Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello!

I`m not a web designer, but I have FP, and have been working on making the best site I can that people would enjoy visiting and hopefully purchasing from! I would be interested in your thoughts!

My site is www.twixidesigns.com

Thanks so much! I know I will enjoy learning everything I can from this site!

 

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Trish Lester
Twixi Designs
www.twixidesigns.com
twix@buggs.net

Hi Trish,

I think there are two places that would be terrific for you to visit to learn how to achieve your goals. (Both of these site are free.)

1) Web Design from Scratch - This site is my holy book for the best practices and simple common sense approaches for design sites and overall web tactics.

2) W3 Schools - W3 Schools provides great step-by-step tutorials on the very basics of coding and web fundamentals.

I think your site needs some serious work to make it a viable and professional site. (it really looks circa 1996)  To be honest, Front Page is a very poor tool to use for any web design or development (unless they`ve made some serious changes recently).  I`d recommend using Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver 8.

You should also read one of my previous posts on the free guide for website usability.....Read, read, read...and then I`d start over with your new-found web knowledge!....

Good luck to ya!

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Brian Cleveland,
Web Producer,
StartupNation

I really don`t mean to be rude at all, as I am not a webdesigner either, but your site does look dated...really dated!
You should keep it as is for now, visit the sites suggested by Brian (and I am sure more people will chime in with other options) and start from scratch!
My suggestion: look for sites you like. Keep in mind that people are not longer looking for bells and whistles on site (drop your animated email gif immediately!). The cleaner the site, the better.
Sites must be functional, professional looking and clean. Avoid Flash, as it is not search engine friendly (the search engines cannot read the content of a Flash animation).

You can also consider using a template. There are tons available on the web (Google it up). Maybe even your hosting company has something to offer you...check with them.

Good luck. Let us know when changes start to take place on the site.


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Andre Costa DaCosta Chocolates, LLC www.DaCostaChocolates.com

For the life of me, I couldn`t figure out what your SUN icon was ... you might want to pick something that looks like a more traditional handbag!

I would agree with the person who said the site looks dated.

Your copy isn`t bad though - you do jump in and tell me why I am there from the start.

I am not someone who carries a purse, so you`ll have to forgive me on that one ... but I would recommend that all your product photos be the same size. You might also want some detail photos. And make sure all the pics are from the same distance away and zoomed in about the same to show relative size. Some of the inside shots just seem way off center.

It seems like every page has a new layout. This is confusing for users. They like to find the navigation in similar places on every page.

Front Page is full of security loopholes too.

Twixi is a great name and some of your bags really do seem pretty cool.
However I am a guy with no knowledge and no interest in handbags. On
the other hand, I`m an artist so I appreciate your use of patterns and
materials. Anyway, I would come up with a really hip logo that says only
"Twixi". And since you have the technology, sew up some labels and
brand your bags on the outside. Something small, tasteful and really
cool. I see labels like this on laptop bags and other kinds of accessories.
And use that hip logo on your new site too!

Good morning,

Thank you to everyone for your input! It`s always good to know what others think. I did change my icon. I can see how the hobo bag might be confusing to someone who does not know handbags. Also, I`m aware that the pics need to be better, and I`m actually in the process of setting up a special "photobox" to photograph my bags. To Steve....thank you for the "pretty cool" on my bags! Twixi was a nickname from my husband...and it stuck! To the others, I appreciate your suggestions, and I will post when changes get made.

Y`all have a great day!

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Trish Lester
Twixi Designs
www.twixidesigns.com
twix@buggs.net

Are you looking to be a web designer or sell handbags or both? There are plenty of free systems that allow you to setup stores in minutes. I would recommend using one of those instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. There are only a few instances where I recommend someone code there own site from scratch that will be used in a production environment. I will be glad to assist in any way that I can.

The name Twixi is a cool site name.


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SecurityDistro Arm Your Toolbox

Hi,

Thank you for liking Twixi! I only said that the way I did to show that I`m not a web designer.....so don`t be too hard on me! Making handbags is my passion. As I have the time, I will put more efforts into the site from various suggestions that have been given to me.

Thanks again for your input! 

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Trish Lester
Twixi Designs
www.twixidesigns.com
twix@buggs.net

I like your color scheme but I do not like a landing page. To have to go through a commercial prior to seeing what you offer is a bit of a turn off. I agree with the other user that said the site looks dated. Also I clicked on your products and I was sent to a page that looks like it is another website. The background was black and there is no brand consistency. I do not know if these are your designs or you are selling someone else`s product. I would rethink your strategy for product display.

Good luck,

John


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

Hi,

Those are sample pages created in "jalbum" to show handbags and other samples of work I`ve done and sold. I have no idea if there`s even a way to change the jalbums to go with the color scheme. The reason I chose the black is because I didn`t photograph my work very well(I`m in the process of changing that), and the black makes the colors pop....so the handbags look better.

Thanks for your input!

Trish

www.twixidesigns.com 

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Trish Lester
Twixi Designs
www.twixidesigns.com
twix@buggs.net