Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

 

Ok here goes...We are developing an online marketplace that will allow companies looking to achieve ISO certification get multiple quotes from multiple providers of ISO registration service very similar to lendingtree.com. for those not familiar with ISO in brief  it is a quality standard used by manufacturing companies that is usually required by their customers to ensure things are produced properly and consistently. This is just the static portion of the site the actual software is still in development.

our url  www.auditauctions.com but it is on a test server at...

 Since we are a web based market place our site is a focal part of our business. We want to make the site easy to navigate and simple to use. We are working with a very responsive off shore development company. We know the site has some errors and duplications but any feedback is helpful and appreciated and no offense will be taken. Thanks to all who decide to offer assistance.

John

 

 

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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

I`m not a designer, so keep that in mind as you read my comments.

• I would imagine that those that land on your site would know what the ISO you are referring to is, but I have no idea. It could be "International Standards Organization", a credit card processor or a reference to digital cameras, your front page doesn`t tell me what you are talking about
• The top boxes have rounded shapes and are not the same size, while the bottom have square shapes
• The quality of the pictures on the top and bottom leave a lot to be desired, they look grainy
• On the "About us" page, I wonder what do the bottom three sections have to do with "about us". As I understand it that page is supposed to educate me about YOU think they belong with the "Services" page
  
• Register and Home are the same thing, but I imagine you are just using the homepage as a template for the rest. Work in progress type thing.
  
• ISO finally! on the 6th page.... :-) that`s cool but I would put quick reference on the home page.

Hope that helps,

Elí

Eli,

thanks for the feedback. You are correct people that hit the site should be familiar with ISO. I will look at the pictures and modify to have some consistency in the shapes on the site. We should add some brief text to explain what iso is on the front page but I do not want to have too much because most people that see this will already know what it is.

Thanks again,

John


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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

I wouldn`t really put much of a description, just spell out the whole thing
somewhere on the homepage, maybe with a line defining your market.
Like...

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for manufacturing.

Or something similar. That explains enought to people who don`t know
what the hell the site is without annoying the users who know.

Other notes:

"About the Company" and "Who We Are" are kind of one and the same
while "Earning Your Business" should fall into one of those categories.

I think you need more emphasis on "How It Works" with a restructuring of
getting people to start. Don`t say first you go to this page, then you do
this step and next you... boring! How about a "Get Started" link instead to
get users involved right away?

Focus on your service, not yourself!!!

You also need to re-think your copy and how you display it. You give too
much to read at the outset. Some of it is irrelevant to everyone. You
want to give your users the option of clicking to certain places to read
more about your company if they want to. There are a lot of people on
here who would be more qualified to help you with your copywriting.

Visually speaking, it`s confusing as well. Nothing really stands out. Think
about what aspects of the site are more important. Then give them more
visual attention. Give the user a focus to navigate toward.

And like mentioned before, your images are of bad quality.

Thanks Steve

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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

"Home Page" is a bad title for your site. Give it something meaningful for your customers and for the little search bots.

State what it is you do with a brief description for folks unsure of what you are offering. Also a call to action would be great too!

Erin

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Our Goal Is Your Success!
Founder Girls with Goals

I`ve just now realized that there are two categories of Web sites:

1. A general-public site designed to be found in a general search, attract non-specific visitors, sell or instruct those visitors.
2. A highly constrained site, specifically used as a follow-up to some totally different, non-Web-initiated contact system.

In other words, a site either acts like a brochure on a business-to-business (B2B) structure, or it`s designed as a global contact point between the business and potential customers.

This site is in the #2 category. It holds zero interest to me as a retail customer, or someone researching the ISO acronym. It`s designed explicitly for people already familiar with the terminology, who found the site through a directed process.

As such, the landing page should immediately explain to those customers why they should use you. What do YOU offer, that`s better and different from all the other ISO-something companies out there?

I`d put each of the "blocks" you currently have on that front page into their own subsidiary sections. If I`m looking for a company to help me get ISO certified or qualified, or whatever it is you do, I`ll look up your credentials later. Right now, I want to know how fast can you do this, what will you take charge of, how much will it cost me, and am I getting a better deal from you than some other site I bookmarked.

Craig,

You hit the nail right on the head. Specific users, already familiar with ISO will be directed to the site. Thanks for the suggestions. I will incorporate your suggestions into the next round of changes.


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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>

Guys,

The site has been updated and some of your suggestions have been put in place. It is also available on www.auditauctions.com now. Our developer has not made changes to our front page text yet (which was totally changes thanks to suggestions here at SuN) which is my hot button right now but the site is taking shape.

Thanks,

John


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<A HREF="http://www.AuditAuctions.com">Get ISO Certified</A>