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Coding Monkey

  • #4
    First of all, get rid of the immediate spalsh page which says "Click to enter", and then automatically takes me there - making me think I've done something wrong. I'll summarise this, just to keep it short:

    • Improve your logo - it's far too big, doesn't give a good impression and gives no strapline as to indicate what you may do. Although you may think "Electronics" does, this covers too vast an area
    • Create a better headline
    • Have your latest and greatest products on the home page, not lots of text that no one will read. You're telling me benefits of something I don't even know about yet. "We ship great products", is basically what you're saying, even though I don't know what you ship at this stage
    • Clicking on "Top" takes me back to that page that automatically redirects, but not quick enough
    • I thought your icons above "My Account", "Cart Contents" and "Checkout" were superflous, as they don't appear as if they're part of the words below
    • Design is somewhat absent, probably due to using OSCommerce, but it doesn't look at all like it was designed by a pro and therefore gives a bad impression. I wouldn't have went past your home page before looking for someone else.
    • MP3 and MP4 players. Will most common people know the difference? Think about how a consumer may shop and make the categories reflect this
    • Hits/Requests mentioned at the bottom. Why? What use is this to me as a consumer to know this. It would be better to have a repeat of contact details down here, so people can know they can get in touch anytime
     
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    F

    fastfences

  • #5
    Hi Cyber,
    To me the home page has too much superflous text; it appears as a blog page. also, when looking through the products, there is no link to immediately return top the home page.

    Good luck with the venture though!!

    Kind regards,
    Nigel
     
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    A

    amo crafts

  • #6
    I'd say your biggest problem is that you've taken oscommerce and not modified it's appearance at all, even the colour. I'm no expert but I happen to be working on my site at the moment using oscommerce too. It doesn't offer a huge scope for change as is, so I'm in the process of ripping it's guts out and using only the very basic architecture. Every page is being re-written from the ground up so that I can make my own brand, and not to look like any other oscommerce sites.

    You're also using (what appears to be) stock photographs. As a customer, with both the above points, I would never send you money and I'd prefer to send twice the amount to a more professional looking site. That may be false confidence, but it's there none the less. The photographs are also the wrong dimensions which is causing many of them to look skewed. Taking good photographs can also help to build branding.

    Coding Monkey has hit all my other nails on the head already.
     
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    C

    CyberSpace-Electronics

    Free Member
    Dec 5, 2006
    34
    0
  • #8
    Coding Monkey said:
    First of all, get rid of the immediate spalsh page which says "Click to enter", and then automatically takes me there - making me think I've done something wrong. I'll summarise this, just to keep it short:
    • Improve your logo - it's far too big, doesn't give a good impression and gives no strapline as to indicate what you may do. Although you may think "Electronics" does, this covers too vast an area
    • Create a better headline
    • Have your latest and greatest products on the home page, not lots of text that no one will read. You're telling me benefits of something I don't even know about yet. "We ship great products", is basically what you're saying, even though I don't know what you ship at this stage
    • Clicking on "Top" takes me back to that page that automatically redirects, but not quick enough
    • I thought your icons above "My Account", "Cart Contents" and "Checkout" were superflous, as they don't appear as if they're part of the words below
    • Design is somewhat absent, probably due to using OSCommerce, but it doesn't look at all like it was designed by a pro and therefore gives a bad impression. I wouldn't have went past your home page before looking for someone else.
    • MP3 and MP4 players. Will most common people know the difference? Think about how a consumer may shop and make the categories reflect this
    • Hits/Requests mentioned at the bottom. Why? What use is this to me as a consumer to know this. It would be better to have a repeat of contact details down here, so people can know they can get in touch anytime
    Click to expand...

    you sound like u know what ur doing, im just about to take another exam in 30mins, will be back in a few hours then i will update the site

    new products are on the homepage, the hits thing was with oscommerce, going to first design a new logo, change the proper homepage to the actually shop instead of a autoredirect(this was to make it easier for search engine bots but i think if i added the meta tags onto header.php it would work) agreed on the "Top" thing hehe will add information on mp3 mp4 players etc

    gotta run!
     
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    K

    krazyhorse

    Free Member
    Jul 27, 2005
    24
    0
  • #9
    Hi

    Did you design this site? From a design point of view - it does what it says on the tin. Very easy to navigate, everything is there on one page, so to speak.

    I do with Coding Monkey, that logo is way too big. Also, why not look at other electronic websites, for design tips, to give you that "marketing" edge? Something like play.com ?

    Hope I make sense!
     
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    C

    CyberSpace-Electronics

    Free Member
    Dec 5, 2006
    34
    0
  • #12
    working on it now, i have changed the colour a little(just for a while was seeing how to do it) changed the logo(more messing around with logo creator) next logo i make is going to have mp4 players etc on it
    does anyone know how exactly to remove the number of requests? ive been lookin through all includes, cant seem to find it at all :( changed main screen a little aswell
     
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    A

    amo crafts

  • #15
    :) no problem. You should look around the php and see what else you want to change. I've not used php in the past and it's not so difficult (having been a software architect before I quit from boredom helps, but you have age on your side!). I recommend you experiment a bit and try to make your own look, just be sure to keep backups and a record of all the things you change. The file structure is pretty straightforward once you've played with it a day or two.
     
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    Scott-Copywriter

    Scott-Copywriter

    Free Member
    May 11, 2006
    9,605
    2,673
  • #17
    It's not bad for 16 but not overly good for the usual standard, you would really need a professional web designer but it costs a fair bit. Also make sure you have all legalities in place like policies and terms and conditions - you need some authenticity or no one will trust you.

    You and KJA should have a chat to be honest, he's been desperately trying to set up an electronics e-shop too.
     
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    Scott-Copywriter

    Scott-Copywriter

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    May 11, 2006
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  • #20
    CyberSpace-Electronics said:
    i wud rather learn how to make a professional looking website than pay someone, means i can do the same for other people, or help people here at a later date that are in the same position as i am
    Click to expand...

    You can learn yes, however it will take many years of practice to get to a standard which is common in most professional web-designers (although it really depends on your specific definition. web-design and web-development are different and it's difficult to specialise in both with professional quality).

    So you would probably have to get a professional designer on board if you wanted your website up to professional quality within a short time period. It's not necessary for websites in general but it's better when people could potentially be spending money with you.
     
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    Scott-Copywriter

    Scott-Copywriter

    Free Member
    May 11, 2006
    9,605
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  • #22
    CyberSpace-Electronics said:
    im a quick learner, im good with computers, i recently done work experience in a place called Egg I.T. building and fixing computers for normal customers and companys(their servers etc) they gave me a job there i was that good lol
    Click to expand...

    Being a professional designer is not just about the technicalities of using photoshop or doing programming or whatever. It's just learning the natural skill of making good looking websites. Colour combinations, typeface, layout and all other aspects can only be learnt through time and experience, thats what really makes a good designer.

    You could make a professional looking website with the technical skills you have now in making graphics and doing coding. However for example, you have 5 different font colours on one page, you're using different fonts on different pages and it's generally none-uniform in layout. These are the real skills you need to become a professional designer.

    I thought the same as you a few months ago. However since I've started taking A-level Graphics it's given me a very different perspective on how things are designed and what goes into something having that 'X factor'.
     
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