Website check. I'm thick skinned, tell it like it is...

[CardMachineGuy]

Hi everyone, I built my own website, never done it before but i'm pretty pleased with it considering i have no IT knowledge or background. But it doesn't really matter what it looks like if its not functional.
I want it to look nice but most of all I want it to get me business.
Tell me what you think.

Cheaper Card Processing | Optimise merchant fees — Get Started Today

That Card Machine Guy offers fast, reliable & cheaper card payment solutions for local businesses.

www.thatcardmachineguy.co.uk

 

[Ozzy]

Hi Ben,
I've just done the 5-second test, not an in-depth check of all your site content.

The issue is that the site does not resonate with me as a site for a critical financial service, something my business will depend upon. So it depends on who your market is, but the site looks more 'hobby site', perhaps craft-related, and doesn't give me the feeling of a robust financial service business. I feel it needs to be a lighter theme, perhaps some blue which has been scientifically proven to instil a feeling of stability and trust.

So...many...words... I'd also look to try and trim the content to what @Paul Kelly ICHYB will call the WIIFM (What's In It For Me). I'd also suggest the content of your Product page should be your home page, and the content of your home page should be a service/product page.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

A couple bits...

• 'Across East Anglia & the UK' - Why put EA? It is in the UK?
• The colours don't work for me, especially the brown font.
• Too much empty space
• No solid call to action
• Products - only one???
• No where do you state what the costs are. This is the biggest issue with card reseller, merchant providers - not indicating costs. Saying 'fill out form and we will contact you' or 'call for more into' will reduce you audience dramatically.

What sales aids has your provider offered to help?

 

[EnterprisePro]

Firstly, you've mentioned you have no IT knowledge or background, so hats off for doing this! At least you've done something and I hope the feedback you receive can help you build on the baseline.

Here's what happened when I looked.

1. My eyes went straight to the headline. Good job. Although I'm not your target customer, I knew where this was going, so, good job on that.
2. I have a habit of scrolling the entire page up and down to scan the content. I didn't read the rest, saw the contact form and ended up coming back to the forum to read other replies. I think the colours threw me off.

I realised I didn't even look at the navigation bar as it feels too blended in with the rest of the page.

I think a logo would be good, but adding to what Ozzy said, it has an individual flair to it, so I'm not sure how you'd want to (re-)position the branding.

I'm struggling to articulate in the best possible way about the name "that card machine guy". There may be those in some circles to whom that would resonate to, but I kind of feel like you're downplaying or compartmentalising yourself from the outset. I think you'd want to appear to be striving for being much more, in a subtle way and that would come across when making some style and language tone adjustments, I think.

See what others say.

 

[NickGrogan]

email address in the footer does not match the domain name, looks slightly odd.

Colour scheme is not great.

 

[EnterprisePro]

I've just spotted some things that could use a polish.

Under "Contact Me"

"I’ll tell you quickly if you can do better. If you can’t, I’ll say so." - needs fixing. "If you can't" seems incorrect.

"No pressure. No obligation. Just facts." - AI slop. I recommend rephrasing without the 3 short snappy sentences.

"Fill out some info and I will be in touch shortly. I can’t wait to hear from you!" - I strongly recommend spending some time to think about the tone of voice you prefer to convey, taking into account your target audience. My worry for you is what perception the "I can't wait to hear from you!" statement would create.

 

[EnterprisePro]

Sorry. A few other things.

"Most businesses haven't reviewed their card processing costs in years." - this is an unfounded claim. Who said this? AI? What research was done and what are the metrics?

"On Average, I help businesses save over £2,000 a year in card processing costs. Could your business be next?" - I think you should put your best case studies forward and possibly think of % metrics. Depending on your target market, £2k might be just a rounding error for some.

 

[Gecko001]

The look is just not consistent with the product or service.

The gold lettering on a Jaguar colour background - really! It looks like a site selling and buying gold or jewellery at first glance.

Why the male grooming products in the photo?

I agree with the others about the unfounded claims and about the blurb being basically too wordy. Pick out the main selling point and show it in large text, with rest of the text in a smaller font in short sentences.

 

[fisicx]

How are you marketing your service?

Your marketing plan will determine the content and structure of the site.

Are you promoting the review or the card machine? Nothing really lines up.

And fix the colours! Black text on a white background please.

There are a bazillion other things need sorting but without knowing your marketing plan it's difficult to advise what to fix first (but I suggest the domain name would be a good place to start).

 

[Paul Carmen]

I'll not go into detail about the site, as its covered already, but it's poor design, colour, and usability wise. Plus, it seems to follow no lead marketing or SEO plan.

However, the biggest problem for me would be none of the things already mentioned, it's a credibility one. I'm assuming you're targeting the UK.

The site has no policies or data contacts for anything (not legal), no full address or trading details (not legal). Has a contact process/form that does not help someone explain their circumstances, or funnel them to get better card processing costs. It has no customer reviews or testimonials.

So I'd leave as soon as I'd had a quick look, as it does not look legitimate.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

A couple bits...

• 'Across East Anglia & the UK' - Why put EA? It is in the UK?
• The colours don't work for me, especially the brown font.
• Too much empty space
• No solid call to action
• Products - only one???
• No where do you state what the costs are. This is the biggest issue with card reseller, merchant providers - not indicating costs. Saying 'fill out form and we will contact you' or 'call for more into' will reduce you audience dramatically.

What sales aids has your provider offered to help?

Thanks for taking the time to look and I appreciate the feedback. I only display one product, its covered 100% of the businesses I helped so far and 99% of my ICP. The costs can't be advertised and an explanation is in the FAQ, maybe I could put that somewhere else too.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

A couple bits...

• 'Across East Anglia & the UK' - Why put EA? It is in the UK?
• The colours don't work for me, especially the brown font.
• Too much empty space
• No solid call to action
• Products - only one???
• No where do you state what the costs are. This is the biggest issue with card reseller, merchant providers - not indicating costs. Saying 'fill out form and we will contact you' or 'call for more into' will reduce you audience dramatically.

What sales aids has your provider offered to help?

Thanks for taking the time to look and I appreciate the feedback. I only display one product, its covered 100% of the businesses I helped so far and 99% of my ICP. The costs can't be advertised and an explanation is provided in the FAQ's maybe I could explain that elsewhere too.

email address in the footer does not match the domain name, looks slightly odd.

Colour scheme is not great.

I agree with that, I'm unsure what's best to display, my other email is [email protected].

 

[CardMachineGuy]

I've just spotted some things that could use a polish.

Under "Contact Me"

"I’ll tell you quickly if you can do better. If you can’t, I’ll say so." - needs fixing. "If you can't" seems incorrect.

"No pressure. No obligation. Just facts." - AI slop. I recommend rephrasing without the 3 short snappy sentences.

"Fill out some info and I will be in touch shortly. I can’t wait to hear from you!" - I strongly recommend spending some time to think about the tone of voice you prefer to convey, taking into account your target audience. My worry for you is what perception the "I can't wait to hear from you!" statement would create.

Agree, amended that.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

Sorry. A few other things.

"Most businesses haven't reviewed their card processing costs in years." - this is an unfounded claim. Who said this? AI? What research was done and what are the metrics?

"On Average, I help businesses save over £2,000 a year in card processing costs. Could your business be next?" - I think you should put your best case studies forward and possibly think of % metrics. Depending on your target market, £2k might be just a rounding error for some.

Almost every business i owner i talk to, i do a lot of cold calling so my own metrics really and every other payment consultant would agree. Statistically it would only need to be more than 50% to be correct and its much more than that in reality.

I have case studies in the blog section displaying the savings i make for businesses.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

I'll not go into detail about the site, as its covered already, but it's poor design, colour, and usability wise. Plus, it seems to follow no lead marketing or SEO plan.

However, the biggest problem for me would be none of the things already mentioned, it's a credibility one. I'm assuming you're targeting the UK.

The site has no policies or data contacts for anything (not legal), no full address or trading details (not legal). Has a contact process/form that does not help someone explain their circumstances, or funnel them to get better card processing costs. It has no customer reviews or testimonials.

So I'd leave as soon as I'd had a quick look, as it does not look legitimate.

I don't need to display a full address, i'm self employed, it would be my home. I have google reviews, i'll find a way to show them. Not sure how to fix the rest without paying a pro, appreciate the feedback though.

 

[fisicx]

Not sure how to fix the rest without paying a pro, appreciate the feedback though.

Pay a pro. Will be worth the investment.

And you do need to show a full address.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

Pay a pro. Will be worth the investment.

And you do need to show a full address.

When i can afford it I agree. Until now, i have to make do. The way i understand it you only need to show an address if you're a limited company. Can you show me a source?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

I only display one product, its covered 100% of the businesses

Maybe all you need is a good landing page, not a full website.

 

[fisicx]

When i can afford it I agree. Until now, i have to make do. The way i understand it you only need to show an address if you're a limited company. Can you show me a source?

Selling goods or services on a digital platform

Details you need to give to digital platforms when selling goods or services in the UK.

www.gov.uk

The problem you have is you won’t ever make any money from the site until it’s fixed. It needs major rework and a solid marketing plan.

The first thing to change is the domain name. Then decide if you want to do reviews or sell card services. You need to change taglines, fix information flows, calls to action, trust marks, evidence of expertise and so on. Do you have insurance should I decide to sue for poor advice? Where are your legal and privacy statements?

 

[fisicx]

Consider this tagline on your homepage:

"Are You Paying Too Much for Your Card Machine?"

My card machine was £12.99. Got it from Screwfix. So I'm not paying too much at all. It's paid for. Or maybe you meant the cost of processing? At the Farmer's market we went to last weekend almost everyone was using Sumup. Are you suggesting you can save all of them lots of money? Why do I even need you when I can go direct to dojo.tech?

 

[bovine]

Consider this tagline on your homepage:

"Are You Paying Too Much for Your Card Machine?"

My card machine was £12.99. Got it from Screwfix. So I'm not paying too much at all. It's paid for. Or maybe you meant the cost of processing? At the Farmer's market we went to last weekend almost everyone was using Sumup. Are you suggesting you can save all of them lots of money? Why do I even need you when I can go direct to dojo.tech?

As someone who works alongside dojo etc, you are best going with a good reseller, if your card turnover is over about 10k per month. Sumup and the like are great for lower volume, but the rates are expensive for higher amounts. A good payments person can save you a lot of money, but equally a bad one can stitch you up!

 

[fisicx]

As someone who works alongside dojo etc, you are best going with a good reseller, if your card turnover is over about 10k per month. Sumup and the like are great for lower volume, but the rates are expensive for higher amounts. A good payments person can save you a lot of money, but equally a bad one can stitch you up!

And that’s the sort of info needs to be on the website!

 

[bovine]

I hadnt checked the website before posting and didnt realise hes a dojo Payment Consultant. So, if i were him id have more good quality images of the new max (now in black as we ll and not just white, small thing but makes a difference.) Highlight who you've helped in the local area, with pics of the customer, you and the machines. Show the add ons you have available, bookings, the card, funding etc. Highlight the common card integrations for epos. And if you havent made contact with epos providers in the area, do. Most will have a friendly PC already, but you never know. They can pass you leads for multi site, multi terminal locations without you having to do much. If you do have any hospitality businesses who want new epos with integration, we can help, but we wouldnt be able to pass any leads your way. Theres a huge amount of benefit to the end user in having it integrated and if youre not pushing that, you should (you mention your limited IT knowledge, so might be put off by it). Focus on a neat, fairly simple website, because most of what you will do to push this will be in person/social media/referrals.

 

[fisicx]

Which is why I said they need to focus on the marketing plan as this will drive content and structure of the website.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

Selling goods or services on a digital platform

Details you need to give to digital platforms when selling goods or services in the UK.

www.gov.uk

The problem you have is you won’t ever make any money from the site until it’s fixed. It needs major rework and a solid marketing plan.

The first thing to change is the domain name. Then decide if you want to do reviews or sell card services. You need to change taglines, fix information flows, calls to action, trust marks, evidence of expertise and so on. Do you have insurance should I decide to sue for poor advice? Where are your legal and privacy statements?

I don't sell goods so I don't need to provide an address. I'm a consultant. I know this for a fact because despite my inability to do a good website, I have been a business owner for over 18 years so i'm not a novice in my responsibilities and duties.

Thanks for your input anyway.

 

[bovine]

You may not need to put your address, but it can help. Its a trust thing, and payments is very much about trust nowadays. Doesnt have to be your home address, but can be worth investing in a legit address. I know I will view lack of contact info as a massive red flag for anyone I was looking to do business with. It can be quite low cost and your local business centre probably offers it. The customer is going to be sending what they still consider to be sensitive information, so they will want to trust you. Thats why more pics of you is going to be important. You are "that card machine guy" so your face and pics of you needs to be everywhere. Same on the linkedin, less ai pics and more of you out and about meeting customers. Your potential customers are bombarded with things about changing card provider constantly now, so lean into the local friendly guy element.

 

[fisicx]

I don't sell goods so I don't need to provide an address. I'm a consultant. I know this for a fact because despite my inability to do a good website, I have been a business owner for over 18 years so i'm not a novice in my responsibilities and duties.

It says:

"A digital platform is any software, including mobile apps and websites, which allows you to offer services and goods to users."

and:

"You’re a seller if you register on the platform to sell goods or services, even if you’re not directly offering the goods or services yourself."

On your website you have a product. It means you are a seller.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

Consider this tagline on your homepage:

"Are You Paying Too Much for Your Card Machine?"

My card machine was £12.99. Got it from Screwfix. So I'm not paying too much at all. It's paid for. Or maybe you meant the cost of processing? At the Farmer's market we went to last weekend almost everyone was using Sumup. Are you suggesting you can save all of them lots of money? Why do I even need you when I can go direct to dojo.tech?

All good and very valid points but if you went direct to Dojo, they would direct you to someone like me.

The first paragraph does explain your first question though.

I can't save all of them money, it depends how much they are processing. SumUp is great for starter business and small businesses, cheap to purchase, no contract but high transaction fees that equal out to a contract, decent quality machine and lower fees at about £2000-£3000 processing per month. Any more than that and you start saving. Just today i signed someone up transacting £15k a month on sumup and i halved their monthly cost. I try and cover these examples and stories in my blogs as case studies but I realise i need to look at putting more relevant info on my home page too. Thanks for your constructive opinion.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

I hadnt checked the website before posting and didnt realise hes a dojo Payment Consultant. So, if i were him id have more good quality images of the new max (now in black as we ll and not just white, small thing but makes a difference.) Highlight who you've helped in the local area, with pics of the customer, you and the machines. Show the add ons you have available, bookings, the card, funding etc. Highlight the common card integrations for epos. And if you havent made contact with epos providers in the area, do. Most will have a friendly PC already, but you never know. They can pass you leads for multi site, multi terminal locations without you having to do much. If you do have any hospitality businesses who want new epos with integration, we can help, but we wouldnt be able to pass any leads your way. Theres a huge amount of benefit to the end user in having it integrated and if youre not pushing that, you should (you mention your limited IT knowledge, so might be put off by it). Focus on a neat, fairly simple website, because most of what you will do to push this will be in person/social media/referrals.

Yes, all very valid points and on my to do list, thanks for validating.

"If you do have any hospitality businesses who want new epos with integration, we can help". Could you help with a collectibles shop that im trying to get away from sumup as they are paying through the nose but they like the addition of the epos system that records their stock?

 

[fisicx]

I try and cover these examples and stories in my blogs as case studies but I realise i need to look at putting more relevant info on my home page too. Thanks for your constructive opinion.

It's a lot more fundamental than that. Everything comes from your marketing plan. People aren't going to randomly land on your site from nowhere. You will have done something to direct them onto a landing page (not necessarily the homepage). When they land they already know what you are offering (a warm lead) so your job now is to convert the lead. Which means optimising the page to match the source. You could have loads of landing pages - one for each marketing channel.

 

[CardMachineGuy]

It says:

"A digital platform is any software, including mobile apps and websites, which allows you to offer services and goods to users."

and:

"You’re a seller if you register on the platform to sell goods or services, even if you’re not directly offering the goods or services yourself."

On your website you have a product. It means you are a seller.

Thanks again for your input, i'm fine though.

 

[bovine]

i'll email over my details and will see what we can do.

 

[Paul Carmen]

Thanks again for your input, i'm fine though.

You're not, you need to have clear trading details, even as a sole trader.

You have no policies or proper trading/contact details, so you're not legal.

An individual or company working with you or submitting their data on a contact form has a legal right to know this, plus what you use their data for, and how to opt out. But you do you.

 

[martin_shl]

Most of my thoughts have already been covered. However:

I agree with that, I'm unsure what's best to display, my other email is [email protected].

your email address should be something like 'info' / 'contact' / 'yourname' at your domain. Not gmail, not Hotmail, not microsoft or an ISP, but the same domain as your website. What others have said is you need to build trust and having a professional email address that matches your domain is a basic first step.

I would echo the point about addresses; you may not strictly need it, but there are too many scam sites that also don't have addresses on; do you want to be associated with them? Many places have virtual offices that can give you a business address for not very much.

 

[martin_shl]

Another point, the contrast on your site is terrible for accessibility. The contrast ratio is less than 3:1 and it fails all measures for both AA and AAA accessibility ratings.

 

[EnterprisePro]

your email address should be something like 'info' / 'contact' / 'yourname' at your domain.

I'd even say use `sales@`, but that's me. I know, I'm a pain, but I can't be like everyone else.

 

[TCH]

agree with the others

'that guy' in spoken English is commonly a bit disdainful

'that guy who thinks he knows everything'

other than that I'm impressed

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

you are best going with a good reseller, if your card turnover is over about 10k per month.

Wrong.

If your card turnover is over £1-1.5k you would probably be better off with a merchant account.

 

[antropy]

Here are a few quick observations from a web dev and marketing perspective:

The colour palette feels a bit off, and as someone else mentioned, it isn’t very accessible. Even I find it a little straining, and I’m not colourblind! Increasing the contrast between text and background would make it much easier to read.

There’s quite a lot of unused space across the pages. Most modern sites tend to have their content more centrally aligned to make better use of the layout and guide the eye more naturally.

The image on your About page is oversized and low‑resolution. A smaller or sharper photo would look more polished. On that note, adding more images of yourself across the site, potentially one of you holding one of the machines on the homepage, would instantly communicate what you do to web visitors.

Hot tip: images with faces tend to perform better on social channels than product‑only posts.

If you can gather a few testimonials from past customers, a small slider on the homepage would help fill the space and add more trust signals.

Kelly from Antropy

 

[CardMachineGuy]

Here are a few quick observations from a web dev and marketing perspective:

The colour palette feels a bit off, and as someone else mentioned, it isn’t very accessible. Even I find it a little straining, and I’m not colourblind! Increasing the contrast between text and background would make it much easier to read.

There’s quite a lot of unused space across the pages. Most modern sites tend to have their content more centrally aligned to make better use of the layout and guide the eye more naturally.

The image on your About page is oversized and low‑resolution. A smaller or sharper photo would look more polished. On that note, adding more images of yourself across the site, potentially one of you holding one of the machines on the homepage, would instantly communicate what you do to web visitors.

Hot tip: images with faces tend to perform better on social channels than product‑only posts.

If you can gather a few testimonials from past customers, a small slider on the homepage would help fill the space and add more trust signals.

Kelly from Antropy

I like my colour combination but I amended the shades slightly to improve the contrast, hopefully that helps. Changed a couple of images too as per your suggestion.
Trying to work out how to put my google reviews on the Home page now. Thanks for your opinions, i'm limited to what i'm capable of myself so it needs to carry me through until i can afford to pay a specialist.