Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I have notice the same problem with the text size. I didn`t really know how to fix it. I will try sizing it to a specific size.

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

“Impossible” is just the degree of difficulty where most people stop trying.

While I think the template is ok, unfortunately the typography and lack of flow in the body of the site really hurts its usability. The main content area of each page should be consistent and have a flow that follows that natural movement of the eye on a webpage. Content needs to be expanded and proofread for omissions (i.e. goals?).  Imagery is also a problem as the images are overdone, too large, and in some cases blurry and not optimized.

I would also like to stress the importance of following web design standards. For example the style used for "our goals" and "our mission" is web standard font color for a hyperlink.

 Use of frames is a big no-no for SEO. I would also recommend optimizing your page titles and h tags, which would also improve your search engine rankings.

 

Developing an effective, usable website is not a simple task but when done right cane be the cornerstone to any businesses successful marketing.

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

ourmonmouth.com Full-Service Internet Solution Provider and Business/Community directory of Monmouth County New Jersey.

Thanks for the input, everyone says no frames so I get it. I`ll have ot look into wheteher or not I can get around this in the template. Looking at the fonts, colors ect. with standards in mine is a great idea. Thanks for your help.

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

“Impossible” is just the degree of difficulty where most people stop trying.

In an earlier post, someone said they were looking for more information on who you are and what you do. You should NOT put a summary of who you are and what you do on the main page. That`s absolutely bad advice and it`s reflective of someone who knows very little about marketing communication. Information about who you are and what you do belongs on an About page. Your landing page needs to communicate what your business offers, so that a visitor can immediately determine if your product/service is relevant. Once a visitor determines relevance, they can read other pages.

Landing page nedds to COMMUNICATE is perfect. I have to condense what we do and why you need to enter the site very quickly in that landing page. ( I guess this would be like condensing for an Elevator Pitch). Thanks again for all the insite.

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

“Impossible” is just the degree of difficulty where most people stop trying.

Forget about what you do. Forget about who you are. Forget about what you`re about. Just for now at least. 99% of customers only care about what you *offer*. The landing page needs to communicate what you offer, and must do so cleanly, crisply, and with total clarity.

I wrote a forum post on copywriting.

http://www.startupnation.com/pages/community/forum_posts.asp ?TID=3637&TPN=1

Writing about what you "do" or "who you are" on the front page is always a mistake unless it`s a personal home page specifically about you. That`s why I said that the previous advice from someone, who said you should have more information about "what you do" and "who you are" or whatever on the front page, was absolutely bad advice.

Your site has other pages, such as an About page, for this information. The landing page must communicate what you *offer*.

I`ll offer no critique but give you another point of view on Craig`s image of what he saw, as it differs considerably from what gets displayed on my monitor, and I too use Fx (no plug-ins) and have high-bandwidth. This is what I see . Doesn`t look very good, you may want to figure out why. 

That looks so bad I wouldn`t do business with myself. I`ll start by eliminating all the borders and resizing. I never would have known how this looks without your help. Thanks

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

“Impossible” is just the degree of difficulty where most people stop trying.

Holy Crap...! What I`m seeing and what EliDS is seeing is stunningly different! I wonder why? Eli, I`m using 1.0, DSL, and Win98SE...although the operating system shouldn`t matter at all. I`m using a 1280 x 1024 resolution on a 19" LCD panel. Would that make a difference?

As for Cookiemonster`s post about not saying who you are and what you do, we`ve had this discussion before regarding minimalism. I do agree that having an autobiography or "About Us" content on the landing page sucks. I also agree that going on and on about what you do, with NOTHING about why you do it also sucks.

That being said, I think it`s good sales practice to state a customer need, then overcome that need immediately with a solution. One of the best ways to rapidly state what it is you offer is to include it within the customer need.

There`s nothing wrong with saying something about, "Looking for quality landscaping equipment? We`ve got the best prices in town!"

• Bobcats
• Bulldozers
• Backhoes
• something else

It`s why it`s an "art" to write good copy, write good Web site content, and so forth. When I say you need to have some sort of explanation of WHY someone is looking at your site, I don`t mean 500 words in an essay. :-D

I like your idea. Concise but customer-centric. In the end the only thing a customer cares about me is what I can do to help THEM.

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

“Impossible” is just the degree of difficulty where most people stop trying.