Please critique my new webpage

Judith Billig · #1 2010-09-09, 8:16pm

Hi guys, I completely overhauled my webpage and added online shopping.
I would appreciate if you could poke around and give me a honest feedback.
Especially important for me is if you could point out spelling and grammar mistakes, because English is not my first language.

Thanks heaps!!!

Click here to get to my webpage

Puddy Tat Glass · #2 2010-09-09, 8:29pm

I think it's very nicely done.

Cosmo · #3 2010-09-10, 6:32am

It looks pretty good. I'm not sure about using tables to lay it out though. CSS would work a lot better. But, it is easy to navigate.

GlassyEyedGirl · #4 2010-09-10, 7:04am

Wow, I don't think I even saw the website for all the gorgeous beads! lol Very nice. You don't really need anything competing with glass like that, so I like the simplicity.

Judith Billig · #5 2010-09-10, 2:24pm

Thanks so much for all the nice words.

Still need to do some work ... especially around the galleries, the "Contact" form and uploading the beads LOL. Especially uploading some beads! No point in sending out the newsletter to my customers without having anything up for sale. So that will keep me busy for the next week or so.
I'm still building up inventory ... normally I make a set of bead and list it on Ebay. So this is really weird for me to make lots of beads and then list them all at once.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

alb6094 · #6 2010-09-10, 2:39pm

It's beautiful Judith, and so is your work. I didn't see any grammatical errors either, I think you've done a lovely job.

ElementalsDesign · #7 2010-09-10, 2:45pm

Judith.. your site is lovely and your English is, for the most part, better than most of us who were raised speaking it as a first language.

I have two comments which you are welcome to consider or discard as you choose

One is that your work is incredible and, having just completed a class in HTML/CSS Web design/production (no WYSIWIGS allowed :} ..one of the things I took away with me was a clear understanding that, when representing your work on the web.. especially as an artist.. there is a concept they describe as "above" and "below" the fold.

This is actually a much older concept which related to newspapers: literally what you would see *above* the fold as the newspaper sat in it's little pile at the vendors; what the customer would see when they walked by.. in other words what would draw them in to look further and then buy the paper.

Applied to a website (and, in particular, yours :} it means that what someone has to scroll down to see is "below" the fold.

YOUR WORK IS INCREDIBLE!

My biggest critique is that there are too many words *above* the fold and not enough pictures of your work!

Only other observation is this sentence in "About the Artist":
>>My passion for beading began with simple stringed necklaces and within a short timeframe I set up my own showcase at Craft World in Auckland, NZ. At first I was using in my jewelry designs mainly sterling silver, semiprecious stones and Swarovski crystals.<<

"stringing" = "strung" and the structure of the last sentence in that paragraph might work better if it went something like: "I was using mainly sterling silver, semiprecious stones and Swarovski crystals in my jewelry designs at first".

Sorry if it seems like nit picking.. I think your site and your work is gorgeous.. I simply have a strong background as an editor and proofreader (the curse of being raised by college professors, I expect :}..

I'd be happy to proofread for you any time or help in any way I can, if you'd like.. feel free to PM or email me!

~Rachel Cat

Judith Billig · #8 2010-09-10, 9:40pm

Thanks so much all.
Rachel - I absolutely appreciate it. I changed the "About the Artist" wording as you suggested.
I will also add more pictures to the homepage. I agree that it's a bit too "wordy" as it is right now. Will give it another go at editing the homepage tomorrow.
Thanks!!!

ElementalsDesign · #9 2010-09-10, 9:42pm

Judith.. the words are good too!

Just put them below the "fold" and more eye candy above.. that's what will keep people there.. looking and clicking!

glass obsessed · #10 2010-09-14, 5:16pm

Judith,
I agree your work is beautiful and I also think you have a good start with your web site.

Here are my suggestion for what they are worth: I would be to tighten up your home page so that it fix on one screen and as mentioned above invites the user to browse more through your site. For example, shipping information can be placed in a link; the wording of your links can be much much smaller; actually the font sizing in general can be reduced; and the spacing between your pictures going down should be more evenly spaced.

Good luck,

ElementalsDesign · #11 2010-09-14, 5:31pm

Judith.. I just got another look at your site and already it's a definite improvement..
The more eye candy that the customer can see from the minute your page loads the better!
You're doing a great job.. keep up the good work!

~Rachel

Judith Billig · #12 2010-09-16, 3:16pm

Katherine - thanks so much for your input. The problem is that many people use different screen resolutions. Mine is rather high (my eyes are very good and I try to fit as much as possible onto the screen), your could be rather low. That's why you have the impression the font is much too big. And that's also because it doesn't fit on one screen for you - while it fit on one screen for others.
There's just no way to accommodate everybody's screen resolution. But I'll resize the font size by one size and see if that works (it might be too small then for others using a higher resolution).

Thanks for pointing out the different pictures sizes/spacing. I thought I made them all the same size. But you're absolutely correct, they're slightly different. Will adjust that.

Rachel - thanks, I'm still improving.

One more question to all: Should I leave the "free shipping" comment on the homepage?

It is also mentioned in the Shipping section of the FAQ. But I thought it was important to point out that I do offer free shipping and a low flat rate for international shipping right there, on the homepage.
Maybe people want to know that before even starting to put items in their shopping cart, and that way they don't need to start searching for the shipping policies.

Any input is appreciated!!!

killerbeedz1 · #13 2010-09-16, 10:56pm

Judith:

I really like it. You did a great job.

Patsy