Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi,

I am looking for some critiques of my website - with a caveat. 

my website

What I want is your first impression, what feeling, emotion, thoughts does it evoke.
Maybe finish this:  This place is ....

I am not looking for, at this time, functionality or design critiques.

I will explain why after I get some feedback.

Thanks.

Looks good. I get the impression you do signs and banners, either for in-store displays or tradeshow booths. Saw a phone number to contact, and assume there`s a "contact us" email somewhere. I like the colors, everything is crisp and easy to see. And it loaded fast.

Oh...and I got all that in about 10 seconds.

"Oh...and I got all that in about 10 seconds."   Wow, you`re fast, Craig - 00, 01, 10.....

(Inside joke, Bigprinter)..

I lived in Hoffman Estates about 30-years ago.  Hard to believe it`s been that long.  (That was the edge of civilization then.  I`ll bet it goes beyond Elgin by now.)

Anyway, my first thought about your site was that it`s pretty busy.  You cram a lot of information on the home page.  On the home page there`s at least two or more links to get to the same page.  That is likely to confuse some people.  I would recommend simplifying the landing page a bit.


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Steve Mann
Internet Videographer
MannMade Digital Video
My Email

Its a lot of info to take in at once, but I figured it all out pretty quickly. Great typography choices.  So I guess the initial emotion was a bit overwhelmed but I wouldnt say its a UI issue.

I did see that it was a lot to understand, but this was a first impression. :-) I used the 10-seconds for a casual visitor to see what I came away with. And I got all the main info, I think. (Steve, I was gonna use 4 seconds, but hey....I`m old! I gotta go slower...)

Thanks guys.

What I`m trying to determine is your initial feeling when you first come to our site.  Kind of like when you walk into a store or someone`s house.  Is it homey? Stark? Pricy? Extravagent?

I don`t want to say to much because I don`t want to lead peoples answers.

Be careful about how you`re thinking of your site. "Visit" a site begins, usually, with the click to the home or landing page.

People don`t enter a site and have a first impression. People "click" the site URL from a search engine, then get a first impression in between 4-10 seconds. If they don`t like the front page, they leave.

In a home, people physically have to make a lot of effort to drive to an address. Given they`ve invested a lot of effort, they`ll at least walk through the door, look at the main room, then perhaps walk around a bit.

You`re comparing apples and oranges in the analogy to a physical shop or building. To make it more reasonable, imagine being in a taxi cab, cruising around some sort of neighborhood. That`s your "query" to the search engine.

As you`re driving, you`re getting first impressions from the front view of the property. That`s it. Then you pass on by. Only if something about that front view strikes your fancy do you tell the driver to slow down, maybe pull over. But all it takes is a tap on the shoulder and off you go again.

All it takes is a single mouse click, and your visitor is gone.

the phone number makes the site feel legit...but design wise..im not feeling it to much. From the red background...to the blue tabs. Very cool though!!