Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Looking for feedback on my new website. http://startupmatch.blogspot.com I`ve got a lot of ideas for it, but haven`t had many people look at it yet.  Specifically interested in:

-Is this a good idea?

-Is it immediately clear what the site is about?

-What useful resources should I add?

If you`re willing to take a look, I`d rather people go in blind so you can let me know whether the site is self-explanatory, but if you`re afraid that this is some kind of spammy waste of time, there`s a description in my signature.

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http://startupmatch.blogspot.com The mission of startupmatch.blogspot.com is to help introduce entrepreneurs to skilled professionals interested in participating in the upside of a start-up company while working full or part time.

Hey there, Zoobird... :-)

First of all, the colors are definitely "an acquired taste," to use a line I really enjoyed. IF you`re totally in love with the pea green, then you`re going to have to do something about your mission statement. It was so hard to read I gave up. Immediate workaround would be to boost it to a 12-point Arial, and perhaps darken the shade of the green for more contrast.

Otherwise, my main problem with the site is I expected a blog, not a working site to match people up with skills and advice. A blog is a personal set of editorial opinions, not a functional business place. It can have feedback forums, or comments, but that`s all it should have.

That`s my opinion, of course, but given that perspective, I didn`t even bother to read the rest of the site. The "How this Site Works" should be on the main page, and use smaller paragraphs. It should be much more easy to understand.

So, to answer your questions:

1. Is it a good idea? I dunno...there seem to be a million other sites doing this, and Startup Nation is doing it exceptionally well.
2. Is it clear what it`s about? No.
3. What resources would you add? I think a conversion to a business-type Web site, not a blog.

:-) My two cents, at any rate.

-Is this a good idea?

***matching up folks to help eachother out is always a good idea.

-Is it immediately clear what the site is about?

**** No, not sure if you are going for a blog or a business site.

-What useful resources should I add?

****** I think that you may want to think about making this a web site instead of a blog, but that is my opinion. What do you want the site to do, where do you want it to go? Are you testing ideas? Who are you trying to reach? How friendly is it for users? How do people connect with eachother?

There are alot of cgi scripts that you can use to make this a cool site where folks can ask for help and be replied to at an affordable price. If you need help let me know. I think what you want to do is help folks to connect, to network. It is a good idea, and you should go for it.

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Our Goal Is Your Success!
Founder Girls with Goals

I agree with the previous two posts. Why is it a blog? It`s simply not the
right format for your idea. I didn`t even bother to read it because of
format alone.

Conceptually it`s not a bad idea but Craig is right, lots of other sites offer
this kind service. If you are going to go head-to-head with the likes of
Startup Nation, then what do you offer that differentiates your company?

I have no idea if it is already out there but the idea of combining the
format of a dating website with the entrepreneurial world might be
interesting to contemplate. Instead of job posting, you could offer to
match people`s profiles based on who they are and what they are looking
for. LinkedIn is similar to this idea but more about making professional
connections than matching one-on-one. The entrepreneur could be your
niche. EntrepreneurMatchUp.com or something. But again, how could it
be different and better? Just a thought.

It`s a nice looking site and is fairly easy to navigate.  The major issue I have is that the homepage doesn`t do anything.  It`s pretty but it doesn`t at all engage your viewer in what you offer.

In fact, I would say that "gift consulting" and "gift concierge" are a relatively new kinds of services.  So one of the barriers is explaining them and why people need it.  You do a pretty good job on the individual pages but from the start, a visitor may not be inclined to click on those links to get there.  Heck, I clicked on "about us" first because it was a more familiar than the links on the top.

Another way to think about it is in visual hierarchy.  How come "gift consulting" is displayed the same way as "policies/FAQ"?  Which is more important and which do you want people to click on first?  Your logo is the most attention grabbing aspect of the homepage and actually, I clicked that first.  But it brought me nowhere.

I think you need to spiff up your homepage with a simple, direct marketing message.

Thanks for your input.  I was concerned about the homepage being sort of just "there" and not really explaining what my business is about.  That`s why I added the the links Gift Consulting - Gift Concierge - Gift Shopping Companion to the top of the homepage.  But I see now that might not be enough.  So I think I`ll add some sort of tagline or message to the homepage.  Thanks again.

Personally, I would do away with the index page altogether. Really, it is just a logo with links around it, not really serving any purpose.

Also, I get ( from a guys point of view, anyway ) that the site is aimed more towards women, in that it has a softer look, pink text ( I`m not trying to be chauvinistic here, its just traditionally a more feminine color ) and lighter accents. I`m not saying you should add pictures of bikini clad women drinking beer at a football game to appeal to men, but guys that could use this service might not really get into the overall look of it right away. I`m not saying you should change it, just something to think about, and its just my personal opinion.

Also, a pattern I notice on the 3 gift pages .....
 1) You ask questions
 2) You make a statement
 3) You tell how to proceed and give payment information.

Its like only a third of the page actually shows what you can do for a customer. I would suggest expanding on this area so that you can sell your service; tell me how many ways you will benefit me.


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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

Indeed,
It is a new service and I`m pretty sure it`s going to be a growing trend. But when I landed on your page,[the index page] I didn`t know what to do.. Until I started hovering my mouse over the page. Although,  you have links on the top and links on the bottom... Webline is right, it doesn`t server any purpose. I would use this page to tell the customers what your services are all about. To be honest I didn`t think that there was such a service out there, but like they say for "every need, a business is born"
I could have used your services this past Christmas...
Have you ever thought about using flash in the front page? just to get customers attention? Although, I wouldn`t advise it, but at least you can get customers attention to stay and read more about you. At least until your business grows.. You might have to have some sord of Video explaining your services since it`s a failry new industry. Perhaps a Podcast, or videcast.
There are various companies out there that offer this service for free and all you have to do is copy the code into your page [not flickr or youtube]  try PODANGO
I like their services.



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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`ll echo what`s been said already and say I would completely nuke the index altogether. It reminds me of splash pages so prevalent in the early years of the web, although much more tastefully designed.

Also I would focus on funneling the customer to the purchase point. Where for example step one is explaining what you do (keep it simple preferably a few bullet points). Step 2 might be short services list with a concise explanation of each service. Step 3 would be the order/membership process.

Overall I really like the design though, and I generally don`t like anything with pink ;)