PDA

View Full Version : Completly re-did my website



tylerhutchinson
07-11-2011, 01:52 PM
Hey everyone,

So I left Wordpress and developed a new web page for my business. Take a look and let me know what you think! I would love to get any feedback.

Full Circle Business Consulting (http://www.fullcirclebusinessconsulting.com)

vangogh
07-12-2011, 10:50 AM
First impression is it looks really good. It's professionally done and gives me a good sense of confidence there's a legit business behind the design.

The slideshow on the home pages changes a little too fast. I think it would work better if it transitioned a little slower. Right now it's a little hard to read because it changes before I have a chance to finish.

Most of the copy seems focused on you instead of the client. There's lots of Full Circle does this or is good at that. Instead tell the client what benefit they'll get from hiring you. For example on your marketing service page you write.


We create personalized marketing plans for our clients which can reduce marketing costs, and make it more effective.

How about instead. Your marketing costs will be reduced with an effective personalized marketing plan.

Maybe not the best rewrite, but hopefully it gives you an idea. Use "you" more than "I" or company name and place the benefits earlier in the sentence.

On your web/graphic design page it's all about Webplex? The whole page reads like a client should contact you so you can recommend someone else.

Where are the calls-to-action? On most pages you aren't letting the visitor know what to do next. If a service page convinces me to call don't make me look for the contact page. Provide a link or button on the page that convinces me. Every page of your site should have a specific goal and it should tell people exactly what you want them to do next.

You list a lot of different types of services. Do you really offer them all? Are you an expert in all of them? Maybe, but I can see potential clients asking the question.

Install your blog on the site. It will help you far more by being on the same domain than by being on Blogspot. Your blog can help promote your site. By being on another domain you now have to promote 2 sites instead of one and even then it won't be as effective. You've set yourself up to do more work for less results.

I'm not sure it's best to ask for a phone number on the contact form. You're requiring an email address so just leave it at that. If people want to communicate by phone they have your phone number above. Every additional form field reduces the chances someone will contact you so ask the minimum. You don't even need to ask for company name. Just get someone to contact you by making it as easy as possible and you can get the rest of the information you want after that contact.

Your drop down doesn't seem to be working when on the contact page.

Overall the design looks good. I think the copy could be better, the blog should be on the same domain, and perhaps you should provide more calls-to-action throughout the site.

Hope that helps.

tylerhutchinson
07-12-2011, 01:49 PM
Thank you for the feedback. I didn't even think of adding a contact us link to each page but that makes sense.

And yes between me and my employees we can do all that is on the site. The business I build (expanding) is to create a one stop shop for businesses so they can have one point of contact for all their needs. Originally I did process design and efficiency. I am a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and was limited in what I offered. As I was contacted for work they had some marketing aspect, or web design aspect. So as I got more and more rejections because I offered "limited" services, I decided to grow it to include more and more. Now I land almost every client I talk to because of the ability to effectively do everything for them.

Webplexx is the web designer I hired on contract. He has his own business on the side as well. Originally I was iffy on how to do his page on the site as I wanted it to seem integrated into my business and not make it seem I was outsourcing the web design aspect. I think we may want to look into adjusting it to remove the webplexx part also and just make it seem like he is part of the business. The prob is that he wants to promote himself also, so I am not sure the best approach on that.

I also agree about the blog and re-wording. I had planned to do both your recommendations already, just have not had time.

Thank you for your time to look at it and review. It really gave me some great ideas!

vangogh
07-12-2011, 11:08 PM
Glad I could help. Definitely add more calls to action. You really do need to let visitors know what you want then to do next.

Good that you can offer all those services. I wasn't sure if there were employees or it was all you. I know there's a tendency sometimes to list every service we can possibly offer in the hopes that it'll make us more attractive to a wider variety of clients. That doesn't usually work though. It's usually best in the beginning to focus on a more targeted service or limited set of service to be able to appeal more to specific people.

Even if Webplexx is a designer you work with I'm not sure it makes sense to feature them so prominently on your site. I think I would save that until the client wants design. You could let the client know at that time. Right now though imagine someone lands on your site looking for a website. Your page is telling them not to contact you and instead contact Webplexx directly. Just something to consider.

KristineS
07-13-2011, 12:25 PM
I'm a word girl, so I tend to focus more on text then design. I do, however, have to agree with Vangogh that the slide show on the front page is changing too fast. I read quickly and I barely had time to finish reading the text. People who read at normal speed probably won't have time.

As for the text, one of the things you need to proofread for is possessives. I saw a lot of times where you used a possessive but didn't include the apostrophe s.

I also thought the text was kind of distancing. You talked about "Full Circle Business Consulting" a lot, instead of saying we or us. You talked about "the client" instead of you or your business. Part of what a website needs to do is make some sort of connection. Right now the language is creating a barrier. There are also grammar issues.

Your mission statement is basically a restatement of the text on your About Us landing page. I don't think you need to say that twice. Mission statements were in vogue a while back, but so many of them became meaningless piles of words that I think a lot of people tend to disregard them now. In my opinion, you could get rid of the mission statement page and just use that text as the intro on your home page.

I would also look at your fees and cost page. Basically, right now it sounds like you'll work with anyone if they'll give you a dollar. I would set fees for what you can do, and then after that, maybe have a disclaimer that says you will work with companies with special financial needs on a case by case basis. Your services have value, and you need to know what that value is and convince your customers they're worth it. You should have done that so well that by the time they get to the fees page they look at what you're charging and think it's cheap. If you start off talking about money by saying we know you probably don't have any, you'll have to negotiate every job, and you'll probably end up making a lot less than you could make. Pricing your services and sticking to your prices is tough, but if you don't know your own value, how can you convince anyone else of it?

You might want to take a look at some sites that focus on copywriting for conversion or writing copy for websites. You definitely need to sell yourself more, and you need more calls to action.

Spider
07-13-2011, 05:04 PM
The clean and professional look and strong colors gave me confidence in you. But who are you? I didn't find the first page converyed any sense of who you are and how you can serve me. It told me you can do everything for everyone and that made me wonder if the confidence I initially felt was valid - who can do everything for everyone, after all?

I didn't get to read the first sentence of any of the banner dialog boxes before it was whisked away, then at the end of the page, I was left hanging - what should I do now? Where am I to go to find out if these people can help me? I could read your terms of service, fill out a contact form or a newsletter subscription. Hmmm?

But it sure looks sharp and businesslike. They must be good, right? But can they help me?

tylerhutchinson
07-13-2011, 06:48 PM
Thank you for the comments. I am working on getting the slider to show down. I added the calls to action on every services page as well as the costs and fees.

I agree the wording is not the best. I do plan on re-writing most pages to edit and expand to make it sound more professional

vangogh
07-14-2011, 12:59 AM
Tyler the slider is better now. I can read everything. Glad to see the calls-to-action now too. You can still make them strong. Have them say Contact Us or Contact Us Now. You could even try Contact Us For a Free Estimate. Play around with the words and test which works best.

Don't forget your drop down isn't showing up on the contact page. It seems to be working on your other pages, just not the contact page.