:-D Hello Fellow DP'ers.. Ive been working on a website for my Step-dad.. he is a General Contractor in Delaware.. over the past couple years his 'yellow pages' ads have been doing worse. and worse.. then finally nothing.. now I dont know if your aware of how much they charge for a simple yellow page ad.. but DAMM.. well. I suggested a website to see if it boosts business.. (why I offered to make it I dont know) well.. here is v0.1 Its not NEARLY complete, I dont have any pictures or anything up yet.. but I have the basic bones of the main page up.. Could really use some input on the template and color scheme.. and if you can think of any other improvements.. Im all ears. :-D Thank you in advance for your time.. and looking forward to hearing your thoughts. http://cwilliams.info/ :-D ty
could really use some thoughts and feelings on this.. before I go any further with working on it.. I need to know if the theme and colors work well together. :-D
It appears you are using a blog format as a CMS to create the website. It seems forced. I would encourage you to read through the Big Word Press Thread . There are lots of tips to be found. I would develop pages for some of the items instead of blog posts and let the blog posts really be posts about recent jobs or new employees or just things of interest to the contractor. You have the right idea, you just need to spend a little more time learning how to use the program as a CMS rather than a blog. Also, get rid of all the Google Ads. When I looked at it, there were ads for competitors on the bottom of the page. Do you have to have that because of the hosting package, if so, UPGRADE! Last thing, kill the sunflower that you see as soon as you open the site. That is a bit soft for a contractor site.
you might want to make it look more about General Contracting and not like a blog site. your on the right track, easy navigation, simple design, look light wieght. good luck with the rest of it
Nice and clean site, love the sheet paper effect with the tint of blue at top. Very nice lay out. Would as the others say change a few picture to Construction are along those lines. If its for a client would he really want googly adds on it?
:-D thank you guys.. and as far as the pictures.. they came with the html template.. I didnt want to photo-chopp new pics for it until I had a few DP'ers look it over and make sure the layout its-self was ok.. so now Its off to work on the images.. (didnt want to make all of them if no one here liked the layout. :-D and as far as the googlies.. I want them to compare prices.. (maybe they will click on an ad in the process).. everybody knows that you get prices from 2 or 3 contractors.. :-D LOLOLOLOL it came with it.. LOL I didnt put it there.. if I put that on a contractors site intentionally.. I wouldnt deserve to say the word construction.. lol and im pretty sure Its not a blog theme.. was labeled a standard html/ css template.. but thank you all for your advise and input.. Ill get the page to 'man up' a little and loose the flowers and frillies.. lol again.. came with the template.. :-D
Its a decent looking page...but it doesnt even remotely feel like a contractors page...I definetly agree its more of a blog layout
My two cents - I agree with the above, it looks VERY bloggy and unprofessional. Not to say it's bad, but, if I came across that as I was searching for contractors, it wouldn't keep my attention for 3 seconds. Also, as far as the Google ads - I can't recall one local services type of site (like yours) that I've ever seen that shows Adsense ads. First of all, it looks very tacky and unprofessional, and second, is the .14 cents you'll make from a click worth losing a client to another, more well designed site of a competitor? Whenever you give an end-user the chance to leave your site to go somewhere else, you can bet that they're probably gone for good, and won't be returning. I'd seriously keep that in mind. On a positive note, at least you have something up, I mean, a website is better than no website, but I think others would agree that there is much work to be done Best of luck to you!
Good point Shamus. I can't tell you how long my company went without any site because I was never happy with the design/format. Better that you at least have some representation. A couple more points: I do not expect my contractor to be very "tech savy" I buy from him based upon his craftmanship and reputation. I would focus on that. A Testimonial Page is a must. A good contact form page with a place to describe my project. Maybe a gallery page of past projects. If you want to blog, great! Write or purchase ghost writing services for articles and blog posts about chosing a contractor, seasonal home maintenance ideas, best remodeling investments, etc. If you are looking for passive income, consider affiliate sales with Amazon for home improvement books, or affiliate links for complementary services like pest control, lawn care, water systems, etc. Provide tips and forms for selecting a good contractor. What insurance should he have? What licenses should he have? How should I structure the contract? How to deal with conflict. Just some ideas to get your juices flowing.
ok.. thank you all for your ideas and you 'honest' criticism.. so I re-designed the site.. and I have the main page up.. could you please look at it again and see how it looks now.. I think it looks much more professional.. any comments? thank you in advance :-D
Dude - the new design looks INCREDIBLY better than before! You made some major improvements, and the site now officially feels professional! Hats off to you, excellent job