I would like some feedback on my clients site. It has been up for some time now and have not made many sales. I know part of it is due to marketing, was wondering if anyone would have some input for me to consider. Marketing ideas etc... Budget is very weak on this one.
all feedback welcome.
Tell me why you wouldn't buy here etc.
Thanks for all info.
site is http://www.cuzzles.com

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Tony V Get Paid To Blog Even If you don't Blog

The budget may be weak but here's what I'd recommend right off the hop:

Lose the puzzle piece page background

Reformat the text so it looks more professional. It's enourmous and is exhausing in terms of readability.

Here's what happens when someone hits your page:[list][*] Their eyes go straight for the content.[*] They don't look for the tabbed navigation at the top of the page.[*] They mouse over the blue paragraph text, some of which is clickable, some of which seems only to be there to cause confusion.[*] They scan the content and have no idea how to get started.[*] They look around and start mousing over tabs... click one and find out they're shopping.[*] They look at a page or two and click the PayPal "Add to Cart" button. [*] They decide the site is not credible enough to buy from and they leave.

Work on a layout that will help build credibility and establish trust.

Users don't like being taken off the site to add an item to a cart, especially when it opens in a new window and doesn't look anything like the originating site.

You need to set up a proper cart. There are plenty of free carts that'll integrate with PayPal at the payment portion of the checkout process. The script submits to Paypal where the payment is processed then they come back to your site. It's quite common and works fairly well. Anyone with a PayPal account won't have any problem with it. Additionally, you might want to edit your PayPal template page so it looks more integrated with the cuzzles site.

In terms of where to start. You need to work on the shopping process as a whole. Because the puzzle card is not that common an item for most folks, you need to take a "start here" approach and coach them through the process to get them started. "Create your own Cuzzle", "Let's get Started!" or "How to get started" might work.

Go and pick up a copy of "Don't Make Me Think vol. 2" by Steve Krug. He explains exactly why some sites work and others don't. A must read for any ecommerce site developer. It's all about usability and clearly defining the shopping process.

Advanced Common Sense Home

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Hi Tony,

On page 4 in google for ‘puzzle cards’… pretty good.

The product is a great idea but the price seems a little high for a greeting card IMO even if it is a small puzzle. There are free e-cards available and some are in puzzle form, granted you can’t play with them on the floor but they dominate the search results which force the searcher to consider price.

Also, there should be a physical address and telephone number to establish trust. The contact page has only an e-mail form.

I like the puzzle background and I don’t think it will affect the sales like quality, competitive pricing and trust will unless it’s one that makes a site unbearable to actually view. This one looks subtle enough for my taste.

The use of Heading Tags in the script as well as alternate text for the images can help in the site ranking. I didn’t see any use of heading tags and only some of the images have alt text. The images with the alt text ‘Happy Birthday Cuzzle’ could be changed to ‘Happy Birthday Puzzle Card’ since the term cuzzle hasn’t become synonymous with greeting cards or puzzles. Hey, you could also add the term greeting card to the key words and on the page.

Good luck with it!

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Clicken
Math Flash Cards Online

Is it a searched term, though? Wordtracker results shows longer tailed phrases but no searches for 'puzzle cards' but I am sure your traffic analysis will tell you whether you are getting traffic for that term. WT is not always accurate. But this is the list it returned when I researched 'puzzle cards':

kids christmas puzzle cards
photo puzzle cards
donruss baseball puzzle and cards
children's christmas puzzle cards
anniversary puzzle cards
christmas puzzle cards

I am also not fond of the puzzle background; makes it all too busy and it hurts my eyes to try and read. Why not make that the background on either edge of the site, and give yourself a little more margin to display it?

The blurriness of the buttons at the top makes me wonder about the quality of the products. That could be working against conversions. And it's generally messy looking site with too much going on. It doesn't inspire trust that the products will be clean and clear.

I agree with Dubbya's other comments - no need to repeat them.

Not that you asked, but this site needs lots of basic SEO help ... title tag, heading 1s, keyword rich anchor text ... and more are aching for optimization. Once you have a plan to better convert traffic, perhaps you will want to turn your attention to SEO. Check out this post on SEO Where Do I Begin for some help on that.

Cheers, MJ

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M.-J. Taylor
SEO Web Design by Cyber Key Search Smart Design® SEO Copywriter & Traveling Vacation Gypsy

I have to agree with most of these posts, the background is adding confusion, and the text needs properly laying out to give a professional feel.

Not sure I would trust the site enough to make a purchase.

To be blunt, this is a horrible design. I would go into detail but I'm on my way out. Take the advice from everyone who gave it before. If nothing else invest in a good template, make some adjustments and relaunch the site because I wouldn't spend my money there.

The link tabs at the top of the page need to be "un-blurrified". Agree that the text looks blocky and unprofessional. The left menu needs some style as well. I think overall, it's a nice idea - but needs some professionalism added to it. Good luck!

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Rick - Linux Tutorials for Beginners
allin-enterprises.com | VaGunForum.net | all-in-general.com | MagliteSales.com |

I am not really surprised that the site hasn't attracted much in the way of sales. Before you even consider any SEO issues, the design and build quality of the site needs to be addressed. I see that it has been built using FrontPage and what looks like templates. There are some really good sites built by FrontPage but not many and the feel good for the client/customer will start when the open the site. My initial reaction was, I wouldn't buy here and if enough folks have that attitude no amount of SEO and web marketing will make a jot of difference.

You owe it to your client to offer him/her a quality design that will persuade people to linger. Once you have done that, then you can then start on the web marketing and SEO.

Ian

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SEO Specialist, CSS Developers

ok now if this was a site you designed for a client, you robbed him or her in my opinion because this site violates so many web design laws it's too many to count.

the truth is that in this case, with a product that i've never heard of, the site should have been simpler. that way i wouldn't be distracted by stuff while i'm trying to figure out what this product is, who is for and is it for me.

also, never ever use frontpage to design a site ever! if you are going to use a template, get something from templatemonster.com. if not then remember. before you do something ask yourself "what would the big boys do?" the big boys being amazon.com, msn.com, ebay.com, ibm.com, yahoo.com, google.com and etc. those guys are still around because they stick to basic good design principles.

also check out Web Pages That Suck learn usability and good Web design by looking at bad Web design Home Page. you can learn good design skills from bad design.

later.

Lots of good feedback above. Your client really needs to focus on the customer. There is just too much going on on the home page. A very simple image with the benefit to the customer should greet customers.

From there a very easy to understand navigation; card categories, policy, etc.

Simplifying the shopping experience should also top your list of MUST DOs. There is a long list of buy now buttons for what amounts to one card with different options. Find a shopping cart that you like that will allow you to set up options with different prices. Mals-e will let you do this and it's a free cart.

Dubbya's suggestion for a "start here" and walk customers through the process is an excellent one.

It's a cute concept. Creating a more professional website will build trust and build sales.

As I like to say "Homemade is great for cookies, NOT for your marketing and website!"

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Graphic & Web Design
www.jannmirch.com