Just built website..looking for opinions.

P

PresdntialDtail

New member
Well, after a year in business I have been slacking on having a REAL website built. When I started my business, one of the first things I bought was a domain name, so Ive always had that forwarded to a local forum where I post all my work to temporarily direct people to my work that way. I just recently had the brilliant idea(dont ask why not sooner) to just go ahead and build my own using a free site builder.



I put the site together over a period of about a day, and I am still adding more content. Remember, its a FREE builder and I dont build sites for a living, so dont be too harsh! haha!



Let me know what you guys think?!? :wavey



Presidential Automotive Detailing - Tampa, FL
 
Looks very good to me so far for a free builder. The only thing I'd change is the order of your packages. Least $$$ to most $$$. Even I went like... WOW! 30+ hours for the first package!!! :)
 
hahaha! yes, I am going to change the packages page completely, with seperate pages and I will make the least $$ the first ;) Im also going to simplify the process list to make it easier for someone who doesnt know our industry as well. thanks for the compliment and suggestions!
 
Its ok. The page is curtailed at the bottom-anyway to expand that? I understand you're using a site builder and i doubt they'll let you remove their logo?



I think the text is over bearing on the services page. It's just an ongoing waterfall of words and indents. Looks really cumbersome. I would back off the indepth descriptions and strip it down to what the customer needs to know (aka, remove the process aspect, b/c I dont' care how you clean my car, i just want it clean!) LOL
 
It's a good start for a free site, but I think you have way to much going on with the "Flash". I'm just not keen on that, I don't want to see things moving around the page and also people with slower computers will just click off your site because it will take forever to upload; also, Googles robots don't like flash to much, so I don't think it's good for SEO. I'm rebuilding my site now and I've learned that content and keyword rich pages are a big key. Your homepage seems to have grammar errors and should be worded differently. Hope this helps and feel free to PM me. I found a designer on a Webmaster Forum(I won't tell you how cheap I'm having my site built for, but this girl is awesome) and I'll give you her contact info.
 
Looks great!



Don't Like: The site builder stuff, the services section is too cumbersome.



Like: The testimonial section is awesome. I love your setup of customer, package, picture...the whole thing.



I think it'll come together but it looks good. Your testimonials alone would sell me.



Anyway to tweak the site to get rid of the sitebuilder stuff and alter the favicon?
 
bullitt21 said:
It's a good start for a free site, but I think you have way to much going on with the "Flash". I'm just not keen on that, I don't want to see things moving around the page and also people with slower computers will just click off your site because it will take forever to upload; also, Googles robots don't like flash to much, so I don't think it's good for SEO. I'm rebuilding my site now and I've learned that content and keyword rich pages are a big key. Your homepage seems to have grammar errors and should be worded differently. Hope this helps and feel free to PM me. I found a designer on a Webmaster Forum(I won't tell you how cheap I'm having my site built for, but this girl is awesome) and I'll give you her contact info.
Click to expand...



Actually Google robots can crawl/index flash content and action scripting fine. The thing you have to watch out for mostly with flash (and sites in general) is not getting lazy and putting content/copy in images. Search engines cannot at this point read content in images. If content is placed in images you lose out on the keywords and ranking influence those words can have on your site.



However, on the flash note just because search engines can read and understand the contents, does NOT mean that provides your user with a good experience. In fact, many people (especially of the older crowd) find it overwhelming and a turn off. Use flash with extreme care and make sure it is well thought out.



To quantify the source, I do website optimization, usability, and testing for a living. I do not say that to brag or imply I know all, rather that my employment requires me to stay on top of this industry.



You do make some good comments about SEO and keyword rich pages, which are very important. Strong efforts in these areas can drive more customers (for free to your site, and allow you to rank better than your competitors.



I have some thoughts on this site which I will post later on tonight.
 
I guess that's what I was trying to say, I'm just not an expert in SEO, but it's great to know we have one here to answer questions. With the flash all I know is what my web designer and coder told me, and that's you can have all the "flash" you want, you just want it to be optimized and SE friendly. When I first decided to rebuild the site I wanted all sorts of moving parts and a car coming to a screaching halt when you clicked on my site. But as you say, that turns a lot of people off, especially older people who just want the info. Don't get me wrong, they want an easy to navigate site and aesthetically pleasing site is good, but there is a point of going overboard. As of 11 months ago my business was solely based on word of mouth and I didn't even know how to copy and paste, so I feel I've came a long way since then, and being on the first page of Google for every keyword in my area has boosted me into a new realm. I still have my designer designing new pages and hope to have it complete by the spring with a blog and more pages. I also recently have started using social bookmarking sites and many backlinks which has led to the 1st page on more keywords. The forum I'm referring to is Webmaster Forum - Internet Marketing & Search Engine Forums



I've learned a lot through these forums and have found numerous links to other sites that can help my own site out. I'm sure ctrent8 can chime in with some others helpful tips, because like I said, I learned to copy and paste 11 months ago when I started my website. I was always anti-internet(Don't have a reason), just liked the old way, but the internet has opened up more doors than I can count, and to be honest, most of my clients don't even talk to me until they show up in their cars, it's all by email; so yea , I've came a long way from where I was.
 
tdekany said:
Looks very good to me so far for a free builder. The only thing I'd change is the order of your packages. Least $$$ to most $$$. Even I went like... WOW! 30+ hours for the first package!!! :)
Click to expand...



Thanks! The order of the packages has been changed from least $$$ to most $$$. ;)



tssdetailing said:
Its ok. The page is curtailed at the bottom-anyway to expand that? I understand you're using a site builder and i doubt they'll let you remove their logo?



I think the text is over bearing on the services page. It's just an ongoing waterfall of words and indents. Looks really cumbersome. I would back off the indepth descriptions and strip it down to what the customer needs to know (aka, remove the process aspect, b/c I dont' care how you clean my car, i just want it clean!) LOL
Click to expand...



I started this as a free builder, I ended up paying $5/month to be able to use my domain name with it. I believe you can get all the wix ads and logos removed for a certain $$/month. I moved the prices to the top of the page and kept the detailed process info incase the customer wants to read through. Otherwise, they can just look at the price and move on or decide thats what they want.



bullitt21 said:
It's a good start for a free site, but I think you have way to much going on with the "Flash". I'm just not keen on that, I don't want to see things moving around the page and also people with slower computers will just click off your site because it will take forever to upload; also, Googles robots don't like flash to much, so I don't think it's good for SEO. I'm rebuilding my site now and I've learned that content and keyword rich pages are a big key. Your homepage seems to have grammar errors and should be worded differently. Hope this helps and feel free to PM me. I found a designer on a Webmaster Forum(I won't tell you how cheap I'm having my site built for, but this girl is awesome) and I'll give you her contact info.
Click to expand...



thank you! I backed off some of the flash, just figured out I could do so. Hopefully this will take a little of that over the top bling factor off, I agree with you on this one. Im hoping it will also make it load and navigate a bit quicker by doing so. Grammars have been fixed as far as I can tell, let me know if you find anything!



D Tailor said:
Looks great!



Don't Like: The site builder stuff, the services section is too cumbersome.

I cant remove the site builder stuff for a certain $$ amount. Check out the new services format!



Like: The testimonial section is awesome. I love your setup of customer, package, picture...the whole thing.



Thank you! I take pride in this section! I am really impressed with the outcome as well! Now I need to bug my old customers to give me a testimonial!! haha!



I think it'll come together but it looks good. Your testimonials alone would sell me.



Anyway to tweak the site to get rid of the sitebuilder stuff and alter the favicon?

Not sure if you can change the favicon, but it may be possiblwe when you upgrade your account.
Click to expand...



ctrent86 said:
I have some thoughts on this site which I will post later on tonight.
Click to expand...



Looking forward to what you have to say!



bryansbestwax said:
it doesn't load well on dial up which could be an issue.
Click to expand...



I wont worry about the low percentage of people using dial up. but I am working on making it load quicker either way.



DaGonz said:
You used the word "bare" in the wrong context.



It should be "bear wiht us"
Click to expand...

FIXED!





Thanks to all the constructive critcism, you guys have helped me make a dramatic difference in the construction of the site already! :getdown
 
I wrote up quite a few suggestions so instead of making a crazy long post, I created a document which you can view here:



Website Feedback



Let me know what parts I might need to clarify.



This forum has given me a lot of information, so this is one way I can give back.



As a final note, this is not a pitch for any service I am offering. I have a full-time job and side detailing business that gives me more than enough to do :)
 
ctrent86 said:
I wrote up quite a few suggestions so instead of making a crazy long post, I created a document which you can view here:



Website Feedback



Let me know what parts I might need to clarify.



This forum has given me a lot of information, so this is one way I can give back.



As a final note, this is not a pitch for any service I am offering. I have a full-time job and side detailing business that gives me more than enough to do :)
Click to expand...



WOW! Thanks! I will be combing through my site with all of your suggestions!
 
Looks good now! The one lingering problem I see is smart phone compatability. If people see you wearing a t-shirt or see your website in public, they will try to access it (maybe) using their phone (in the moment). Many (I don't think any..but maybe some of the new Droid OS powered ones) phones can't see flash. So none of those customers could find out information about you. Just a thought.
 
Wow nice site man! Very nice. Mind if i ask who built it? I am in need of a site badly and would like to get one going if i can do it myself.



I had built one a long time ago and then my External Hard Drive crashed and all my information is now no longer accessible.



Let me know. Thanks
 
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