Asking for constructive criticism of my site, please.

Discussion in 'Websites' started by IanT, Mar 21, 2016.

  1. #1
    Trying to figure out how to improve a site I have made. It has been through several iterations of designs and migrated from an old domain name to the current one. My goal was basically an adsense niche site. I had tried to list this site on Flippa 2 times, but neither auction produced the desired results. So looking to improve the site and possibly attempt sale at a later date unless I can somehow make it profitable. I am kind of bored with it (hence why I wanted to sell it).

    Any feedback would be much appreciated!

    Site is here: http://soapmaking.co/
     
    IanT, Mar 21, 2016 IP
  2. Localnode

    Localnode Active Member

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    #2
    Hello.
    Overall - the design is good. It's very content driven; I'm not sure if that's your aim, though?
    You could do with some more articles, the last being January 7th (at the time of this reply).

    The load time, on the other hand, could be improved. While not overly slow it can be improved (see http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/#!/UsmKT/http://soapmaking.co/) the page size of 2.6MB isn't large. Improvements could be optimising images and a CDN.
     
    Localnode, Mar 21, 2016 IP
  3. IanT

    IanT Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Thanks much for the feedback! Yes definitely content driven site, but I am open to suggestions as to how to improve it even outside of its current model. I basically want to revamp it and the reattempt to sell it as it was never a project I intended to reserve without exit. Is there anything you think I should add? I know creating a forum would take a lot of work, but I know that would drive traffic.
     
    IanT, Mar 22, 2016 IP
  4. Tedel

    Tedel Well-Known Member

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    #4
    I checked your site and the loading time is really slow, but... it seems it is because of a server configuration issue. Are you using shared hosting?
     
    Tedel, Mar 22, 2016 IP
  5. IanT

    IanT Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Yes, using hostgator reseller plan. How might I speed it up other than the aforementioned?
     
    IanT, Mar 22, 2016 IP
  6. heftzwecke

    heftzwecke Member

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    #6
    I find the site very clearly structured and I like it. I struggle a bit with the design. The more 'modern' looking blue clashes a bit with the 'woddy' border on the left and for my taste the fonts don't really match together. The font learn, laugh... is different from 'soapmaking' that is a bit too much for my taste. The headlines are in more playful fonts and there is a very 'technical' style in the text. I clicked on your blog and I like the design much more (the fonts here are a bit too faint for my old eyes).
    I think it is very difficult to keep a site like this updated. You have always to try new recipes, take photos etc., you are not just reselling something which I find great!
     
    heftzwecke, Mar 22, 2016 IP
  7. yuyun

    yuyun Member

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    #7
    I saw your site, and as I am not professional, I can just comment this: your website looks "so empty", yeah you'made structured layout but I dont know why it looks "empty"
     
    yuyun, Mar 28, 2016 IP
  8. IanT

    IanT Well-Known Member

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    #8
    Thank you for your feedback! I would like to spruce it up a bit, do you have any suggestions?
     
    IanT, Mar 30, 2016 IP