Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi,

I made a couple changes to my site thanks to some critiques, please tell me what you think.

www.acdigicamdirect.com

 

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

Andrew Caldwell AC Digital Cameras http://www.acdigicamdirect.com

My screen cuts off below the big camera picture.

Your catalog items are about 1.5 clicks down.

If your focus is on selling the product, what do you want my eye to see first?
Right now it sees a picture of a huge camera (which is not a link to the product catalog) and an orange bar.

Those menu buttons are still not obvious or large enough.

Go look at Amazon.com. Their header is small. What is the first thing you see? It`s not a description of what a book is. On my page, I see immediate links to the bestsellers and books I might enjoy based on my past selections. (Offereing suggestions is a complicated piece of software, so I don`t expect that from you, but I do expect to see your best sellers and top cameras, front and center!)

Hi,

Your changes make the site easier to read now - a good thing!

A few points (I uderstand you may not be done with your site):

1. You should make sure you have a unique page title and description for each web page.
2. Once the viewer goes to the checkout page...then clicks on another link (to the catelog or main page) the viewer stays in the secure.dtcbuilder domain rather than your domain.
3. While the linsynergy banner may generate some revenue for you, I suggest you either remove it or have it at the bottom of the page.
4. The first thing the viewer sees on home page is a camera - not bad, but I suggest making the image smaller so your importnat marketing message (your text) can be seen without scrolling down the page.
5. Contact us - it is usually a good idea to have a link to your email address and/or an online form that people can complete (that way they do not have to leave your site to communicate with you.
6. "Live help" - I just installed this on www.houseofjerky.net and it is great if you happen to be online and can monitor your site..customers can chat with you, ask a question..good customer service... AND it records a transcript of the chat so you can refer to it later.

~Roland

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

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

I agree with Nikole, try to bring the items up further on the page.Maybe make the large featured picture smaller and to one side and bring the others up.

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

Our Goal Is Your Success!
Founder Girls with Goals

Thank you all for the pointers.

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

Andrew Caldwell AC Digital Cameras http://www.acdigicamdirect.com

You`ve got a lot of empty space. I`m not talking about just white space.
The bulk of your header with the abstract graphics and globe image are
empty space as well. It doesn`t serve your site well. It pushes the
important content down.

And I don`t think you need to sell people on why they need a camera
(going on a trip, etc). People know what cameras are for. Your specialty
is digital cameras, which is already fairly mainstream. What is your
competitive edge? Why should I buy from you?

The site is a big improvement. Keep revising it for the better as you learn
more about web development. But like someone suggested to you
before, look at Amazon. They`ve really pioneered the way people buy
online. Look at any e-commerce site you like and borrow from them.
There`s absolutely nothing wrong with doing so.

Your navigation tabs, orange on orange, aren`t easy to read. Not enough color contrast, and they`re lost in the hyoooOOOOGE banner across the top!

The camera that loads right "in your face" takes too long to load. I watched it slide into existence, and wondered, "Why am I watching this?" When I clicked on it, I wasn`t interested in where I arrived. There was a "My Catalog" phrase hanging at the bottom, with nothing associated to the phrase.

I`d like to see this laid out like a standard e-commerce store. The colors are powerful, with the orange and white theme, but the content is boring. If I were looking for a digital camera, nothing about this site would interest me. I`d end up going to Amazon or something.

How come? What`s the problem? First, I HATE questions on a Web site!! Secondly, the written content, aside from being grammatically wrong, just isn`t interesting. But the main problem is the function of a camera store.

I know I can buy a camera anywhere. But my big problem is knowing why I should buy this or that feature, spend this or that money, and what`s the difference in cameras. It`s exactly the same problem people had with film cameras, nothing`s changed at all.

Either make this site a Discount or Warehouse camera site, where people ONLY go there to get a rock-bottom price on a camera they`ve already investigated, or make it a knowledge site. A basic example of a "knowledge site" would be to have a grid of photographs, all the same subject, but with the name of the camera used under each image.

I have an Olympus and an Oregon Scientific, for whatever reason. The O-S camera has a definite blue bias, but it`s really small. I wish I`d known about that blue bias before buying it. Why not have a 5x5 grid of 25 exactly-the-same images on the main page. Each would have a camera brand and model below it. Click the image and find out what`s the difference in each camera.

Then have a comparison chart, where the visitor clicks three options from your site, and you put up a standard check grid of price, features, and specs?

I agree. The site looks better than originally but like I commented in your
first post, you need to set up the site as a comfortable e-commerce site.
I mean look, navigation, information, format, etc. Figure out and explain
your competitive edge. In cameras, as Craig explains, it`ll probably be
either price or knowledge.

I also think you really need to study more about web development before
you move forward with more changes. Changing photo or font sizes,
swapping colors and adding category lists are NOT what you need to do
at this juncture. This is merely fine-tuning a weak website. The result
will be a continually changing weak site that retains its amateur look and
utility.

There is nothing wrong with taking a step back to improve your skills and
widen your knowledge. And if you tap into the entrepreneurial mindset,
the process will actually be really exciting! Dig in, learn, have fun, dream,
then rebuild!

Y`know, maybe we should start talking about a site "vision" in some of these critiques? :-) Hell, I`ll start a post on it! But like a business plan and life plan, maybe more like a mission statement, I think a site should have a coherant vision. That vision unifies the overall concept and structure of the site. This site isn`t unified.

ok I made some more changes. I think it looks better now. What do you think?

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

Andrew Caldwell AC Digital Cameras http://www.acdigicamdirect.com