Just had a new website built for me..

[bongo_fish]

What was the cost?

 

The main logo is blured but other than that its a great website

[indizine]

The main logo is blured but other than that its a great website

 

I don't see the correlation between the post you quoted and the reply you gave.

[ccit]

I think grey is the in thing:

Yes, I very recently read that too.

I find all these negative comments dispiriting and it's not even my website. No surprise that the OP hasn't returned to the thread.

I'm not sure that people give two hoots about some of the points made in this thread. All folk want is to get to the information quickly and easily. I'm not sure that the design of a website will influence them in their decision making. Many are far too graphic intensive, with not much useful information, although this particular one does require graphics of high quality in view of the nature of the products being sold.

Maybe I'm wrong but too much emphasis is placed on websites these days - they have no substance and it's the underlying service that will make or break a business, not the 'shop window'.

I do agree about the comment regarding addresses. So many sites don't provide this and I would not part with money unless I knew the company address.

[SpeedwayDan]

Yes, I very recently read that too.

I find all these negative comments dispiriting and it's not even my website. No surprise that the OP hasn't returned to the thread.

I'm not sure that people give two hoots about some of the points made in this thread. All folk want is to get to the information quickly and easily. I'm not sure that the design of a website will influence them in their decision making. Many are far too graphic intensive, with not much useful information, although this particular one does require graphics of high quality in view of the nature of the products being sold.

Maybe I'm wrong but too much emphasis is placed on websites these days - they have no substance and it's the underlying service that will make or break a business, not the 'shop window'.

I do agree about the comment regarding addresses. So many sites don't provide this and I would not part with money unless I knew the company address.

 

 

Design isn't just about the graphical element.

 

I also don't see anything wrong with good constructive criticism. It's much better than everybody pretending it's great when it clearly isn't.

 

Also websites are huge marketing tools for companies now. To dismiss them as not being important is naive.

[ccit]

I see what you are saying and certainly a good website is necessary for someone who is selling a product, as is the case with the OP.

I wouldn't say the comments were made out of naivety, just experience, which most of us senior citizens have in abundance. Anyone can have a fantastic website but it all comes to nothing if the underlying service or product doesn't hold up.

 

I have talked to my friends about this very subject (all senior citizens) and they too are not impressed by fancy graphics and effects. We just want to get to the information we need quickly and easily. Our eyesight is not so good; we find flashing things just a distraction and tiny print a no-no. None of us reads everything in a website - just the bits that we need. Neither would a 'good' website be instrumental in securing our business. In fact we tend to use websites as a glorified telephone directory so that we can (shock, horror!) actually speak to someone. That's why we get so irked when we have to struggle to find the 'contact us' button which is more often than not tucked away at the bottom of the page in tiny, tiny print. When a company makes it that hard you know they really don't want to talk to you. I understand that young folk may see it differently but that is our opinion.

 

Websites are, in essence a work of art and we all have our own opinions of what we like and don't like, particularly colour schemes, arrangement of the material and complexity. It is therefore impossible to have the perfect website.

 

I am just in the process of creating a website for my friend's small business and I have no doubt that folk on here would slate it unmercifully which is why I wouldn't ask for an appraisal. It doesn't matter what others might think anyway because she likes it. The site is simple, clear and gives all the information about the business that is required. It's a service business and stands and falls upon the skill of the owner so in that sense a fancy, expensive website would be of no benefit. It is the quality of her work that will see the business progress, not the quality of the website.

 

Kats_Claws - if you are still following your thread, would just like to wish you well with your business. Good luck.

[Love2print]

It doesn't matter what others might think anyway because she likes it.

 

Surely it matters what her potential clients think? What you have said highlights another issue, when someone commissions a website they want one that they like. Not what their clients and potential clients want or need. That is the wrong way to look at it. It's not what you want its about your customers.

[ccit]

How do you know what your customers want? She has many customers - is she to conduct a survey of them? Do they care anyway? You are a web designer - she is not. She has a real skill on which her business stands. As I said before, the quality of her work is what is important, not the quality of her website. If she spent hundreds of pounds having a professional one done (which the business cannot support right now) it would not bring in more customers. It is the web presence that will do that. Your post highlights the fact that web designers may over estimate the importance of their own industry. Many ordinary folk just don't care - as long as they can find what they are looking for they're happy. They don't always go surfing to assess the quality of a website.

[Love2print]

I wouldn't call my self a web designer as I have only designed a handful of websites. So I don't think I can over estimate the value of the industry, I am speaking as someone who manages their own website.

 

In my opinion you have seriously underestimated the value of a good website. To be me a good website is a combination of well thought out design (not just pretty, but actually helps customers find out the information they need) and useful content.

 

I will use the shop window analogy. One shop has an attractive, well presented store front where you can easily see the products and prices. Another shop is next door is messy and poorly laid out. Unnecessary clutter covers the shop window and you can't see the products properly. Which shop do you go into?

 

People can leave websites with a click of a button, if they don't like what they see they move on quickly - I know I do it myself. You need to engage customer quickly so they stay on your website otherwise they will leave and visit a rivals website.

 

Your right people don't go surfing to assess the quality of website - not consciously anyway but unconsciously they do.

 

You have to imagine what your customers want by putting yourself in their shoes, you can also use Google analytics to assess how well your website is doing. And yes surveying them is not a bad idea - you can ask website visitors to complete a survey of their visit. To be fair if she can't imagine what her customers want, how does she know she will provide them with a good service?

[SpeedwayDan]

I see what you are saying and certainly a good website is necessary for someone who is selling a product, as is the case with the OP.

I wouldn't say the comments were made out of naivety, just experience, which most of us senior citizens have in abundance. Anyone can have a fantastic website but it all comes to nothing if the underlying service or product doesn't hold up.

 

I have talked to my friends about this very subject (all senior citizens) and they too are not impressed by fancy graphics and effects. We just want to get to the information we need quickly and easily. Our eyesight is not so good; we find flashing things just a distraction and tiny print a no-no. None of us reads everything in a website - just the bits that we need. Neither would a 'good' website be instrumental in securing our business. In fact we tend to use websites as a glorified telephone directory so that we can (shock, horror!) actually speak to someone. That's why we get so irked when we have to struggle to find the 'contact us' button which is more often than not tucked away at the bottom of the page in tiny, tiny print. When a company makes it that hard you know they really don't want to talk to you. I understand that young folk may see it differently but that is our opinion.

 

Websites are, in essence a work of art and we all have our own opinions of what we like and don't like, particularly colour schemes, arrangement of the material and complexity. It is therefore impossible to have the perfect website.

 

I am just in the process of creating a website for my friend's small business and I have no doubt that folk on here would slate it unmercifully which is why I wouldn't ask for an appraisal. It doesn't matter what others might think anyway because she likes it. The site is simple, clear and gives all the information about the business that is required. It's a service business and stands and falls upon the skill of the owner so in that sense a fancy, expensive website would be of no benefit. It is the quality of her work that will see the business progress, not the quality of the website.

 

Kats_Claws - if you are still following your thread, would just like to wish you well with your business. Good luck.

 

 

I agree with everything you have written this time. This is how a good website should be designed.

 

Everything you're looking for is clearly presented and easy to find.

 

You have also dismissed your previous comment that websites aren't important with this post.

 

Yes with alot of companies a good service/product is the main factor, but having a website helps drive the business forward too.

[indizine]

@ccit

 

It doesn't matter what others might think anyway because she likes it.

 

And therein lies the problem.

 

Of course it matters if they want a response!

 

The problem being that website owners almost entirely try to design and create a website (whether their own efforts or even paying someone like me to do it for them) that THEY like. This is wrong and you should not design a website to your liking, but consider only your target market and design it with them in mind. Everything on the page should be directed towards them....not you.

 

Web traffic will have no idea how good the products or services are - the website has to give the overall impression that they will be

good enough to warrant an enquiry.

 

A website is not there to progress the business, it is a marketing tool designed to generate leads and subsequent enquiries (or sales if ecommerce).

 

Expensive websites does not always mean "fancy" - it means a lot of effort has gone into creating a user friendly and search engine friendly marketing tool. One that converts.

 

And i'm afraid you are wrong about people being bothered - they are bothered as you have already described - the design has to be such that stuff is easy to find (navigation and layout) easy to read, not awash will silly graphics doing cartwheels, etc. These are the results of an amateur believing they can design websites because they figured out how to install a wordpress widget and upload a really fancy theme.

 

If a website was done properly there is no reason it would not bring in new enquiries for your friend, unless the service is such a rare one.

 

Thing that surprises me that if she is such a skilled person and has many customers she must be swamped with work already and also maybe not charging enough if she can't afford a few hundred for a professional website?

 

On another note on cost, it beggars belief how many people want to pay £100 for a website that looks the same as and does the same as another website that cost hundreds of pounds. And even worse, they somehow think that investing £100 in a prime marketing tool should bring them the same results (enquiries/sales) as the person who invested many hundreds of pounds.

 

I have had enquiries about a website, and not having much money, then they send you a link to a household name website! Really??

 

But most of all, what springs to my mind when I see a cheap looking website, is when the website is trying to sell me an expensive service or product! Well, sorry, it ain't happening. The simply don't go together.

 

With regards to this thread, the OP asked for a critique and already knows, being a forum user, what to expect....since they have done one before http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=746260

 

Now here they got better reviews (though we can't see the old design anymore) because it was their own efforts, so nobody was critiquing her web design skills. In this new thread however, she has paid for the website, and therefore the critique is based on having paid for something that should be a great deal better than her own efforts.

 

But that's the whole point of a website review and none of the comments have been vindictive or nasty. I agree it could feel embarrassing and indeed she might be fuming if she paid a lot and got ripped off. But we should not assume nor judge that has happened here as we do not know what was ordered and paid for, or what was asked for, and what was rejected or declined when advised by the web designer.