Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Interesting name ....

First of all, what does the splash/intro page accomplish for you?
( Theme music from Jeopardy playing ........................... )
Answer: nothing. It isn`t serving any purpose....no message to indicate where I am or what you do ( I have my sound off, so if I missed music or something, sorry, but even that isn`t beneficial to have ).

Second, why is your content area so narrow? It feels kinda cramped.

Third, the top of the site that I see without scrolling gives me no indication of what you do, or what I should be doing. I see your name a couple of times, and some links, and that`s all. So right away I have no idea what the purpose of your site is. Scrolling down, you mention art and a few other things, but still, why am I here?

The gallery starts out with a neat looking little system, until you actually start using it, then I have no clue how to navigate through it in an understandable way.

The Wholesale page has terms and conditions, etc., which I don`t quite get; what does one have to do with the other?

Visually it looks nice, and is pretty easy to get around, but in the end I really don`t feel too informed about the overall purpose.



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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

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Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

Yup, I`ll concur with Webline and WebWorld. The content area is too narrow, and it also isn`t centered. I actually am using a 1280x1040 resolution and couldn`t read much of the content. For example your Wholesale terms and conditions was like fine print in a contract, and would need at least +3 times larger for me to even read.

The color scheme is a bit strange. On your home page where you have your email address for contacting, I couldn`t read that at all, with the maroon on brown, as well as it being too small.

But the biggest problem is what Webline said: I don`t understand what`s the purpose of the site. I get a sense that you sell something? But if that`s the case, how does this "silent auction" come into play?

I did see the gallery, with all the dots. I clicked a dot just to see, and the resulting picture was too small to really see much of anything. And, like Webworld, I didn`t see easily how to view other items. The music loop was tremendously annoying, and also no easy way to see how to turn it off.

All in all, the first things to accomplish would be expand the width of the content area. See if you can make more of your various content "blocks" visible without scrolling----you likely will be able to do so with more room horizontally.

Write some content that introduces the site, explains the point, and excites the casual visitor with some intrigue, curiosity, and a call to action.

Later, I would think about the benefit you gain from the way you show your gallery, versus the annoyance of the gimmick. The little dots and bouncing balls may be fun for ten seconds, but they get really old for someone wanting to see your products. You`ll need to also provide a way to show larger versions of the products.

Products should also have descriptions---a sales pitch---to entice someone to spend money and buy something. Remember, that`s what you`re trying to accomplish, right? You want people to buy your products. :-)

I have to echo everyone on this post. I know 1&1 limits you on what you can do but you could have tried to use at least 60% of the screen. I`m on a wide screen and to the left I have this tiny web page, perhaps about 510 pixels in width. I just did a CSS check up and it seems you`re running at 775 pixels total.

The problem with it is, that the graphics are too small in width forcing you to only use about 500 the other 10 pixels are the margin left and right set to 5 pixels or so. The Flash Intro didn`t do nothing for me...

If it`s CSS based, I would suggest opening the header tag to about 900pixels, and manipulating the images to open up some more... I looked at all your images individually and they can be modified, but it`s going to take alot of percise slicing This looks like the image you want to open up some more... and the rest will follow through. My only concern is this one, but it can be replicated or stretched enough to keep the pixels from breaking.

I like the design, the rough edges are cool... You can get away with the design if you do some advanced image manipulation. It`s CSS so it should be easy putting it back together.
I hope this helps...



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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

I vaguely remember your previous site, based on the posts above. Looking at this one, you have nice colors and good clear images. However, this version does nothing for you. I give you credit for making changes and trying to make it better, but viewing it as a first time visitor, I just don`t get the point you`re trying to make with it. What do you offer me as a potential customer?

You have an image of an old car at the top. How is that relevant to what you`re doing? It brings to mind autos, maybe nostalgia, but nothing about design in the context of your business. You have an empty left column, serving no purpose at all. You have different font sizes, types and colors, which lacks consistency.

You barely mention what you actually do, and you aren`t showing us what you do when your service is mentioned. Overall, there is very little information about design services for your visitors to make them want to look any further.

Clicking on "Products", I expect to start seeing, well, products. Instead there is a message, and more clicks to actually get to what you should already be showing me. If the small image is a visitor counter, it shouldn`t be in the middle of a page, but in the footer so it isn`t part of your content.

Clicking "Design Services", the top of the page is all text, again different fonts, and reading it, it doesn`t make a lot of sense. Note that I still don`t see what you actually offer until I scroll down.

Now, off to "Catalogue/Order". Again, all text, shipping information, sale prices .... where is the product? In a photo album that doesn`t really show off your products.

We live in a "microwave" society, and on the net people can have very short attention spans. If Site "A" doesn`t show me what I want right away, there is always Site "B", "C", "D", and probably thousands more that I can go to. So, make everything on your main page relevant to your service, get your point across quickly and easily, and set yourself apart from the others. Make me, my needs and your solutions, the focus of your introduction.

I know this all probably sounds like I`m being mean or overly critical, and I`m not trying to sound like a total jerk. I really think the look is 100% better than before; you`ve done a great job in making the site more attactive and improved the general layout, but I believe you need to focus more on simply showing off what you do right away, and how it benefits your visitors.



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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

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Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

Your homepage doesn`t tell me what you do, but the subhead on the "design services" page does.  I would copy it to the home page.  I also don`t see anything that sets you apart from other designers and about you.  Why are you special?  Why should someone want you to do their design?  Don`t just rely on the photos because a search engine won`t find that.  If you describe some of your projects, then the search engines have something to match a search with.  For example, if your text mentions that you have designed renaissance costumes, then someone searching for "renaissance fair costume design" just might find your site.

The newsletter sign-up has a spelling error.  ("50% off you first purchase")

Overall I like the colors and the basic design.

Games??  Kind of unprofessional isn`t it?  And get rid of the visitor counter.  What purpose could it possibly serve?




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Steve Mann
Internet Videographer
MannMade Digital Video
My Email