Been tinkering with my website. Opinions would be appreciated.

[Harold Mansfield]

I've been spending a lot of time updating and upgrading my website lately. Adding content, rearranging pages, load speed, and improving my SEO scores of each page. And I'll be adding a video to the front page soon.

And as you know, the longer you look at it the less you see.

Would be interested in any opinions or room for improvement.
Thanks
WordPress Website Design (http://nhab.it/)

[MyITGuy]

Took a quick look at it and ran a few tests. The page takes about 3 seconds before I see anything come up on screen, but it generally appears instantly/quickly after that (Might want to look at some cache/compression settings on your server).

I didn't dive too much into the detail, but I did notice on your portfolio page your images contain the "<" and ">" images indicating that they are scroll-able, but they don't do anything. The images are present so I just scroll down the page. Not sure if this is a Chrome issue or etc..

[Harold Mansfield]

Took a quick look at it and ran a few tests. The page takes about 3 seconds before I see anything come up on screen, but it generally appears instantly/quickly after that (Might want to look at some cache/compression settings on your server).

OK, will do. Thanks.


I didn't dive too much into the detail, but I did notice on your portfolio page your images contain the "<" and ">" images indicating that they are scroll-able, but they don't do anything. The images are present so I just scroll down the page. Not sure if this is a Chrome issue or etc..
Yep. Those were to take you to the next portfolio item but I disabled that function. I just removed the arrows. Thanks. See, that's one of those things I must have looked at a thousand times and still didn't really see it.

[Wozcreative]

Took a look at the site and in general it gives off a professional clean look. Seems organized.

1.) One of the main things I noticed is that the alias on the transparent images is incorrectly done.
Take a look at this: http://nhab.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/paypal-logo-black.png -- the edges are all spotty and rough like you used safety scissors to cut it out.
http://nhab.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Link4.png

2) I expect contact to be on the end.. and not under "about us page"

3) There sure is a lot of pages. Is there no way to condense the info? Seems overwhelming for me.

4) The consistency in color of fonts and icons is not there. I see arrows that are cyan blue, purple text, icons that are black, and then icons that are teal. I even saw forest green somewhere in there!

5) In this page: WordPress Search Engine Optimization Services (http://nhab.it/wordpress-search-engine-optimization-services/) I would also design the circle chart to match your website, right now it looks like clipart taken from the web.

6) Too much text, is there a way to list key features/benefits?

7) Why doesnt "about" not have a page that talks about the company, instead it offers stuff like your blog what ill need, terms and services etc.. random things...

8) I'm a bit confused with the white space when you view a portfolio piece.. the scroll bar goes all the way down well below the picture and shows faint icons..? Did the site not load properly?

9) terms of service - good idea for a page.. i would just make the bullet point 2 points smaller than the actual font you used for the text.. all i see is bullets screaming in my face.

10 ) I don't like the sitemap. It doesnt match the rest of the website at all. Why dont you also remove it from the dropdown and put it in the footer? Its not necessary.

11) I see what you are doing with the text and trying to do typographical texturing. But there is too much. On this page Microsoft Tag and QR Code Campaigns and Websites | WordPress (http://nhab.it/tags-and-qr-codes/) for example.. you have big bold font.. then below.. big font.. then header and smaller font and then you bold a few lines.. what is the hierarchy here? My head hurts.

[Harold Mansfield]

Took a look at the site and in general it gives off a professional clean look. Seems organized.

1.) One of the main things I noticed is that the alias on the transparent images is incorrectly done.
Take a look at this: http://nhab.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/paypal-logo-black.png -- the edges are all spotty and rough like you used safety scissors to cut it out.
http://nhab.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Link4.png

I really can't imagine anyone other than a designer or web person viewing the raw image out of context, so I didn't think cleaning it up as a stand alone image was important. I could be wrong though.


2) I expect contact to be on the end.. and not under "about us page"
There's a pretty prevalent contact tab on the side of the page that slides out to a form. Did you not see it?
I actually want do do away with the stand alone contact page all together. I don't have a location, and my phone number is all over the website. Can't miss it.
Do you think a page for it is neccessary? I know a contact page is standard, but considering all of the places my phone number, hours, and email are presented, I really think I can eliminate it. If anyone goes to that site and wonders "How do I get in touch with him?" then something else is seriously wrong.


3) There sure is a lot of pages. Is there no way to condense the info? Seems overwhelming for me.
Yes, it was condensed before, and I wasn't getting any traffic for specific services or search terms. Now I am. So I'm reluctant to go back to putting multiple things on one page.


4) The consistency in color of fonts and icons is not there. I see arrows that are cyan blue, purple text, icons that are black, and then icons that are teal. I even saw forest green somewhere in there!
Yeah, I definitely could tighten that up. It's still a work in progress. I'll have to look for those forest green arrows. I have no idea where those could be. Actually I don't know where any arrows are.

I did think the teal icons on the home page were a stretch though, but I'm keeping the purple call to action at the bottom of the pages.


5) In this page: WordPress Search Engine Optimization Services (http://nhab.it/wordpress-search-engine-optimization-services/) I would also design the circle chart to match your website, right now it looks like clipart taken from the web.
Yeah it is and I've been looking to change that. Just haven't come up with anything I like yet.


6) Too much text, is there a way to list key features/benefits?
You mean like bullet points? I could do that, but the text is neccessary. 300 words is the min per page, and at least one header.


7) Why doesnt "about" not have a page that talks about the company, instead it offers stuff like your blog what ill need, terms and services etc.. random things...
Harold Mansfield (http://nhab.it/harold-mansfield-about/)
But maybe I could add it to the drop down too.
I'm limited on space in the nav, and I don't want to go smaller or create a second level, so I'm still experimenting with ways to condense.
Maybe I'll just link to that other info in the footer and leave the about page as a stand alone nav link.


8) I'm a bit confused with the white space when you view a portfolio piece.. the scroll bar goes all the way down well below the picture and shows faint icons..? Did the site not load properly?
Yep, I can definitely tighten that up. I actually haven't spent any time on those pages at all. Those are next.


9) terms of service - good idea for a page.. i would just make the bullet point 2 points smaller than the actual font you used for the text.. all i see is bullets screaming in my face.
OK. Sorry for the screaming. I'm actually planning to redo that page all together. I need to update the terms anyway.


10 ) I don't like the sitemap. It doesnt match the rest of the website at all. Why dont you also remove it from the dropdown and put it in the footer? Its not necessary.
Agreed.


11) I see what you are doing with the text and trying to do typographical texturing. But there is too much. On this page Microsoft Tag and QR Code Campaigns and Websites | WordPress (http://nhab.it/tags-and-qr-codes/) for example.. you have big bold font.. then below.. big font.. then header and smaller font and then you bold a few lines.. what is the hierarchy here? My head hurts.
Completely forget about that page. Will get on it.
Thanks.

[Wozcreative]

I really can't imagine anyone other than a designer or web person viewing the raw image out of context, so I didn't think cleaning it up as a stand alone image was important. I could be wrong though.




I had to view it because the edges looked "off". The first thing I noticed is your logo in the footer that has a white line in the in it that is not supposed to be there. I thought, that's strange, why are the edges all choopy? Then I saw the teal icons and notibly, the seel logo at the bottom with really bad jagged edges. I only looked it up out of context to show you what I mean.

Clean edges are just as important as having proportionate photos, or not having fuzzy images—what all designers complain about when seeing a do-it yourself website by a client.

[Harold Mansfield]

I had to view it because the edges looked "off". The first thing I noticed is your logo in the footer that has a white line in the in it that is not supposed to be there. I thought, that's strange, why are the edges all choopy? Then I saw the teal icons and notibly, the seel logo at the bottom with really bad jagged edges. I only looked it up out of context to show you what I mean.

Clean edges are just as important as having proportionate photos, or not having fuzzy images—what all designers complain about when seeing a do-it yourself website by a client.
I understand the concept. I just don't see them as "choppy". The link, and the footer logo, yes. I knew that was there and will probably change those back to black. But not the Pay Pal logo. But if that's what you are seeing, it's an easy fix.

Thanks

[Wozcreative]

I understand the concept. I just don't see them as "choppy". The link, and the footer logo, yes. I knew that was there and will probably change those back to black. But not the Pay Pal logo. But if that's what you are seeing, it's an easy fix.

Thanks


You may change your mind about the quality of the edges if you view it on retina. However I do understand that its not a priority for some. I'm more visual than technical so that's what I usually look at.

--Oh I also think you may be on a PC, I'm on a mac and you can really tell the edges.. sometimes mac and PC just render color differently. Just remembered that as well.

[Harold Mansfield]

You may change your mind about the quality of the edges if you view it on retina. However I do understand that its not a priority for some. I'm more visual than technical so that's what I usually look at.

I got it Woz and I agreed. It's no less important to me than anyone else.
I'll get on it.

Appreciate the 2nd set of eyes.

Thanks

[Wozcreative]

Oh one thing I just realized as well! You can actually cut down on the name of the pages in the drop down.. no one wants to read that much. You can still keep the file naming for SEO purposes as the longer version... for example you said "custom PDF design" --- why not just "PDF design?" Or "mobile QR code Campaings" to "Mobile Campaigns"? I'm sure you can think of others.. it's just overwhelming to me to see all that.

[Harold Mansfield]

Oh one thing I just realized as well! You can actually cut down on the name of the pages in the drop down.. no one wants to read that much. You can still keep the file naming for SEO purposes as the longer version... for example you said "custom PDF design" --- why not just "PDF design?" Or "mobile QR code Campaings" to "Mobile Campaigns"? I'm sure you can think of others.. it's just overwhelming to me to see all that.

Yep, I know that I can do that. But that is how I want it for now.
"Mobile Campaigns" is too general. I do a specific thing and it's actually more focuses on QR, Tag and NFC than it is specifically "Mobile". I actually need to add more to that page to include tracking results.

I don't use "Mobile Campaigns" alone on purpose so that no one assumes SMS marketing.

I'm actually trying to solve some specific problems:

Not enough page views
Not being found for specific search terms.
Targeting too generally.
Bounce Rate
And complaints that there isn't enough information, or "Oh, you do that too? Where is that page on your website?"

Problems I know I have because I make too many assumptions that people will just get it. They don't, and even though I tell my cleints this every day, I needed to clean my own house and stop missing opportunities.

It's already paying off in my stats and an increase in calls, so I'm going to run with it and do more of it.

There's a method to my madness. I didn't just throw on a uniform and come out here swinging at wild pitches :)

I'm sure I'll tweak here and there down the line though. I'm still tweaking things as we speak.

But I do appreciate your insight.

[Gabe]

Hey Harold, I really like the new design. I can actually feel the time and consideration you put into it. Here are a few suggestions, though some might just be personal preference.

If I'm going to spend time on your site and trust you with my business website I want to see some credibility first. For me that'd mean moving the testimonials (which I love) from the bottom of your home page to between the title and the gallery so it hits me right away. For even more credibility I'd split it into two columns and have the testimonials on one side and the logos of Fortune 500's that use WordPress on the other. We know that WordPress is great, but does your target audience know that? Do they even know what WordPress is? If they come to you knowing they want a WordPress site, then fine. But my guess is that many come just for a great website, they don't care what it's built on. When you talk about what it's built on they focus on technologies (i.e. why WordPress and not Drupal) instead of how you'll solve their problems, which is what matters. Check out this article (http://speckyboy.com/2013/04/18/never-say-wordpress-when-selling-a-web-design-project/) for more on that.

Aside from the 'small business web services' tagline under your title, it doesn't say much about your target audience. If I were a small business owner with a small budget I'd show up to a great looking site like yours and just assume that you're out of my price range because it's not obvious to me who you're targeting. And what does 'small business website services' mean anyway? You and I know, but does your target audience know? It's just all vague to non-technical people. It might help to dumb-down the wording in your tiled gallery on the front page and make the text default (show first) and rollover to picture instead of how it is now (reverse it). The images are nice, but what they mean isn't obvious to non-technical people.

Make your copy more customer-centric, especially on the front page. In other areas take out the "I" or "we" and make it about the customer. They don't care so much what you do or how you do it. They care about why they need what you do and what it does for them. They're not looking for 'WordPress website design', they're looking for a new website that's as great as their ambitions. They want a website that makes customers see them how they see themselves. Maybe they want to one-up a competitor or reinvent their business. Maybe they want to show customers that they're not old-fashioned. I'm probably doing a bad job here, but I hope you get the idea. It's about what problem your services are solving, and that may mean a lot more landing pages to bring them into your funnel. Check out the CopyHacker series of books (http://copyhackers.com/product-category/copywriting-ebooks/) for a great resource on copywriting. I'm about halfway through the first book and already realizing how horrible my copy is. It's hard. We know what we do so well and what makes it great that we focus on what sounds good to us instead of what sounds good to our customers. One step further, it's hard to target a message if you're not targeting a market.

I really recommend the copywriting book because I think that designers get so focused on design that they forget that the copy is as or even more important, and that's regardless of whether your target customers are scanners or read every word. You can sell on a poorly designed website with expert copy much easier than on an incredibly designed website with horrible copy. I think the copy will also help with your SEO and traffic goals. People bounce because they (right or wrong) think your solution isn't for them. Every time they bounce it tells Google that you're not the answer.

That said, I *really* like your website. A lot of people here are designers or web developers, which aren't your target audience. Sure they have great taste and phenomenal taste, but it'll also make you focus on things that your target audience will never even notice while missing all the things that they do. You can spend 5 hours making your website look immaculate on a retina display (that your target audience doesn't use) while 90% of your content goes over your prospective customers' head because they don't realize you're exactly what they need. But hey. maybe I'm wrong. Have you profiled most of your customers to develop personas, i.e. How did they find you? Why did they choose you? What problem were you solving for them? Where do they hang out online and off? What unexpected benefits did they get from your services? etc. 99% of the time people can't tell you their motivation, but you can infer it from casual conversations. If you're too direct they get too focused and get distracted (irony?) and tell you what they think you want to hear rather than the stream of thought you really want to hear. I don't know if that makes sense, but what I'm getting at is that's how you know what to write. You can't necessarily create motivations with copy, but you can certainly remind them why you're exactly what they need. *queue "Just what I needed" by the Cars*

Sorry for rambling...I'm tired. I hope this helps.

[Harold Mansfield]

Wow Gabe. Now I know how it feels to read one of my posts :)




If I'm going to spend time on your site and trust you with my business website I want to see some credibility first. For me that'd mean moving the testimonials (which I love) from the bottom of your home page to between the title and the gallery so it hits me right away. For even more credibility I'd split it into two columns and have the testimonials on one side and the logos of Fortune 500's that use WordPress on the other.
It used to be at the top but I wasn't crazy about hitting people with testimonials right away. I'm probably going to change that tag line and header multiple times. I'm still not really feeling it, but feedback from callers and clients is overall good, so no rush.

Enough people use the logos of WordPress users and there are a million "What is WordPress?" pages on web designer's websites. I want people that are past that stage. I'm not targeting people who don't know what WordPress is. So I've taken all of that explanation stuff down. I used to have a "What is WordPress?" Page. Actually I think one of my old sites leads off that way.

It works for your business because you need to explain and show the credibility of the software because you are targeting people looking for an easy all in one solution and don't know WordPress from Facebook and think it's all the same.



We know that WordPress is great, but does your target audience know that? Do they even know what WordPress is? If they come to you knowing they want a WordPress site, then fine. But my guess is that many come just for a great website, they don't care what it's built on. When you talk about what it's built on they focus on technologies (i.e. why WordPress and not Drupal) instead of how you'll solve their problems, which is what matters.

Actually, if they land on my site they do and they've come there looking specifically for that service.



Aside from the 'small business web services' tagline under your title, it doesn't say much about your target audience. If I were a small business owner with a small budget I'd show up to a great looking site like yours and just assume that you're out of my price range because it's not obvious to me who you're targeting. And what does 'small business website services' mean anyway? You and I know, but does your target audience know?
Well, I do more than just websites. Each page is optimized for it's service. No way anyone finds my site through search by mistake.

If someone thinks I'm out of thier price range, good. But I have prices on the site and on my PDF's so that people know what range to expect when they call, and so that no one with $400 for a website ever calls me again. Ever.



It's just all vague to non-technical people. It might help to dumb-down the wording in your tiled gallery on the front page and make the text default (show first) and rollover to picture instead of how it is now (reverse it). The images are nice, but what they mean isn't obvious to non-technical people.
There will be a video there soon that will take care of any confusion. People like video.



They're not looking for 'WordPress website design',
Actually they are. That's who I'm targetting.




I really recommend the copywriting book because I think that designers get so focused on design that they forget that the copy is as or even more important, and that's regardless of whether your target customers are scanners or read every word. You can sell on a poorly designed website with expert copy much easier than on an incredibly designed website with horrible copy. I think the copy will also help with your SEO and traffic goals. People bounce because they (right or wrong) think your solution isn't for them. Every time they bounce it tells Google that you're not the answer.

I agree. Copywritting is always a work in progress. I am constantly rewriting to dumb things down and catching mistakes or rewording something. But, honestly, I'm shooting for a more educated clientele for here on out. People who know what WordPress is, want to convert, or already have it and need help with it.

Doing it the other way and throwing a large net to try and capture any and everyone who may need a website is an exercise in futility. The Web.com's, Go Daddy's, Intuit's, "Hire a Freelancer" websites, middlemen and referral sites will always rank higher than you, and those general search terms attract bargain customers. If my website is ever anywhere near those sites in the serps, I'm doing something wrong. I want to be as far away from them as possible.

I want WordPress people. No more explaining what WordPress is to people. They call, and we get down to it. I don't spend hours or DAYS trying to sell them on what it is or why they should use it. They already know.



That said, I *really* like your website. A lot of people here are designers or web developers, which aren't your target audience. Sure they have great taste and phenomenal taste, but it'll also make you focus on things that your target audience will never even notice while missing all the things that they do. You can spend 5 hours making your website look immaculate on a retina display (that your target audience doesn't use) while 90% of your content goes over your prospective customers' head because they don't realize you're exactly what they need. But hey. maybe I'm wrong. Have you profiled most of your customers to develop personas, i.e. How did they find you? Why did they choose you? What problem were you solving for them? Where do they hang out online and off? What unexpected benefits did they get from your services? etc. 99% of the time people can't tell you their motivation, but you can infer it from casual conversations. If you're too direct they get too focused and get distracted (irony?) and tell you what they think you want to hear rather than the stream of thought you really want to hear. I don't know if that makes sense, but what I'm getting at is that's how you know what to write. You can't necessarily create motivations with copy, but you can certainly remind them why you're exactly what they need. *queue "Just what I needed" by the Cars*

Sorry for rambling...I'm tired. I hope this helps.

Not at all. I appreciate the detailed feedback. Many of the things that you suggested are how I used to do it. But once I started paying attention to what I was getting found for on my other sites ( and those sites suck), I finally woke up and started actually using my stats to make some changes and lean into the curve instead of fighting it t.

There is much room for improvement and I'm not done yet (is any website ever "done"?) , so everything is helpful.

[Harold Mansfield]

Make your copy more customer-centric, especially on the front page. In other areas take out the "I" or "we" and make it about the customer.

I just got this. My subtitles on some of my pages are kind of obnoxious. Probably how I was feeling that day.

Working on it.
Thanks

If I could only write website copy the way I write political commentary.

[Wozcreative]

I'm very confused with my own website copy as well! It's difficult but I am determined to learn it on my own.

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm very confused with my own website copy as well! It's difficult but I am determined to learn it on my own.
The only advice I can give, is to write when you are in a good mood. The differences between what I write when I'm stressed, angry, or tired as opposed to energetic, motivated and happy is like day and night.

[Jim Briggs]

Hi, I took a look at your site several days ago then got distracted and didn't get a chance to post a response. Here are my thoughts.

When I first viewed the site, I had an immediate positive reaction because I found the design pleasing: nice color scheme, big fonts, clear, bold design, readable, nice graphics, well-executed. You demonstrated the service you're selling. Also, you communicated what you did pretty clearly. Your offers and your value proposition for new websites is clear to me.

I don't know what you call that style of image map. I can see a customer of yours looking at that and seeing a proof of your technical expertise and design skills.

I took your keywords and googled for other sites and in the top 20 or so, I couldn't find anything as well-designed as yours.

I'm not in your customer segment and I look at sites from the bias of a technical background. Have you done any usability tests with customers?

Back to the image map. This is where my questions lie. I don't have a good association to image maps because I can't really scan the the info and then I forget what was under what image. I have to roll over to see the text. That's just me; your customers might be intrigued causing them to explore your site. It would be interesting to do a split test of the image map vs something else.

I see you as having two kinds of visitors: people who will explore your content and eventually hire you because of the good content on your site; and people who have an immediate need and might hire you right away. Where is your call to action for the latter? Is it the phone number because these people are phone people? Should you have a different call to action that involves providing an email or subscribing to your list? Also, is it possible to do something even more interactive like asking the customer what their needs are?

You have some excellent testimonials. I think the testimonials would be more powerful if they weren't "playing" but simply listed. I think someone commented on the placement of the testimonials, but I think you have them in the right place. If people are going to buy from you, they're going to read your page.

[Harold Mansfield]

Thanks Jim, appreciate the feedback.




Back to the image map. This is where my questions lie. I don't have a good association to image maps because I can't really scan the the info and then I forget what was under what image. I have to roll over to see the text. That's just me; your customers might be intrigued causing them to explore your site. It would be interesting to do a split test of the image map vs something else.
Well, those are really just a repeat of what's in the navigation. My plan is to have a video there soon...where the largest image is top-left.


I see you as having two kinds of visitors: people who will explore your content and eventually hire you because of the good content on your site; and people who have an immediate need and might hire you right away. Where is your call to action for the latter?
http://nhab.it/wordpress-emergency-help/

Been trying to come up with a way to incorporate that nicely on the home page.


Is it the phone number because these people are phone people?
Nope. The phone number is there so it's immediately seen. A lot of web people don't have office hours and only allow email contact. I guess I'm making it a point, to point out that I can be reached by phone. It is one of the things I hear most, "You're the first web person that I can actually get on the phone".


Should you have a different call to action that involves providing an email or subscribing to your list? Also, is it possible to do something even more interactive like asking the customer what their needs are?
Nope, no list. I hate being solicited to sign up for something before I've even had a chance to see or read the website. So I'm not going to do it to my visitors. I know, every internet marketer on the planet tells me I'm wrong and should shove a sign up form in everyone's faces no matter what. I'm just not sold that this is the right move for every website.

I thought about the intake form thing, where you ask specific questions about their needs, but even I don't like using those. They take up too much time, and I don't want people's first impression of me to be that this is going to be a cumbersome experience and that they have to fill out the equivalent of a job application just to get me to call them back. (also why I don't do the "sign up for my newsletter" thing).

There is also a contact form tab in the right of the page that is universal across the site. It's simple and easy.

As far as the other observations about the home page and the images. Points well taken. It's my hope that when in doubt that people would just look to the navigation.

No I haven't done any formal testing, just feedback from clients and this review. But my approach is that every page be built so that it can stand alone as sort of it's own landing page without relying on everyone to come through the home page from search... because they don't.


Not sold on having a page just for testimonials. I've done that before and it always just seemed kind of "blah" when you don't have actual images of everyone. I like the fact that you can see them no matter what page you are on or enter the site through. I'm really more focused on people reading any reviews on Angie's List, Linked In and other review/business sites. But I do agree with you that a more dynamic display would work well. I have been thinking of a new approach that I may implement later.

Thanks for the feedback Jim. Much appreciated.

[Harold Mansfield]

I think your page certainly looks great! Professional, load fast may be you could work your page arrangements it make it look neat
What do you mean, specifically? Is the navigation not clear enough? You think the page layouts are confusing? Where do you think I could improve on the page arrangements?

[Harold Mansfield]

Based on some of the suggestions I've made a few changes:

*I calmed down some of the color variations to tighten up the pallet a little.
*Been rewriting some copy to further simplify some things.
*Added a recent work snippet on the home page.
*Also shortened the tile area on the home page.
*Went back and tightened up some of the graphics pixel by pixel do that they don't have that edge bleed.

I also added a new client support area where clients can track time and project progress and some other things:
Client Support Center (http://nhab.it/client-support-center/)

Hopefully I'll have some of the videos done soon.

Thanks for all of the feedback so far. Working on your own site is always the hardest project.