Hello all...

I finally got my website finished and wanted some of your thoughts on it. I hope that it depicts my talents and such. Please let me know if there is anything I should add or I should change. I would love ideas from all you pros out there. There have been some amazing stuff on this site.

Thank you,
Christy

www.wowweecakes.com

I really think your site looks GREAT! Very professional.

The ONLY thing I would change is your "guarantee". People will see that and INSTANTLY try to scam you. You'll be giving away cakes left and right, not because your cakes arent awesome, but because that's just how some people are

Also, are you legal? I know FL laws are VERY strict, so I would emphasize that you are a legal baker. If not, you should take down your pricing section.

There's a couple of things that you might change...

First, it's always nice to have a front page where you can see the whole thing without scrolling down. If you want to write a book, that's what your blog and "about me" pages are for.

Second, mention pricing and your minimum on the pricing page and mention your minimum in the FAQ's...don't mention "El-cheapo-supermarket-cake" on the front page, and don't offer to recommend friends if someone's looking for a cheap cake. It sounds like you're putting down your friends and you're likely to get a little annoyed every time someone asks you about one of your cheap friends because they can't afford you.

Third, most business websites are written in the plural..."We can make your event special," instead of "I can make your event special, etc" I think that's because people like to think there's a whole team of people taking care of them

Oh, and I agree about the guarantee...

Very nice, but you gotta change your gurantee policy, IMHO. I just about fainted when I read your policy. It's great you have had great expierences with customers & brides. But people love to go overboard on party cost, the first place they try to recoup losses is at the cake. You make it so easy for them to be able to do that. "No, I'm not that impress, so where's my money...and thanks for the cake.".

I agree with all of the above.

Very cute site & I love that you throw your personality into it. I would maybe keep it as "I" since part of your company's charm is you (talent, creativity & personality).

I also noticed in the FAQ that the question "How far in advance should I order a cake?" wasn't in the bigger pink font and I thought it maybe should have been.

I assume that you have a legal kitchen (as mentioned above), but regardless of whether you do or not, you should take the pictures of the copyrighted Disney items off of your website. I took a quick look and saw Tinkerbell and Nemo, and especially if you're in Orlando, you need to be careful.

I have some copyrighted images that I did on my website, but I also have pictures of my kids at their birthday parties where they were cutting them, so no money crossed my plam for them! Just make sure that you're not selling Disney character cakes to people.

If you want to do college teams and some pro sports teams, you can get releases from some of them if you can get in touch with their publicity departments. Some schools/teams will let you do occasional cakes using their logos, but some say no way.

Agree with everything above.

Not just not selling them, they can't be used to promote business either. I have the copyrighted cakes I've done that I only do for close family members posted on my blog site...there's no mention of business on that site. The cakes that are on my business site, if it has a copyright of any kind(from school mascots to country singers), permission was granted to do it.

wowweebee, your site looks great. The pricing would make me apprehensive about inquiring about a cake. Your guarantee...as a customer, oh, yeah...I likey. To PYA, I would suggest a slightly less ...the word escapes me...approach to it. The way it's read now, it does sound like a challenge and with everyone's expectations being different (and I'm not saying you can't meet the challenge), it just opens you up for money losses.

In your gallery, I would try to keep it cake only photos and use the photos with people and other distractions for the blog area.

This is only my opinion and I mean absolutely no offense.

If you are baking out of your home, it would be wise to remove any pics that show your home kitchen in the background. I say this because there is an "in progress" pic of the fairy cake on your blog that shows what appears to be a dog lying on the floor in your kitchen. Whether or not this was a cake made for you and your family only, I don't think anyone buying a cake from you wants to see a dog and a cake in the same picture on your website. When I see a dog next to a cake, I don't typically think "high end".

Just a thought.

Wow! You ladies are observant, lol!! I'm starting to think I need throw my website out for critiques! I didnt catch the licensed characters, the pricing, or the dog!!

To Bee-

I saw your website and i think it is just fantastic. Your story about how you got into decorating had me in stitches (the part about destroying teeth, one cake at a time) just genius. I think you do wonderful work and I wish you luck with your new business.

P.S- Great Cake flavor names and combinations - the husband in marketing sure helps LOL

I must agree that after reading the rest of the other CC member comments i would take some of their suggestions into consideration (pricing, licensed character cakes, pictures with dog in them, legal kitchen issues). They are all valid points and could possibly make or break your business.

I still enjoyed your personality shining through and wish you the best.

NJ Cake Diva

Under How to order a cake, shouldn't the word "you" be the Your? It is the first sentence, I believe, under the Q&A part.

It is about opening a book and picking out a design for you cake, is the way it is written, shouldn't that say a design for "YOUR" cake, is what I was trying to get across. sorry about that.

I had to go back and read after Indydebi posted...lol

Yes definately rephrase that

I didn't see a pic that had any people or a dog on the website (you might have already removed them) But I do agree with the others on the guarantee part. You are really setting yourself up to be taken advantage of. Did you see the Bridezilla episode where the bridezilla actually admitted to the camera that she changed her order from Chocolate to Vanilla at the last minute and then the day before delivery decided to change it back and said she was going to lie to the bakery to get her cake the way she wanted it and she smashed her hand in on of the sheet cakes they had made for her wedding screaming "I Want My Chocolate Cake!!" Believe me there are so many crazy people out there and many who are looking for a free ride when it comes to their weddings! Protect yourself!

Well, the dog's legs look cute, but it's true he shouldn't be in the picture! As I was looking as him napping, I noticed what also looks like a bucket of fondant on the floor. The health dept. here doesn't like that, and has rules about storing things off of the floor. It's unlikely that anyone would see that, but if the FL health dept. was to come knocking and you have stuff stored like that it could be worse for you if they have similar requirements.

I know you were probably just using it while decorating the cake, I'm just saying.

Sorry if you feel a little beat up by these comments, but we're a good group to run this kind of thing by, since you can learn from our collective list of things we know not to do!

with photoshop, you can just crop the dog and the surrounding background out of the pic and still have the pic of the work in progress.

I LUV the crop feature of photoshop!

a few impressions from a non-seller (and business communication instructor):

I'd take out "My cakes are more like art than cake" on the Pricing and FAQ sections. I know what you're trying to say, but it kind of reads like: "My cakes will look awesome, but they might taste like sawdust. But whatever, they look AWESOME!" If I'm paying $9-19 a slice, I want cake that is cake (sweet yummy goodness).

Actually, I'd cut that entire paragraph, as I think someone else suggested. It's jarringly negative, and the next paragraph: "Each cake I create is one-of-a-kind..." basically does what you want it to (explaining that your cakes are pricier than Costco's) in a much more positive fashion, which meshes better with the overall tone. Same for the FAQ, where you basically repeat the same section.

I also co-sign on the concerns that the homepage has way too much on it and the cakes should be front and center with your stories coming later. I skimmed it. The stories are fun, but they take a while to wade through, and if I'm looking at bakeries online, I'm probably trying to do a fast comparison shop, so I want basic cake info first.

Under "Some important information": What do you mean that you only do cakes for people you enjoy being with? How can you determine whether or not you'll like working with me? Do we have to hang out first? Cake dating?

What's the range for "local" delivery?

Under "do you make cupcakes...": perhaps I might rearrange, again to focus on what you CAN do: "My focus is on creating unique, amazing cakes that make my clients and my guests gasp and say 'wowwee!' every time they order for me. Therefore, I do not offer cupcakes, petit fours, or cookies."

Tastings: I think you don't have to explain why you prefer not to do them on weekends. This is your business, you dictate your availability. It seems sufficient to say "most appts are...Tues-Thurs." Having the explanation there makes it seem like maybe you could be available if I call about the right Friday. That way, if you do happen to want to allow a Friday tasting to someone, it seems like you're being extra accomodating rather than they twisted your arm...but maybe I'm overthinking it.

Overall--I like it! It's cute and fun, and your excitement about cakes comes through. I really like the blog, and how you show the process without giving it all away.

kdbobo, who wonders why she can't edit her own writing as closely as she can other people's

Just curious....every cake in your portfolio sells for at least $250?

kdbobo is absolutely right...Always highlight the postive and not the negative.

Interesting how she asked advice and never came back, isn't it?

I was thinking she may have been offended too...

She's a newbie so she might not know that the business forum is also known as the "Big Girl Panties" forum, so she didn't come prepared for the opinions

Anyhow, I hope she doesn't stay gone. Most of the time when someone asks for an opinion on a website, they really want to know, so I thought she did too. It's not like opinions on cakes where you know they really only mean compliments.