My new website

[a random guy]

Backcountry Boarders (http://backcountryboarders.com)

Hey everyone, this is my first real website ever and I'm at the point where I need some feedback to go on.

First, the site is designed to be a center for snowboarders. You can check snow reports, setup carpools to mountains, and write about them and post picture and videos of your time. It also has a social networking aspect to it as well, and will eventually feature articles related to recent snowboarding topics.

Of course I'm looking for tips on the design, which is just my feeble attempt at translating what I pictured in my head. But, I'm also looking to see if there's any reason a snowboarder would not want to register on the site (aside from it being new and somewhat "empty").

Anyways, any type of feedback at all is much appreciated: missing features, technical errors, design and usability issues, etc...just tell me what's bad :)

- thanks!

[bathurst_guy]

Doesn't validate (http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.backcountryboarders.com%2F). Looks Ok.

[a random guy]

I got it to validate, any specific area where you think needs improvement?

[nitrexoxide]

Looks good to me :)

[KDLA]

When resized to 800x600, the log-in box moves over top the snowboarding man image, making the text very difficult to read.

It looks OK. It could stand some more content on the homepage.

KDLA

[Speedle]

I like! Nice photos! :)

[a random guy]

Thanks everyone! Just uploaded a new layout, could use some feedback, thanks!

[marybeshaw]

Your site looks nice.
Think about this: In the one second someone sees your site, are they going to figure out what your site is all about? I can tell that it's snowboarding, but it would help to have a paragraph or two on the home page saying what your site is all about. This will also help search engines rank your site. If you add links inside the text, it will help draw the reader into your site.
On the home page at least, the google ads are lost at the bottom of the page. They will get more exposure (and more clicks) if they're moved up and to the right. If you don't get enough clicks, google will replace the ads with a public service announcement. You can help prevent this by removing the ads from pages without content- such as your registration page.
I'd also suggest that you add an "About Us" page for visitors who want to know who put together this web site, and why.