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My neck is out. Start Chopping.

 
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JustJohn

posts: 4

Jan 29, 2008 12:54 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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I would also like my site picked apart. Any in put would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
John


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JustJohn
Garage Cabinets of Idaho
http://cabinetsystems.us
vwebworld

posts: 1237

Jan 29, 2008 1:46 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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The file size of your images/photos is way too large. This can delay the loading of your site and turn people away.
 
For example the image on the home page is over 2million bytes
vwebworld1/29/2008 1:48 PM


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JustJohn

posts: 4

Jan 29, 2008 2:35 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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Thanks
I just reduced it to 180K.
John


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JustJohn
Garage Cabinets of Idaho
http://cabinetsystems.us
Webline

posts: 687

Jan 29, 2008 4:26 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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As Roland said, recheck all of your image sizes; your DIY page takes forever to load on DSL.

I think you provide a lot of good content, but your layout isn`t overly appealing; it doesn`t catch your eye or stand out to be memorable for what you`re selling. To me, it almost seems too soft of a look for the product, if that makes sense. Garages and their contents kind of bring to mind "manly", "mechanical" stuff, but it doesn`t really reflect that here. Just my opinion, and not trying to be stereotypical or anything.

You have some dead links / non-existant pages. You need unique page titles and descriptions for every page. You have a huge amount of javascript in your pages that should be imported if possible from a separate page.






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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons


Videography

posts: 672

Jan 29, 2008 4:33 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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I don`t like the full-page text.  Also, the font is too large, burgundy over pink is a strange choice of colors.  There`s nothing on the home page that compels me to look further into the site.

Your text is far too passive.  Never say "if you want...".  Assume the sale is a done deal and start closing: "Buy your quality cabinets here and now."  The only time you should use "if" is when you are offering payment options.

Just a personal gripe, but I think that the rollover big images to be unprofessional.  I much prefer a simple "click here for a larger image" button.

As a photographer, your images aren`t showing your product at their best.  They are not well staged and show as much mess in the garage as they do the cabinets.

Somehow, I keep getting back to those colors.  Yuk. 

Finally, what makes your cabinets any different from what I can buy at Ikea or Home Depot??  in other words, why should I buy from you? 




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Steve Mann
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MannMade Digital Video
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JustJohn

posts: 4

Jan 29, 2008 5:27 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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Wow

Good feedback. Keep it coming. I see I need to rethink a bunch of stuff.

Thanks.

John



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JustJohn
Garage Cabinets of Idaho
http://cabinetsystems.us
nhgnikole

posts: 2660

Jan 29, 2008 6:20 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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When I go to your site, I see (above the fold):
name
flag
junker cars in a garage

What is the purpose of your site? To sell your product?

If you were not you, and looked at your site for 5 seconds ... would you have any idea what you do and what the benefits are?

What I`d like to see:
A before/after that is more like your market and a little less extreme on the before.
Good copywriting - to the point, clear, obvious.

vwebworld

posts: 1237

Jan 29, 2008 7:50 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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Thanks
I just reduced it to 180K.
John
 
180K is still too big.  Try to keep image file size below 60K.
That should not be a problem for an image twith the dimensions of the one on your home page.
 
Check your menu links - accessories link url is incorrect.
 
You might compare your site to the other top sites for garage cabinets:
 
 
~Roland
vwebworld1/29/2008 8:01 PM


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CraigL

posts: 9051

Jan 29, 2008 9:16 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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Love the picture of the garage needing help! LOL! That totally caught my attention. So, it was depressing to scroll down and see there was no follow-up along the same lines.

Having very big text doesn`t work. I`m on a 19" LCD, with 1280 resolution, and so I can just imagine what this would look like on a more typical resolution and size! Yikes!

The top part of the home page is a grabber. Now you need to reach into that well of creative fun and bring the rest of the page in line with the start-off.

It didn`t take that long to load on my DSL line, so perhaps the changes you`ve so far made have fixed the lagging load previously. I didn`t go to the rest of the site because without a strong intro, the rest won`t matter much.
DaleKing

posts: 1061

Jan 30, 2008 10:55 AM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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John, I echo what everyone else is saying about you site. The layout is very unappealing. In fact, I think that you should start from scratch and build a whole new site. Your current site leaves a lot to be desired.
 
Dale King
DKing1/30/2008 10:57 AM


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