Oh, this is odd, I thought I'd dump Firefox and try it in an old Opera,
copied over http://andovermodelrailwayclub.co.uk/ into the address bar and :
it shows a big black screen with

     http://andovermodelrailwayclub.co.uk/
            is coming soon

well odd!
OK, lets try SlimBoat and Palemoon , ,
Nope, coming soon, what the , , I guess ,,,
back to trying Firefox , argh you've put the site in suspenders

Quote from: Graham Walters on October 31, 2015, 12:44:34 AM
If it's not too much trouble, can you send a couple of screenshots
I'm off to bed now, work at 7am.

No can do ! Cant reach it no more !!

I'm off to bed too

Hmm yes, I was expecting the original site to be a 90's Geocities style mess, with
bevelled graphics, animated gifs, "under construction" sawhorse logos, maybe the mouse
cursor changes into a steam engine. But it's... OK. Does the job. Not going
to win any design prizes, but it doesn't have to. Could do with a bit of
tidying up. Lose the shadow on the header. Update some of the images.
Make links clear which jump to external sites.

The new version, dunno, somehow I get the feeling I'm looking at a picture
of an SR steam loco placed in a murky aquarium obscured by bits of text. I know sans-serif text is all the rage these days, but personally I find it harder to read, especially
when grey on a dark background, and especially when the background picture
is static but the text on the left moves when scrolling so its background keeps
changing (aargh). Oh, and there's a bevelled movey-arrow
thing at the bottom right which crawls up and down like an insect
stuck inside my monitor. Please, kill it and bury it.

Personally I'd change the backend to Wordpress (or whatever)
but take the old design, fix it up a bit, convert it into template-based
standard-conforming HTML (first step) without too many bells and whistles
(so you don't need to worry about getting complaints from Chrome 221 users on
Android Bubblegum) then think about a new design.

Well you did ask

Using an iPad I get the old site and a black page "Andover MR club coming soon" when trying the new link.

In my opinion the old site is functional but rather old fashioned looking. It uses too many different fonts for a start, it could be tidied up quite easily without changing it completely.

As I can't see what you've done with the new one I suspect it's too radical a change so it might not go down well.

The person who designed the original site probably feels quite proud of his efforts, it might have taken him a long time to master the website software and produce the website. The other club members may also think that the website is perfectly adequate.

You need to tread carefully in situations like this, sometimes it's not worth upsetting people's feelings. It's a bit like being rude about someone's layout or scenery skills.

Serif is old hat but it served its purpose and yes, the current site is a tad all over the place but I've seen a lot worse.

I can't view the new site (via Chrome) so unable to comment.

Designing anything through a committee is always a nightmare but Veronica gives some nicely put advice.

Good luck with the project.

Dave G

I know ziltch about web designs and how to implement same, but I preferred the first version! 

Quote from: silly moo on October 31, 2015, 04:40:32 AM
The person who designed the original site probably feels quite proud of his efforts, it might have taken him a long time to master the website software and produce the website. The other club members may also think that the website is perfectly adequate.

You need to tread carefully in situations like this, sometimes it's not worth upsetting people's feelings. It's a bit like being rude about someone's layout or scenery skills.

Not really a concern, don't forget the current web master is "well into his sixties" ( I'm 62 so that went down well ) so obviously needs to be put out to pasture as his innovative and creative days are long gone. 

I still preferred the first version. More eyecatching.

If I knew what all the jargon was about I'd be able to comment, but it
might as well be in Klingon as far as I'm concerned........

Quote from: Graham Walters on October 30, 2015, 10:05:10 PM

To me as a web administrator and site builder, that looks about as good as a five year old could produce.

Crikey mate that's cruel, at 60 you are only doing your best and he has probably had the job 'cos no one else was able to step in.

Help him, and eventually you will be able to relieve him of the task an free him up for the real object of the hobby. Yes Trains.

Then when you are 60.....

Quote from: Graham Walters on October 30, 2015, 10:05:10 PM
His reply was "thats not what I wanted, ... I wanted webhosting"

He wanted a new web host not a new website!

I cant see the new one yet - but the old one is "typical model club website" - its neither good nor bad style-wise but it does the job in hand pretty well.

Your Topic header

"Have I done the right thing ?" but 

Please don't alienate the current webmaster.

It's a Model Railway Club you joined not a Boxing Club!

First one is ok - perfectly adequate for its purpose.
Second one doesn't work, as others have said it just displays 'coming soon'.
Agree with everyones' comments about upsetting previous webmaster.
And remember... NEW is not always BETTER.

Freeola at £4.99/month isn't too bad?


Peter

Just tried to access the new site on my laptop and all I get is a black page with the url displayed and "is coming soon"   

Can't see anything wrong with the current/old site.

Change isn't always what is required,you were asked to find a host and you've built a new website.

At the end of the day it is a bunch of enthusiasts just showcasing their group, the web solution needs to be simple, cheap and at a level where someone who is comfortable using Microsoft office can manage it.