Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

 I have had this website for a while but only had the opportunity to get serious in the last few months. I produce digital artwork from customer`s photos which is then printed on canvas or textured fine art papers.

 I have been involved in graphic design in one way or another for 20 years but  NO web experience at all. I designed this site starting with a basic template but there is not much of that left...it was the only way for me to get online quickly. 

   Yahoo Pagebuilder was an easy way for me to start so I`m not fluent in Dreamweaver, Front Page or any typical programs. This has been very much a learn as you go process and that`s why I`m here.

 It has been optimized to the best of my ability at this point and shows up at the top only on very specific searches and only on certain engines. Google Adwords was effective for me (and my very limited budget) over the holidays and gave me hope that is could be a viable way to stay off the job market but I knew Christmas wouldn`t last forever.

 My goal for now would be to get an order or two a day which is were I was last month. I am only getting 1/4 of last months sales at best. Still using Adwords just to make sure they still come in.

 As far as copy...it`s pathetic and not the way anyone writes or speaks, but I can`t seem to come up with a natural way to work in the keywords. Actually, I wish I could hide it but I know that`s a no no.

 Graphically, I tend to want to show too much work and the style is errr "organic" and crowded to say the least. In some ways I like it but I`m so close to it it`s hard to know anything at this point.

 I owned a sign studio and an equipment manufacturing operation for 15 years but took some risks and didn`t cover my @#* as well as I should have. I guess they don`t call it risk for nuthin`!  :^)  My point being, I need traffic and sales with a limited budget. Free therapy wouldn`t hurt either. LOL!

 Hopefully your expert "Fresh eyes" (and minds) can give me new inspiration.

 Thanks ahead for your time.

 Deck

Just a simple comment you have already mentioned... I think you will get better, more useful direction from some wonderful site critiques here.

My eyes didn’t know where to look first when I arrived at your site. There is just too much information or examples of your work to help me understand what you can do for me. The page loaded great for the quantity of images.

I think I would also make it clear as to why your work is better than using the Photoshop Filters. I realize not everyone owns Photoshop, and they may not know there are several filters available to do similar work. I do think your renderings are of a higher quality than what the PS filter creates, but you should make it clear and spell out this value to your visitors.
 


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Hi Deck,

I thought your website pretty decent. The look was really nice of your art.

Only thing is, do you sell these things?

Do you have a product or service you are selling?

Ok. I`ve just looked a bit more at it. It`s really a service. I was about to say, you want traffic with a product, try Google Base. It lists you in Froogle free of charge and you get all kinds of traffic.

Anyhow, it`s not really clear about what you are offering at first because the pics kind of overwhelm (and I don`t mean that in a bad way) the visitor. I was too busy looking at the photos and playing with the special effects to really notice what it was you do. Only after going back to the website to find out, did I learn more.

Otherwise great job.

Dan

Thanks for your replies iouone2  and Dan

Sounds like it`s unanimous....too many images. "They" always say to show only your best work because people will remember the worst.

 Anybody that would like to comment on which ones to remove from the home page I`d consider doing so.

 I looked at your sites and I love seeing variety of things people sell in the Sun community.

BTW Dan I go through your town every time I go to the beach (small world)....  The beach sounds pretty good right now!

Deck

It seems you have four main categories, portraits, pets, homes and pop
art. Choose one image for each and put it in columns under the button.
It will be easier to want to browse the examples that way. Maybe you can
make children its own category since it is probably a big part of your
portrait work. And choose one of each style (watercolor, pencil, etc.) for
each example on the home page. Five images in five differing techniques,
simple and easy.

A lot of your copy is redundant. You don`t need to say over and over
things like "cherished image", "personalized gift", etc. Say it once, say it
well, make it visible and that`s all you need.

I like to give the customer credit to think on their own. I sell my art
online and I don`t tell them why they would buy it. Do I care if they want
to give it as a gift or buy for themselves? In some ways yes but in terms
of making the sale, no. If someone sees a nice image of children on your
site, they will automatically apply their own children to the concept, or
perhaps someone else`s as a gift. It is instinctual. "Oh, there`s an art
image of a dog. Maybe I should get one of my dog."

But one thing you need as suggested by someone else is a short, clear
explaination of what you offer.

As far site setup goes, I would combine uploading an image as part of the
ordering process. Don`t make that two buttons and two features in two
different places. Integrate the process into one easy set of steps.

Very cool Deck. Give me an email and we`ll set up a time to have a coffee (well, tea for me. Not much of a coffee drinker) next time you are buzzing through.

My schedule is very flexible as being able to control it more nowadays, I`ve found that you`ve got to stop and take time to smell the roses.

Dan

 Thanks for the input CampSteve  . 

 I`m not much of a writer but certainly better than that nonsense on my site. I absolutely Hate my copy but I felt like I had to get all the keywords in after working with some SEO tools. Honestly, if I could hide it all I would!  :^) 

I see clean sites, with text that actually sounds like something that makes sense, and wonder...... "How do they repeat their keywords enough?"  It worries me that when I remove the images and the copy under them I`ll have figure a new way to repeat more Cr@# and keep the word count up. HELP!

 I just put up gallery pages last week so I will be getting rid of some of the home page images and I will take the suggestion of lining up images under the respective gallery on the front page. Basically, I am just progressing beyond having the home page being the only place to show work.

 Now we`re getting to the meat and potatoes of my keyword/image jumble problem during this transition to gallery pages. I am a bit frozen on changes until I figure out the copy and keyword issue.

I really appreciate the ideas and hope you understand how my site became such a mess!

Thanks,

Deck

 BTW,  I really like your work.

 Dan,

I`ll try to remember that this summer. Might even consider a frosty mug, but I haven`t been able to do that during a road trip for....errrr...20 years or so.

Might settle for an ice cold sweet tea.... "Necture(sp?) of the Gods" LOL!

Deck

www.JDMoserStudios

www.YourArtisticSide.com

Nectar. lol.

Well, I`ve never looked at it that way. Sweet tea is something that helps me going. Although lately I`ve had a taste for Gatorade.

Insofar as narrowing down your photos, that will be a hard call. I liked all of them (and like I said, I got a kick out of playing with them). Maybe do like CampSteve said with the main categories on the front page but make sure everyone can be lead to the category page showing what work you`ve got. I think they`ll have a great time playing with the photos too. That could be a selling point as well. The longer they stay on your site, the more likely they are to buy.

Dan