More comments needed.....new site design

[Hedgehog Toys]

Further to my post on the other board ( i think i posted on the wrong board :oops: )...could you check out my revised colour scheme and let me know what you think.....thanks

www.hedgehogtoys.co.uk

[DavidHorn]

It's better for sure, but why does the red scrolling text link through to 'shopmaker'? That's an immediate turn off ... I was intrigued enough to click one of your links (most of your customers won't be - that's just a likelihood, not a criticism) and got unceremoniously dumped onto another site that has nothing to do with your products. I recommend having that link to somewhere else within your site, or not linking anywhere at all!

[mattk]

Compare your site to this:

http://www.bitsnstuff.co.uk

It looks so much neater and tidier with white backgrounds. Try to use soft or pale colours, your colours are too bold and harsh - and there are too many of them. A site should use 3 or 4 colours max.

The fonts looks more professional - never use Comic Sans on a Web site. Something like Arial or Verdana are far superior!

[Richard Conyard]

Could compare it to http://www.skoldo.com/en/home/

I think it could look a whole lot better, sorry.

[Hedgehog Toys]

OK, i got round the ticker tape problem, i forgot to set the default url to my own site as opposed to the shopmaker one....sorted now.
As for colours, i will be creating a new header tonight and will probably replace the homepage text with picture and text.
My only problem is how i get a background to the site. Maybe a quick call to shopmaker is needed......

[c2webdesign]

If this is the revised version, it still needs a lot more work. There are too many colours that do not compliment each other - and agree with David Horn, get rid of the red scrolling text.

As I see you have purchased an online shop builder I'm not sure of your flexibility to change certain aspects of the site. It doesn't have a lot of impact, nothing unique or appealing and I think you are going to struggle to attract visitors and ultimately sales.

Ecommerce stores selling these products could really do well, and really provide a growth business, but online shopmakers and DIY packages really can hinder that growth.

Best of luck,

Dean
C2 Web Design
http://www.c2webdesign.co.uk

Web Design | Online Marketing | Search Engine Optimisation

JANUARY SALE -
10% OFF ALL QUOTATIONS THROUGHOUT JANUARY 2006! JUST QUOTE UKBF321

[Hedgehog Toys]

Yep, i agree the site needs more IMPACT. I will create a more desirable header and have mailed shopmaker for help in adding a background.

Have a look at this site, this one was created with shopmaker and seems pretty nice.

http://www.alittlebithomespun.com/

thanks

[c2webdesign]

That is a nice site. Colours work well, navigation is easy and simple.

Don't get me wrong it is possible, sometimes to create nice looking sites using online builders. I think overall many have the same look, same feel and ultimately lose any identity in their brand.

Bringing some products straight to the visitor will certainly help and we would all like to see the changes once you update them.

The growth struggle I mentioned is more as your company tries to grow and requires additional development. When you require something more bespoke you can be seriously limited and sometimes have to go back to the drawing board. SEO can also be a problem with notoriously bad template codings search engine spiders can not 'read' correctly.

Hope doesn't sound to critical, really is meant constructively :)

Dean
C2 Web Design
http://www.c2webdesign.co.uk

Web Design | Online Marketing | Search Engine Optimisation

JANUARY SALE:
10% OFF ALL QUOTATIONS DURING JANUARY 2006 - JUST QUOTE UKBF321

[Hedgehog Toys]

Hey no, critsism is what i'm after. I mean if everyone says the website is lovely and will be a great sucess then they are either lying or i'm a genius... :lol:

The more critisism and constructive comments the better.

i know what you mean about the sites being all the same. I tried several shop builder packages before and they all looked boring and were not very customisable. Thats why i like this one because i can do more with it.

[SillyJokes]

Hedgehogtoys is a lovely url which is a great start.

However I really think that you should hand this over to someone with a handle on usability and an eye for design. Or at least get someone to give you the right over all colours. I do know that choosing colours is incredibly hard but some people just have the knack of it. (Not me though)

With the greatest repect for your efforts it really looks homemade at the moment. The text is so dodgy looking that I can't even read the address at the top properly.

Watch out for that lefthand menu. It is already getting too long to be usable.

Your story should be on an 'About Us' page and the home page should be turned over to products which is what your visitors will be looking for.

The scrolling text is a bad idea for many reasons too boring to repeat here.

It's nice that the site resizes to fit the screen. Makes it feel like it was made especially for me.

At the moment you have no help, no Frequently Asked Questions, No returns policy, no terms and conditions, but I expect these are on your to do list.

I could say some other stuff but I think your main problem is getting the unified look and feel of the site right, keeping in mind the important issue of usablilty. A good looking site will certainly make you more sales and that's the bottom line. It will repay you to get some help with this.