Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I believe this is way too soon in the game to request feedback, but I will anyway.
A little information, though.

I started a home-based artisan chocolate business this year (2009), which I intend on growing to a bigger scale during 2010 and 2011, but still keeping the focus on being an artisan, small company.

Once I started telling my friends about my chocolates, they started asking what my website was...bummer! I really wanted to have something nice to show, but at that point I did not have one, so I worked around a Wordpress template, which I present to you for feedback:

www.DaCostaChocolates.com

Considering this is a template and I am not a programmer, there is not much I can do in terms of changing the layout. I did adjust a little here and there.

I am starting to think about my next version of the site, and here is where you guys come in. Considering what I do (artisan chocolate), what are your ideas to make this site really great? My product is very colorful, so I want to keep the site as minimal as possible, so the photos will pop. And I know there are tons of missing information still...but I need to get this ball rolling before another year goes by without me doing anything at all.

I appreciate any comments you send my way - negative or positive!!! Anything will be taken into consideration.

Regards and Happy 2010!!!!!

Andre

Hi Andre,

You have a great start for a novice. Your chocolate images look very professional, great job on that.

The first thing that I notice and would advise you to change is the size of your top banner. It's way too big so it pushes all the important information down the page and goes "below the fold". Your logo is too big and it doesn't appear on any other page other than your homepage. It's best for your growing small business to have your branding consistent on all your marketing materials.

Also, I suggest that you add a link to your purchase page under the text of each description on the Flavors page. Make ordering as simple as possible for your customers, perhaps even add a phone number. People trust a business more when they see a contact number. They feel more comfortable knowing that they can easily call if they have questions or place an order by phone.

I hope these few tips helps,

- Yiana

Hi Yiana.

Thank you for taking the time to look my site up. I appreciate that.

I am aware of the banner size issue and the fact that it disappears once you move from the main page. This happens because of the template I am using. I am on the lookout for a new template or a way to accommodate this one to my needs.

Thank you for the suggestion to add a phone number and the direct link to the purchase page. I will work on that.

I hope 2010 will be 2010 times better than 2009!