Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Good Evening All,

I would really appreciate some feedback on my site that I created for my freelance design business, "MK Digital Media".  I created this site and the graphics myself using XHTML and CSS.  I am going to school for web design so I started this site in my class, but I have worked on it many many more hours after the class ended.  I basically used it for my experimentation platform, but I have recently made it live. 

The goal of the site is to attract clients and get some projects started!  I want potential clients to feel comfortable when they come to my site.  I say this because many times when I go to a company`s site I feel that if it is too "edgy" or "templatey" I can`t relate to them.  I want my clients to feel they can approach me and I can understand them. 

My perfect client is a small business that needs a designer to handle monthly design needs.  So my target audience is start ups and small businesses.  I like small businesses because I like working with enthusiastic and creative people. 

Edited:  I forgot to add that I don`t have any of my "portfolio" images up yet.  On each page that talks about product possibilities, there are places that say, "Here are some examples" and I haven`t put those in yet. 

The website is located at: http://www.marykatecreate.com

I`m ready to receive criticism, so bring it on!  I want to hear honest responses. 

Thank You,
Mary Hagan Double

There`s something about the line spacing and character spacing that bothers me.  I don`t find the words comfortable to read.  I t  k i n d  o f  f e e l s  l i k e  t h i s.  Extensive kerning works well for headlines but not paragraphs of text.  That combined with the dotted underlines give the site a very broken, scattered feel.  At least to me.
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It`s hard to judge a design site without the imagery you say you have yet to add.  It`s a good start so keep improving!

CampSteve:

Thank you for looking!  I understand what you mean. 
I thought the kerning effect looked cool, but maybe it should be reserved for smaller amounts of text, as you suggested.  I will incorporate your idea for change.

Mary Hagan Double

You are using justified text.  Just use left-justified and the text will look more professional.

I can`t find any other faults without looking at the source code, but the site loaded fast, navigation was easy.  You have done well.  So well, in fact, that I`ve bookmarked your site for possible strategic partnering in the future.



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Steve Mann
Internet Videographer
MannMade Digital Video
My Email

I like the site, and it`s easy to read and follow. Now comes the much bigger problem of "So what?"

By that, I mean that there are thousands of people out there advertising Web design, even with the content writing and graphics elements. So how will you differentiate yourself? What makes your service different---that`s one way. The other is to limit your target market.

For example, you could open a niche market: "Web design for College Dorm Businesses." That would limit your target audience only to people in college trying to start a business they can run from their dorm room. See?

I think that if you can define your market niche, that will also inform your emerging site design. As I said, I like the "shell" you have, in terms of colors and simplicity, so it`s now more a matter of marketing. :-)

Videography:
Thank you for taking a look at my site.  I am going to change the text to left justified to make it easier to read.  After reading your other critiques, I take great comfort in reading your critique about my site.  I look forward to hearing from you in the future!

CraigL:
Thank you as well for looking at my site.  I`ve had an internal struggle about who to specifically target, and after researching on the internet last night, I`ve decided to target the "Green" market.  My site is halfway there with the color and some of the graphics!  I was reading through the forums and saw a hosting company that gets it`s energy from wind and solar energy.  I already have three new clients lined up after I announced it through an email to them.  Soooo, I think that`s where I`ll go with it.  Plus, it`s something that I truly believe in supporting.

Thanks again!  I`m planning on adding some keywords and meta tags and content to support this marketing edge.    

There ya go :-) Not only put in keywords and phrases, but focus your content on your being particularly focused on companies doing the "green" thing. That`ll also help when it comes to what forums you want to be involved with, what sort of collateral advertising you`ll use, and so forth.

Thanks for the help.  I have started to submit my site to `green` directories, forums and added content that would support this. 

Thanks a lot everyone!

I have seen your website which is really nice. Freelancer designer making good website but as per the web design concern i would like to say Openxcell is the best web design and development company that offer good branding solution of web design. If you need more information about it then visit its website.

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