Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi everyone.  I want to begin by thanking everyone for all of the tips, advice, and help that I have received from this great community recently.  I have changed everything that I can with the main website as per the suggestions that I have received, but unfortunately there are too many things that I cannot change.  Therefore, I have built a smaller "niche" website through Microsoft Office Live Small Business to see if this smaller website does better than the main one.  I just wanted to try and make a comparison between the 2 websites to see if my main problem is having a bad template website before I put alot of money into marketing.  I would love anyone`s tips, suggestions, and insight on this new website if possible because I plan on keeping this website up and running to co-exist with the main website if it is good enough.  Thank you in advance. 

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Lora L. Warta
www.diddlehillassociates.com
www.mysticdreamzcollectibles.com

"What you are is your parent`s fault. If you stay that way it`s your fault."

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Lora L. Warta
www.diddlehillassociates.com
www.mysticdreamzcollectibles.com

"What you are is your parent`s fault. If you stay that way it`s your fault."

Lora, I can see how your products would be of interest to the true fantasy lover.

In reviewing your new website (www.mysticdreamzcollectibles.com), however, please note that the site does not appear properly in the Firefox 3.0.1 browser. Considering that roughly 20% of users are browsing with the Firefox browser, one in five visitors to your site will not be able to see your products or make a purchase. (Can you imagine a retail store that wouldn`t allow one in five potential customers in the door?) So, I would recommend making this fix a top priority.

If you look at successful retail websites, they tend to offer a major promotion above-the-fold on the home page. Take a look at retail sites such as Sears.com, Nordstrom.com, Gap.com, Harley-Davidson.com and BarbieCollector.com. They try to excite the site visitor with a strong promotion. With this in mind, consider moving your 30%-off and free shipping promotions to the top of the page. Add stunning imagery to the promotion. Also, consider a promotion not just tied to money -- for example, if your target audience is kids, then consider a back-to-school promotion.

Speaking of which, it is difficult to decipher your target audience for this site. Is it young kids? Teenagers? Older fantasy lovers? All of the above?

Instead of just focusing on your products in the site, how about speaking to the different audiences? If you are interested in targeting kids, how about adding a few fun games on the site? You could speak to how they can decorate their rooms with your products. You could add a buyer`s guide for parents and grandparents, making it easier for them to find just the right gift for their young loved ones.

Hope that this feedback is helpful.
-Tom

What are you seeing wrong?  It looks fine here on Firefox 3.0.1



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Steve Mann
Internet Videographer
MannMade Digital Video
My Email

why does each product section open in a new window? That just can`t be right...

and why is it so hard for folks to pay for quality website development? 

Thank you everyone for your tips and suggestions.  I am checking on the Firefox issue.  MTCreations:  The reason each product section opens in a new window is because I set it that way to make it easier for people to get back to where they started from.  I built this website myself for free through Microsoft to test whether or not my main website is my biggest issue before I put alot of money into marketing and shoot myself in the foot for having a bad website.  I figure it`s easier to fix that kind of thing now than before I do all the advertising and turn customers off with a bad website. 

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Lora L. Warta
www.diddlehillassociates.com
www.mysticdreamzcollectibles.com

"What you are is your parent`s fault. If you stay that way it`s your fault."

Well, look to the market leaders in ecommerce (amazon, apple, gap, etc) - I don`t see them opening new windows on product categories.

Those big ecommerce sites spend a lot (!!!) of money on usability, and it`s always nice to take your cues from them. I was completely baffled when new windows were opening.

As for spending money to make money, neither website you have is usable to any real degree, nor attractive (oh, I want to spend money here). so your test turns out to be flawed from the beginning.

If you had a choice between 2 stores (in the real world), one that looked like a nice place to shop, and another that was dirty, disorganized, and felt fly-by-night, which would you shop in? Rhetorical, perhaps, but the real world rules still apply, even online.

You have a nice selection of niche products that seem to be in demand - showcase them with a great design, usable storefront, easy/non-confusing navigation and people will at least be willing to stop by  and shop a bit. Ignore basics, and they`ll poke their head in, wrinkle their nose, and off they go, BACK BACK BACK.

if building websites is not your thing, just as I suspect dentistry, taxes, law, car repair, deck building, boiler replacement, stock selection (you get the idea), then look for and pay for a qualified (!!) professional.

The cheap comes out expensive - and free is the worst cheap of all.
Bad design will cost you so much more than good design. Great design is something we do very well. FWIW.