Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`m re-doing my site again and wanted to see what you all thank about the pages and the color choices. Is it very appealing?
I know the banner sucks, And as soon as I have some funds set a side, I intend to have a professional logo and banner designed.
I`m just really looking for your overall impression so far.

I like the colors but i don`t see a lot of branding going on. This almost looks like it should be in a frame inside another site. I would try to find ways to make it look more like it`s your`s and less like it`s from a template (that is if you can).

What exactly is your definition of branding? Do you mean branding of my site,or showing the different brands I carry? 

Here`s some feedback.  Please don`t take any offense to what I say and let me know if you disagree with the assessments below.

- Get rid of those black borders around the product images.  That will help accomplish the non-template look jonese was talking about.

- Fix up the About Us page to give a little company history and stats on your company.  Did you have a year where you broke $1 million in revenue or had over 100,000 customers?  Then let the customer know.  A picture of your facilities also helps you look professional even if the site design is still under construction.

- Make sure people know they can click on the image for a larger view when they`re viewing a product. 

- Look into add-ons or modules for ProStores.  Check Google too, as there are some that are made for free by other store owners like you or for a relatively lower cost.  eBay also has resources to this end.

- Consider looking at shopping search engines like PriceGrabber or Shopping.com (owned by eBay) when your want to take your site fully public.  The CPC-based ad rates are expensive but are more closely tied to actual sales rates than just blindly hitting Internet surfers with a shotgun method.

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"Forget inspirational quotes to keep you going. If by doing what you do, you get an hour every day to relax, be with the ones you love in comfort without doing wrong, then it is all worth it." -Anon.

Hey David,

No offence taken to someone that is trying to help.
I have tried to  get  rid of the boxes  around the pics.  I have the pics  linked to the site so I don`t  know if I can do that.
What  type of add on mods are you talking about? I am not aware of any add ons for prostores.

A Google search for "ProStores add-on" or "Prostores plug-in" (Try without a dash or with a s) usually yields a lot of good results.  The problem is that you have to look through the sales pitches to see which genuinely help you and which are high-priced ripoffs that basically already do what ProStores does.

I`d look through the public FAQ for ProStores here or the Internal FAQ for store-owners on more tips.  eBay is desperately trying to get a higher degree of respectability with ProStores, eBay Express, and their acquisition of shopping.com.  If you can give the numbers and customer service that shows eBay you can help them accomplish that, they`ll bend over backwards to help your website.

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"Forget inspirational quotes to keep you going. If by doing what you do, you get an hour every day to relax, be with the ones you love in comfort without doing wrong, then it is all worth it." -Anon.

TWC238,

The way you get rid of those boxes, is.. go to your source code... and you see where you have your <img src="myimage.gif" height"100" width="130" add this like of code to all your pictures: border="0"> This should get rid of your image border...

That is all there is to it.... 

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

When I come to the front page ... there`s no PIZZAZZ !! Nothing makes me want to stay. There`s great products ... but nothing that jumps out at me and says ... SHOP HERE !!

I realize that you are on a shoe-string budget ... but would it not be more effective , and less frustrating, if you searched for a professional design team that has proven experience, to help you design an effective web site?

It might be wiser to take the site down ... place an under construction page up ... and start from scratch. (Trust me, I`ve been there.)