My first website C+C welcome [Site live 10/9/12]

[Constructacon]

Site is updated. Changes include:

• Combined Index and Awards pages to give the landing page more meaning.
• Awards menu item now a "Home" link
• Revised menu size/position/text alignment
• Buttons at the bottom of each page to entice the viewer to the next page
• List on Services page changed to buttons.

What do you guys think of the revisions?

There are 2 problems that I can see but I can't for the life of me find the solution. They are the buttons at the bottoms of the page are different distances from the page edge. This will be a padding or margin issue somewhere but I can't find the bugger. The second is the button bottom left on the Galleries page - it has an extra section that I can't seem to get rid of. If anyone can see where I've gone wrong can you please help?

[bl4ck32]

Originally Posted by Constructacon

Site is updated. Changes include:

• Combined Index and Awards pages to give the landing page more meaning.
• Awards menu item now a "Home" link
• Revised menu size/position/text alignment
• Buttons at the bottom of each page to entice the viewer to the next page
• List on Services page changed to buttons.

What do you guys think of the revisions?

looks better, but if it were me I would combine the services / Galleries page. Take what you have now in services, remove the 3 links, and add the content from galleries.

Maybe add a competition page in galleries place to show off only the photos from that + the awards page

[Constructacon]

Not sure if I'll do that. The whole reason to have the Services page is to be able to launch to each individual category on mobile (no hover function for the drop down menu). Without it [services page] users would have to go through the entire site using the bottom buttons and couldn't jump directly to a page. The service category pages and galleries provide different information so I'm trying to keep them separate.

I'll be speaking to my wife tonight about it (she has final say on the site), maybe just more content on the page so it doesn't look so sparse is the key. That or photo buttons similar to gallery banners perhaps.

[bl4ck32]

Originally Posted by Constructacon

Not sure if I'll do that. The whole reason to have the Services page is to be able to launch to each individual category on mobile (no hover function for the drop down menu).

Make a separate mobile site

[Constructacon]

I'm thinking it will be the same site with a mobile CSS which will hide/reveal/reformat elements as required (or is that what you meant?) It will save in having to maintain 2 sites.

[JolyV]

Hey, Im using Iron, your website looks great

[MrSmoke]

I would make the background colour of the dropdown boxes different to the menu background colour

[Constructacon]

Site has had a quite a bit of an overhaul (please refresh your cache if you've seen it previously). Changes include:

• New landing page (combining awards)
• Services page all combined with expanding sections
• Coding for mobile views with alternative menu arrangement
• Separate gallery view for mobile devices.

I've tested this on Chrome, IE 9, Safari and Firefox. Also Android browser and Chrome for android. I have no iOS devices so I'm keen to know how it appears on iPhones/iPads/other tablets.

What do you think?

[bl4ck32]

Originally Posted by Constructacon

What do you think?

Still hardcoded? Looks so much better now and the layout is better too. Well done

[Constructacon]

Yes. Still hard coded. Thanks for the thumb up.

[Constructacon]

Now on it's official webspace:

andrearaup.com.au

Most notable changes are smoothed the transitions on the Services page and now with customer contact form. It's pretty much done for now I think.

[Linkin]

Gallery view is.. well.. why is it sideways? Not only is it awkward to read, but I've never seen another website do anything like that.

The site itself is fast, snappy, and clean though. I wish I could say the same for the majority of websites on the net

[neRok]

Pretty good. Next you can explore using a CMS like Drupal. Ive had quite a bit of success with it.

Whilst making a website for my parents, I discovered a few things. One is your front page needs to be different. You should do some reading on value propositions. Pretty much a slogan, but a bit different. 5-10 words really bold that stand out and set the company apart from others. Then a short paragraph that follows, and leads the viewer into the next parts of the site. So you wouldnt use "Flowers for all occasions", but maybe something like "Award winning flowers for your special occasion". That was with 2 sec thought, but you can see how it makes it relevant to the viewer (your occasion) and tells them why your flowers are better than another companies (because you are award winning).

With your scrolling images on the front page, I think one that has little bullet points at the bottom is better for the user. They can pause and go back to an image they want to see in more detail.

I saw you mentioned something about the buttons being further to the left than the right and not knowing which padding/margins were effecting it. I recommend using Firebug plugin, as it lets you select things in the website (like a div) and shows you all the margins and paddings etc in different colors. Also combines all the css ids and classes that are effecting the element.

Also, setup all the google things you can for your site, such as webmaster tools and analytics. Very useful for fine tuning things and looking at visitor flow, bounce rates, etc.

Also consider using google adwords (advertise your site on google). This way, is someone searches florist, your website will appear at the top and/or side of the search results (and on other sites that display google ads on there site, ie ebay). My parents spend a few bucks a day and get at least 20 visits from it, and after I researched value prop etc, Ive got the bounce rate (ppl leaving after visiting 1 page) down in the 30% range and average time on site up in 3min range. And of course, this translates to more sales.

[Arch-Angel]

I'm no expert on the design, but from a layman's perspective I really like that fact that it's fast to load - especially considering the number of large images.

Do have to say though, business owner needs some better shots of their work...

[trevor68]

I like it, loads fast looks clean, easy to navigate.

I too find the vertical gallery logos a little offputting, not sure why.

I assume the Contact page will eventually list what city your in and a contact number?

Not too sure I'd order flowers from a site that I have no idea where its located.