Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello,

I would be grateful if you would take a few minutes to review Innoword’s new website (http://www.innoword.com/).

I am particularly interested in receiving comments on the following topics:

• Design: Is the design appropriate for the services offered? If you’re a Mac user, how does the website look? (I’ve only tested it on PCs.)
• Navigation: Is the navigation intuitive? Is the information easy to find?
• Content: What impression do you get from the site’s content? Is the information clear and easy to understand? What is not there that you’d like to know more about?
• Programming: Do you see any grave errors? (I modified an open source template with EditPadPro, but I am not a programmer.)
• The Order Process: Web forms and the ability to upload files to the website are on my wish-list. In the meantime, what do you think of the current order process?
• Overall Package: What are the site’s strengths and weaknesses? Based on the site, would you hire us? Why or not?

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.

Best regards,
Sarah

Hi Sarah :-)
It`s an interesting site, given my own involvement with writing and editing. I see a couple of problems of function, although there are some odd bugaboos with the programming, which I think others will address.

The main problem is I don`t see a FAST way to understand how to take advantage of your service. For example, let`s say I`m right now working on a 2,000 word analysis of whether or not to commission a study for a company. I`ve written it, I`m tired, I`m taking a break, and I`m wandering the web.

I click on your site. "Ah hah! A proof-reader! That`s what I need!"

From that point forward, it`s very difficult to figure out how to hire you. I did see your rates, but how bizarre is it to have $0.021 per word, then the equivalent in British pounds? I think you can do better.

I`d suggest you list your rates in USD and let customers make a currency conversion, OR talk to a programmer about how to include a real-time converter on your rate sheet. PayPal offers conversion, so you can bill in your currency and the customer will see the invoice in theirs.

I`d rather suggest that you have a flat rate of some sort. It`s like flat-rate shipping, where you calculate your average job and work out the rate based on averages.

Overall, I`d like to see something that stands out as an "action plan." This would be related to the so-called customer journey. It goes something like this:

1. Hey, here`s a site about proofing! I need that....what do I do?
2. Ah...a big button: "How does this work?" I`ll click there.
3. Hmm....so I do this, do that, push this, send that and then what?
4. Ah...I see. A big sentence that says, "Then what happens?" I`ll click that!
5. Oh...so all I`ve got to do is this, this, this, and this, and Wah-Lah! I get my presentation proofed.
   
6. How long will it take? How do I get billed? How do I pay?

In other words, do some role-playing and put yourself into a condition of a client who knows nothing about you. Try to order something yourself, from yourself. If that`s not working---you`re not objective enough---get a 25 yearold friend or acquaintance to come in and try the same thing. That`s a good age because they`d likely be a strong demographic for you.

I think the green links/text are too difficult to read; they don`t stand out enough. The overall text is maybe a bit too small to be able to read comfortably.

Nice clean layout, but you need more information on your pages. Just a line or two, in most cases, doesn`t really relate much information. Content should always be your main focus. Theres nothing to compel me to hire you, because you really aren`t telling me anything I should know.

I don`t see any information about your business .... who you are, why you`re qualified, why you are a better choice than someone else. Sell me on your abilities, as well as your product.

Your meta tags .... a huge amount of keywords, a tiny description .... you need to do some reversal on this .... more informative description for SERP`s, and limit your keywords. All your pages have the same title .... make them unique.




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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

I too think the type is too small and that the green links don`t stand out enough.  And I also agree with Craig about the process of browsing the site.  The navigation is simple and easy to understand but I think the content on each page is a little difficult to digest.

The reason for this is that there is no hierarchy to the content.  Every bit of information is treated the same, meaning that everything looks and feels similar.  For example, the FAQ about file formats looks no different than your contact information.  What of those is more important?

I recommend mixing up text sizes, colors, etc.  Don`t go too crazy because I like the general clean look of the site but, well, it`s boring.  Nothing "grabs" me.  Let some parts shout louder, like the discounts or the headlines to your different service packages.

Also, I found a grammatical decision that bothered me.  The very first thing one reads on the site, the answer to "Why editing and proofreading?" is answered in phrases (the first paragraph).  Yet almost everything else I saw reads in regular old sentences or in list format.  Lists are great.  Sentences are of course great.  However, I was jarred by the phrasing in that first line and it stood out.  As a proofreader, you might want to re-think how that is written.

Steve, that`s a really cool observation! I wouldn`t have thought to put it that way, about the hierarchy of content, but it SO explains the basic problem I had. Excellent...! :-D (I`m keeping that one for myself....)

I think the most compelling thing on the site is the Free Sample Edit. I missed it the first few times clicking around. Everyone is nervous about hiring new people for services. This free sample helps people lower their guard. I would make this offer front and center, big and graphical.

Also, a very minor thing. When you link to the text versions of your forms, add a target="_blank" attribute to the links. That will make it so a new window/tab is opened and the user will not "loose" the site.



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Nate Jones


Top Thought Studios :: Sales not what you expected? We think we know why.

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

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone! I`ll be taking it into account as I shape up the site.

Craig: I see what you`re saying. I added links to the order forms on the Services page, so hopefully that makes it a bit easier to hire me.

Actually that was the symbol for euros, not British pounds. To clear up any confusion I`ve put in the abbreviations and taken out the symbols. The reason I list both currencies is that: 1) I have more customers in the European Union than in the US. 2) I didn`t want to scare away US customers by just listing the prices in euros. 3) A number of my customers are on the move so I imagine a geography-based currency converter wouldn`t be of much use to them. Is listing two currencies off-putting to a potential US customer?

I used to have a flat rate per page, which was easier to calculate, but I found that some customers would send me 100 words per page and some would send me 500 words per page and I wasn`t comfortable charging them the same.   

Now I`m going to have to think some more about the "action plan." It`s good food for thought.

Webline: I increased the font size a tad and I changed the page titles, but I`ll have to think some more about the content.

CampSteve: Per your suggestion I played around a bit with sizes and colors, but nothing I did seemed to look right, so what I ended up doing was introduce a bit of hierarchy with heading text sizes.

Topthought: I added “Free Sample” to the navigation bar to make the offer more obvious. I wondered how to make the forms open in a new tab. Now I know! Thanks.  

Vwebworld: I do agree about the online forms, but I’m going to have to wait a couple months on those.

Thanks guys!

I like the taps at the top, but I think the text needs a little work. The neon green against the white/gray is hard to ready. 

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The ConsumerTreehouse.com Team
www.consumertreehouse.com

Also, they are now a very light gray.  I don`t remember what they were before but they are now quite difficult to read.  My suggestion on these things was to make some elements STAND OUT MORE.  All this low-contrast gray is making the site visually stale, in my opinion.