Claire Mackaness - Contemporary Art now re-jigged

[clairemackaness]

Well after a few painstaking hours I've now re-jigged www.clairemackaness.co.uk let me know what you think.

Oh and check out the 30 Day Spectacular in the on-line store while your there.

[William Wilson]

I like the changes you have made, hopefully your sale will tempt a few buyers, they are good value.

[Amber]

Don't forget the spelling and grammar. For example: "If your looking to buy art" should read "If you're looking to buy art..." and there are a few other spelling/grammar mistakes on your front page.

[clairemackaness]

I've changed the You're thanks for that. I cant see any others though

[epiphany]

Claire I love art and some of your stuff is really great, I enjoyed looking through your collection. Its a shame your site is very dull in comparison to your artwork, don't be offended as it's hard work to make a website visually distinctive. I would love to see you carry across the uniqueness of your work into your site.

[clairemackaness]

Thanks epiphany, any ideas or top tips wouldbe appreciated it's still really underceveloped in my eyes sadly I cant afford a deeloper to do the flash thing with it!

[epiphany]

Just simply integrating bits of your artwork into the fabirc of the site :)

[Dread]

Hi claire, just one suggestion, lose the marquee. the <marquee> tag is a huge web design no no, along with <blink> and similar annoying tags.

:)

[multilingual]

Dread,

lose the marquee. the <marquee> tag is a huge web design no no

Just wondered why

JB

[SillyJokes]

Claire I feel for you. You are obviously trying your hardest to get this right and you will get there.

Don't imagine, however that a Flash website will be the answer to your prayers. They look pretty but they don't often sell very well.

You absolutely cannot make a website simple enough to use and you must concentrate on making every aspect of it straight forward and self explanitory. If even the most inept person you know can use the site then imagine how much wider you make your potential market?

First impressions on the new site are that the links look clickable but they all run together so that I am not clear where one menu item starts and another ends.

You could reduce clutter by putting the 'links' link at the bottom of the page, the Buy online ought to be redundant because the rest of your site should simply scream with places to click to buy online, the home button is better placed top left and you can make your logo a home button too.

I am not keen on the background colour and feel white is always best - it gives a sense of space as well as being easier to read from.

You have done a good job of turning the copy around to what the visitor wants but there is simply far too much of it. Remember it is afact that visitors give a website 3 seconds before deciding whether it for them or not. Show them something fabulous right away.

I reckon what would be a complelling thing would be to see one of your pictures hanging in a trendy bar. Actually see what the work is like in situ.

If your Clarice Cliff stuff sells than you should also feature this on the home page as you should always feature your best selling stuff in a prominent position.

From a selling point of view your prices are not displayed early enough. The shipping is not clearly displayed. You could put this at the bottom of the thumbnail page.

Your Buy Now button would be better if it was much bigger.

You don't have a Frequently Asked Questons page. Have a look at ours, it is based on actual frequently asked questions we have received. It is a useful way of reducing answering the same old stuff every day.

[Dread]

Dread,

lose the marquee. the <marquee> tag is a huge web design no no

Just wondered why

JB

Well just because its tacky and very annoying. I dont mean to be offensive here but tags like <blink> and <marquee> are the typical favorites of 8 year old girls making websites about their cats on geocities.

Sorry.

[SillyJokes]

[quote="Dread
Well just because its tacky and very annoying. I dont mean to be offensive here but tags like <blink> and <marquee> are the typical favorites of 8 year old girls making websites about their cats on geocities.

Sorry.[/quote]
sheesh, I thought I was tactless.

[Dread]

Yeah i know, i can be blunt. Im sorry if i offend anyone, but im nice really.

I was trying to find an old article i read on things like this that is very funny, but i cant seem to find it.

Again, sorry.

[multilingual]

Well just because its tacky and very annoying. I dont mean to be offensive here but tags like <blink> and <marquee> are the typical favorites of 8 year old girls making websites about their cats on geocities.

Sorry.

No need to be sorry, it isn't my site!

I was just wondering if it was a presentation/visual no no, or if it was a negative with regards to SEO.

JB[/quote]

[clairemackaness]

Been soo busy at work today I havn't had a chance to pop in and say hi. Thank you all so much for your feedback I will have a look at rectifying some of that shortly. I'm assuming dread that marquee is the scrolling text you refer to?

Keep it coming guys.

p.s - White is sooooo dull!

[JoyDivision]

The marque is a big no no!

Anyway I think the main problem with your site is your an artist yet your website looks more like you're a scientist with no flair at all.

I think in your line of business having a well designed website is a must. It dosn't have to be flash, in fact Flash should be avoid in my personal opinion but some nice photoshop graphics would do wonders.

[Dread]

As much as i personally dispise flash sites they are good for displaying artistic work. I'd still say a xhtml+css site can do just as well though.

[clairemackaness]

Been soo busy at work today I havn't had a chance to pop in and say hi. Thank you all so much for your feedback I will have a look at rectifying some of that shortly. I'm assuming dread that marquee is the scrolling text you refer to?

Keep it coming guys.

p.s - White is sooooo dull!