I have copied Terri’s site…
It looks much the same as it did before.
As i worked on it i began to envision how i would like to see it.
The second one is only the first page. The only change you might not notice is that i took the biography page out and put the important parts of it on the first page. I also added in that what you see in the pictures are one of a kind items. Terri does not have the ability to buy bolts of fabric so she can make the same item over and over in case she does get orders. I think the one-of-a-kind angle could work……
I am also trying to get lighter brighter pictures and fuller descriptions. I had thought she needed details like fiber content, but i have loked at a number of similar sites and fiber content is seldom given, nor do they mention washability or suitability for children. I think those things are important. (What do you think is important?)
I posted a question about the site name on craigslist and got some feedback. I don’t know if Terri will accept it, but she might.
And i know i have asked you before… but the more input i have, the better so i am putting it before you again……
Your color palette is more contemporary, younger. I think it would draw the attention of people with young children in mind.
The original color palette was more sedate, old fashioned. To draw the attention of people with grandparents and craft oriented maiden aunts.
When the draw is for young children, I think washability is a very important thing to include. If she has fiber content available, I think it could be a selling point to include it.
I like removing the ‘About me’ page and putting all the relevant details on the front page.
I would remove buttons that don’t have content – Independance Day, Thanksgiving. I don’t see that she’s advertising that she has something for each holiday, and buttons without content are bad.
I wouldn’t tell her this, but one of the Valentines day items did not register as lipstick when I first saw it. Probably because lipstick doesn’t usually come in metallic blue. And as I was pondering the PG-13 pictures at the top, I looked at the third one at the bottom, and it looked like it was suggesting something potentially R rated. I would perhaps label the lipstick as such right off the top, change that third picture, and remove that line about the background not being included. Why would anyone think the background was included anyway? Is she talking about the wallpaper?
Sorry I’ve been so bad about giving feedback. I know how frustrating it is not to get comments, and have lectured myself sternly on causing said frustration.
I will second all of the above…when i showed the valentine’s page to chris, he thought the same thing as ramona and admittedly i did too.
I also noticed that some of the captions were a little pg-13 too (i.e. “I won’t bite, hard.”).
I would also expand the description section as ramona discussed and redo some of the pictures as they are detracting from the product and/or not showing enough of the product (i.e. detail on faces, etc).
Most enjoyed the input about the blue lipstick. Must say i did not know what it was at first, either, mostly because of the color…. but your first thought about it is most interesting. 🙂
They are suppposed to be sending me better pictures. I did talk to them (John) about less busy backgrounds and lighter pictures. I think they got into the habit of saying “background not included” because of the halloween (and at one time, Christmas) backgrounds. A few years ago they tried selling at one of those stores that rent a small space to display crafts for sale. They built backgrounds to display. In a store that is a good idea, but for online selling, it isn’t. Oh, one picture with the background is fine, but they need to have pictures that clearly show only the item for sale as well.
As for descriptions, I am trying to get as much info as possible. I think she should know if they are washable, but fiber content may be a little harder.
My thought was to have a short description on the page that showed the list of things for sale, like is on the “new” Christmas page, and then have a link to a page devoted each item and go into fiber content, type of buttons, etc. there. I suppose washability is important to appear on the front page.
So….. who do you think the target market is?????
I put a question on craig’s list asking for input about the name….
Think i will copy and paste
ME
I am helping somone put a site together. She is going to be selling fabric dolls, stuffed animals, and clothes. Which of these names do you think would be best (and worst) for a site like this? (and why?)
Lucy’s Handmade Crafts
Lucy’s Homemade Crafts
Lucy’s Fabric Crafts
Lucy’s Fabric Creations
Lucy’s Creations
From Lucy’s Sewing Room
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if your customer is looking for home-made items, then those names will do. However if your customer is under the age of 30, and rather hip, then an off-beat title would be better… “Home-made”, “Crafts”, “Creations” conjurs up images of rather sad and embarassing items sold from card tables at craft bazaars–try to get something a bit more up=scale in the title: “Pink Clouds” –it has nothing to do with sewing, but it sounds nice, well, I think you get the idea….
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one rule of good website design is…keep the domain name short, 7 – 10 letters. People do not like to type in endless letter chains of hard to remember names. Our company spent over 40 hours and went thru almost 100 permutations to get a good, short , easy to remember, name of only 6 letters. The site consistantly is in the top 6-9 on Google, and 6 -12 rank on Yahoo. So, whats the name again?
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simple.(to remember)
The site name can often be just one word, with the subtitle being more specific.
example:
“Stitch&Stuff(site name)
… from Lucy’s sewing room.”(the latter part being the Sub title/heading)
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(ME AGAIN)
ok… very helpful…
make the domain name short
Should the subdonain or the title on every page in the site avoid all the words, handmade, homemade, crafts, and creations?
—
If I’m looking for something to buy, I look more closely at items that are handmade. The items are different…sometimes good, sometimes bad, but *different* from items that are mass-produced.
“Homemade” sounds more food-y to me (like homemade lasagna!).
Why not check out etsy.com for ideas? etsy.com features handmade items by different sellers (same concept as an Ebay store only all handmade).
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Mind your search terms! < cynthSD > 04/29 10:28:07
Subdomains, subdirectories, and page titles are OK for those terms! It’s the Dot Com name that gives the business owner credibilty.
Here’s the irony:
If you want customers to find the site via a search engine, you’d better make sure that all possible, relevant, and specific terms they’d use to search should appear on each relevant page.
E.G.:
DOMAIN NAME:
“JuicyLucy.com”
PRODUCT PAGE TITLE:
“BunBun the Wonder Bunny” handmade rabbit
FILEPATH: (not a real link)
http://www.JuicyLucy.com/products/bunbun.html
META TAG for KEYWORDS in HEADER:
“hand made handmade handsewn hand-stitched sew sewing sewn craft crafts crafting bunny bunnies rabbit rabbits fabric cotton (etc)”
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
“Behold the adorable BunBun! Lovingly handmade and designed (not copied) exclusively by Lucy. This one-of-a-kind handcrafted bunny has long, loose limbs and an adorable face. He wears a superhero cape and green tights, with a hand-embroidered ‘B’ on his chest. 100% cotton with polyester fiberfill. Machine wash gentle.”
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use something DIFFERENT… something SPUNKY… something that has some charachter…
i feel like every store is “___’s craft store” or “creation”
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I worked at a needlearts store in San Diego which honored discounts for resellers with tax ID numbers. About 25% of the DBAs on file had some permutation of “Creations”, “Designs” or “Originals” in the name.
“Whoever’s Creations” does not stand out as a business name! It gives the impression that the “business” owner is really some amateurish goober who works out of the broom closet and doesn’t have a serious commitment to brand identity, order fulfillment, or customer service.
Your client needs to either use “by Lucy Realname” or brainstorm a unique, creative DBA; otherwise, she risks getting lost in the sea of generic, unimaginative mediocrity with no cred whatsoever.
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OK—- that got a little long, but i think it is all interesting……
What do you think of the “new” name? ” Pretty things….. from nana’s sewing room.”
You know what the most frustrating thing about all this is….. I am beginning to think this is all John’s project. He is the ONLY one i EVER get to talk to. I do not mind taling to John, but i wish that i felt a little enthusiasm from Terri… not that i mind not talking to Terri because it can be frustrating. She tends to get off subject. But i wish I knew that this is her dream, rather then that this is her vague wish…. This is turning into a much bigger project than i ever anticipated and I stick with it because i support Terri’s effort to have a little home business and I know it must be frustrating to want something online and not have any idea how to put it together. But if it is all John pushing this, his mother having a mild desire to have a home business and him taking it and running with it and pushing her to keep it going like he pushes me (blasted annoying single minded pushy kid sometimes) then why am i putting all this time into it???? I do have other things i need to be doing.
Experience, i keep telling myself…… learning…… finding it interesting….. etc…..
(vent vent vent)
(I want bun bun the wonder bunny)
http://www.thewhitefamilytree.com/jjwhite/terri/home/index.html
http://www.thewhitefamilytree.com/jjwhite/terrigreen/home/index.html
I think this is the one i am going with…. The more muted colors complement the kind of colors Terri seems to favor and the design is more “adult,” but i think it is still bright and clear enough to be appealing.