Hello everyone. I am in the process of designing a website for my small business using Yahoo's SiteBuilder software program. I have not done this sort of thing before, but budget limitations prevent me from hiring a professional designer. Most of the content is complete, and I realize that there's much to be done in the SEO arena.

At this point, I'm very interested in your overall impressions on feel, navigability, and appearance. I just want to know if I am on the right track. Any suggestions you could offer will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

www.ideasalamode.com

Nice design. Simple but effective.

One thing I'd recommend, make it more obvious what the business does. Web users are lazy and wont bother with something which isn't instantly clear. You need to make things easy for them!

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for your comments! I'm still refining the home page content and I will certainly make it crystal clear exactly what it is we do.

Nice design and decent layout. Here's a few recommendations (I understand you may not be able to do all these at this time, but keep them in mind for the future, when the budget is there):

• ● site builder does not produce good well-formed html, when you can you should take the site out of sitebuilder (or have it coded by hand (html) in sitebuilder (if it allows it))
  ● change your menu links from images to pure text
  ● use keywords in your menu where possible
  ● the content shifts when each page loads, find a fix for that as it can be annoying to visitors
  ● oh the code the code the code.. try creating the entire page and content in sitebuilder then highlighting ALL the text and applying the styles (font / color / size etc) at once - as it is now almost every couple of words has the code duplicated over and over in it, this makes for a heavy and slower loading page and is totally unnecessary (use view source to check the code see if you can eliminate some of the garbage in there)

That's just a couple small things, that can make the site a bit smoother, and easier for the search engines to access.

Looks like a great start though! All the best on your success with it.

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Ron Boyd
website consulting (design, optimization, marketing) :: Follow Me: @orionsweb

for your helpful comments!

Sitebuilder does allow for HTML code, but I'm not very well-versed in it. I'll need to have a friend help with that.

I thought my menu links were pure text. I created the navigation bar as text links on the template page and then inserted that same bar on each page. Odd. I'll check on that.

I have no idea why the content shifts when each page loads. That is annoying. That's an issue I'll resolve with the help desk. I didn't include any page transitions, so I'm at a loss.

Thanks again for your help!

Why use images for links and copyright notices? The more images the more time the page takes to load.

Is that your logo? Did you already have it or did you create it for the site alone? I am not sure it is suitable for your business.

I agree with Dave about more explanatory text being required on the home page.

True, especially when the page takes long to load as when using a dial-up.

Lastly, would be a good idea to have bullets for the menu on the top, left of the logo. This as now it just loks like a block of text at first glance.

Anyway, for a first site I must say you did a good job.

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My Nook | My Biz | My Photos

I appreciate your comments.

About the images for the links and copyright notices - I didn't know that I created images for them. The links were created by using the navigation bar function in SiteBuilder. Once the bar was set up, I then simply copied it from the template page and pasted it on each subsequent page. I did create the copyright symbol in a Word document because I didn't know how to do that in SiteBuilder. This is an issue I'll have a friend take a look at.

Logo - Yes, that's the logo. My company specializes in idea development and event planning. The overarching theme of our company is to transform ordinary or "vanilla" ideas into extraordinary experiences. That's why in the logo the vanilla scoops are wearing a crown and a tiara. The logo also incorporates the tagline of "Vanilla has a fairy godmother" in that the fairy godmother (ala Cinderella) magically transformed the vanilla ideas into something special.

Text on homepage - Still working on that. Really, the content is only about 85% complete.

Bullets for the menu - Good idea. Thanks!

Thanks for your assistance! It is greatly appreciated!

There are no meta tags all search engines except I believe google use them for indexing.
As was stated before if a person has no idea what the site is about at first glance or even second, I am sorry to say if I came to it by accident or searching & did not know what is was about in seconds I would not stay.
www.ssrichardmontgomery.com

The header and your graphic are way too big, on my 19" monitor 50% of your page is header.

When you write for a website remember to do benefit - feature.
As a user going to your site an after a quick scan of the first page, I have no idea of why I should be there.

You have to satisify the "what's in it for me" before you go into "how great we are".

Reg

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http://DotCom-Productions.com Website Management
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nice clean design - I like the colours and the overall look.

However I agree the menu needs more detail - perhaps change colour or underling on rollover - it just keeps with web users expectations of how to navigate a site. Also, PLEASE change the colour of those bright blue IE standard colour links on the header - the rest of the site is so pretty they really spoil it for me!

Again, took me more than a minute to work out what you did.

you refer to Idea development consultation alot, when I think what you actually do is basically events planning but with extra? The first paragraph with 'its no mistake you ended up here' and talking about development leads me to think you're some sort of web solutions company. A scan read does not give you any idea what your company does, and that is all that most users will give you before clicking off.

I clicked through to 'welcome' and was even more confused as you talk about ice cream parlours for half a page. If i was looking for an events co-ordinator/planner, I would have left your site by now not entirely sure what you were offering.

Don't waste time explaining out your logo, go straight for it - what you can offer, how the user can ebnefit from it, and why you're the best for the job.

The look of the site is great, but in terms of usability and 'stickiness' I think its not working yet.

for your comments! I see that I have A LOT of work to do on the site, but, as the saying goes, "Rome was not built in a day." Seems as though some of the fixes will be relatively easy such as the rollover effects on the menu links and polishing the content. Others, like the HTML, will be more challenging. I'll be working on each of your suggestions over the next few days, but feel free to keep the critiques coming!

Thanks again!

Gee, I thought you were selling food, till I starting reading the text LOL!

Your site is nice, inviting. It conveys that you are friendly, probably easy to talk to and easy to do business with.

I see where you have your PO Box address, and I'm not sure that this is good idea: people get weary of a lack of street address. Also, I'd add your phone number. People still like to "talk to a person". You might also describe your market area: Serving...

I started with SiteBuilder, and like you, quickly realized that I needed some basic HTML understanding. There are a lot of good sites to teach the basics. I like one called htmlgoodies.com (not affiliated, just thought that he explains clearly).

Sitebuilder puts a lot of extra "junk" in there. Lots of those programs that are aimed towards us newbies do that. Don't do what I did last week: I used Word for a document, and then thought, well, shoot Word can save as an HTML page and then I don't have to do it. What a mess I had!!!

"It is not by accident that you have reached our website."
I would start with a positive sentence.

"Our mission is to magnetize our clients' events "
I have no idea what this means... maybe I need to get out more lol?

"We accomplish our mission by (1) maintaining a high degree of
professionalism and courtesy; (2) encouraging ..."

Maybe make that a list rather than a continuous paragraph. You can use the very first HTML code I learned, although it might not be what the pros do ;)
After each item insert
and that will send the next item to the next line.

Oh, and since I am French originally, your accent on the a is incorrect. You want the accent grave. Probably nobody else will know ;).

Ok, now you made me hungry with all those beautiful photos of delicious foods :).

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Agnes Smith Keys Home Furnishings, Inc. Tropical Vacation Rentals
Professional Upholstery Group

P.O. Box - Mine is a consulting business. Until I can afford office space (which will be a long way off), I will be working out of my home. Pretty much, I go to the client. I do intend to go to the UPS Store to get a post office box. Then, the address would read "Suite xxx". That looks more professional.

Phone - Don't have an official business phone number yet, but will update that information when I get one.

Good idea about the "Serving..." Thanks.

Oops on the incorrect accent! Is faux pas French?!

Thanks for your helpful suggestions and encouraging words! And bon appetit!

In this day and age, with so many of us working from home, I think that the negative connotation of a home-based business is no longer there. Oh yes, a "Suite xxx" will be good, that projects a classy image.

Phone: Good idea to have a separate line. Not only does it make for a "real" business image, but it also allows you to stop answering calls after a certain time and have a life ;).

Yes, faux pas is French. Who else, besides my countrymen, would come up with something like :)?

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Agnes Smith Keys Home Furnishings, Inc. Tropical Vacation Rentals
Professional Upholstery Group

I worked on the site today and made most of the key revisions that were suggested. (Please be kind with your HTML observations as I am still working on that issue.)

I changed the look of the navigation bar, repositioned it in the left-hand margin, and rewrote some of the content.

I'd appreciate your opinions. Thanks!

www.ideasalamode.com

Try to get the full body text to show without scrolling.
Reduce your logo size by 75%. It still takes up 50% of a 1280x1024 res screen.

Reg

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I think that you have a great site and I like the changes/additions you made.

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Agnes Smith Keys Home Furnishings, Inc. Tropical Vacation Rentals
Professional Upholstery Group

Love the colours the idea and the ice cream.

Once you have a website you might find that slowly improving it becomes a regular event each time you learn something new. They say you only have a few seconds to get someones attention.

The first thing I noticed was the colour scheme is very pleasant to look at.

A few suggestions: The logo image on the front page could be the same size as on the other pages so that the top info each page remains the same. Simplify the info wherever possible (for me this is a constant battle), although yours is pretty good - imaging you are the client reading it for the first time. Maybe have a testimonials page when you have them available. Double check the spelling - there is a 'to' in there that should be a 'too'.

Good luck with your business.

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Love Listings & Laptops www.nevboyle.com

RegDCP - I think reducing the logo by 75% would compromise the quality of it. Plus, the tagline would be virtually impossible to read. I checked my site stats and less than 2% of the people who have visited thus far have a 1280x1024 screen resolution. I've opened up the site on 5 other computers and the logo looks fine and not disproportionate to the rest of the page on them. But thanks for your advice!

ASmith - Thanks! Let me know if you have any friends or relatives in the Atlanta area who might need my services. ;)

Nevboyle - I was thinking about reducing the logo on the home page to the same size as on the other pages too. I'll go ahead and do that. Believe it or not, I am still working on the content. I'll read a sentence three or four times, decide it could be worded better, and make a change. I'll go back and review for the spelling error you mentioned. Thanks!

>>I think reducing the logo by 75% would compromise the quality of it. Plus, the tagline would be virtually impossible to read.
This is a classic case of "Function Follows Form" when it should be "Form Follows Function"
>>I checked my site stats and less than 2% of the people who have visited thus far have a 1280x1024 screen resolution.

Right. And on smaller resolutions it will take up proportionately more space.
Here is what I see with an 800x600 window (reduced to 500 pixels wide)


Not only do I have to scroll down I have to scroll sideways.
Your logo is 375 pixels high. Add another 50 pixels for the "You are in the right place graphic" and you are up to 425.
If you consider that a resolution of 800x600 has only about 485 pixels in height after removing the space needed for the browser menus and such, you have 60 pixels left to present your service.

A logo should never be more than 100 pixels in height. Take a look at some of the major portals, Yahoo has a logo 30 pixels high, MSN about the same. Even the top ranking site for the search term "Idea development consultation" (no quotes) has one less than 100 high.
While it is a great branding idea, the truth of the matter is that nobody will be buying because they like your logo. Heck most wont even care about your logo, (except for you and your graphic designer).
People buy because of the information you present. Limiting the area that you have to present your case, get them interested, and present your call to action is counter productive.
Reg

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http://DotCom-Productions.com Website Management
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I don't know when you took that screen shot, but I updated the home page shortly after I posted my last comment. The logo on the home page is now the same size as the logo on the other pages. As for the other issues you have mentioned, they are duly noted.

Here is a page comparing the original screen shot to 2 more I just took.

http://www.dotcom-productions.com/im...new_page_5.htm

Reg

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http://DotCom-Productions.com Website Management
http://0Grief.com Budget PHP/MySQL hosting

Hello, again! I've been at the proverbial "drawing board" over the last 2 weeks trying to remedy the challenges with my website many of you pointed out.

To shorten the "feel" of the pages, the text is viewable in a window with scrollbars. There was no fix for the shifting of text problem, so I adjusted the margins. Plus, I changed a few other elements. There are some fixes I simply cannot do on my own - for those, I'll hand the site off to a friend. In the meantime, though, I want to try to fix what I can.

I welcome your comments. Thanks!

www.ideasalamode.com

I took a look again and while you are getting closer, IMO you are still a long way off.

I am not interested in your ice cream scoops, pieces of pie or whatever.. I am at your site to get INFORMATION on how you can help my business.
The fact that you choose to use 80% of the space on your site for branding impresses me not.
Having to scroll each window is a pain.

Your menu items could be consolidated so that only one row is needed.

You do not establish a personal contact. Your about us page tells what you do, not who you are.
You give a PO box, not a physical address and no phone contact info.

Even your email address is generic (info@)

No "trust" is established.
No idea of costs are given.

SEO is virtually non existent.
You put your primary keyword phrases in graphic format which will do you no good in ranking. Every page has the same content in the meta/title/ tags.

The pages are “pretty”. If you were selling “pretty” it would be a great site. However you are selling business services.

Reg

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