hmschooling Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) Delete this if it's not okay please since it includes a home business link. Just wanting some feedback about the site design. We're just started our own home business, mostly for me, as DH is a full time student as has enough to do already! I'd love to have some feedback on your impressions of our website. My DH is not a website designer, but did this on his own. I'm rather impressed but would love to see what others think about it. Is it professional, but personal and welcoming? Is it pleasing to the eye? Anything odd stand out? Anything...I would just love to hear your thoughts on his finished "art" project. :001_smile: http://www.groundedupontherock.com Edited July 10, 2009 by hmschooling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I'm going to pick it apart a bit, because this is a business for you, but I think you have made an excellent start. First, even though you have a summary of your services in paragraph form on the home page, I would also put a bullet list. People tend to glance at home pages, not read them, kwim? Also, you are going to lose people who aren't interested in consulting, but might be interested in used books or your unit study. Even though I was purposefully looking at your site, I still went, hmm, okay, what do you do, exactly? Poked around the links - - ah, okay! They should put that on the home page . . . which of course you did, but it's called web surfing for a reason :D. I move FAST through new web pages. So, I would put the list under "Services" on the home page, pretty much as is. You can still have the Services link with the same info again, but I really think that info needs to be "in your face." I think it will help the overall look as well; I like the design of the home page in general but it's a bit sparse, lots of white space - - maybe try framing it? I don't like a cluttered look, but that's loads of white space; almost makes me think the page didn't completely load. Nothing shows up when I click the Used Books link. I love that you include a sample of the unit study, but it's waaay too small for me to read, and I didn't see a way to enlarge it. I would rename the Friends link "Guest Book" if that's all it's going to be. I didn't read every word, but no obvious spelling or grammatical errors jumped out at me. Looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thanks for such great feedback...I love your honesty! I have forwarded the info to my "tech support" guy (AKA, DH) and I'll let him give it some thoughts...it's been hard work for him and his skills are limited, but I bet he can benefit from your input...and possibly even figure out how to do some of it. :D Anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Can anyone else offer up additional input? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 What a pretty picture! Can you make it bigger? I like the font you used for your logo. Under the About Us, I'd put some sort of credential that people will find reassuring--how long you've been homeschooling, if you are degreed (that doesn't matter to me, but it might to some), etc. The samples need to be way, way bigger. Great start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I only see "Christ centered......etc. Then the definition of 'grounded'...... > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Katilac and Chris have some good suggestions. I couldn't read the sample page, either. And it would be very important to me to know how old your dc are and how long you've been hsing. If you had your name or a picture, it would make it more personal. It's not necessary, just a thought. It is very easy to navigate! You've probably thought about this already, but do you have plans for when a customer isn't satisfied with a curriculum choice a few weeks down the road? How much time will each customer be entitled to? Here's some unsolicited business advice I learned from a friend with a web-based business. ;) He offers free information on his site to draw people in, then they buy his product/service for more info. He also reviews books pertaining to his trade and has an Amazon link to that book. He makes a little money when people follow his link and buy the book. :) I'll be praying for your business...it sounds wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melora in NC Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Very pretty! It took me a minute to figure out What your site is offering, but maybe if I had been searching for a curriculum consultation service it would have been clear to me. Your unit study looks good, but I wonder if you might include how many weeks it is suggested for? The used book link didn't work for me at all. Overall, though, I think your site is very simple, attractive, and user friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 I only see "Christ centered......etc. Then the definition of 'grounded'...... > The links are all at the top on the tabs. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 It is not coming up on my browser....but I have an older one...MSIE 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 I have figured out why. I set my screen resolution to 800 X 600....(the type is much bigger this way).....but when I changed it to 1024 X 768....I could see your links. I wonder how many people have their IE set to 1024 X 768.....? LOL My eyes would fall out of my head if I used that setting, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 As for the Used Books link, I just haven't listed them on there yet. I'm getting there! I see that I really need to get DH to make the sample pages bigger...There's so much info on each page, I think he was trying to keep from giving away too much of the study. We'll make it work though. And I'll add in info about how many weeks each study is. And I don't know why, but so many are completely overlooking the fact that what we do is on the very first page. LOL. It says Curriculum Consulting, then there's a link that says "services" as well that repeats that along with Unit Studies and Used Books. We've got something in mind for the home page to make it more obvious though. I'm sending the other suggestions to DH for him to see what he can do with the info and site. We've tried to decrease white space, but the program doesn't allow a frame or anything...we're still trying to figure it out, but it may have to stay as is...I like it pretty well like that anyway. Thanks everyone! We're still open to more suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 DH fixed the white space issue and he's checking with the site host's tech support to see about the resolution thing. When you change resolutions, it changes the whole page...thanks so much for bringing that to our attention! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I haven't read the other posts, but I would put on the top line "Home" first, then the rest as you have it, then the last two to the right "About" then Contact. Seems to be the standard everywhere else. You'd want to go "Home" first, and read "About" something before "Contacting". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 I haven't read the other posts, but I would put on the top line "Home" first, then the rest as you have it, then the last two to the right "About" then Contact. Seems to be the standard everywhere else. You'd want to go "Home" first, and read "About" something before "Contacting". I think we did it right to left instead of left to right...lol...I'll bring this to DH's attention. He has made LOTS of changes, including adding a forum, larger sample pages, "at-a-glance" what we do with links on the home page, got rid of the white space...it's a work in progress and we so appreciate your input to help us make these improvements! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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