). After you get them to pick you up (take the tour) then you need to give them compelling content that will get them to take the entire tour...with the ultimate goal of getting them to sign in to see the whole package (and hopefully be so pleased that they rebill).

Content is king and it always will be. You HAVE to convince (sell them on the idea) that you can deliver what you promise via the tour.

We have been doing this since 1999 so if that means anything.

Lee

[A_DeAngelo]

we're getting ready to add more tour pages and personal blogs - these are the first steps in adding more dimension to our 3 month old site - we are capitalizing on the fact that we are webmasters, producers and performers and have been updating with some new gonzo style vids which emphasize our "personal" pov to life at http://barebackMasters.com - being "real" people helps to "personalize" our site and give it some credibility

I think that MarkWolff personal touches are a good thing to let your members know that MarkWolff IS the site and not just another pseudonym or non-existant entity running a site