My web designer just left, and I am feeling anxious. My website is done and I need some feedback. Good, Bad, Mediocre, please tell me what you think.
TIA
dreamsinbuttercream.com
I like the design but found the print on the home page to be quite small.Even the heading was small.The colors are great though and is enticing and inviting.Great job!!
I like the design and colors. Your cakes are really nice, too.
I'd like to see the page fill up the whole web space, though; It has a border of all white that goes all the way around the page.
Nice job, all around!
--Knox--
I really like the colours on your website..very nice. Nice cakes and I also really like your cookies. I think if I were to make one suggestion it would also say if you increased the print size on your home page it would just give it that little something extra. Other than that..just great job!!
How exciting to have your own web page...congratulations
Jane
I have my screen set to view text in the medium size format, so I thought the fondant size for the text was fine.
I wasn't off put by the white border, although I think a full page is more common.
The pictures clicked on nice and large, which is a definite plus.
My personal preference would be for separate headings instead of a drop-down menu for pictures and pricing.
Also would make a big deal of the fillings and flavors offered by describing them in full and luscious terms to get the old salivary glands on overdrive
HTH
P.S. Very lovely selection of goodies!!!!
Thank you for your input.
It's funny, the first thing I said when I checked out my new site was that the print on the home page looked too small. The web designer and my husband both said I just need a new eyeglass prescription. I am going to show them these posts and try to get it enlarged. Thanks for being on my side!
Hi,
I also like the colors on your website, and agree the print is a little small. I like the name of your business too! Good luck!
My husband is a webdesigner. I'm going to ask him to take a look to your website and I'll email you his thoughts.
It is easy on the eye and easy to find what you want to look at.
Remember this is your store front, your big window for people to look in and see what you can do. I recommend that you always choose your best work only and put it on your website!! Be very selective of your pictures.
I get many compliments on my website, (I know it's not the best) but I realized it is a window into my shop and what I can do as a sugar artist! These people tell their friends to go my website and before you know it many, many people are telling others to look at the website. That is good for your business and your cute Buttercream Dreams name!
Lora
I love the "your dream cake" and "your dream filling" selections. Nicely worded. If you don't mind I would love to borrow those sayings. Nice job on your cakes.
Joanne
Since you have a designer, I'll be completely honest - I do not like it, and it doesn't look professional in my opinion.
Text is too small, and the font should me more interesting.
There is no order to where the eye goes, you need to set off some things more.
Colors are close but not matching, just at the level that they clash.
Font colors are hard to read.
The white border - bad. If the site was coded to fill the space, great. If it was on a white background so it blended together, great. How it is now pulls the eye from your text.
Don't flame me, but whatever you paid the designer is way too much. Please show them all the comments made, and ask them to fix it.
As a web designer and a cake decorator I too will be completely honest...
Text is way too small and the way it is layed out - doesn't bring any attention to it so it might as well not be there. Good job on keeping short and simple though - too much text and people stop reading.
Your header stops too abruptly, it either needs to extend to the outside of the box or the cake needs to be justified left and the background needs to match the background of the rest of the box.
When I advise people who I'm about to design a site for I tell them to choose 3 or 4 colors and stick with them. You have about 2, aside from your header which looks incomplete. You need a contrasting color, maybe a green or a yellow. Your font needs to stand out more and it needs to be bigger.
Your buttons run into each other, have no separation and are boring and generic - this comes because your designer used a content management system called Joomla. All it takes is a little CSS to really brighten up the buttons.
The drop down menus need to contrast to the rest of the page and there shouldn't be any transparency. They drop down over other text so the slight transparency that is there is distracting.
Left Justify your text header "Welcome to Dreams in Buttercream - Custom Cakes and Treats!" and make it bigger, probably a 14 to a 16 size font. Make sure your font is the same throughout, and stick with a sans-serif font (ie Arial).
I am going to try and write up a basics on web sites for businesses and stick it up here to help people. I hope you don't think bad of me for what I've written! *HUGS!*
It's a great start though.
Rachel
Also, the pictures should be embedded in the website. This gives you many more layout options, and will showcase your designs.
What I am seeing here is a site to show how the freeware and picture hosting work. It does not show your work, your passion, or your creativity. "If her website is boring, what are her CAKES like??" Your cakes are great, and your website needs to be just as good.
This may need to be a new topic?
Yahoo! for honesty. This forum is for Business Owners and we all want to do things to generate more business.
Since you guys are so honest! Please look at my website and critique!!!
www.mypastrychef.com
I am the designer and keeper of this site and have invested many many nights and weekends in making it my front window. I only learned this program to save money and be able to make changes with out having to make an appointment to add content, and plus I'm thinking I may be a perfectionist?
Thanks in advance,
Lora
Lora
Okay, here is a good site. Not sure whose it is, just looked at design, but it is what I would consider a good basic site.
http://www.confetticakes.com/
There are a few small changes that would make it better, like the logo at the top could have the name moved to the side and enlarged with a different font, but it is a good starting place. Notice that it is copyrighted, but good for inspiration.
Lora, for learning a program and doing it yourself, it is very well done. Frames are kinda out of style (I did frames back in 1997!) but it is a good step for someone doing it by themself.
One thing I would suggest is making your background the same throughout. The front page has the right frame as all pink and than it varies on other pages. Your tiled background is not too busy, good job on that, and your navigation is simple and easy to find your way around.
Rachel
Here is a mock-up of something that I would do based on what is on your current website.
http://www.eternalsweetharts.com/websites/buttercreamindreams.jpg
Rachel
Rachel
That new Buttercream Dreams really is a huge improvement. Bravo!
Thanks for commenting on my site. What are frames? and what are tiles?
Lora
we start filling King Cake orders Jan. 3, 07. They have to be called in to the shop so we can document and collect payment if the cake is to be shipped.
I don't know how to set up a shopping cart.
Lora
Frames are the separation of the menu on your left and the main area on your right, almost as if they are two separate pages. Very soon (next couple years) the code that makes those will no longer be accepted by browsers. The replacement code is something called Cascading Style Sheets. The tiled graphic is what makes your background. That's actually a single graphic that is repeated over and over to fill the screen.
Setting up a shopping cart is complicated and I do not recommend attempting to do it without some help. If you are ever ready to do that, let me know and I'll help you out as much as I can without charging you.
Rachel
How sweet!!
I don't need anything else complicated to keep up with. Everytime I add new photos I spend at least 2 hours cropping and uploading.
Thank you
Lora
Look into Gallery2, a php gallery script that resizes things for you.
I use it on my site. It is very easy to use. It's free too, just have to find out if it is already on your server, if it isn't - see if they'll install it. Let me know if Ic an help in anyway.
Rachel
Just a niggly detail, but when browsing the web I really notice spelling errors - I think the word "Panel" was meant, but I see "Pannel" everywhere on the site.
Maureen
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%