Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`ve had clients and friends tell me they like the site - and I guess clients liking it is the most important part, but there`s something about my website I just don`t like.

I made it with Office Live. I am seriously considering a switch to Yahoo Small Business because their templates seem a little more streamlined than Office Live - at least from what I`ve seen anyway.  I`ve found there is too little wiggle room with O.L.  I also hate that I can only edit my site using Internet Explorer. I hate IE. I can`t afford a web designer right now, and everyone who has been interested in bartering for my services has either flaked out, or has fewer skills than me.  I`ve started doing speaking engagements and writing in a magazine, so I feel a serious time crunch to get things looking good as my website gets more hits.

So far, people have loved the content and several people have said "I loved where you said..." So I think I`m fine in that department. I`m mainly concerned with aesthetics.

So tell me, what do you think of the site? Does it look good and I`m freaking out...or does it seem a little....off...to you too?

www.OneOrganizedLife.com


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

Hi,

The site is fine.. and as you note limited as far as design / features.

Generally, there will always be limitations when you use a package / site builder / hosting solution. So, moving to another hosted all in one solution may provide some different templates, but may still limit what you can do.

Two things about the current site:

(1) the Title of the home page should be changed to use your targeted keywords.

(2) Think about rearranging the order of your menu. Typically the "contact us" menu item is near the bottom of the menu and the services are closer to the top.

~Roland

 

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

I think you are on the right track - I like that it is clean and simple. It reflects what you are trying to do. Too much and it will be overwhelming and cluttered - not what you are trying to do!

~Sandra

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Sandra Pearson
The Mompreneur Next Door
www.themompreneurnextdoor.com
sandra@themompreneurnextdoor.com

Thanks Sandra...that`s what my goal is - to have a simple, uncluttered site.  I have seen sites by some organizers that just look totally unprofessional and clunky. I want to make sure mine reflects what I am trying to do with my business.


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

Thanks Roland,

I will fix the navigation and figure out how to change the name of the home page.


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

I really like the color scheme and layout. That`s likely because it was designed by an artistic person and put out as a template. Still, if you decide to go with something else, see if you can replicate the current look. It`s really nice, in my own opinion.

The problem is both the content and the organization of that content. :-) Which is ironic, considering that you`re an organizer in the physical, material world. It goes to show that organizing abstractions isn`t the same. LOL! (Hey...as a philosopher, that`s some kinda humor for me.)

Anyway...back to the subject. What I see is the redundancy of having as your very first contact with me, "Welcome to One Organized Life." First of all, I`m already on the page, so I don`t necessarily need to be welcomed. I chose to get there, you`re an open site, I assume I`m welcome.

Additionally, there`s an interesting ambiguity in the title. It`s like saying, "Man, that`s One Big-Ass Fish!" :-) In other words, I tend to interpret the title as being a blog title where you`re saying, "Welcome to my life. I`m one helluva organized person, and what you`re going to read about is this one`s organized life."

To fix it, I`d just remove the first line completely, and move this (edited) paragraph up to the top:
Then use the points you`re using, but turn them into bullets:

• Is your office a mess?
• Is your filing system a disaster - or nonexistent?
• Need help downsizing?
• Want to simplify your life?
• Are you preparing for a move?
• Want to get your place in shape before that special get-together?

Finally, pull it together:
Your tagline is great, and works perfectly with the company name. What I`d do is to stay consistent with "we" and not so much of the "me." It makes life easier when you have an "About Us" page, and won`t give you trouble when you start hiring employees---Organizators! :-D

(made that word up....)

I`d also put some kind of content into the About Us page....any kind of content. There`s something very annoying (and unprofessional) about clicking a link and going to a page that says "Under construction." It tells me the site isn`t.....organized.

All in all, you could likely continue to use Office Live (I really dislike anything by Yahoo!, given our past experiences), but I`d try to change your font. It`s coming across on my system as Tahoma, which is pretty hard to read. Keep it either Verdana or Helvetica-Arial.

You might also want to take a look at Nvu, from the Mozilla people. It`s very powerful, easy to learn, and can give you all the control you`d like. However, it doesn`t give you the automated scripts and extras you get from a template.

I, too, like what you`ve done.  This is a great example for what small budgets can accomplish on a small budget.  Eventually you will want to update it, but I think the colors and style should last for quite awhile.

Just an addition, if you care to add to the copy - I find that when my home is a mess, my brain is a mess meaning I can`t really concentrate on anything fully or thoroughly accomplish tasks.  Over the years, I`ve come to realize this true for so many people.

Best,

Jennifer

CraigL,

Yes, it must be philosopher humor.

I don`t think the whole "welcome" thing is a big deal. I will most likely keep it, but who knows.

When you say "the title" do you mean - "One Organized Life"? Because that`s my business name. And I don`t plan on changing that.

Thanks for pointing out the we/me/I thing. That usually drives me nuts when people do it. It helps to have someone else read it.

For the time being, I might just remove the "About Us" link all together - I haven`t decided what to put there exactly. I know I will have testimonials...but what I have been debating is whether or not to post my personal story of how I came to create the business. If I don`t do that, I pretty much covered why the business exists on the "Why OOL exists" page.

Thanks.


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

Absolutely! Mental clutter and physical clutter are typically tied together. I can`t believe I haven`t worked that in on my site! I definitely mention that when I speak to someone in person.  I think it`d be a good idea to try to incorporate that somehow.


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

great site, like the colours.  a few more pictures  demonstrating a before and after of work would  be great.

 

 

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http://www.webpreneuronline.com/
Your start-up guide to online business and income strategies!