New site up - help me whip it into shape

TSM · May 2012

Finally got a working site up and running but it doesn't look "done" to me. I have seen quite a few very nice looking sites come through here and I was hoping that some of you may be able to give me some suggestions to "tighten it up" a little bit. My profession is not in webdesign, (as may be apparent by the following link lol) so all comments are welcomed.

I am using the Mobi theme from Elixir graphics and Stacks2. The site is purely an information only site but still needs to be user friendly and light. The site is still a work in progress so you may see some things changing from time to time. The site is www.transitionalsystems.com.
Thank you in advance

Colorwave · May 2012

Here's my quick feedback. Overall, it looks pretty good for a person who's "profession is not in web design". My biggest issue is with your choice of fonts. I count at least eight different ones on your home page alone. I'd try to use no more than three or four, including your display fonts. The font that bugs me the most, is the one used for your subhead that says "products for professionals". It seems to be the least professional font on the page.

My only other bit of constructive criticism is related to your menu at the top, but I don't know how difficult that will be to address. On my 27" monitor, the menus are almost all offset to the right of your page, floating over the dark background. When I reduce the width of the browser menu, I can see that it is better on a smaller screen, but I see no reason that you would not want the menu to be centered on the content. If there isn't a menu alignment setting, you may need to add some custom CSS code to fix it, assuming that it can be done without screwing up the menu for mobil browsers, which is most likely the reason it is designed to float.

TSM · May 2012

@Colorwave Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely take a look at the number of fonts and see if we can narrow it down to a select few lol. I can see how that would improve the feel and flow of the page.

I agree about the navigation as well. I wish there was an "option" to have it centered in the page but there are really no options at all for the navigation other than color. Would you happen to know how to do that with CSS? If it does mess with the mobile menus I can always undo it I suppose. I am even considering changing the coloring to make it more visible (I'm a big fan of easy to find/use navigation). If there was an option to just make it float at the top of the page so it was handy where ever you scrolled to on the page I would probably opt for that as well!!

Colorwave · May 2012

I don't know the best way to fix it with custom CSS, as it appears to be a good bit tricker than a standard menu. I took a look at what happens when it is viewed on an iPhone, and would be afraid of breaking it altogether by having to guess at a solution. Normally, I'd say to contact the developer for suggestions, but I think I remember that Adam from Elixir has a strict no-modifications policy about offering support. Don't quote me, though, as my memory could be wrong on this count. I'd see no harm in asking him, however. Sorry to offer critique without being able to provide a solution. Perhaps keener minds on this forum than mine could offer a hand.

Pagoda · May 2012

I'm going to be short but harsh. WAY TOO VERBOSE.

It's akin to reading an essay. My eyes glazed over & I didn't even bother reading beyond the first paragraph.

Your first page should be like a chapter index in a book.

Identify the key themes you want to present. Identify the key subjects that users will want to know about.

Because we're providing feedback (and because I support Environmentally Superior products / lifestyle changes & love that you guys help reduce water waste), I went back & read through it all. It seems to me your key themes are as follows:
1 Established company (25 years experience)
2 Repair sprinkler irrigation system
3 Our products
4 Media
5 Water Saving

On the front-page, keep it short & sweet. Emphasize the key subjects / themes that customers will be interested in & let them click to find more information.

Then afterwards, I think you should have one page for each of your 'themes'.

I'd remove the 'new website section' on the first page. Most people really don't care & it takes up important front-page space.

Think about opening a book, or a magazine, or going to a supermarket: simple, short & clear labels are there. They're like arrows, directing people to the information they want to read about.

Love your graphics btw!!

cheers

TSM · May 2012

Sorry I have not been able to get back here quicker, we have been insanely busy lately and have not had the time to dedicate to this project. I am hoping to now be able to dedicate some more time (I think I'm free between 12 and 1am lol)

@Colorwave You were right about the navigation. I sent an email and just got a response:
"Neither of those things are options of the theme. The product page outlines all of the theme's available options: http://elixirgraphics.com/themeview/mobi. If it is not listed on that page, it is not an option of the theme."
So unless anybody has a suggestion for a workaround, it is what it is.

I have started the process of stripping the extraneous fonts out and trying to keep it a bit more on the simple side. Thank you again for bringing that to my attention.

@Pagoda I AGREE lol. I am not fond of the wall-o-text that is our homepage either. This brings up an issue though. The copy that is on that page is what gets referenced by the search engines and ultimately brings that person to our site. Unfortunately, the same thing that brings them in can also repel them. so my question to you is this:
How to you optimize for keywords with out making your site visitors eyes gloss over from all the text?
I also wanted to thank you for taking the time to go through and read everything, make sense out of it and take the time to do the write up like you did. It is very much appreciated.

And if anybody else has any insights, all opinions are welcomed.

RW Newbie · May 2012

I don't have a smart phone to see how a responsive theme reacts. However, when I shrink my Safari web browser on my MacBook Air, I see responsive take over. But your header does not resize and the yellow box of links is cut off and although the page scrolls up and down the yellow links box appears fixed and the information is unobtainable. Is this different when viewed on a smart phone? Thanks.

Colorwave · May 2012

Hmmm. I just checked it on my iPhone, and is looks mostly right in landscape mode, although the header and some content is cut off. In portrait mode, is is all sliced, diced, and incomplete. I've found that with many responsive sites, that I prefer dealing with small type and zooming vs. how the sites cope with small screen sizes.

Pagoda · May 2012

Hi TSM,

Glad you weren't upset. I'm a greenie, (launching a green business shortly actually, not related), so I really wanted to give my feedback.

Front page content is important, but for SEO, you need to focus on page descriptions, use the meta tags and even image tags.

My website for the upcoming business launch is already item #8 on the front page of google if you do a simple two word search (very generic). & I haven't launched yet, cross referenced it, nor done any advertising yet. My front page has only 19 words on it. Only 2 of them are the product / brand name. Only one other word is considered a 'keyword'. The reason (a I got lucky) but B, I spent time using googles free word analytics & using RW page descriptions, meta-tags, headers & even image names as properly as possible.

Google word analytics. A) it's free. You might want to do is spend the time doing a google analytics. I can't remember the link, but I spent time using their FREE word counter. It lets you input a bunch of words related to your product & it will show you how many times people searched for those words. You can then concentrate by geography / city etc. very very useful. I spent time on this & found about 15~20 keywords that potential clients would be searching for: figured out which ones were most popular.

B: google bots trawl page descriptions, header & meta tags.
Here is an excellent article / how-to on the topic. I use page descriptions / headers & meta tags very actively.
http://www.ragesw.com/blog/2010/10/14/seo-for-rapidweaver-how-to-optimize-your-rapidweaver-website-for-google/

I would really ditch the wall-o-text: when customers do get to your page: you want them to be impressed & stay on your site. Websites are like shop-fronts nowadays: if it's a mess, they expect a sloppy business.

cheers!

TSM · May 2012

@RW Newbie I have noticed that as well. I'm not sure why the header do not resize(even on a smartphone) it is supposed to be responsive. As for the links, they dont show up on the mobile version. I'm seriously reconsidering my decision to go responsive with our website. It is not reacting quite the way we need it on the browsers that our visitors are using.

@Pagoda Not mad at all lol. I asked for opinions. I would hope that people would be honest with me. If you like it say so if not let me know what you don't like about it. Thanks for all the info, I have made use of some of that stuff already but I will have to go through the site and make sure that all my i's are crossed and t's are dotted when it comes to this.

Realmac Software

New site up - help me whip it into shape

Comments

Leave a Comment