What am I doing wrong with my website?!

Feralwoman · #1 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 01:27 PM

Hello everyone - I am a complete idiot as far as websites etc are concerned. I created my site Unusual, Unique & often Weird Handcrafted Jewellery - Hot Stuff!! with the help of WebPiston around 18 months ago. Going through my statistics regularly I've noticed that visits are increasing, but time spent per visit has gone down dramatically, way below average. I've had a few sales but they have been few and far between.

Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? It's baffling me. Any feedback would be greatly and cheerfully appreciated.

bj · #2 (**permalink**) 03-13-2008, 09:19 PM

First of all, you sell Jewelry (or jewellery) and I see none of it when I first pull up the page. I have to scroll down to see it. What I first see is gray, black and white. This isn't exciting. Sorry. It's kind of . . . quiet. Subdued. It's not . . . hot.

I'm not seeing quite the same thing in different browsers. And quite frankly nothing screams amateur as much as seeing things out of alignment on a website. And though I'm not sure exactly how it's supposed to look, no one way I see it looks . . . right. I think this is the beginner mistake of designing for one screen resolution, without taking the others into account. And my screen was obviously not the one this was designed for.

Paypal? You're using the paypal cart? Ack. Bad form. Pulls the client to a different website whenever they add to the cart. That's a bit of an annoyance, and may be where you're losing them if they're even getting that far.

If you're serious about selling jewelry or jewellery (optimize for both, btw!) then you need a real shopping cart site, and it needs to work in all browsers. It also needs to show you in an exciting way.

You create really fun stuff, that is colorful, offbeat and attractive. Why isn't your website colorful, offbeat and attractive to reflect YOU?

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but this site as it is now really doesn't give anyone any good reason to convert to a purchaser.

davebarnes · #3 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 08:54 AM

1. Stop using MS Word to create pages. Stop using WebPiston. Learn to use Dreamweaver. Better yet, hire someone to build your website. Your time is better spent designing jewelry than coding HTML.

2. Start using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Use an external CSS.

3. Use a real logo at the top of the page. I think I see something small that looks like a logo on the homepage.

4. Use black text on a white background as it is much easier to read than the reverse.

5. Don't make your homepage so long as not many will scroll down that far.

6. I found the color scheme to be depressing.

7. You should only use the ® (registered trademark) once per page at the most.

8. Contact Us is missing postal, physical, phone. Oh, it is not missing phone, but the phone number is very light blue text on a white background. I missed it upon first viewing.

aidsntcg · #4 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 09:11 AM

I agree with all that bj has said. Your website does not reflect you at all. The colors are very depressing. Frankly, when I first pulled up the page and viewed what was in my screen view prior to scolling down, I expected to find that your jewerly designs were going to be made of metal and truly bizarre. I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful your designs are. Liven up your site with color that reflects the beauty of your jewelry and your creative, fun nature.

The home page is much too long and has too much content. Showcase your jewelry on the home page so that it is seen when the page opens.

My personal opinion is that the slideshow is taking up valuable space on your home page. The photos are too small to show the detail of your jewelry and though I assume the various animals are beloved pets, and being a pet lover I understand your desire to want to share them with the world, visitors are coming to your site to see your jewelry. Do you realize that once a photo is clicked on, the user is taken to the slideshow site and when coming back to your site, your slideshow no longer works? I clicked on a slide expecting the photo to enlarge so that I could see the fine detail of the piece of jewelry and was disappointed to be taken to another site where I had to click two more times opening up two more windows before finally getting a large view of the photo. Much too frustrating and time consuming for your visitors.

Focus your site on your jewelry, make it colorful and I think you will see visitors staying longer and more sales.

Dubbya · #5 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 11:36 AM

As usual, Bj and Dave are spot on.

Web users base their decisions on appearances and to them, your site appears dull and dated. You really need to improve on the "BAM!" factor by adding some color. Hire a Graphic Artist to redesign your site or, if cash is an issue, try to find a more attractive layout template.

Black backgrounds with white text? No-nuh-no-no-NO!

Lose the Guest book. They're a thing of the past and, more importantly, scream "I'm small time".

Get a real shopping cart. There are tons of them around, tons that are either free or inexpensive to acquire.

BTW, where are your shipping, warranty and exchange policies?

Realistically, if you intend to sell jewelry (jewellery) online, you're competing with the big dogs. They're well established, aggressive and, for the most part, well monied. You'll have to come off as a reputable retailer in order to build a sustainable customer base.

Remember, it's all about establishing trust. Trust in your brand, you ability to provide quality products, courteous, professional customer service and reliable shipping.

Start by giving them something pleasant to look at.

amxfan · #6 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 02:38 PM

First I would like to say that the above responses I agree with 100%. I will try not to repeat what they have already stated as there is no need to, but I feel I have a few other things that you may want to think about if you chose to redesign your page and not hire someone to.

* Your title appears to be too large height-wise. The text in the title appears to be flawed and disconnected as it goes from the gray background and overlays onto the white background. The image also does the same thing.

* You are not selling bookmarks. You are not selling search boxes, crests or flags. Your not even selling PayPal accounts. But all of these things appear before any of your products.

* You put your products on a small top nav bar. If these are the products you are selling, why not put them on the larger left nav bar where they will get more attention from your visitors?

* People are going to buy your product based on your pictures and descriptions. Most of the pictures that I see, all of them seem to have a camera flash or are fuzzy / blurry. I highly recommend if you are not going to get the pictures done professionally, then build a light box that will provide adequate lighting where a flash is not required and will also show the proper colors of your products. A light box can be manufactured rather easily from a large cardboard box with a decorative piece of cloth draped on the inside to cover it, available at any Wal-Mart store. The lighting you can play with until you get what you want, but the use of standard incandescent lighting is not recommended due to the color and glow. Another idea that I have personally found that works rather well for necklaces, bracelets and earrings is do not take a picture...scan them on a flatbed scanner.

* You need to determine exactly what keyword you are going to go after. Spend some time on overture and google adsense to determine the number of searches and keyword difficulty of the keyword you want to achieve. Then you need to use this keyword in your title, description and keywords tag as close to the beginning as possible. I am sorry, I do not think alot of people are searching 'Unusual, Unique & often Weird Handcrafted Jewellery'.

* Also you need proper declaration for your page. I am not 100% on pushing that your page must validate, but it should at least contain a doctype.

* This was brought up regarding your phone number. Your product descriptions are unreadable and hardly even visible due to your font color.

* Paypal and Google checkout are good as a secondary checkout / cart method. You should incorporate a primary cart / gateway. One more note on your PayPal checkout...the email address to which people are sending money is not your site address, but appears to be your personal account. This destroys all trustworthiness of your site that you may already have had. Set up a PayPal account using an email address for the business.

* I know Dubbya already stated this one, but it is so important that I will restate this one. Your returns, shipping, corporate and privacy policies should be completely spelled out and printed on your page.

* Since you are in Australia, an international shipping page stating whether or not you ship internationally and your methods of, if you do, should also be included somewhere on your page.

* A forum is NOT a chat room. Also your forum is very poorly designed and laid out. It is also unreadable. The background totally overpowers any text. I also notice that no topics have been posted and no replies have been given. This makes a visitor feel the forum is unused and is a waste of their time to post a new topic or ask a question.

* On some of your images, when you click them to view the larger image, they open in the same window. It would be best if you used some sort of hover or javascript to view the larger image, or at least have it open in a new window.

DeathMitten · #7 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 04:48 PM

IMO, you need to make the site a bit simpler, and make the jewelry immediately visible once the site is opened. Preferably, get someone to build the site.

**crankydave** · #8 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 05:49 PM

All terrific replies! I hope you take each and every one of them to heart.

A few things I'd like to reinforce...

You must instill confidence with your site and deliver it with your product and service. If you don't do the former, you'll not have an opportunity to the latter. Jewelry shoppers don't need a reason not to trust you.

Have very clear declarations about the materials, and their quality, you use to create your jewelry. Have a very clear return policy.

Product images are everything. Invest in a decent light box when you are able. Lose the elements. The busts and other props are fine for showcase windows and can make nice splash shots but for the individual product images keep them clean and showcase your product.

Dave

Clicken · #9 (**permalink**) 03-14-2008, 11:44 PM

Hi Feralwoman,

The others brought up some very good points for consideration however the point of white text on black backgrounds being an absolute no no is debatable.

If done with care it can be very effective. If the content text is not too long and the text is sized at least to a medium, with line spacing adjusted to at least 150% then it can be easily read without strain. A long time ago misterscreensjeans, an IT professional, had explained to me that it was found by early web developers that a black screen with white text helped to reduce eye strain.

However just from personal experience, the structure of the page and composition of the text have an effect on the validity of the claim. There are instances where it has an adverse effect, such as when the text is not large enough or is too close together.

A white background with black text can cause eye strain, if the page has small text, flashy images and lots of clashing colors. It’s all about composition and personal preference.

I liked the incorporation of white, black and grey. This lets the color of the stones have the attention. However a hint, glimmer or splash of color in the header might tie it all together. The short descriptions next to the products on your pages were done in a pleasing way, for me. It was the smaller, italic text underneath some of them which seemed to cause strain.

The pendant page has white text on a white background. Oops. I used my cursor to highlight the text so that I could read it. Using the quote below I will offer my opinion on the content of the product descriptions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ”#564 Black Potch with Firey Opal Inlay SS Pendant "Evolution" ”

Was I in a strange mood when I created this or what! I didn't plan the design, it just sort of evolved. (Hence the name.)

Anyway, here we have a black potch bead with a gorgeous Aussie Opal inlay. Potch is a common opal with no colour. It varies from black to milk white to greenish, yellowish or bluish in colour. Potch has no real value in itself, its value comes from the effect it has on the colours above it.

Our price: $110.00

The bead is mounted into a decorative Sterling Silver surround (not stuck in with glue). The whole thing sits on a delicate woven wire "shape" which is decorated with Sterling Silver balls and unusual shapes. There are no sharp edges on this piece. Things like that really irritate me - that's why I ensure that everything is sooo smooth.

Size: Approx. 60mm long x 35mm at widest part
Weight: 8.8g

---------

Opal is a delicate stone with a fine vibration. It induces psychic and mystical visions. Stimulating originality and dynamic creativity, it aids in accessing and expressing one's true self. It is a karmic stone, teaching that what you put out comes back; & a protective stone in that, when properly programmed, it makes you unnoticeable or invisible. It can be used when venturing into dangerous places, and in shamanic work where stealth is required.

Enhancing self worth, Opal helps you to understand your full potential. It encourages interest in the arts. Opal has always been associated with love and passion, desire and eroticism. It is a seductive stone that intensifies emotional states and releases inhibitions. Wearing Opal is said to bring loyalty, faithfulness and spontaneity. From "The Crystal Bible" by Judy Hall.

Dictionary dot com offers the following for the word Shamin:

Quote:

”(esp. among certain tribal peoples) a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc.”

“A member of certain tribal societies who acts as a medium between the visible world and an invisible spirit world and who practices magic or sorcery for purposes of healing, divination, and control over natural events.”

I understand that there are many people who are into the supernatural and I do not wish to debate the subject of magic being another word for trickery. The point of the quote from your page is to show the difference of descriptions being used which were separated by the short dashed line.

Above the dashed line, the description is non-negotiable, it is to the point and factual about the piece. On the other hand…

Below the dashed line, the description is debatable, non-factual and certainly not appreciated by everyone.

Which of the two are professional?

Sure the mysticism can be appreciated by some but if you want to present a serious and trusted professional image to more than a few, then perhaps the debatable information about the stones should be removed or put on a separate page for those who entertain those concepts.

My comments are not intended to offend and hope they are received as just a point of view from an observer trying to help move the very interesting pieces you have to offer.

thai_guy · #10 (**permalink**) 03-15-2008, 11:28 PM

I expect you will wake up to all this and make your espresso a double. I have a couple of comments that i will add to the insight already provided. Further to Clicken's comments on content, as a business you should indentify your market. If your market is a strongly spiritual community then that is fine, but limiting I would think. If you want to broaden your market then your content needs some attention, as has been pointed out.

Another content example is from your home page... I read "It is only natural to shop around from one company to the next when looking for Ready Made or Custom Design Jewellery (I think better not to feed your visitors this notion). But Feral Designsฎ wants locals in the Dandenong Ranges (? for your bricks and mortar business) and customers on-line to have a valid and clearly reliable option (what is valid and what make your reliability 'clear,). If you're spending your hard earned money, you should end-up with a great product. This is precisely why Feral Designsฎ guarantees quality assistance and affordable, unique & well finished Hot Jewellery items (this last sentence can be much better and where I come from Hot jewelry is something you stay away from...). " ... in general I am not sure this statement will leave visitors more inclined to proceed.

This is an example and some of your other content also should be examined. Perhaps your intent was to add some keywords to the page but content should give clear meaning and a concise messages as well as supporting keyword SEO.

About your market, it has been questioned about your policies and whether you do International business. I went through a checkout process and I have no indication whether you can ship to my country or not. In fact the one price shipping leads me to think otherwise.

Also, your checkout process sends me directly to Paypal and it looks like you want me to PP you money before you have taken any information from me. Your shopping cart and checkout will not work for you if you ask people to send you money before you even know my name or where I live. Abandonment rate for this current process will be very high.

About branding, you could certainly continue using stylized font as a logo.. personally I think this is fine. If the Thai character (daw-chadaa) means something to you then you could perhaps do something to graphically stylize this. Or follow other's advice for a branding redesign is another valid option.

I wish you good luck.