And Yet Another Website To Critque

DavidC

I have been really struggling with this for at least a couple weeks. A home page and contact us are finished and working. The rest are still in the works. I am looking for some input on how I'm doing so far along with suggestions for course adjustments while getting this done right.

I'm using Website Tonight and have 10 pages available. www.watertowncontractors.com

We also have www.cookcontractingllc.com to link to the site.

Be nice, I prefer to get my abuse at home.

TIA
Dave

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silvertree

Skip "Old Fashioned Friendly Service", that could be called a cliche, find another way to say that. I'll go back when your done.

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SLSTech

While I am sure you do high quality work, do everything & more than listed, your site doesn't show it

No Privacy Notice, missing pics & graphics, need a cleaner logo that doesn't appear to be resized, area's you service should be towards the bottom of the page in the footer & not multi colored, who or what does Dave & Jon have to do with the company? Assuming I got to your Contact page, as soon as I hit the the famous I work in all 50 states drop down box, I'm gone. If I was looking for a contractor you lost me in about 2 seconds - sorry but I suggest you look at hiring a pro, graphics design student, or...

As for pages under construction - eliminate the links & add them back when the pages are done

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karunnt

You can get a stock logo at:

http://www.pixellogo.com/Construction-Logos-s.html

and have it modified later if you are handy with a graphics program.

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SLSTech

They have some nice logo's - but to clarify, I don't have a problem with his logo (plain yes, but that's good in a lot of area's)

It is that a very linear logo with text needs to be crisp & clear. The roof line looks like it has shingles on both sides & the text is hard to read & it doesn't portray the look of a detailed professional.

Dave if you wish to keep on doing your site instead of hiring it out, I recommend putting up a clean splash page only at first - name, phone number, original sized logo, maybe a pic or two & a quick description of what you do. Large text

Work on your site after you carefully review some of your competitors sites, members sites on here & list what you like & don't like. Figure out if you are going for a pure quick marketing message (5 -10 pages) an informational marketing message (20+ pages) or a blog style message. Organize your message out on paper first like an outline.

Write your message based on the demographic you are trying to target - i.e. high end clients are looking for granite - not vinyl flooring. Have a few friends & customers proof read it for you & get their honest opinions on not only the writing but the image portrayed. (In a month - you can return the favor when my rewrite is hopefully completed)

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orson

Include your area code with the phone number and lose one of the numbers.

If it's a cell phone and a business line lose the cell # and set up your business line to forward to your cell.

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EricTheHandyman

Your slide show takes a while to load and the pictures are blurry.

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480sparky

The different sizes of images makes it hard to scroll through them. The dog was very distracting. I expected a "Here's my dog, Molly" for a title. Also, looks like they were scanned from a 1965 issue of Popular Mechanics.... spend a couple bucks and hire a pro to take some pix of your jobsites.

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Site : the area or exact plot of ground on which anything is, has been, or is to be located.
Sight : The power or faculty of seeing; perception of objects by use of the eyes; vision.
Cite : To mention in support, proof, or confirmation; refer to as an example.

Aiken Colon

Ditch the under construction, reword it to something else. Believe it or not if google see's under construction or something similiar on your pages it is rumored that it won't index those pages.

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RidgeWalker

Pay a professional graphics designer to create a logo that fits the theme of your sites PLEASE!!!!!!

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Darwin

Dave, you could have unlimited webpages. This software is free for you to create your own site.
http:////www.bluevoda.com/

You must create a professional looking site or people won't associate your professional company with a non-professional looking website. If you create your own site, you can always correct stuff on the fly and add stuff as you wish-the way you like it. Good Luck.

DavidC

Thanks for the replies to date. I am trying this myself after reading GregDi's article on how easy it is to build your website. In my case Website Tonight is an apparent misnomer, Website this year or next may be more accurate.

And just in case, not trying to blame Greg for my own inadequacies. In fact I think it is a well written article and the truth is it motivated me to do something. I may well have to hire this out but will play a bit more in case I suddenly discover I can.

I would a least like an understanding of how it all works and want to be able to edit and change photos from time to time without calling someone else.

I did talk with a web designer today about cleaning up the logo. We came up with that one using a logo design program we had on another computer and no longer have the original. Unfortunately the designer is all about the exciting new logo that he can put together for us when I would like to just clean it up. Job signs, cards, etc. carry the same logo and have been in use for a few years.

I did attempt to publish just the 2 pages but could not with out publishing all 5. I'll try to fill up the other pages with photos or something for the time being.

We did try BlueVoda over a year ago and the results were even worse.

Special thanks to Eric, I didn't realize I had a slide show.

Thanks again for the guidance.

Good Luck
Dave

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www.CookContractingLLC.com

MattCoops

Good thing you asked for a critique now before you went ahead and worked any further in finishing a site.

You may want to look into the steps involved in designing a web site.
Just like construction work has steps for preperation, so does web development for successful content that converts users into customers.

If this is something you are opting to do yourself, you may want to read about the following:

Customer Personas
Comparative Analysis
Flow Charts
Site Map
Wireframes
Usability Tests

--

If you dived into things like "css templates" and "SEO" before doing any study on the subjects listed above, then you are misinformed.
Sad but true, your site will be something that sits in cyberspace, while you profusely try to gather links, and check your analytics weblog daily. You may even be able to tell a few buddies you climbed the ladder in search engine ranks for a few particular keyword phrases. But you won't have any more jobs going on than you do now.

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Darwin

Dave,

Blue Voda updated their software. Much easier to set up your contact page and email. It's seamless now.

HPE

I highly recommend NOT trying to build your own website. If you don't know what you are doing, it shows, and it hurts your business. More importantly, if it isn't optimized for search engines and you know what you are doing in terms of SEO, then you might as well save your time and money and not even build the site.

Disclaimer: I build websites - although I'm not looking for business. I build large websites that cost more than anyone here would need.

You should be able to find a college kid that can put together a nice custom Wordpress theme on a site, get it optimized well for your local search needs, and get that done for $500 - $1,000. You can usually find someone like this on a programmer site like rentacoder.com or craigslist even. On rentacoder, you get the benefit of reviews and people bidding on your project. Can't go wrong there. You really need something done by someone that knows what they are doing. It's just like a homeowner trying to finish their own basement to save money. You may save money, but the results are not going to be what you want.

MattCoops

It doesn't pass my IE crash test: http://www.webupon.com/Web-Talk/Does...Crashes.625299

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thegreek

deck doesnt look too new. Looks old and who wants a old deck? but props on starting your page

DQSpec

Look guys here is what I know because I work with contractors and their websites day in and day out. First let's decide what are your goals for your site? Do you want to use it as a tool in your tool belt or as a business card you can point to? What I mean is do you want it to generate leads and new business or do you want it to be a place to send people after you have contact with them? You all have a tool that if left at a job site or at the office you would have to go get or buy another to do you work, well your website can be just as useful as that tool but you have to have a lot of things in your site to have that happen. I'm not talking expensive things but meta tags, keywords and search engine optimization to name a few so you can get indexed and on your way to a higher ranking with the search engines. Look at it this way, you guys try to do your jobs right the first time so you don't have to go back in and fix it later right? Well your website should be looked at in the same way. Set it up proper and Google, Yahoo and MSN will see you and start getting you there.
Hope that helps.

Greg Di

David,

I just saw your initial post and thought "he probably saw my article."

That's great, and like you said, it motivated you to get on the web which was my intent for the piece.

In the article, I mention that WST is not a replacement for a professionally designed site, but having A presence on the web is better than having NO presence on the web. Heck, I have a couple of small WST sites setup on a few domains and they generate a considerable amount of traffic.

If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll try to help you as much as I can.

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DavidC

That's an interesting comment. The photo is old, probably 7-8 years anyway, but was taken just after the deck was finished. A photo today would show the wear and tear from a lot of use. (and also that my curved rail method needed adjustment) Maybe the problem is that it was scanned from a 35mm print instead of digital.(?)

I appreciate all the comments and advice. It seems I am getting some behind the scenes assistance and will hopefully have some changes to present in the near future.

Good Luck
Dave

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