51 replies to this topic

[scouseflip]

I started this site as an SEO experiment last Feb, redesigned it soon afterwards and had some good sucess in getting it up the serps. Now its still doing quite well in the serps but the site is not converting as well as I had hoped so I'm looking to improve the design.

Probably worth mentioning that in previous reviews the old colour scheme came in for some stick so I've tried to calm it down a bit. I've also changed the menu and have tried to make the call to actions stronger. I am not strong on the graphical design side of things so your thoughts would be appreciated... I know this is an primarily an SEO forum, but I have had great advice here before and I feel its advice I can trust so I keep coming back!

New Site
Old Site

General
Under Construction - Only about 5 pages at present.

If completed:
Site live for little over a year - this is a redesign

SEO
Yes mainly through recip linking

What keywords are you targeting?
Conservatory Dining Furniture, Rattan Dining Furniture, Cane Dining Furniture etc

Do you want your code reviewed for errors or improvements?
Yes please

Marketing
Target audience?
Conservatory owners first and foremost - well off, generally the older customer, most often its the female that will deal with us.

Why is your site different from sites selling/offering similar info/goods/services? Why will someone want to do business you?
Main selling points are high quality product, very competetive pricing, seasonasl offer, low risk buying (no deposits etc), showroms around the UK.

How important is usability?
Very!

What is the purpose of the site? (inform, sell, online community, support B&M business, contact info only, etc)
Lead generation and providing information

Design
Do you want design suggestions?
Yes Please! Any SEO comments very welcome but I'm after this review mainly from a design pov.

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer!

[RiYo]

I am looking at your site in Firefox 3 (beta 5) and see the top of the page as follows:

left top: your logo (and the normal stuff below that, with the 6 links etc), but to the right it is blank, there is nothing. I think that what you wanted to show here has moved down on my page.

Or to say it differently: if you imagine having 4 blocks at the top: 2 x 2: left top is filled and bottom right is filled. The other blocks are white space

no idea if this has to do with FF though

Richard

[M.Kane]

I kind of like your site actually. At first I was like...what is that but it grows on you. Love the colors you've used.
I would change the navigation style though. It's great as is, but the...underline...remove that you don't need it. the bg hover color is more than enough.

CODE

#menu li a:hover
{
    text-decoration:underline;

I also don't like the color you've used for the menu text too (#6666FF) it's too, linky you know? Try going with a (#AC9DA4) or a (#855C7E)..I would also lose the italic.

Overall it's a great improvement ;)

[M.Kane]

RiYo, to the right is a JS slide show, could that be why you don't see it?

[Scottie]

Your favicon confuses me slightly. Might it be the default favicon for the software you are using?

I think you've done an excellent job. The only tiny nitpicky thing would be to take some of the "shine" of the purple ball graphic as it makes your special deal a little hard to read.

Good job!

[M.Kane]

I think you've done an excellent job. The only tiny nitpicky thing would be to take some of the "shine" of the purple ball graphic as it makes your special deal a little hard to read.

Good job!

That's the old site you're looking at btw Scottie, new one doesn't have those weird looking balls anymore :P

[scouseflip]

Thanks Scottie, the favicon relates to the company rather than the brand that the site is promoting - I'll get it sorted!

I think you must have been looking at the old version of the site based on your comments about the shine on the purple graphics. They do not feature in the new version, but thanks for the comment!

[scouseflip]

That's the old site you're looking at btw Scottie, new one doesn't have those weird looking balls anymore

Ahh you beat me to it!

...and they weren't that wierd were they !?

(Okay maybe they were)

[Jill]

Sorry that was probably my fault as I merged your new review requests with your old one. I like to keep them all in one place!

[Matei]

I am not such a big fan of pink but ..if you are loving it go ahead!!
Also...your design has to be more professional if you want to rock..

Best Regards!

[redsonia!]

In regard to your slogan "just can't be bettered!"

It does sound a little "off", at least to the American ear. But maybe that's not an issue for you. Have you thought about "Can't get any better!" instead?

[scouseflip]

Thanks for the input!

Matei - Thanks for that. Could you let me know if there is anything specific that you think would help; colours, layout, fonts etc?
Where am I going wrong?


Redsonia - lol you're not the first person to say that but its out of my control I'm afraid. The slogan already existed against another brand upon which this one was based so I can't really change it. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[1dmf]

Like the re-design scouse , good job!

[scouseflip]

Cheers 1dmf!

[ozaark]

I like how your site navigates I've got a few user experience/design tips.. I would add more contrast color, it seems a bit too desaturated to really pull your eye in any one direction other than the header. Perhaps try making the top menu (next to top image rotation) a darker shade? Not sure on that though.

One thing I think that would definitely help is to shorten up the height of the header after the jump from first page. The visitor has already seen that and it's taking up a lot of screen real estate that could be used more effectively towards displaying information to convert. Perhaps try making it shorter and making use of a horizontal nav after the first page jump. It just seems like that's a lot of screen to waste on the same rotation over and over.

There's also a graphic image that says "View the Offer Info" -maybe consider making this stick out more somehow and rewriting it to something more attention-grabbing.

Aside from those design elements I think the site does great at laying out the information and makes good use of the maps. Good to hear it's going up in the SERP's, definitely need to work on those conversions!