What is your experience w free/$$ site templates?

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   Ok, you've got me with this one.  To me it's not a problem spelling it, and my native language is German.  So, I've tested my hubby.  Born and raised in New Jersey and somewhat dyslexic.  He passed all University level English writing and composition tests with an A.   Many of the classes he did not even have to take, because he passed the tests.   Smart man, but can't spell for nothing.  Hey they have computers so he doesn't need to.  He is a great story writer never the less.  So I asked him and sure enough he cannot spell it right.   That proofs your point, and that america's reading and spelling level is not that good either.  I've read somewhere that America's level is that of an 8th grader.    Not saying that other countries are smarter.  Just a sad statistic.

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katharina Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25-October-2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote katharina Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: What is your experience w free/$$ site templates? Posted: 27-November-2009 at 5:08pm
	Ok, you've got me with this one. To me it's not a problem spelling it, and my native language is German. So, I've tested my hubby. Born and raised in New Jersey and somewhat dyslexic. He passed all University level English writing and composition tests with an A. Many of the classes he did not even have to take, because he passed the tests. Smart man, but can't spell for nothing. Hey they have computers so he doesn't need to. He is a great story writer never the less. So I asked him and sure enough he cannot spell it right. That proofs your point, and that america's reading and spelling level is not that good either. I've read somewhere that America's level is that of an 8th grader. Not saying that other countries are smarter. Just a sad statistic.
	Katharina ***************** www.GermanPlaza.com *****************

joshs Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 07-April-2009 Location: Utah Status: Offline Points: 14	Post Options Post Reply Quote joshs Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27-November-2009 at 4:26pm
	I have visited the site for a couple weeks and hadn't read the up to date posts on this thread. This might be a little late in your decision making process but simple is best. My first thought is that some people will have a hard time spelling "athletic." I know that is weird but if they see an advertisement and try to type in your url they might end up with other variations. FYI www.athleticgear.com is for sale. What does simply athletic gear mean? What are you selling? How about www.simplyrunninggear.com or simply football gear? Are you selling all kinds and variations of athletic gear? Marketing wise it seems that clearly defined markets will seo better to start off. Edited by joshs - 27-November-2009 at 4:30pm

simplyathleticgear Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26-October-2009 Location: Toronto Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote simplyathleticgear Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 19-November-2009 at 3:53pm
	Hello, here is the final logo! My immediate next step is now to share this with another designer to get the layout going! Thank you for all of your input thus far. I will keep you abreast of my layout creation journey. Regards, Martin.
	Martin http://www.simplyathletic.com

simplyathleticgear Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26-October-2009 Location: Toronto Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote simplyathleticgear Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18-November-2009 at 1:42pm
	Hello, here are the two latest revisions. I still like the first one better and have asked the designer to keep to the first design and see if she can try to work with it to give it some more "speed", "agility", "motion", "athleticism", etc. I think I'm in the home stretch with the logo :) Regards.
	Martin http://www.simplyathletic.com

simplyathleticgear Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26-October-2009 Location: Toronto Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote simplyathleticgear Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17-November-2009 at 2:56pm
	@katharina: Thank you for your feedback...I am now seeing the light with respect to the 'x' in the name. @Hamish: Yes, these are registered to me. I'm leaning towards simplyathletic for the main site and the others redirecting to it. Thoughts on the name? Regards.
	Martin http://www.simplyathletic.com

Hamish Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 12-October-2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 56	Post Options Post Reply Quote Hamish Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17-November-2009 at 10:44am
	Hi, I hope it was you who registered the domains? : purelyathletic.com/ca truelyathletic.com/ca simplyathletic.com/ca Are you Kaczynski Enterprises ? I hope so! A shorter, but meaningful, domain name is almost always better. Easier for people to remember & type, communicate etc, so dropping "gear" is a good move.
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katharina Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25-October-2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote katharina Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17-November-2009 at 10:30am
	I like the new logo, and don't see an issue with the arches. I still like the old logo too, but this one will show better on letterheads, and other printed matter as well. I'm personally against words that are misspelled or off in some way. I know it goes with the internet thing, but I feel that this makes you look less professional. Plus you will have to promote something spelled off and you have to explain to others how to spell it so they don't end up on the competitors site. So in my point the x is a bad idea. Stick with the slightly longer domain name, because it is spelled correctly, can be remembered, and does not have to be explained.
	Katharina ***************** www.GermanPlaza.com *****************

simplyathleticgear Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26-October-2009 Location: Toronto Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote simplyathleticgear Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17-November-2009 at 9:21am
	Hello Again. Sean@WMS: Thank you very much for your feedback - especially regarding the SEO challenges of the domain name. I am having difficulty in deciding which domain name to go with. I want my site to portray a professional image/brand that sells premium and quality sports products with exceptional service. Here are the domain names that I have registered for the business: simplyathleticgear.com/ca/net/org purelyathletic.com/ca pureathletix.com/ca simplyathletix.com/ca truelyathletic.com/ca simplyathletic.com/ca Based on your feedback, I imagine that either "simplyathleticgear", "purelyathletic" are my best options. What are your thoughts on this? Thank you for your note of appreciation for this thread. I was mildly concerned that the ProductCart forum admin(s) may not see this thread in the same light and that they would ask me to cease and desist. @Hamesh: Thank you for following this thread as well. Regards.
	Martin http://www.simplyathletic.com

Hamish Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 12-October-2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 56	Post Options Post Reply Quote Hamish Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17-November-2009 at 6:18am
	Hi, The new logo is a big improvement. I agree completely with Sean.
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Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17-November-2009 at 2:22am
	I'm a firm believer in the simplicity of logos, especially when it comes to branding in all media. Trite as it may seem, take the "gold arches" - I mean, I don't even have to show you a picture of that and you already know it's McDonalds. UPS has even trademarked the color "brown"! I like this log A LOT better than the earlier stuff. . . but it's still missling something . . . . Maybe put "athletic" in an italic font to communicate motion and rathched downe the "gear" quite a bit. "Simply Athletic" should be the focus, not "GEAR". I absolutely love the more abstract athletic person iconography here than anything prior to this. Frankly, I think you are on to a better logo designer now, one who understandands that logos are about branding and media and so much more. The last one was more about being fancy with graphics, which is not what you really want at the end of the day all around, even if it would make your website (alone) look cool. On the issue of domain names, are you saying you don't have simplyathleticgear.com registered? If not, then kick this issue around more here . . . but if you do own that domain name, I'd advise against simplyathelitix.com for many SEO reasons. Just to start, "athletic gear" is a much better SEO phrase than "athletix". PS: Thanks for sharing your experience here -- there are more foks following this thread than you would imagine ;-)