|
|
|
If you're like us, you've spent too many hours watching a blank screen, as a website slowly downloads, all because some designer thought it was important to have a fancy typeface on every single button. Or you found it impossible to read some text, because of flashing symbols in the corner.
We disagree with those designers. Given current technology, we find the Web is a great way to communicate information, but our priority is to help you keep moving. We've worked hard to develop a design that we hope you find attractive, yet which also delivers the goods quickly.
Site Design
The Alyson Adventures site was designed by Educational Web Adventures. They did an excellent job and we recommend them to anyone in need of such services. All design and updates are now done in-house, allowing us to make frequent updates. So if you discover missing links, or have suggestions about how to improve the site, don't blame them -- but please do email us so we can fix them. We welcome your ideas.
The Structure
Our site consists of the home page, and four other types of pages:
Background and general information. These pages are all reached from our home page. They tell how we started; provide comments from past travelers about our trips; give full terms and conditions, and so on. Each is pretty self-explanatory from the description on our home page. (See a sample.)
Trip overviews. These are short, quick-loading descriptions of each trip. Here you'll find departure dates, price, a short description of what you'll experience and what's included in the price, and a single picture that we think captures this particular vacation. (See a sample.)
Illustrated itineraries. We are developing a more in-depth, day-by-day itinerary for each trip. Most of these are now in place, and can be reached from the bottom of the Overview page for that trip. These are long, illustrated pages, and can take a minute or two to download on a dial-up system. (They're an exception to our 10-second download rule.) But the text downloads first, so you can be reading while the pictures arrive. (See a sample.)
FAQ pages. Further detail about particular trips is on FAQ (Frequently-Asked Questions) pages. These, too, can be reached from the bottom of the Overview page. FAQ pages do not yet exist for every trip. (See a sample.)
Photo Credits
About 95% of this photographs on this site were taken on actual trips that we sponsor, and show actual participants on those trips. Occasionally we use photographs from other sources which capture the flavor and typical sights of a destination. (This is most common with underwater shots, which require special equipment; and when we're listing a trip for the first time, and don't yet have photographs of our groups.)
Most of the photographs are taken by Sasha Alyson, the company founder. We would also like to thank:
- Garry Oreskovic, a superb underwater photographer whose photographs, taken on our January 1999 Octopus's Garden, greatly enliven the detailed description of that trip. And he got a lot closer to that shark than any of us would have!
- Bill Barnert, who supplied numerous photos from our Mistral and Provencal bike trips.
- Owen Edwards, for photographs of The Grand.
- Corel Professional Photos, whose stock photos we have used for some underwater and location shots.
- Whitewater Photos & Video, for rafting shots in the Tetons.
- The Iceland Tourist Board for many photos of that diverse and exciting country.
Affiliated Sites
We sponsor several other sites that will interest many gay travelers. We invite you to visit:
Thailand: Extensive information for travelers headed to this fascinating, but very different, land.
France: Insights into the gay scene in France, and French attitudes toward gay people.
Australia: Coverage of the gay and lesbian Mardi Gras, and gay culture Down Under.
Italy: What's on the menu in Tuscany today?
Hiking: Advice about selecting the right hiking boots, using your map and compass, and finding your way.
Scuba Diving: Looks at many popular dive sites world-wide, from a gay perspective.
Travel Advice: Concerned about flight delays, traveling with HIV, getting cash overseas, and more.
|
