Web Site

[coach]

Would you fine turners please take a gander at the little site I put together and let me know what you think? It is done with geocities so it is free and has ads on it. If you let it load all the way, you can exit the ads. I can't seem to center the site, I guess because of the ads. This is merely a trial run, if you will, until I decide if it is worth paying for webspace and trying to make sales online. Your advice and constructive criticism is appreciated!

www.tedesigns.cjb.net

 

[btboone]

Hi Coach. Looks like a clean interface. The biggest thing I could suggest is to have the pictures be links to a larger picture where you can see individual pens. Make it easier for someone to order by having specific model numbers or names for different models. It says that prices start at $XX amount, but I think it might be good for the customer to know what the options are and what they cost. This avoids people thinking that if they asked for the pen that they wanted, it might be priced a lot higher than they want, so they never bother to call or e-mail. In the header, I'd make it a little more clear that you are indeed selling pens on the site and they can order from there by emailing XX, XX, and XX information. The ordering part is a little nebulous for the customer, so that might be defined a little better on subsequent pages on exactly how that works. Details as to what kind of payments are excepted and what to expect when ordering are questions in his mind. If the customer has all the info he needs to order, he might be more inclined to do so.

 

[JimGo]

I don't know that I can add much more than the great feedback Bruce has already given, except perhaps that some shots of the different woods you're offering.

 

[coach]

I would like to add more pics, but I don't think I can have another page with geocities. I guess I should bite the bullet and pay for a site so I can make these improvements. Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming!

 

[btboone]

I'm not sure with Geocities how it works, but there are some others that offer a few pages for free. My first site was with AOL, and it was free. Yahoo and others do that too.

If you decide to go whole hog, check into a shopping cart. That makes a ton of difference. People can click on a pen and order the very pen that they see. People are generally pretty bad at visualizing different options, so if you could actually show them, and have those pens available, you would be way ahead of the curve.

 

[dougle40]

Ditto on all the above , but looks like a good place to start .

 

[Ligget]

Hi Coach, I signed your guest book, when I tried to view the guest book it wouldn`t display!
Getting there with the web site idea though!

 

[woodscavenger]

Go to tripod.com. They have free websites and templates for building them as well. Your site is nice and simple but people will definitely want some detailed pics before they buy. You can look at my site. It's not professional by any means but it is free and I did it all with their template builder.

htt://woodscavenger.tripod.com

 

[BogBean]

Shane,
Very nice website. One of the better one's I have seen...

 

[wee willie]

very nice Shane, i am working on one through Yahoo if it turns out as well as yours I will be happy

 

[btboone]

That is a great site Shane. I like the approachable attitude that it conveys. I like that you say who you are, and what your philosophy for pen making is. It makes you look more like you are a real person that they can easily deal with rather than a corporation or a website. The style conveys that they shouldn't feel intimidated or reserved when dealing with you, and that their satisfaction is your goal. You do a great job describing the options and ordering details. Exactly what I was meaning in my first post.