Ugly Website

Our rafting website RAFTWET.com is really, really old. We created it around 1995 on the old Geocities site that is now part of the Yahoo network. Do you remember how exciting it was to create a website with your own thoughts and design back then. And then, actually publish it and realize that it was out there in a universe so large, so big that it was practically incomprehensible? That old Geocities site is still hosting our original words about our rafting company, W.E.T. River Trips. I can still remember when we first purchased the domain RaftWET.

We originally wanted just plain old "wet dot com", but it turned out to be a porno site. Bummer. So we came up with a catchy domain name that said what we do without the vulgar reference.

The first incarnation of the website featured one of our guides, Bruce, who is now a Colorado river guide on the Grand Canyon. His mug was on the index page with a cartoon bubble caption telling you to go rafting. Very primitive and very crudely done. But, it was amazing how many people saw it and ended up going rafting with us.

One of our colleagues told us last year, that at the national convention for outdoor outfitters, a company of web design and marketing showed our website as being the worst site in the outdoor market. Ugly and difficult to navigate, our site was shown as an example of a website that badly needed a remake. Yikes. It kinda hurt our feelings... as we rafted to the biggest year of our company's history. So go figure.

As some of you have noticed, we are attempting to do a remake. What a nightmare. We asked 3 different webmasters to help with the remake; all turned us down. The site is too big, said one. Another said that it would be a year long project. Another quoted an outrageous price that indicated to us that they really didn't want to tackle it. Whoa. So, we are attempting to do it in-house. It'll be a labor of love ... and agony as we test out different templates and css files. As far as SEO (search engine optimization), we've kind of left that in the dust... too many spammers out there now with link farms and other sketchy techniques. Now's the time to just get the info to our paddling public in the most organized fashion possible. It may be slow going, but we hope we'll be done by next year.

Rafting Directories

Just a shout out to one of our long time web relationships: RaftInfo, the rafting directory for the United States. When W.E.T. River Trips established its company domain, RAFTWET, back in 1995, we were one of a very few California outfitters with a website. RaftInfo created a directory of rafting outfitters across the country right around the same time and included W.E.T. as a featured California rafting company. Now several rafting trips and outfitters are included along with international river trips.

Their recent remake of their website now includes several blogs from different regions. And the iBetty Network is an invited guest blogger on their site along with RAFTWET. For more information on rafting trips throughout the nation, check out their website. And the California whitewater rafting website has full river descriptions about rivers in California and a listing of California rafting companies.

RAFTWET.com

W.E.T. River Trips = RAFTWET.com

You can get to our main website using either domain:

• wetrivertrips.com


• raftwet.com

If you can't figure any of the internet domains out; just call toll free!
1.888.RAFTWET (888.723.8938)

And for all those websites out there who are using elements from our website, well we say, blah! If you really want to get WET, then go to this site to get to our main website:

• getwetrafting.com

It will also take you to our main website... ribbity ribbity ribbity and that's all folks!

See you on the river in 2007!
W.E.T. River Trips since 1978 founded in Sacramento, California on Planet Earth!