Opinions on Website

[UK2004]

HI all,

I have just finished my new website, am trying to get a business off the ground selling clothes on the internet as I am an amateur boxer and am training often at times that are unnsuitable for holding down a job and also I like the idea of having my own business, am about to embark ona load of advertising but would appreciate any comments for things that need changing from the people on here who are used to looking at e-commerce sites and being critical, so fire away!

www.topbrandclothing.co.uk

[Coding Monkey]

Just one thing initially comes to mind: boring. Get some colours in there. If I was a potential buyer, I'd have snoozed off and went somewhere else.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

And some more clothes, you need to have a larger range than just one t-shirt etc.

I can help you out with flyers and business cards for your site. I have been working with another online clothes seller www.urbanspirit.co.uk, send them an e-mail and ask how I helped them out.

Matt, MK Printing

[Admiral Collections]

Hi

Having really long legs your pic of the jeans put me off if I'm being honest. They looked too stumpy in the leg.

In order to make impact you need to sell real designer gear, the stuff that makes people think, wow that's different, otherwise it's just like all the other sites I come across that really do not incite me to buy.

Nic :wink:

[Admiral Collections]

As an after thought, NEVER promote T shirts with slogans. Your competitor is French Connection with the FCUK brand and even that is boring.

Nic :wink:

[UK2004]

Nic, when you say real designer what you mean? I am aiming at a simple market, people who buy armani, evisu etc but want it cheaper, try buying Evisu jeans at a shop for under 150 pounds, very difficult yet they are very popular jeans.

French Connection are already announcing they are in trouble they might do a Kookai and go into Admin so I'm not too worried about them.

Matt will email you I'm just drawing out what I want my flyer to look like, cheers pal.

[mattk]

I actually like the site - I think it looks very clean and neat. I agree with what other people say about your product lines though - you need much more on there.

All-in-all, not a bad start!

[UK2004]

Thanks for that, I'll be totally honest I would like to put more product in and buy in massive quanitity as would get clothes much cheaper but I just don't have the money, am drained as it is and relying on assistance from parents, trying to start small and build it up!

Cheers.

[Shelley]

i think the site is good, and very easily laid out. If your a woman shopping, you are going to buy regardless if the site has enough colour on it or not.

[Shelley]

i agree with uk, def more stock. It is actually proven that people will buy more if more on offer.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

Why not speak to Lola from Urban Spirit? She may be able to be a new supplier for you, that way you do not even have to buy the stock just order it as you need it. Say Matt from MK Printing told you to get in contact and I am sure she will be able to help you.

When you have ideas for flyers etc get in contact. I have a professional designer that can knock all of that out for you and at great prices too.

Another thing, get some testimonials on the site. Take a look at my site and see my customer feedback. It is very powerful and results in a lot of sales.

Also, one last thing, get some vouchers printed (off me) and give them to the right people i.e. people who can afford to spend near £100 on a pair of jeans. Get into trendy clubs, hand out money off coupons and gift vouchers etc.

Also set up a 24/7 call centre that can take orders over the phone. I can sort you out with this too. It is very cheap to do and it means someone can take orders all day everyday so you can spend time on marketing your site.

Give me a call and we can discuss some marketing ideas.

Matt, 0161 248 5474

[c2webdesign]

Site is simple and easy to use. That's definately a plus and so often overlooked.

To be honest I can't see anyone sitting and reading through all the text on the home page. First impressions make so much of a difference. It's been said time and time again that THE very first thing you need to do is strike the visitor with IMPACT. If you need to keep that much text put it underneath the products - not on top.

Something that did strike me, and that is the lack of logo. There's no branding. Nothing unique to TopBrandClothing - nothing to keep you or your products in my mind. Nothing for me to associate with you.

I think products are good, albeit small range. Adding to shopping cart is simple and won't deter customers.

It does need colour, it's too bland. It needs an identifying logo and some brandness.

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!

[UK2004]

I agree on logo have looked through a few designers and not been impressed so search goes on, I think thugh the reason peopel will remember the site and the whole model my business is founded on is price, for people looking for armani jeans or d and g tops etc they can search and search but won't find cheaper, so many internet sites are trying to cream 150% profit off their products charging RRP or £5 below RRP, that's difference between my site and theirs.

[bwglaw]

Your Terms/Conditions need improving, without a doubt.

What reassurance does a customer have from buying on your site? No security policy. Not sure what payment processing company you are using i.e. Worldpay etc, but I don't think established payment processing companies will allow you to use their services without the correct policies in place. If you are using Paypal - forget it!

Are the items really authentic? Are they really Armani etc? If not, you could find yourself in a lawsuit for misrepresentation and passing off, both costly.

If you are selling online you really should provide an address for customers to make contact for complaints, serving legal notices etc. As a lawyer I would search WHOIS to find the details of a domain owner, but yours is showing up withheld. You can use your accountant's/lawyer's address for serving legal notices and this should be in your terms and conditions.

Be very careful when using names of well-known shops such as Selfridges, Harrods etc - you are best saying 'high street brands'

Any business is entitled to not to have their name on someone's site especially if it is associated with the same goods/service. By using a name of another business can lead to a passing off action, or an infringement of copyright/trademark. I have actually successfully taken legal action against an individual for using our company name on their site without our express permission.

The design comments by others won't save your business but getting your terms (etc) sorted may, before a customer complains to Trading Standards and prosecute you. Harsh advice, but by far the best.

[UK2004]

Raaah, at last some real good stuff, thanks for that will get to it right away!

[bwglaw]

Invoice in post! .... not so good news!

[UK2004]

LOL, the goods being fake, definetly not I was brought up to be honest and would rather make 20p real than 20 quid fake, have checked all stock and looked at few wholesalers, this place only stocks legit stock.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

UK2004

My designer can do a very professional logo for you and he will supply it in a number of formats i.e. one for your website, one for printing and one for large scale printing.

Please contact me on info@mkprinting.co.uk and we can start to get you sorted. You will not find better prices or service anywhere, I can save you a lot of time searching by just coming to me. A lot of my customers are repeat customers, they have also shopped around and been everywhere else in the past. They always return and stick with the best, MK Printing!

Matt, MK Printing

[UK2004]

To be honest I will look elsewhere, I'm not messing about with things like vouchers and 24 hour call centres thanks, I will have a look locally and search through a few more logo designers.

Thank you.

[UK2004]

Hi Matt, checked prnters around here and they were rubbish! Unenthusiastic and expensive compared to the bargains you are offering.

I want to talk to you about 10,000 flyers(A5) and 10.000 business card size flyers, I'm just sitting down for a couple of hours to go over what I've bought so far and what else needs ot be bought and done for advertising then I'll do an email to you.

Many thanks,

Nick

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

Nick

Good to hear it. My e-mail is info@mkprinting.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you

Matt

[Anonymous]

I think the simple and clear design is good.

However you need to ask yourself how many other companies are doing this? I don't the answer but I am sure it is thousands.

Try and stock something which seems unique or at the very least you can market is as such. The words you use are far more important than the pictures. It is words which sell.

Testimonials are good and if you can offer something free this is always a good selling point.

Think about the people that will be visting your site and get into their mindset.

Also look to offer some form of 'personal guarantee' if you can.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[Anonymous]

p.s

I am having problems with my site at present so don't look their for any tips!

[UK2004]

Hi Jon,

Advice appreacited and nice to have it put across in a friendly manner. Can you please explain what you mena by personal guarantee, sounds good and something I should offer?

Also one thing that concerns me, I want to get across to people that I offer a very personal service but don't want to come across as a one man band, do people mind if you say I or do they prefer we so they think its a sizeable company?

[silverpuresilver]

Hi UK2004

All good advice from prevous messages - would reiterate a couple of points.

Items - I appreciate that you are starting with a small number of products. I think more information on each product would be a good selling point - waist and inside leg measurements are essential - (as Nic the debt collector said, they don't look very long) - also just confirm what the actual colour is - two of your men's l/s shirts look different although they're both probably black.

Address - should be visible, and should be a proper address, not just a po box number

Payment - see thread regarding customers needing to open an account before purchasing.

Home page - too much information, make it shorter and sweeter!!!

What's the difference between 'return to the main site' and 'home' buttons on the top navigation?

Good Luck with your venture!!

Karen

[UK2004]

Hi Karen,

Many thanks for your advice, I will add the inside leg measurements to the waist measurements which are already listed and do the colours. The address is already visible in the terms and conditions and is not a PO Box number I didn't bother with those.

As far as I am aware nobody needs ana ccount to pay at my site not an account with me and not a PayPal account.

You pointed out best thing so far that stupid return to main site thing, I can't change it as yet so ringing them first thing tomorrow, it does look gormless having two homes buttons!

Nick

[CG Effect]

Def get a logo done business image is an important thing. Make sure your logo designer uses vectors and supplys the artwork in 2-3 colours as a pdf file including other file types. Don't accept the logo till your happy with it. I would also get a banner for the top of each site page.

[easyasit]

There is some truth in what macmyday said, more colour needed i think.

also a greater variety of clothes needed :-)

Al

[Claire B]

Hi, could you add a bit more information about sizing? I was looking at your t shirts, but don't have a clue what a size 42 actually is!, perhaps you could also convert into UK sizes - just a thought!

[UK2004]

Hi Claire,

Sorry about that I didn't have a clue either getting the ladies of the family to help me convert this evening!

Will post a message here when I've updated the site, sorry my dear!

Nick

[DavidHorn]

Hello UK2004,

The site has a lot going for it: simple to use, easy to look at, reasonably memorable domain name. Well done.

Per Jonathan's advice, it sounds like getting your T&C's in order is a priority. After that, take a look at some of the big names in this space - let's use www.bluefly.com as an example - and check out the things that a) make it clear that this is a top player, and b) that you can implement on your site easily enough:

- their menu options are front and center (figuratively speaking). Along the top of the screen they run the menu 'women, men, house, clearance' - making it nice and easy for me to dip into the area I'm interested in without looking at anything else.

- they've got a picture of an attractive individual wearing (presumably, but not definitely) clothes which are for sale on that site. People are always drawn to people ... a picture of a person can give the site a whole new tone and feel. Look through http://istockphoto.com for pictures of men / women looking trendy. At only $1 for a pic, it's always good value.

- If you can, have photos of people wearing the clothes used throughout the site - especially with the market you're in where you're selling a 'lifestyle' rather than just a pair of jeans. Bluefly don't use real models through the site (they use mannequins), but the effect gives the the clothes shape and creates a real sense of product rather than just a picture of something that looks like it could already be hanging up in my closet.

The people don't necessarily have to be modelling the specific item, but photos of 'people wearing cool clothes' would be at the top of my list of things to add in to your site.

- what's on the bluefly home page? Clear menu, big picture, then lots and lots of *specials*. You're going to need some sort of promotional plan ... start thinking about what lines can be discounted etc. I know that's not what you want to hear but (it seems) that's the way retail is right now.

- on that one bluefly home page there are 5 (count em, 5!) links to either the womens store or the mens store. Giving people a way to quickly access the products they want to buy is essential. On your existing home page I need to scroll down below a load of text (that I still, after being on your site for 10 minutes, have not read) to find an entry way to what I'm looking for.

- on a separate note, you appear to have 2 menu items at the top of the page ('return to main site' and 'home') which do the same thing. Avoid repetition here.

Anyway, hope this helps. There's a lot to be learnt from industry leaders like bluefly. But good luck with your business ... it's encouraging to 'meet' people who're really stretching their resources to get something up and running, and I hope you do well,

David

[Anonymous]

Hi Jon,

Advice appreacited and nice to have it put across in a friendly manner. Can you please explain what you mena by personal guarantee, sounds good and something I should offer?

Also one thing that concerns me, I want to get across to people that I offer a very personal service but don't want to come across as a one man band, do people mind if you say I or do they prefer we so they think its a sizeable company?

Hi Uk,
You could offer a money back guarantee if people are unhappy with product within 14 days.

It your situation I would use I. If you start using we but fail to create the image you are after this will look contrived and put people off.

As previously mentioned offer some special deals, give people a precise time and date the special deal will be onto.

I can't emphasise enough the words and the way you present those words is the most important factor when selling. Have you read any books on selling?

Take a look at this site, there is lot of free stuff on it. http://www.adcopywriting.com/

Really think about the words you use on your site, it is a fact that some words are more powerful than others.

Let me know if you need any more help with this.

JB

[bwglaw]

You could offer a money back guarantee if people are unhappy with product within 14 days.

If I have not mentioned it already he will need to have a 'returns policy' of some kind.

See the link below:

Distance selling and ecommerce (http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/ecomm.htm)

It mentions the requirements of those selling over the Internet with further useful links.

[UK2004]

Ohh dear, have had to pull the clothes off site went to wholesaler to pick up clothes but didn't trust em one bit, very dodgy.

Want to bounce an idea off people's heads, is there enough of a market to run a site selling only jeans but a good few varieites of premium brands, I have a couple that I'm talking to who are only sold in like two british outlets but are massive in USA and Japan and will supply me as an official stockist, I could offer mens, womens and childrens' jeans again at discounted prices but helps to simplify my site. My one worry was that peopel would think we are not getting t shirts and other stuff so shipping is a rip off ut I offered free delivery already and jean are something that peopel generally I think know their size.

Anyway it's an idea and I've found a few domains, would apprecaite people's views before I abort mission and rebuild site!

Cheers as always.

[UK2004]

Sorry not posted for few days, bit of problem with wholesaler and secondly going in for knee operation much sooner than expected, getting hopefully fixed next week so will launch the site live with all the stock once I am out of hospital assuming this time operation goes fine. Am getting some finance together so will be getting quantities direct from manufacturers, saves dodgy wholesalers and means will be much more stock available, gonna skim the introduction down so no scrolling is required on front page too.

[bwglaw]

A good move...good luck..

[UK2004]

Site now live, checked checkout and it seemed to be working well. Had to refund an item do PayPal charge you for refunds, it seemed to have charged me 71 pence!

Lot of stock will be added tomorrow afternoon and over the weekend, advertising is ready, just gotta finally be happy with the design of it all, the hardest part so far!

[Urban Space]

Inflation! :lol:! It cost Claire M £0.64 to refund!

Liam

[bwglaw]

we can not be help responsible for any losses in transit.

Can you spot the typo here that I found on your terms/conditions page?

We will beat the price of any online retailer or high street retailer where they have the item in stock and it is authentic product.

Also from the same page. I advise that you add 'excluding any item on sale or under any special promotion'

[Claire B]

is there enough of a market to run a site selling only jeans but a good few varieites of premium brands

I would say yes, but it would depend on the brand. There is quite a lot of hype surrounding some of the top designer jeans and some brands attract quite a celebrity following. You would have to work very hard to establish a name for yourself though. :D

[UK2004]

Thanks for the typo, my spelling isn't bad I just can't type to save my life and forget to proof-read, will alter that right away.

Hi Claire, I canned the idea of just jeans, is going to be full clothes range as originally planned.

[webit]

Site now live, checked checkout and it seemed to be working well. Had to refund an item do PayPal charge you for refunds, it seemed to have charged me 71 pence!

Lot of stock will be added tomorrow afternoon and over the weekend, advertising is ready, just gotta finally be happy with the design of it all, the hardest part so far!

PM me for a code if you want to list on http://www.theshoppersbible.com

DC

[bwglaw]

Maybe 'justjeans' is a good name to use?


Jonathan

[DarrenC]

New logo for sure. PM Eagle in here or drop by his website www.eagleimagery.co.uk - he's away until the weekend (I think!) but he'll do a great job..

Darren

[John Robins]

One other thought, perhaps a section that allows you to browse products rather than just search for them. Give one zone on the sight a slightly 'magazine' feel.

All the best, JR - and good luck