Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Thank you.  I attempt the navigational bar today and put it at the top. 

Thanks for your ideas. 

For not spending a lot of money... your site is fine. It does need a little attention, rework the content so it is more "scanable" to highlight your main "selling points" and provide a strong connection between your marketing message and your product.

The products page is ok using paypal buyme buttons. Buyme buttons can work.. here is a fabric flowers site that I created that uses paypal buttons. www.floralalternatives.com

The advantage of using an ecommerce program is it makes it easier for you to maintain your site, add, change products and prices, and also keeps track of your sales and customers. There are some FREE ecommerce programs available (osCommerce, Zen Cart...) and they can be designed to look almost any way you`d like.

~Roland

-------------------------

Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

Great concept, pretty site. You should consider higher price points for these bracelets. The could go for $24.95 easily. Seriously.

Blah, blah on all of the ecommerce stuff. You only have five products right now. No need for anything fancy. Whatever gets people to the checkout point works for me. Web people love to over propeller-head things when a simple form would work for you for now. Depends on how much you plan to expand your product line. This site could jam for less than $1000. Ask Nikole.

I agree with Nikole on the domain name. No biggie, but it`s only $9.

Vasilis: could you find a way to lengthen your signature stamp? I really think it`s too short.

Roland -

The biggest problem with the PayPal cart is that it doesn`t work very well. I went to your site and I can`t get back to the original shopping page by clicking the continue shopping button ...

Hmm, it works for me. the PayPal cart opens in a new window so the website`s product page remains open.

I never said PayPal was the best solution... just that it can work, that is, it is a viable alternative to a full blown ecommerce application.

~Roland

-------------------------

Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

The paypal opens up a new page on mine.  That way you can just close that window or minimize it and then continue to add more products to the paypal cart.  Again, all of this is new to me as far as creating the web site and all and I was trying to do this without a lot of startup costs. 

I truly appreciate all of your comments.  I`ll keep working on this until I can come back and have you take another look and just say, "Gee, it looks great."  :)

In Firefox, PayPal opens in another tab, and those continue shopping buttons don`t work.

Using Firefox 1.x, the site came across fine. Not much contrast, so the words are hard to read on the background.

My main gripe is the "click here for a larger image." When I did, I ended up having to scroll through all sorts of other images that weren`t at all the same as the one I clicked. They should be separate products, and separate images.

The copywriting needs to be better. I think I got the point of the product, but only after using a lot of guessing and interpretation. That should be cleaned up, with the point of the bracelet being clear and concise.

My "guess" is that this bracelet capitalizes on the current "fad" of The Secret? If so, then what happens when the fad goes away? Will anyone, say, 4 years from now have a clue why this bracelet is special?

I agree with Nikole that if you`re going to do a business, then do a business. Don`t test the waters, wiggling a little toe, then walk away because it`s a hard thing to accomplish. Do it or don`t, but make a decision. There are lots of ways you can build visibility, and you`ve got a nifty idea that could be a novelty item or impulse buy. That`s where the focus should be for the first stage.

The photography`s great, so use that. Build different "models" of the bracelet, then give them each a name. Put a "Products" page together, list the models, then make your pictures expand to ONLY that particular product when someone clicks a thumbnail.

Concur with all that`s been said thus far, with a little extra time and effort the site could be expanded and made much more usable and effective.

Set up a simple navigation, split out the products onto individual pages, add some of the standard components of an e-commerce site (privacy policy, shipping policy, perhaps an about us page that provides some context and information about your business).


-------------------------

chuck fuller

I have a problem with the name "I got Secret" --  makes me think of the deodorant and why would I go to the site?

I like Nikole`s Get a Secret -- it intrigues me and makes me want to go there . . . so that`s where I`ll be for the next few minutes!

jillybeans