Feedback needed on my website please :)

TenantSOS

Hi guys

I am in the process of totally revamping my website ... it's been up and running now for a while but it is not going very well online :eek: I don't think the site is very user friendly I added a few gadgets but I think I just messed it up more

I had a guy working on it but now I am trying to do all the research/adding stuff and it is trial and error, luckily it's WP or I would be up the creek :eek: ... the guy I have/had working on it is extremely hard to get hold of to do stuff So I think it is really time for a change

I used Vista to create the logo but every time I look at it I think I can get a much better one done and since I am now gonna start from scratch with this I think it's time to do a more professional logo too

I'm a doggie groomer by trade so I would like my logo to portray that but also I sell designer doggie clothes so I want to try and combine the two, I don't even know if that would be possible Any ideas how to combine them would be great

Also if you wouldn't mind taking a look at the site and giving me some feedback on it/point me in the right direction to get help would really appreciate it www.bestfriendsworld.ie. I have Realex still to be put up onto it, (I don't like PP) have the account details but no clue how to do it plus any ideas how this can be made available on the iPhone

Thanks so much

Deliverance

First impressions: Lots of information in one place. But a passion for the work exists. It would help to categorise / list the information and prioritise the most important stuff that the customer wants to see first on the homepage.

List out the info that you see as most important for the customer to see. Your expertise and experience as a dog groomer is invaluable in this process. Also get some existing customer feedback as well and see what they like about the site and what they don't like.

Lots of positive work to be done on the site, using the right techniques then the only way is up. I like the logo it is fun, colourful and simple. The most work needs to be done on the layout of the site and the information priority.

BengaLover

Theres a little too much going on there.
I would remove the subscription bit from the side and replace it with the menu bar. Currency exchange - is it necessary? Remove that and it will tidy it up a bit. Pink colour ..may not appeal to everyone, also feeds, how many people use feeds.
All in all its a good site with lots of info and products but just a tad too much stuff thats not relevant.

whippetgood

I think it would be worth your time and money to hire someone with Graphic Design and Web Design training. This kind of thing is their actual job and if you are lucky enough to find someone passionate about it they can ensure that the user interface is top notch, removing confusion, time spent re-explaining what you do, etc etc. This does your business and customers huge favours and is the best advice I think I can offer you.

The added value your business would gain with the right person would have their work paid for in no time!

Anyway, wishing you a very successful business!

tricky D

Logo does need redoing: the text treatment is poor and the cat and dog in car motif could be simplified and joined up with the new text.

You also have no strapline which briefly communicates your business - something like: fancy designer stuff for cats and dogs. Obviously something a bit more apt though.

The Sales functions on the site are very poor: cats and dogs mentioned only twice on the homepage, no products on homepage and ineffective text in the place where your best products/offerings should be - right in the centre of the page, Products Page link goes to a page with no products on it, individual product pages are pulled in from Amazon using and iframe!!!, product magnify function not working on FireFox, no special offers or other incentives, no customer/client feedback, shipping info not available until after the shopping cart has an item in it, poor Amazon template colour scheme (Add to Cart button is not distinctive).....

Remove the Red Cross thing and the upgrade warning message, sort out the navigation mess and make it simpler, put the social media stuff after the content not before, lose the spinning globe location thing and get rid of the weight loss thing. No contact form and email addresses not made into mailtos.

SEO is poor with headings being applied to non-keywords, non-descriptve titles and loads more SEO methods absent.

No RBN

TenantSOS

Deliverance wrote: »

First impressions: Lots of information in one place. But a passion for the work exists. It would help to categorise / list the information and prioritise the most important stuff that the customer wants to see first on the homepage.

List out the info that you see as most important for the customer to see. Your expertise and experience as a dog groomer is invaluable in this process. Also get some existing customer feedback as well and see what they like about the site and what they don't like.

Lots of positive work to be done on the site, using the right techniques then the only way is up. I like the logo it is fun, colourful and simple. The most work needs to be done on the layout of the site and the information priority.

Thanks for your reply I am working on a list great idea just need to decide which ones and the best order of them. Most of my existing customers for the doggie grooming are not technically minded lol I have asked them to have a look so we'll see also have asked friends/family to give me feedback

There is definitely a passion with this as mum to 3 Bichons and they are part of the reason I decided to turn it into a business, after being out of work for a number of years went back and retrained

TenantSOS

BengaLover wrote: »

Theres a little too much going on there.
I would remove the subscription bit from the side and replace it with the menu bar. Currency exchange - is it necessary? Remove that and it will tidy it up a bit. Pink colour ..may not appeal to everyone, also feeds, how many people use feeds.
All in all its a good site with lots of info and products but just a tad too much stuff thats not relevant.

Thanks for the reply I have removed the subscription RSS and the currency widget so already there is an improvement, lots more to do to get there but learning everyday background is not in IT

Ha ha pink/purple are the company colours, even my grooming uniform is pink so will keep that, I understand not for everybody but in this industry can get away with it

TenantSOS

whippetgood wrote: »

I think it would be worth your time and money to hire someone with Graphic Design and Web Design training. This kind of thing is their actual job and if you are lucky enough to find someone passionate about it they can ensure that the user interface is top notch, removing confusion, time spent re-explaining what you do, etc etc. This does your business and customers huge favours and is the best advice I think I can offer you.

The added value your business would gain with the right person would have their work paid for in no time!

Anyway, wishing you a very successful business!

Thanks for the reply Yes I did hire people in fact 2 of them and both let me down the first I paid in advance and they left me high and dry ... the second a friend of a friend who was supposed to get back to me on a lot of stuff ... did some and left the rest. Bad experiences so far and both paid *learned my lesson about advance payment*

That is why I am here now trying again but hoping to get the right advice on who to contact and also what needs to be changed so I can have a good list ready

Cork24

Way two much in the Index Page..

And it seems your Menu Bar is all the way down inside the Footer,


And thats one big a** footer you have on the page..

its all about keeping things Simple..

Why not Open a E-bay Shop? rtedirect people to an Ebay Shop if your Selling stuff. the index page is well over done with images

If you ask me it looks like a ten your old kid done up the page..

i would change the whole web site,, start from the End. What do my Customers want what is working and what is not.

3 coulum Sites are well dead in my view.. stick with

5 Div Tables 1Container 1 Header 1 Nav bar 1Content and 1 Footer

i dont like website that have coulums on the side, its nice just to keep your links on the Nav bar and just give a brief outline on what the company is about and 1 or two pics and a Contact form would do nice.

TenantSOS

tricky D wrote: »

Logo does need redoing: the text treatment is poor and the cat and dog in car motif could be simplified and joined up with the new text.

You also have no strapline which briefly communicates your business - something like: fancy designer stuff for cats and dogs. Obviously something a bit more apt though.

The Sales functions on the site are very poor: cats and dogs mentioned only twice on the homepage, no products on homepage and ineffective text in the place where your best products/offerings should be - right in the centre of the page, Products Page link goes to a page with no products on it, individual product pages are pulled in from Amazon using and iframe!!!, product magnify function not working on FireFox, no special offers or other incentives, no customer/client feedback, shipping info not available until after the shopping cart has an item in it, poor Amazon template colour scheme (Add to Cart button is not distinctive).....

Remove the Red Cross thing and the upgrade warning message, sort out the navigation mess and make it simpler, put the social media stuff after the content not before, lose the spinning globe location thing and get rid of the weight loss thing. No contact form and email addresses not made into mailtos.

SEO is poor with headings being applied to non-keywords, non-descriptve titles and loads more SEO methods absent.

No RBN

Thanks for the reply I agree I think the logo needs to be redone I dabble with PS just got it and still trying to figure it out and I reckon I could do a better one ... using the car as I couldn't even begin to try and start one from scratch lol I've made several siggys in the past with other less advanced software.

When you say "strapline" so you mean the home tagline? "Home - Dog's Clothes and Accessories & Dog Groomer - Best Friends World - Designer Pet Clothes - Ireland" I finally found where it was so I think I will try and edit the wording as it's a bit mixed

The sales side I think I am gonna get rid of the Amazon tab as it's not really used and it takes away from my own products *need to look at this* The rest I don't have a clue about need to research this My cart is due to be changed I have Realex now *upgraded from Virtual Terminal* just no clue how to add it and as I mentioned above have been waiting on an IT guy to fix it so trying to look at other options to get it done.

Remove the Red Cross thing and the upgrade warning message, sort out the navigation mess and make it simpler, put the social media stuff after the content not before, lose the spinning globe location thing and get rid of the weight loss thing. No contact form and email addresses not made into mailtos.

SEO is poor with headings being applied to non-keywords, non-descriptve titles and loads more SEO methods absent.

No RBN

I'm curious why remove the Redcross banner and the spinning globe? One is for charity and the other shows who has visited the website.

I had a sign up for newsletter which gave some contact details but I removed it, will look at a new option for a contact form though

With SEO it was being done again cannot reach my IT guy so now trying to fix that, but with new blog posts/pages I have been trying to add tags to my posts dunno how successful it's been or if doing that is part of it. New to this kind of thing so at moment trial and a lot of errors

Lastly what is RBN?

tricky D

TenantSOS wrote: »

Bad experiences so far and both paid *learned my lesson about advance payment*

Part payment in advance with a contract is usually a sign of professionalism, unfortunately, not always.

TenantSOS wrote: »

When you say "strapline" so you mean the home tagline? "Home - Dog's Clothes and Accessories & Dog Groomer - Best Friends World - Designer Pet Clothes - Ireland" I finally found where it was so I think I will try and edit the wording as it's a bit mixed

That's the title. A strapline would appear below your logo, often as part of the logo to explain what you do succinctly.

TenantSOS wrote: »

I'm curious why remove the Redcross banner and the spinning globe? One is for charity and the other shows who has visited the website.

They are not relevant to your business and the Red Cross is the first thing visitors notice, when it is your logo/brand that should be the first item noticed. The spinning globe thing are clichéd, don't use it.

TenantSOS wrote: »

Lastly what is RBN?

Registered Business Number required by law.

TenantSOS

Cork24 wrote: »

Way two much in the Index Page..

And it seems your Menu Bar is all the way down inside the Footer,


And thats one big a** footer you have on the page..

its all about keeping things Simple..

Why not Open a E-bay Shop? rtedirect people to an Ebay Shop if your Selling stuff. the index page is well over done with images

If you ask me it looks like a ten your old kid done up the page..

i would change the whole web site,, start from the End. What do my Customers want what is working and what is not.

3 coulum Sites are well dead in my view.. stick with

5 Div Tables 1Container 1 Header 1 Nav bar 1Content and 1 Footer

i dont like website that have coulums on the side, its nice just to keep your links on the Nav bar and just give a brief outline on what the company is about and 1 or two pics and a Contact form would do nice.

Thanks for the reply I had been thinking about the list/menu on the side so decided to remove it entirely lol it's all up the top under the headers anyway

Ebay is not an option for selling as I have signed agreements in place with the suppliers not to, I think if I can just get the shop right ... right design/cart/promotions/adverts etc then I should be good to go, also plan on having a Facebook shop.

what do you mean by Index page?

I like the side columns so I'll be keeping them but I have removed some of the clutter I am thinking it is starting to look better already I also removed a couple of the headers it's not possible to reduce it anymore as this website is portraying 2 businesses in one

TenantSOS

tricky D wrote: »

Part payment in advance with a contract is usually a sign of professionalism, unfortunately, not always.

That's the title. A strapline would appear below your logo, often as part of the logo to explain what you do succinctly.

They are not relevant to your business and the Red Cross is the first thing visitors notice, when it is your logo/brand that should be the first item noticed. The spinning globe thing are clichéd, don't use it.


Registered Business Number required by law.

Thanks again I started off the first one with full big mistake but the 2nd I paid 1/2 but then because I knew them (albeit through someone) and some stuff was being done I made the wrong decision to give the final half and well still waiting on stuff to be finished :eek:

I put an add onto Adverts and posted it here in wanted so hopefully I will hear some reliable replies, I really need to get this finished asap

Ahh I have a strapline it's on my business cards never thought of putting it into the header banner

I thought about it some more so did remove the globe and RC banner, it was there a good while so I did my bit ha ha

Ahh I do have my RBN details on there it's under the contact me section with the address and on the home page it states I am registered and insured Should I move it to another section or will that suffice?