Nice design. But there are too big picture in 1st page. I think it will be better if you place thumbnail picture in 1st page. You should also give some photoshop effect in the picture.
Hey RsL, What adorable dogs! I have a Samoyed. With regards to your site there are definitely areas that can be improved. Below are some suggestions to increase your conversion rate… 1. Every page on your website should answer these 3 questions: Where am I? What can I do here? Why should I do it? If I were to walk through these questions on your site I cannot answer all of them in the first few seconds of arriving. You need to guide your web visitors to action before they get frustrated and click away to a different site. So, first I would recommend that you make it clear what your unique value proposition is (what makes you different to your competition). You only have between 4 and 7 seconds to grab the new visitor and tell him why he should be dealing with you instead of your competitors. Those are the reasons and they have to be front and center on your homepage above the fold. Yours seems to be “AkitaMatch.com will help you find an Akita puppy, and be there every step of the way to help you raise it as well.†I think you could make it even better though. 2. These days photos are very important on websites. I would recommend that you use higher quality photos of your dogs on the homepage. Also, the white text above the dogs on the homepage gets lost against the white background. I would choose a darker text; maybe black. 3. Where is your About Us page? Where are you located? The About Us page should be about YOU. A picture and a little bio that communicates your passion for being in this business and serving customers is what they are looking for. People want to do business with people, not with websites. Why hide from them? Let them know who they are dealing with. Let me know what you think. I would be happy to look at your site again later. In the meantime, I would highly recommend you create a Unique Value Proposition for your site. It is absolutely vital to converting visitors into customers on your website. http://bit.ly/9tCYXe Kindly, Shelby
WOW! I love the way you have designed the site especially with the dog photo's everywhere. This is a good strategy as know one likes to turn down cute dogs . I also like the way you have an image on the left with a matching description on the side, looks great.
Wow, thanks for all the insights. I will try to work them into my next update. My About Us page link is in the top menu (not the main menu). Right now I get about 100 visits a day, which is converting into 2-5 phone calls. If I can get more than that...sweet! Thanks again, Shane
Hey RsL, I also saw on your home page: "Most would say that those who dislike akitas, or any large dog breed for that matter, do so because they were unfaithful owners. The same is true with children, or any other responsibility." These are 2 sentences do not serve your site. Why on Earth would someone who is trying to sell Akitas, and has a bunch of adorable puppies on their home page, introduce the concept of “dislike Akitas� I would guess you could go to the sites of 1,000 breeders and not find 1 who brings up disliking their breed. Every breed is disliked by somebody. Why raise this question in the mind of the prospective buyer? When you are thinking about a new puppy, this is the furthest thing from your mind. This has got to be some kind of e-commerce Death Wish. Second, what is an “unfaithful owner� Someone who cheats on his dogs??? How does that help sell Akitas? Third, it is not your job to lecture the visitor on the meaning of responsibility. How does this help you sell Akitas? Many people would say, “If I want a lecture on responsibility, or children, I know just where to go get it. I don’t need it from you. What makes you the authority?" The main point is that those sentences undermine your site and might be lowering your conversion rate. Kindly, Shelby
Ok great observations. I changed the "white" text with black outline in the images to black with blue outlines, I also dropped the 2 sentences you mentioned. I will have to go through my original content i put up when I was starting up the template and layout, i threw in alot of fluff that needs to be combed out. Thanks again. Shane