New look for my website - feedback invited

[theMBA]

I hope my revamped website is now looking more professional - see what you think.
Please give me your comments (good and bad!)

 

[BeckyBowden]

I like it! Very easy on the eye and good simple navigation. :smile:

Bex
Xx

 

[Astaroth]

To be honest..... dont like it at all.

It is exceptionally cluttered. With Firefox the different elements are different sizes - the RSS section is wider thant the link section above. Given the size of the site having 2 searches seems exceptionally excessive especially as the Google one doesnt intergrate into the site. Not sure what the "random" large black section is for to the right of the menu - doesnt seem to fit the theme or serve a purpose.

The final thing is purely personal, I dont link menus being on the right hand side - so for the first few seconds I was overwelmed by the site and then spent the next few searching for the menu. If I was a potential customer I personally would have just gone back to google and opened the next link down rather than having spent the time.

 

[Coding Monkey]

I actually closed the window when it originally loaded, but reopened it again just to come and give you some feedback. As Astaroth mentioned, it's incredibly cluttered. Everything is in the top-let, with certain elements overlaying others, and colours that just don't work together trying to be mixed with graphics that don't work together. When you're trying to build a website yourself, my best advice is actually to make it as simple as possible, because black text on a white page will often look better than someone trying to be creative and failing.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I won't talk about design, I'll leave that to others.

I'll stick to the text.

The homepage is ok. Far better copy that you see on most sites.

You've got four mini-headlines at the start and they all qualify the reader, which is a good way to start.

However, the first two you might be able to drop as they're not adding much.

That would leave you with:

Head: Struggling with your business plan?

Smaller head: Don't have the time or money for a large consultancy review?

Then go into the offer:

(drop the first sentence, it doesn't do much)

"We can review your business plan, for £10 per page, by phone and e-mail.

We combine strategic insights with down-to-earth perspectives from
practical experience.

Click here to see an example."

(then have a link to an example of what you do, have this link so it opens a new window, you want your homepage to stay open)

And then go into the call to action. I'd suggest that you keep the whole offer on your homepage rather than have a separate page for "our services".

If it's all on one page, it'll probably increase your response rate.

And don't use the word "expedite", it's horrible. Plus, your prospects are going to want you to write your reviews in plain English. So, your site should be written in plain, everyday English.

Apart from that, I'd strip out the "industries" page. It's not doing anything.

Also the "hot topics" title is wrong. If you've got articles, call them articles and emphasise that you wrote them. When I first saw that page, I thought they were other people's articles on other sites.

Generally your on the right track with your copy.

Unlike most SME sites, your site knows what it's offering, you've just got to tighten it up and cut away the distractions.

If you make the changes I suggested and get the design sorted out, I think you'll have a pretty nifty little site.

Steve

PS If anyone is interested in having their site thoroughly reviewed from a marketing perspective, visit:
http://www.greaterprofitsguaranteed.com/critique.html

 

[Coding Monkey]

And just to follow on from that, Steve has done some work for Coding Monkeys and along with being incredibly friendly and helpful, he's bloody good at what he does.

 

[datahound]

Does not look professional. You are asking your potential clients to trust your professional opinion so your site needs to instill that kind of feeling. This does not.

Email me I can give this a very inexpensive overhaul with currrent content. Check my website for portfolio.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

And just to follow on from that, Steve has done some work for Coding Monkeys and along with being incredibly friendly and helpful, he's bloody good at what he does.

Thanks, Tom.

It's always a pleasure to work with someone who knows good work.

Steve

 

[datahound]

http://www.datahound.co.uk/desktop/thinktank/

Here's a quick sketch. Let me know what you think?

 

[theMBA]

Thanks Everyone (and especially Steve for his extensive posting).

There's quite a lot for me to work on there. Really good to have such specific ideas/suggestions.

The black bar at the right kind of happened in CoffeeCup (the site originated from one of their templates) - I'll see what I can do to make use of that space.

I'll look at swapping the navigation menu back to the left side (that's where it was in the previous version of my site, and it's where I'd prefer it to be - it was on the right in the template I started from this time).

One of the reasons for revamping my site was to get Google adsense workng properly (previous site had frames and therefore didn't work well with adsense). Google adsense is working on this new site, and so Google site-specific search might do so as well (it didn't previously, which was why I had FreeFind site search). So, hopefully, I'll be able to rationalise the searching.

Your comments about other aspects are also really useful and I'll be looking to incorporate them in a few tweaks here and there.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[theMBA]

http://www.datahound.co.uk/desktop/thinktank/

Here's a quick sketch. Let me know what you think?

Datahound.
I like what you did with the "Thinker", by Rodin, picture - is that a version I can use without paying any royalties?

 

[bwglaw]

Can I be honest (or too honest) that your site lacks in any corporate identity.

As a CEO who would use your kind of service I was immediately given the impression from your site that business is not doing well. It is expected for consultants to have a good website and professionally designed. They do not cost the earth these days at around £1000

Jonathan

 

[Coding Monkey]

Are you sure that you want to have adverts on your website? It adds even more to the unprofessional aspect of it. If you're attempting to make a business success, I expect you to be successful at the same time, and you have to give that impression.

 

[datahound]

No, I just googled it for demo porpoises. Sure I can find a licenced copy somewhere though.

 

[theMBA]

Thanks to everyone for the comments. I've now implemented most of the ideas suggested. Just one or two bits of tidying up to do as and when ...

 

[datahound]

NO!

It is one thing to practice web design. Use a practice site. For the sake of your business get someone to build this for you. Build your own when you reach an appropriate level.

Sorry if you do not want to hear that, but it is the truth. It looks amateurish and you are marketing your self as a professional. I would take one look and say what does he know? I am sure you know about what you do, you do not know about design.

Do you rely on this site for your main income or is it just a hobby? If it is a hobby business, whatever. If you family are relying on you for an income think again.

-----------------------
?

 

[theMBA]

Thanks for the advice Datahound. Always happy to hear what people have to say.
This business venture is a sideline for me at the moment, and it has only just begun. I recognise that there's a long way to go with it. It's being set up on a shoestring. I'll be very happy to employ a web design expert when the level of business supports that level of expenditure.

 

[DuaneJackson]

I'll be very happy to employ a web design expert when the level of business supports that level of expenditure.

The level of business will support that kind of expenditure as a result of you employing a web design expert - assuming your website is your main form of marketting anyway.

Hows that for a catch 22?

 

[Richard Conyard]

I don't know whether this is the kind of feedback you want, but to be honest I'd take the site down, and just have a very simple page saying how to contact you whilst work on an updated version is carried out.

You are offering a professional service in which your clients will have to have trust in you. You probably (not a slight, I just don't know you), intelligent and highly skilled at what you do which is not reflected in the site at all. Therefore the site is almost certainly doing you a disservice.

If you keep the site I would drop the mobile number ASAP. It smacks of a one man band and amateurism. Whilst you're starting up you may wish to encourage enquiries through e-mail, or their are plenty of virtual secretarial services available that could take enquiries for you to follow up. Also drop the ads; professionals make money from what they do, they do not make it advertising their competitors.

 

[Coding Monkey]

The level of business will support that kind of expenditure as a result of you employing a web design expert - assuming your website is your main form of marketting anyway.

Hows that for a catch 22?

I was going to say the same thing. Business is a gamble, and it's a "get out what you put in" situation, so if your queries are low as a result of that initial low investment, it can't be too surprising. As I mentioned earlier (and Richard just said again), I would just make it as simple as possible without attempting any part of "design", as it will look better than what you've currently got.

 

[Vicky R]

This business venture is a sideline for me at the moment, and it has only just begun. I recognise that there's a long way to go with it. It's being set up on a shoestring. I'll be very happy to employ a web design expert when the level of business supports that level of expenditure.

Take it from someone who's got first-hand experience of exactly your situation...if you're trying to get a professional, credible business off the ground, you need to present a professional, credible image from day one. You could do yourself more damage than good in those early days if the public-facing part of your business doesn't reflect your business values.

If your core skills are not in web design/development, pay someone else to build your site for you. You'll get a professional site that will match your professional business (as I am assuming you haven't set your business up to offer an amateur service!). You may not have budgeted for it initally when you put your shoestring budget together, but it will be worth every penny.

Your wait for the money to come in from customers before you invest the money in web design/development may turn into a wait for the gold at the end of the rainbow. People who come to hear about you via your website *will* make decisions about your services from the impression your website gives of your business offering.

Find the money and you *won't* regret it. Sell your children and pets on ebay if you have to. You'll save yourself an awful lot of muppeting around.

Ask me how I know ;-)

Vicky

 

[Early Warning]

sorry I don`t like it either.

It looks like a bedroom production of a bored teenager. I don`t wish to be rude by the way.

What I did was get a good graphic designer to design a page for me and then code the rest in to it.
have a look at what he did
http://www.reportauctionfraud.com

simple but effective

 

[theMBA]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll think about the 'simple site' idea. You'll find, though, that I've implemented most of the excellent ideas suggested in this thread so far, so the revised site is much better than it was a couple of days ago.
The ads are generally selling larger consultancy assignments than I am, so they're staying on the site for now, as they might lead to referrals where people can't afford their consultancy fees. In fact, by having adverts for complementary services in this way, this will not damage my business but strengthen it.

The website is not the only aspect of my marketing strategy. I intend to generate leads through other channels as well.

 

[theMBA]

sorry I don`t like it either.

It looks like a bedroom production of a bored teenager. I don`t wish to be rude by the way.

What I did was get a good graphic designer to design a page for me and then code the rest in to it.
have a look at what he did
http://www.reportauctionfraud.com

simple but effective

Earlywarning,
Sorry to disagree, but I don't like the site you hold up as an example.
The navigation is poorly signposted - bottom of the page should IMHO be secondary navigation tool (the primary one should be in a more obvious place), and other navigational buttons are inconsistent through the site - not in the same place on each page. The imagery might look good, but the impression I get is of a site that's trying to impress graphically rather than in its content. If you're selling graphic design, that's fine, but if not ...

I prefer mine.

 

[theMBA]

Take it from someone who's got first-hand experience of exactly your situation...if you're trying to get a professional, credible business off the ground, you need to present a professional, credible image from day one. You could do yourself more damage than good in those early days if the public-facing part of your business doesn't reflect your business values.

If your core skills are not in web design/development, pay someone else to build your site for you. You'll get a professional site that will match your professional business (as I am assuming you haven't set your business up to offer an amateur service!). You may not have budgeted for it initally when you put your shoestring budget together, but it will be worth every penny.

Your wait for the money to come in from customers before you invest the money in web design/development may turn into a wait for the gold at the end of the rainbow. People who come to hear about you via your website *will* make decisions about your services from the impression your website gives of your business offering.

Find the money and you *won't* regret it. Sell your children and pets on ebay if you have to. You'll save yourself an awful lot of muppeting around.

Ask me how I know ;-)

Vicky

Vicky,
Thanks.
It is a catch 22.
Although my large family are helping me sell what we can (eggs from our own chickens for example) and both myself and my wife have full-time jobs, that just goes to help pay for the music/drama/dance/singing lessons for the kids, school fees, mortgage etc. It's one of life's cruel ironies that the time in most people's lives when they most need cash is the time when they have most outgoings and least flexibility to increase their earnings in the short-term. Hence the business-on-a-shoestring approach. I can't see that changing for a while (perhaps until the empty-nest syndrome kicks in).

 

[Coding Monkey]

Earlywarning,
Sorry to disagree, but I don't like the site you hold up as an example.

I actually agree on that one. If I've got some time later, I'll go through with you some more thorough design related issues to help you make it at least "ok" for the time being.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

the revised site is much better than it was a couple of days ago.

I'd agree.

It loks a lot less "cluttered" and the copy is down to the point.

Early Warning:

What I did was get a good graphic designer to design a page for me and then code the rest in to it. have a look at what he did

Who's idea was it to put that "Free registration takes moments" line in after only two paragraphs?

That'll cost you.

And forcing people to give you their telephone numbers... unles you're planning to telemarket the crap out of them or sell their numbers on, that's just madness...

Steve

 

[theMBA]

I'd agree.

It loks a lot less "cluttered" and the copy is down to the point.



Who's idea was it to put that "Free registration takes moments" line in after only two paragraphs?

That'll cost you.

And forcing people to give you their telephone numbers... unles you're planning to telemarket the crap out of them or sell their numbers on, that's just madness...

Steve

Steve,
Thanks for the agreement on the improvement to my site.

Your second quote, about "free registration ..." doesn't relate to my site.

I ask for people's e-mail and "contact" details, so that I can contact them with the results of my review of their business plan - ideally over the phone - isn't this a reasonable request in order to deliver a professional service?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Your second quote, about "free registration ..." doesn't relate to my site.

Sorry, the second half of that post was a reply to Earlywarning and was about his site. I've edited my post so it's more obvious.

Apologies for the confusion.

Steve

 

[DuaneJackson]

Who's idea was it to put that "Free registration takes moments" line in after only two paragraphs?

That'll cost you.

What's the problem with this Steve? Are you saying it's better to have it later after more text? I want to avoid making the same mistake myself!

 

[directmarketingadvice]

What's the problem with this Steve? Are you saying it's better to have it later after more text?

Yep.

There are a number of advertising "structures" that are known to be effective (when used well in the right situation).

One of them is: agitate the problem -offer a solution -ask for action.

On this site, they're doing: agitate the problem - ask for action.

But they've not given a reason for action ie they've not offered a solution.

Of course, the reader might flick around other parts of the site and learn things that will lead him to decide to come back to the homepage and register via that link, but it would almost certainly be far more profitable to walk him through the "offer the solution" phase immediately after talking about the problem and before asking for action.

I want to avoid making the same mistake myself!

Smart man! :smile:

Steve

 

[JustOneUK]

Are we talking about your think tank site here?

It's really, really, really not very good, sorry. You say you have implemented what you have read so far? good job I didn't look earlier

Get someone else to do it for you and you may drum up some business.

£100 and I'd do it for you !

James

 

[Early Warning]

Hi Steve
Valid comments and I will take them on board the next time I create a site. I must say the site is working well with over 37,000 users so I must have done something right.

You made a comment about asking for telephone number. We have to do this for the data protection act and we have to provide it to the police who use the system should they wish to contact a user about a post they make.