I'd like some "business critism"

Discussion in 'General Business' started by geoiss2004, Aug 15, 2009.

  1. #1
    Ok so I now have my web design agency site online. I would like some feedback - from a consumer and business point of view - on whether you think it delivers.

    Take a look at this: www.northernweb.co.uk

    does it look like a quality service? can you tell what the service is instantly? are call to actions clear? is it convincing?

    all feedback would be appreciated. thanks.
     
    geoiss2004, Aug 15, 2009 IP
  2. nmx

    nmx Active Member

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    #2
    First thoughts upon opening the page - the design itself is clean, funky and navigation is straight forward, it's not particularly overwhelming and I believe it's pretty clear who you are, and what you do. My first big gripe is the font - if I were you, i'd change it in an instant - after 1 minute of reading that page it's making my eyes hurt (I'm referring to the font you've used for the white text in the blue boxes on the bottom half of the page.) Possibly a bit to much blue as well - you've almost half gone for a multi coloured theme, but then only gone half way with it if that makes sense? The logo could be better in my opinion too, it makes no link to the service being offered nor does it offer anything to remember it by.

    Just a few of my thoughts, other than that as a whole it looks really good! I wish you the best of luck with it. :)
     
    nmx, Aug 15, 2009 IP
  3. geoiss2004

    geoiss2004 Guest

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    #3
    thanks for your critism! i think the font is a personal thing - i just wanted to go for something that wasnt arial or verdana for a change

    as for the logo, i agree. i hate my company logo, lol. i'm going to try and change it at some point...
     
    geoiss2004, Aug 15, 2009 IP
  4. bigtime2

    bigtime2 Peon

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    #4
    The only thing that I saw that you may have to edit is the "our work" page. When you open that page the blue bar, below the menu, that says "our work" does not have any images in it, while "our services" and "core values" do. They are both in a blue bar with images to their right, but "our work" page is just in a blue bar... Besides that everything seems fine to me.
     
    bigtime2, Aug 15, 2009 IP
  5. mentos

    mentos Prominent Member

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    #5
    Overall it good.
    But you can still improved it by setting up toll free phone to international client.
     
    mentos, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  6. woodley

    woodley Active Member

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    #6
    Not bad over-all, but I didn't find the call to action clear. Move it up towards the top, and the right, and perhaps change the boxes colour to something bolder or clearer. The pale green and yellow did not stand out.

    If you can give an incentive for someone to call you or leave their contact details, that would be better.
     
    woodley, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  7. acedalright

    acedalright Peon

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    #7
    I actually think it's pretty good, maybe better than good. I think unless I was in the direct market for your service then it's hard to be completely objective, but having said that, I think I would very much deem your company to be professional and thus proficient
     
    acedalright, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  8. magda

    magda Notable Member

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    #8
    magda, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  9. joebert

    joebert Well-Known Member

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    #9
    I don't like how the green and yellow CTA buttons on the botom left are flat, nor do I like the white text in the buttons. The buttons need some definition, such as gloss/shadows/etc to make them stand out like buttons instead of just bright banners, and they need a better contrasting font because frankly, that white-on-bright hurts my eyes.

    Otherwise, everything is clear.
     
    joebert, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  10. anglefourfivemedia

    anglefourfivemedia Banned

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    #10
    I would test out some different font...

    something about the font just looks a lil off..but overall first impressions are solid
     
    anglefourfivemedia, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  11. clade

    clade Peon

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    #11
    Yeah I agree with the font thing. It's a little hard on the eyes, especially the white on blue.

    Otherwise, i like the site .
     
    clade, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  12. geoiss2004

    geoiss2004 Guest

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    #12
    hmm, many thanks for all these replies, it's appreciated. i will definitely address the font issue!
     
    geoiss2004, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  13. geoiss2004

    geoiss2004 Guest

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    #13
    ok, the font is now a more standard (verdana). is that a lot better?
     
    geoiss2004, Aug 16, 2009 IP
  14. keen4kash

    keen4kash Well-Known Member

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    #14
    Looking good buddy - nice site to showcase your skills for sure. Clean, simple, easy to navigate and the text is kept simple enough for web noobs to understand.

    My personal point of view is i would like a general idea of a price range if i was looking to hire a web designer. I want to be able to quickly compare prices between diff companies not everyone is keen to email or ring just to a rough idea of price bcos they think they will obligated to buy from you once you quote. Even if its a general idea of basic few page site deisgn, 5 page, 10 page, site with ecommerice/shopping cart, you could offer a discount to charites and community groups. Clearly list what each package includes and throw in lots of bonuses like hosting, domain, support and basic seo submission etc.

    I think it just matter of getting out and really focusing your resources on advertising and promotion.

    Its fair to say it a fairly competitive niche so i think your best chance of securing ongoing business is going to be in your local area, approach businesses that have no site or a bad one, build your portfolio to show others so you can namedrop that you have build sites for x, y, z.
     
    keen4kash, Aug 16, 2009 IP