http://www.frogkingkonfections.com/
anything I need to fix? My dd and her dh have been working on it for me.

ok, so I'm writing these as I review your site, so I apologize for the randomness:

1. The drawing of the frog has to go. If it is meant to be a logo, make it a logo, not a photo of a drawing. This looks unprofessional.
2. The font is very small.
3. With the colors being so light, I'd suggest using a full color background.
4. You need a navigation bar. Right now, there is not enough info on your site.
5. With a name like Frogking Konfections, I think of something a little more fun. This site seems kind of reserved.
6. I also happen to remember you mentioning that there is a story behind the name, perhaps add a page explaining this, but perhaps with a lighthearted spirit (i recall it is a slightly sad story.


Ok, thats all I can think of right now....

Okay, Thanks for your help. I will talk to my dd about it, and get her to change some of it. My other dd, [and partner] drew the frog. I will get a better rendition of it. She actually did this [drawing] in about 15 minutes, so it is a rough draft.

I'm sorry, I see all the f's and the ing's and just start thinking about a curse word. It's hilarious! And I don't know, I'm old fashioned, but KONfections just looks ghetto. Spelled like that, it just looks like, well, unprofessional.

Oh, maybe consider not having the gigantic bug as one of your front page pics. Just a though. All the pretty cakes, and big ugly bug. Big ugly bugs are awesome works of art, like yours is, but maybe not on the front page?

It's a good start...I think the frog design would make an excellent logo element for the top of the site once it has been converted into a vector graphic, along with stylized text of the business name.

You'll definitely want to organize your site into pages and add more information. At minimum you'll want an "about us" page, a photo gallery with images displayed all at once in categories instead of a slideshow, and a menu showing your product lines and pricing guidelines.

On your home page, you'll want to start with your core competency/competitive advantage. What unique product/service can you offer that others can't match? This is the most critical part of your web site (and your business in general).

A picture of your building would help emphasize that you have a retail storefront. Put all your legalese on the bottom of the page, and you can probably get rid of the search box. Also work on your copy, right now it looks more like a blog post than a business.

Thanks. I will see about doing all of that. I appreciate all of your ideas.

Yeeeeeaaaahhhh not crazy about the bug cake and the armadillo. yuk!

After doing some more review, I'd suggest scaling down your photos to really only show not just your best work, but the best pics as well. Having 10 really good cakes/pics is SO much better than 50 with fuzzy pics and cakes that were done at the begining of your decorating career.

Also, I can't quite tell from some of the pics, but just be sure that there isn't anything to get you in trouble copyright-wise...

First, I like the background vines, the color is vibrant and very nice. However, I think you've kind of missed the purpose of a web presence with this site.
The purpose of a website is to communicate at all hours of the day and night, what you offer and why customers should come to you. You need to see it as a salesperson who never sleeps, as an employee whose purpose is to make your life easier by answering questions you don't have the time to constantly repeat. In this day and age, your website is your number 1 marketing tool. Right now, all I see is a few (poorly taken) photos of cakes and the hours and address of your shop. You need MUCH more info than that to capture sales.
I agree, you need to find someone to artistically interpret and make a vector image of the frog. Then, if you are truly going to use that name, you need to really RUN WITH IT! You need to make it fun, whimsical and vibrant, so customers have fun with it too, and see it as a fun tribute to your son.
Before designing a website, you need to make a big list of everything you need to communicate with your customers. Some of these things must be included:
Price
Menu
FAQs (payment info, policies, deposits, etc)
Gallery (if you don't have a lot to show, buy some dummies and decorate away! It appears that right now you gals may need the practice. Sorry, but true. I like the bug cake though!)

Basically, you have a landing page, now you need a website.

I agree with the previous replies.

To that I'd like to add that your contact info may be better placed somewhere in the left column (and visible on all pages once you add more). It's currently taking up a lot of very important real estate on what should be your homepage. A better description of what you do may be beneficial for search engines and help you rank better in Google. It may also be a good idea to list the locations you deliver to. Think of how you would "Google" for a cake decorator. On that note, you may also want to move it above the current first line as that's what search engines are reading first.

Good job on the keywords, they're important. I'm not sure if it was intentional but there's a typo in one of them... "knofections"
<meta name="keywords" content="cake, candy, brownies, unique, creations, Nashville, Bakery, baker, frog, frogking, knofections, confections, crazy" />

Lastly, if you really want to turn this site into leads, you may consider a small online form so users can request a quote and for people to get in touch with you. (If you can add a 'captcha' you'll ward off a lot of spam). If you reply to them in a timely manner, it can help with sales.

HTH!

thanks again, I will send all of these to my dd. Her dh is a web designer and can help her with a lot of it. Like I said she just started on this a few weeks ago.

I am not in business, and don't have a real website but from looking at it it seemed more like a blog and not a website featuring a business.

On the right hand side where it has the homepage link it would be nice to have:

About Us
Princing
Location
Flavors
Portfolio

AlsoI agree with previous posters that all pics posted she be professional quality and not have time and day stamps on them. Even though your DD may be proficient with html, maybe consifer paying someone that has drafted business websites in the past to work something up.

I like the name and the frog theme, but consider if you want people to remember the cake was made by ...your actual name, or something to do with frogs. I did photography for years before cakes and had a cute name, but no one ever rememered my name. Just something to consider.

Congratulations on your new family business! It was very brave of you to post your site here & ask for feedback.

Designing a website can be a bit overwhelming.

Your profile location says Cookeville, but you said the shop is in Hohenwald, which is a good distance away. If you are near Cookeville you may want to check in with some students at TTU. They might be willing to help build your site as part of a class or study project.

Just a thought

Best of luck on the new business!

Hi FrogKing!
I'm not sure if I just missed it, but do you have your flavors on your site? If you don't have them there I think it would be a great addition. Most of my clients love to hear my flavors and it really pursuades them to one item or another. I would also condense your cake slideshow to only display the best of your work. In addition you might consider removing the gruesome cakes. I think the fact that they're so realistic shows your talent, but many people (myself included) don't want to see that on a cake website. I might be alone in thinking this, but it's just a thought
Pricing information might also be a good addition as alot of people will move on if they don't get a ball park estimate from a site.
Hope these suggestions are food for thought-I hope alot of success for your new website and shop!

Kaylani, yes I am in Cookeville, and my shop is in Hohenwald. My dd is going to be doing the most of the everyday running of it. We are [dh and I] are heading down there on wednesday to help get it ready for the ribbon cutting on the 30th. She has been busy making cupcakes and cookies this week. We are going to be moving to that area in the spring. We have a house there already. Remodeling in progress.
My youngest dd and her dh both go to Tech, I will get him to check it out too.

Sounds like you have a very talented & supportive family Love it! Hohenwald is beautiful country. Congrats on your move & again lots of success to you both!