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View Full Version : Always looking to improve my website



Georgias Gifts
05-29-2011, 01:40 AM
Hope to get some contructive comments. I've had my website for a number of years with mild success. Interested in how others view my site.

www.georgiasgifts.com

vangogh
05-29-2011, 11:29 AM
My first impression is the site seems fine, though I wouldn't say it's anything special. At first glance it looks like many other shopping cart sites I've seen before. I think the colors work well and of course what cat lover isn't going to find your products adorable.

There's a lot of menu links and none particularly stand out to me. The menu is certainly easy enough to use, but I'm not sure it's really helping me find anything. It seems more random where I click a link and then just see what products show up. Looking again the names of the links do tell me where they'll take me. I think the join our mailing list link could be done differently. Instead of it being a link the form could be embedded on each page of the site, maybe above or below the menu.

The shopping cart link should definitely stand out more. Similarly the blog link should be more apparent and it should take you directly to the blog and not to a page that requires another click to get to the blog.

When I view the site in Firefox all the text is flush to the left. When I view it in Safari all the the text is centered. Flush left is the better choice and I'm guessing a simple fix in the code is needed for Safari. I'm not sure how it appears in other browsers, but it might make sense to test the site in different browsers to see if other things aren't different as well.

The links at the bottom of each page starting "Your source for" don't add anything. They seem to be either a repeat of the navigation in a place where the navigation is still clearly visible or perhaps someone thought they would help improve search rankings. Either way they just seem redundant on the page.

There's not a lot of content on the site. Maybe the product images are all that's needed to make the sale. Still I think some content describing the product would be useful. For me at least. Maybe not for your customers. It would definitely be useful for search engines to rank the pages.

Overall my thoughts are really similar to my first impression. The site seems fine. I don't see anything that's specifically hurting it, though at the same time I don't see anything that makes it stand out. The site seems to simply be a shopping cart and I imagine it's success depends on the products selling themselves through their images. Perhaps that's enough.

Given the subject I think the site could be improved. First I think the overall design could be more playful. I think it could be designed in a way that says cat without even seeing the products. The navigation could probably be cleaned up a bit. I'd suggest products only down the left side and links to the cart, blog, mailing list, etc, be done differently. The mailing list form could be embedded somewhere on the page and the links to the cart and blog be made more obvious.

I think the site could be made more engaging too. People love their cats. The site has a lot of potential to allow your customers to interact more with you. I'd have the blog be on the site itself instead of sending people to a different domain. I think adding some way to let people upload images of their cats and interact with each other would also be a good way to keep people on the site and coming back.

Hope some of the above helps.

Georgias Gifts
05-29-2011, 02:21 PM
Thanks very much for your imput. Some of your suggestions seem so logical that I should have thought of them! A new pair of eyes always sees things you miss.

I was a little confused on how to put the blog on my site and ended up putting it on wordpress with my own url.

I hope to get more feedback.
ggg

vangogh
05-29-2011, 02:53 PM
Glad to help. A second pair of eyes is always good. Sometimes we get to close to things to really be able to see them.

WordPress also has a version where you can download the software and install it under your own hosting account. It's relatively easy to do, though that's coming from someone who develops websites for a living. Whether or not you can install it depends on your hosting account. Most hosting accounts are capable of installing and running WordPress, but some aren't.

If you look at my site the whole thing runs on WordPress. That includes the blog and the pages outside the blog. I don't have a shopping cart on my site, though WordPress can be set up to work with a shopping cart.

tylerhutchinson
05-29-2011, 04:21 PM
Hey there,

I like the site. Honestly I think the main page is a little too busy. I think you have a lot of information on this site, and with some simple organization it will make it much easier to navigate.

First instead of breaking all the categories out along the left I would suggest combining it all into one label and create a drop down. So on the main page you can put something like cat products. When a customer hovers over it then you will get a dropdown oh the different products you carry. I would even suggest going three tiers. Have it as just products on the main page then it drops down to apparel, indoors, outdoors. Then when you hover over apparel you will then get the shirts, pins and they can click. This not only makes it seem cleaner and more organized, but it helps ensure that the customer does not scan the page and miss a section!

Second I would love to see an "about me" section. There is nothing on this page that explains who you or the company is, how long you have been around, or anything to make the site personal. This is one of the first things I look at. I know a lot of shoppers do not care, but there are some people who want to know who they are buying from (like me). I would not make it a huge section or make it too detailed but I think it would be a good plus.

Third, I would clean up the homepage. The facebook stuff I would put in the contact us and remove. I would remove Avon since it has nothing to do with the company your selling (maybe put that in the about me if you go that route), Remove the your source for section. It is repetitive in my mind. For the items on the main page I would re-do what you have to create a "featured section". These are 6-9 items that you have as a sale, new item, or just want to feature! This gives these products an extra appeal being on the main page and gives the illusion that they are hot sellers to customers which may entice them to purchase them. If you go that route I would suggest rotating the products every week or so to get new ones on the page.

Other small things I would clean up is to move the add to mailing list off the left side. It is already on your homepage. I would maybe move it in the contact us section. Same with email archives. It is also on the left side and homepage.

So besides just a little organization and maybe finding ways to be more personable and interactive with customers (via the website, mailing lists, or marketing) I think you have a great site. I think a lot of the products you have are cute. I would find more fun marketing ideas to get people to the site as well since I think there is a lot you can do with the product and the site.

Good luck to you!

Georgias Gifts
05-29-2011, 07:32 PM
Thank you for all the suggestions, Tyler. I'm not sure if I can do "drop downs" with this site but I will check into it.

The "your source for" section was put on there strictly for seo purposes. Do you think that doesn't work? I like the idea of rotating featured products on the home page. I don't have as much flexibility as I would like as I don't know html and have to use their templates. But I can clean things up as you and vangogh suggested.

Georgia

tylerhutchinson
05-29-2011, 07:47 PM
The your source for does work for SEO to a point. SEO does not like repeat information and you have it twice (three times if you count the leftside columns). I think maybe instead of doing that you can link it in an about the company section. That way the section is masked and "dressed up" a little. Because that was first thought when I saw that "shes doing that for SEO." I never suggest losing the look or professionalism of the site for SEO purposes.

What are you using? Wordpress? Templates can really be limiting. A possible way around it is removing all the links, do one shop icon and then when you click on it there can be hyperlinks to other pages for the different sections as I listed above. You will not have the drop downs but you will still get the organization. Speaking of SEO this will be good for it as well. The more optimized pages you have, the better. Use your SEO keywords on each page to get SEO "hits".

I'm sure you have heard there are a thousand ways to design something, but design how YOU want it to look. So if you like the look then leave it. This is just one persons opinion. :)

vangogh
05-30-2011, 04:13 PM
Tyler she's using a site called shoppingcartsplus.com. I assume it's like other similar cart system where what you can do with the template is somewhat limited in exchange for the ease in setting it up, etc.

tylerhutchinson
06-02-2011, 04:38 PM
Yeah when I saw that format I was thinking of that.

vangogh
06-02-2011, 04:56 PM
One of what I consider the downsides to site builder type services. The upside of course being the ease of setting them up for those who aren't comfortable editing files directly.

Georgias Gifts
06-02-2011, 08:16 PM
These type of sites are good when you have a limited budget and want to build a little business before you do more.

vangogh
06-03-2011, 12:46 AM
Very true and I hope I didn't imply you can't use them. What I find happens a lot though is sooner or later you want more control over your site than these services allow and it's not always easy to move away. There's usually a little bit of pain and cost in moving.

You'll find me and a few others here recommending WordPress; the one you download and install yourself. Part of the reason is it's also free and you can usually set it up however you want. Some plugins like shopping carts you generally have to pay for, but even then the cost is $100 or less. At most you spend a little money hiring someone like me to set some things up for you, but in the long run it ends up costing less than having to move later.

Of course WordPress isn't the only option and the way you've set things up is also perfectly fine.

Georgias Gifts
06-03-2011, 11:04 AM
I've had my domain registered at Network Solutions for many years. Would I keep that if I move my site? I've always been afraid that I would lose all my rankings if I move. Also, trying to find someone to design the site and the expense has stopped me. (I feel a little better about the design since I found this forum).

vangogh
06-03-2011, 01:00 PM
You would keep your domain name if you move your site. You'd need to change where the domain points to in order to move it to a new host, but that won't affect anything. You'll probably want to do a little research in advance or ask someone else to do it for you. It's easy to do, but it's also easy to make a mistake doing it.

As far as rankings they won't change when you move to a different host. However when moving a site you can do things that do cause you to lose ranking. The key is either keeping the urls exactly the same or setting up what's called redirection to let search engines (and people) know that the url has permanently changed.

For example the home page on your site is currently domain.com/home.html

If you move the site you'd want to keep that the same. Sometimes when moving you decide there's a better name for the page or the software changes the url by default. If that happens you want to set up redirection to say that home.html is now index.php. Redirection isn't perfect. You likely lose a little bit of some of the things that help the pages rank, though it's not a lot. A few years back I moved my entire site to a new domain and never really noticed a loss in traffic.

One reason I suggested setting up everything up on the same domain right away is because moving later creates some of these issues. If you later decide to move your blog to be on the same domain as your site all the blog urls will change. If you do decide to move it's usually better sooner rather than later since you probably have more to lose in the way of search rankings a few years from now as you do today.

However with all that said I don't want you to think you have to move right now. While there are some issues, there are also solutions to all those issues. You'd probably want to hire someone to move things correctly and you would have to be prepared for some temporarily loss in traffic (not a lot, but a small amount). The benefits of moving everything under one domain usually outweigh the small temporary losses. Don't rush to move things. Just know it's an option to think about.

Again I did move my site to a new domain a few years ago and created all these issues for myself. For a month or two my traffic from search engines was probably down about 10% and then after that they've been going up ever since.

Georgias Gifts
09-03-2011, 06:38 PM
I've made some of the changes on my site that were suggested here. Such as cleaning up the home page, having "featured items", adding an about us page and a few more. It's an ongoing process.
I just found out that I can now do drop down menus on my site. That also was suggested here. I'm starting to do that on some of my tabs, but it will take some time to do it on all the menu tabs.
Also, how can I check my site in different browsers? Wouldn't I need to download the browsers first? (Showing my lack of knowledge here).

Thanks for the suggestions. Any others out there?

jamesray50
09-04-2011, 04:08 AM
I loved the products on your website. I am a total catlover. I have cat stuff all over my house. Everyone knows how I feel abouts cats just by looking at the pictures on my walls and the cat knick knacks sitting on the furniture and the all the cat toys all over the house that my cat plays with. I'm all the time looking for cat stuff but have never run across your website. I did bookmark it though.

BeTheBest
09-04-2011, 12:44 PM
Hi Georgias Gifts!

I agree with most of what has been said. From an SEO point of view ONLY, you need to be careful about drop down menus and stuff like that. They typically use a lot of java script that can ensconce or hide your links, making it a lot more difficult for search engine robots to follow. So just be careful.

The 2 other matters I see are:

1- All pages do NOT have unique page titles. I am assuming they don't have unique meta descriptions either, although I didn't check. Unique page titles are critical for SEO.

2- Additionally, I noticed you have a sign up form on your home page. The problem I see is that it's NOT on every page or at least a link to it. You could try to get it in the left menu where it's visible 'site wide'. With respect to that, you need some reason to subscribe. What you appear to be doing now is telling visitors to 'subscribe so I can try to sell you'. What you really need to do is create something that makes visitors WANT to subscribe. Give them the information they are looking for. What about a short report like 'Three things you need to know about making your cat happy!'.

I know you're selling GIFTS... but you're talking to CAT LOVERS. That report could tie in links and other things from your site. Sorry, I didn't spend hours reviewing your site, but noticed these two issues.

The money is in the list. Remember that. If you don't have a list, how can you grow your business?

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Added on edit:
As an example of what I am talking about, I noticed jamesray50's post that she bookmarked your site. That's good! But if you were able to give her a compelling reason to join your list, you could remind her of sales, specials, new product releases, etc. You should NEVER try to sell, sell, sell to your list. You have to continue to give them helpful (original) content and information. However, you can 'sprinkle in' specials and notices that will help increase your sales. Hope that helps!

billbenson
09-04-2011, 07:55 PM
Hi Georgias Gifts!

I agree with most of what has been said. From an SEO point of view ONLY, you need to be careful about drop down menus and stuff like that. They typically use a lot of java script that can ensconce or hide your links, making it a lot more difficult for search engine robots to follow. So just be careful.


If you are using css for the dropdowns, is that considered to be SEO friendly these days?

Georgias Gifts
09-04-2011, 07:58 PM
Thank you, Jo. I love cats too so it's fun having a site to sell cat items.

When you search for cat stuff, what are some of your search words? I am in the top 5 on several specific phrases, but lower on more general ones.

Georgias Gifts
09-04-2011, 08:20 PM
BeTheBest, thanks for taking a look at my site.

I'm still thinking about your suggestions. I see how I could embellish the request to join my email list. My emails mainly tell about new product releases or gift suggestions for a holiday or theme, plus an occasional coupon, but I'm planning more content to give value to the reader. This could be added to my request to join.

I have page titles for the main category pages, but I take it you mean each product should have it's own title, correct?

BeTheBest
09-05-2011, 01:27 AM
Hi Georgias Gifts,

Now, as much as this sounds like a cliche, 'Trust me!', you're missing the entire point of e-mail marketing. If you want to sell more online, STOP selling! I know, I know, it sounds backwards. But I assure you, it's the RELATIONSHIP that you develop that will sell more. People purchase from those they know, trust and like. Build that through e-mail.

Is it work? Well, not even going to bother with that. What isn't, right?
Is it rewarding? I wouldn't be telling you this AND put my name on this post unless it really was.

I have been marketing online for several years. I am going to give you a tip that even the established gurus won't tell you, but they all do it.

'PUSH you freebie sign up MORE then you push anything else!'

Why? Because it works. Look, I don't even know you but I will tell you that you have done this countless times. When you want something, you shop around. It doesn't have to be a high ticket item either. Am I right? You check out a couple of places... you do a little research... and then you purchase.

How many of your website visitors are doing the same thing? The answer? LOTS of them! They are looking and checking, comparing prices, designs, etc. They are there... but just not ready to purchase.

Get them on a list and don't hammer them with sales only. Matter of fact, I suggest your first 10-15 messages don't even promote any of your products or offers. Just share information; experiences; testimonials; anything that you have; your own experiences; anecdotal stories (everybody loves a story)... but don't hammer them to buy.

I promise... it will work. I do it on my site... matter of fact, I decided to go way overboard and do a real 'overdeliver' on the freebies that I give away. The website is all about building or improving websites, internet marketing, SEO and (coming soon) writing good copy. The strategy is to give until it hurts.

Hope this helps! Good luck!