My new website: review it please - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

**ProWallGuy** · 10-29-2009, 06:44 PM

All right, I finally got around to having a new site built. This just went live a week ago, but working out of town has had me too busy to look at it until today. I have sent in my pictures for the gallery so they should appear soon, and have already noted a few changes that will be made. But all you web/seo gurus out there, let me know what you think. Be honest, be brutal, whatever.

ProWallpaper.com

J. Sullivan · 10-29-2009, 06:49 PM

Oh shizzle, I was going to do a review of this site too, then I saw you're a Mod.

Just joking (unless you whip out the ban hammer). I'll check it out and post up a review

Edit: And here's the review

Design

Good clean design, not cluttered at all. Navigation is prominent enough.

However it looks like it was built with standard html which is going to make it a "less than fun" job to update and add pages and functionality to in the future. I've gone on and on about the benefits of using a CMS, I'm sure you could just refer to one of those posts.

For some reason it also "feels" small to me. The header image is real nice quality wise (although somewhat generic), but it feels like it is dominating the space without adding anything. Maybe add the awesome tag line "Quality Doesn't Cost More, It Pays." or something to the image.

No real call to action, no clear direction for the visitor to take. What do you want the visitor to to do (place an order, fill out contact information, request a brochure, whatever)?

I would dump reusing the company name for the main title since it's already in the logo, instead put in your unique selling point (whatever differentiates you from the competition). The homepage should motivate them to dig deeper into the page, and this one really doesn't do that.

I don't know how important it is for your visitors to know what manufacturers you carry, but I think the space could be better used. I noticed you have testimonials, so that would be a great place to feature a couple of them.

Can't comment on the portfolio as it isn't up yet. Also your contact form looks a little wonky since the input boxes aren't in line. I personally don't like to ask for the phone number right off the rip, but it's definitely not too much to ask for. Certainly not a deal breaker.

Google maps plugin loads with the pin centered, it needs to load off center so the input box is showing if they want directions, or to know what they are looking at.

SEO

Keywords are looking good, not too heavy and bloated. Without doing research on them I wouldn't know how competitive they will be. PM me and I'll check out 3 or 4 of them for you for free.

Title tag contains keywords, so that's good too. Goes hand in hand with the keyword research though

That's pretty much it for a quick review, let me know if there are any specifics you want me to hit on.

angus242 · 10-29-2009, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProWallGuy

Be honest, be brutal, whatever.

ok, that chair is fugly!

Seems nicely laid out. Lots of info available. Navigation simple. Phone number obvious and service area listed.

I've always been a fan of light colored backgrounds instead of dark ones. That's just me.

Darwin · 10-29-2009, 07:00 PM

only thing i would do is change the black webpage background to white, leaving the black foreground with content intact. that is the first thing i noticed when i clicked on your page. to much black. kinda depressed feeling.

brighten it up!

SLSTech · 10-29-2009, 07:12 PM

You will work worldwide? (We work in and around the St. Louis Area while some of our services can be applied worldwide. Our coverage area includes, but is never limited to...)

I am going to disagree about the Black background - I think it works with your layout & content, granted there are plenty of people out there that say it is a major no-no, but I think it looks pretty good

OGStilts · 10-29-2009, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darwin

to much black. kinda depressed feeling. brighten it up!

Everyone always says this so there must be something to it but I tend to like the dark backgrounds. I think they can add a sophisticated and/or professional type aura. But what the heck do I know, ask a marketing pro.

J. Sullivan · 10-29-2009, 07:19 PM

Usually the reason people trash black is that the content is always jammed in, and you just don't notice it as much with white or light backgrounds.

But if you use negative space correctly and let your design breathe, there really isn't any problem at all. Plus dark background pages make you "think" they load faster.

Here are a couple examples of awesome dark background websites

http://breathingjuice.com/

http://www.fullyillustrated.com/

http://dragoninteractive.com/

When used correctly, it definitely can differentiate you from every other light background competition.

I say keep it black, and let the design breathe some more

**ProWallGuy** · 10-30-2009, 03:22 PM

Thanks for the insight.

I have heard to put customer testimonials throughout the site, rather than on one page. Is there any benefit to this other than keeping the praise in front of the viewers face? Or does this help with seo in some way?

And I also haven't checked with the web company,but is there any reason for that map on the contact page? Other than to show I am in St. Louis?

J. Sullivan · 10-30-2009, 03:38 PM

The only SEO benefit from testimonials would be if they included your keywords, they would count towards the density.

They are fantastic ways to build trust though, so I would definitely advice putting them in front of customers as often as possible. Make sure they are relevant, not like "Wow, this guy was great! A+"

Great testimonials address and solve objections before the customer even gets to think about them.

Also, the only real reason to have a Google Maps plugin would be if you want your customers to know exactly where you are located, or if they'll need/want driving directions. Otherwise, it's just visual.

cbscreative · 10-30-2009, 04:18 PM

I see you have full names for the testimonials, that's great. I believe it's good to use them in different areas of your site. The full names lend credibility too, especially since it's more difficult to gain permission for using them. A lot of sites just use first names or initials, and the testimonials are often fake. Even if they're real, it offers perception problems. Your's do not have that issue.

Darwin · 10-30-2009, 04:22 PM

The contact page. You can put basically anything you want to on any of your pages. The guy that designed your site probably had this big empty space and decided to put the map in there. IMHO. You could put more pictures, clip art, anything in place of the map if you decided to.

Also on your contact page, your edit boxes aren't aligned whatsoever! That looks kinda unprofessional on the designer's part. The guy seems like he is in a hurry to create this site when I see something like that.

The phone number has dashes and in other sections, uses dots. No one uses dashes too much anymore.

One more thing. You have a great website address. prowallpaper.com. just over 10 keystrokes and memorable. Plus, it is a .com.

J. Sullivan · 10-30-2009, 04:26 PM

@ Darwin

I definitely wouldn't suggest just sticking anything in there to fill space. If it's on your website, it needs to have a purpose. Don't just stuff it full of crap so that it "looks" full. It's just one more thing to distract the visitor. And for god sake STAY AWAY FROM CLIP ART! It's not 1996 anymore, you DO NOT want to give that vibe.

I mentioned the input boxes earlier, and I have to agree with Darwin. Definitely something you want addressed.

I haven't found anything saying dots or dashes lead to conversion rates. As long as the number is prominently displayed and easily accessible, you shouldn't have a problem.

cbscreative · 10-30-2009, 06:41 PM

LOL. I have to agree the clip art and stuffing things just to fill space is a bad idea, but it was amusing. I'd post a link to a hilarious video, but probably only us "designers" would be able to appreciate it. OK, I can't resist, here it is:
http://line25.com/articles/the-harsh...-as-a-designer

The top one is the best, but J, you'll no doubt like the 3rd one with Paul Boag doing a presentation. It's awesome!

J. Sullivan · 10-30-2009, 07:02 PM

Side Conversation:

Boag is the man! I love him and Marcus on the BoagWorld Podcast. Absolutely love that series, you've got it get it if you don't already have it!

J. Sullivan · 10-30-2009, 07:07 PM

haha the first video is exactly what the web was a couple years ago. So so sad when you look back. Even sadder when you see that some sites use these "products" for real haha

It seems that everything that was cool to wear in the 1980s works even better on the web in 2009. hahahaha I'm waiting for the fishnet long sleeve shirt background. These show the mullets of the web world.

suite1 · 11-01-2009, 01:28 PM

Great advice everybody!

Web dude thank god you mentioned " Call To Action".

I do commend you on putting up your phone number at least.

For a tile guy that's a pretty good attempt.

I attend the Search Engine Strategies Conference and one of the big beefs they have is web sites that don't dedicate each page to a topic.

SEO experts stress that each page should dedicate a keyword. So have a page dedicated to painting , a page for wallpaper a page for removing wallpaper etc.

Also each page should have at least 700-900 words with between 3-5 % of the keyword ( not keywords) mentioned on each page. No more than 5 % or you could get bounced ( my term) from the search engine rankings.

TileArt · 11-01-2009, 07:20 PM

Quote:

For a tile guy that's a pretty good attempt.

HEY!!!!