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bnrhilton
Advanced Member
USA
330 Posts |
 Posted - 09/03/2012 : 23:21
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Hi everyone,
I am working on a site for my husband's business and was wondering if I can get some feedback. Keep in mind that it is a work in progress right now. He is a gunsmith and does custom builds, custom work and restoration but will also sell new guns and accessories. I still need to load products and do some other tweaks. I am also waiting on him to finish writing some of the copy for a few of the pages and take some more pictures of his work for the photo gallery.
There are a few links that are not active yet and I know there is a lot of work I still need to do. Any ideas, suggestions, comments, good and bad are welcomed so I can make any needed improvements.
www.hiltonscustomgunworks.com
Beth |
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Marshall
Advanced Member
USA
393 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 00:27
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Hi Beth,
I'm looking at this from two points of view: web designer and former cop.
As the latter, I don't understand the choice of pattern for the background. I do not see it relating to guns but rather industrial machinery. I would suggest the weave of a pistol grip like Pachmyar or the diamond patterns on either side of the crest graphic.
As the former, the crest is really nice, but you are wasting a lot of valuable real estate and forcing a lot of information below the fold. I would suggest making the crest smaller or maybe off to the left with your text to the right of it. I know that is rather traditional in appearance, but it is tried and true. Keep in mind that people don't tend to scroll much if they don't see what they want right away. This is especially true on your product pages. You want to emphasize what you're selling, not your graphic skills.
A last, that's a lot of grey. I would utilize some color to emphasize important elements, whether it be through background color or change the text color. However, this is not as critical as I believe utilizing the space better.
Marshall
From Our Heart
http://www.FromOurHeart.com
Gifts, Plush Stuffed Animals, Toy, Games, Puzzles, 3D Gift Cards, and Collectibles |
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bnrhilton
Advanced Member
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 07:20
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Hi Marshall, thanks for your feedback.
First, let me say that I am not a web designer, I am an accountant so I have a lot to learn and any feedback here is very appreciated!
I originally had put the text that is in the first box in the header but was having layout issues and we needed to get the site up and running for a trade show we were having. I am going to readdress that.
Next, the diamondplate. I am not a fan either, it was my husband who chose that and I have no idea why. I love the idea of using the pistol grip weave. I just did a quick search and couldn't find any graphics for it out there to use as a background but will keep looking. I am going to try shooting a pic of a really nice set he has on a gun he built.
I agree it is a lot of grey. Again, my husband's idea. You should see his shop. I am going to play around with some other colors and see what he thinks.
Thank you for the feed back I am going to see where I can with this info!
Beth |
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dbdave
ECT Moderator
USA
4369 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 07:29
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The background make the site look "dated" like maybe it was designed in the last decade and in bad need of an update.
Perhaps you can use that image, but add quite a bit of transparency so it doesn't distract from the site content.
David |
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barrysmith
Ecommerce Template Guru
United Kingdom
3359 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 10:12
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Hi Beth,
The problem with your background is it is too chunky, so the metal effect does not work well, email me and I will send you something to use, and also set your background as fixed, sometimes these types of backgrounds can be annoying on the eyes as they keep flashing in and out.
Your site can do with a bit of colour, you have that blue in your badge, perhaps try introduce that within your design, maybe some links, H tags etc, It is a bit too gray which can make it hard to identify aspects of the page, if you break things up with colour as the user scans across the page with their eyes they will easily identify where they want to go.
Good luck and keep hacking away at it, remember it can take some time for a tree to become a sculpture..
Kind Regards
Barry Smith
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bnrhilton
Advanced Member
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 10:36
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Thank you Barry. I definitely agree about the background and the need for color. I was telling my husband about the recommendations so far this morning and he is all for making the changes. He had an idea of how he wanted it to look but after I got it done he kept looking at it and started to think that it was too grey and needed color. He also agrees about the diamondplate and it needs to be changed.
Beth |
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dewers
Ecommerce Template Guru
USA
1079 Posts |
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bnrhilton
Advanced Member
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 14:09
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Thanks Daniel, I will most definitely look at the other sites. I do have the number on the main page but down on the bottom right. I will look at moving that up.
Beth |
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insight
ECT Moderator
USA
2994 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 17:32
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Hi Beth
I have also responded privately to your feedback request, seem to be much the same as the comments above but I hope it's helpful.
I think dewers watches too much television 
Peter
ServeLink
Professional ecommerce web hosting for ASP & PHP
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dewers
Ecommerce Template Guru
USA
1079 Posts |
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bnrhilton
Advanced Member
USA
330 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2012 : 21:29
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y'all are too funny!
Thank you everyone for all the great feedback. We were looking over it all and coming up with some new design ideas taken from what everyone here has suggested and I will post it up for new critiques when I am done.
Beth |
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Topic |
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working on new site, please give feedback
