[bpape]

Hi Guys.

I've talked with Scott about setting up a web site for GAS.  What I'd like to do is have a place that we can optimize for search engines to find us so local folks and people new to the area can too.  I'll pony up for the domain name and web hosting for the first year.   I'll also take care of the web site creation unless someone else wants to volunteer.

What I'd like to get from you is your opinions on what should go on the site.  Some possibilities are:

- Forums
- Galleries
- Reviews
- Trading Post/For Sale area
- For a couple extra bucks, I can get enough email addresses for each member to have a dedicated email address on this domain.
- other suggestions
- Join or start a webring for other area groups similar to ours


Other things...

Looking for suggestions as to the domain name.  GAS.com is taken. TubesRUs is taken.  GatewayAudio.com is available.

Potential shopping cart to pay dues?

Offering advertisement from manufacturers or local AV businesses?

Anything else you can think of that you might like that I've missed.  

Post your thoughts here.  Once I get a better feel for what the group wants, I'll try to condense it down to the concensus and float it by you before I put anything up.

Bryan

[electricbear]

I think we should have Gateway Audio in our domain name . It is how people know us. As for advertising , I can get the local audio stores here in town to pony up a little bit of $ for a mention or two. Check your pm.

[JohnR]

What I'd like to do is have a place that we can optimize for search engines to find us so local folks and people new to the area can too.

What search phrases would people be using?

[bpape]

That'd be great.  I was even thinking about a place for 'sponsored events' like you've had at Best Sound.  A little 'free' advertising.  

I agree on the Gateway Audio being in the name.  I'll also set up GAS and Gateway Audio Society in the headers so people can find us by those in a search.

[Scott F.]

Hi John,

I haven't thought much about the search phasing yet but I'll inbed something in the html that will cover terms like St Louis 'Audiophile', 'Audio', 'High End Stereo', and other such related terms.

When it comes to forums, I think we should point our site back here to AC. We've got a nice established presence. A quick Google search of St Louis Audiophile has AC and GAS popping up in the #3 spot.

I had given thought to a few static pages that introduce us and then a link to a dynamic set of pages (similar in format and operation as Audio Circles) to that we can upload pics, offer our used gear for sale, stuff like that. There would be only a couple of 'topics' at most. I'd really like to keep all of our concert posts, activities, and general discussion here at AC since thats where everybody looks to find us.

I like the idea of a shopping cart and PayPal to pay dues. That makes it easy for everybody.

I think we need to include all of our local audio business's in our website. Not to mention the local concert venues and selected cultural links. A page of 'must visit' spots that are music, entertainment and food related would be good too. On occasion we get some visitors to the GAS Circle that ask what is fun to do or where to listen to some quality gear.

I think we ought to do our full name in our web address. The real question is do we want to do .org or .com? Maybe its just me but the .org websites I visit seem to load slower than the .coms. Then again, I could be having flashbacks or timewarps or something.

We should link to the other audiophile societies that are out there. I'm sure as we add their links, they'll add ours in turn.

The next question, on our website, do we want something that loads quick and has a simple (yet attractive) layout similar to the TNT-Audio website or do we want a slicker java script style website. I personally find the TNT site far far easier to code. If we go java, I'll need to enlist some help getting me back up to speed on the scripts.

When it comes to the TNT style of site, I can dress it up with static side menu's with a top header to make it more attractive. I can even do some custom logos and wording that flips, shadows, flashes, 3D effects or changes colors. If anybody is ineterested, I'll whip something up over the next couple of weeks. I'll try to bring in Steves logo design too. That and I'll try overlaying some text on some riverfront shots (night and daytime) to see how that looks.

[steve k]

Scott:
Let me get you a cleaner version of the logo. I'll work on it between the holidays. I'm also working on tee shirts.
steve k

[jcrane]

Gateway Audio should be in the domain.
I like the forum staying here, but I would like a For Sale/Trade forum though, so as to get first chance on gear before it is posted here or on audiogon.
A list of entertainment and nightspots/food spots would be cool, especially if they had a mini discription or review.
Ads should be offered to local business owners.
Paypal/shopping cart is also a good idea, for dues and T-shirts (I think cash is the only acceptable form of payment for Scotts soon to be famous THONG )

I hate popups of any kind.
Java is cool but not required.

Jamie

[bpape]

Sounds like we're getting there.  

I agree that the forums should probably point back here for now.  However, it would be nice to have some way to communicate publicly on that site too.  Maybe not a full forum set per se but more than just one way announcements too.

I agree on the quick and easy to load style of page.  Anything over and above basic HTML should be Javascript or PHP since they're very portable.  As for .COM or .ORG, .ORG is more proper - however, realistically 99% of the world knows .COM as a pseudo-default.

The idea with the for sale was to be a place where members could buy and sell for free.  Others would use the A'Gon model but at a reduced price - maybe $1-$2 per ad.

I like the idea of a listing of the local businesses.

As for the layout, there are some very nice templates out there that are free to use.  Also, when I get the domain name and hosting purchased, there are software packages as part of the deal for shopping carts, forums, banner managers, etc.

Lastly, if we're going to do PayPal, then we either need a bank account to tie it to (assume one for the org with a couple of us as signatories), or we could just leave everything in the PayPal account and pay out to whoever/whenever via transfer or PayPal credit card.  Somewhere, somehow, it's got to be in someones name.

Keep the ideas coming

[bpape]

OK.  Haven't had a lot more response so I'm going to get ready to move on this.

I've talked with Scott about the domain name and we've kind of decided that we'd like to keep as close to what we have now as possible.  So, the domain I'm going to register is www.gatewayaudiosociety.com.  I know it's kind of long to type in but at least it ties everything together nicely.  If you have any comments, let me know.  I'll wait a couple of days to do this to make sure.

I'm going to get the better package for the hosting.  Basically, for an extra $10, you get more bandwidth, disk space, email accounts, and the domain name registration is included in the cost - too good a deal to pass up IMO.

I'm going to consider this a work in progress.  Once I get it up and available, I hope to have the forum up so that you can comment on anything you like/don't like, would like to see added, etc.  I wouldn't count on having much of anything available until after the holidays other than being able to hit the site without a 404.

Thanks to ElectricBear for making contact with some of the local stores about potential advertising.  We're going to keep it very reasonable for local folks.  The idea is not to make a fortune - just enough to cover the bills and provide some visibility for both us and our local businesses.

Bryan

[mark@marktwain]

Sounds good to me!

Earl Klugh - Late Night Guitar - CD

Also sounds good to me!

Mark

[sturgus]

Bryan, I just  saw this post and think it's a great idea. You have my vote for a go ahead.
Sturgus

[bpape]

http://www.gatewayaudiosociety.com is now officially registered and available.  I suspect that neither Scott nor I will have much time until after the holidays to do much with it.  Heck, I don't even have the admin passwords yet - it's that fresh.

Modules to be installed:

Banner Manager
Forums (Basic - will link back to here)
Shopping Cart (to pay dues)
Membership Registration
Want Ads

Along the way if you have any suggestions, questions, etc. - please contact me.  I want this to be what the group wants.

Bryan

[electricbear]

Thanks for doing that Bryan. I keep meaning to call and give you the ideas we came up with when we met at Massas but retail at this time of year is crazy. I will most definately call you in the next couple of days. tim

[bpape]

No problem Tim.  Lots of time yet.

Just for future reference, the main site is listed in the above thread.  

The forums will be at http://www.gatewayaudiosociety.com/forum

The Want Ads will be at http://www.gatewayaudiosociety.com/classifieds

The main forums will still point back to here for convenience and I'll ask Scott to sticky a link to our web site here too.  

I still need to research and install a banner manager and some other things.  
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