Author Topic: I'm looking for some feedback.. (Read 2063 times)

Pheon · « **on:** April 05, 2008, 09:23:36 PM »

Hello all. I posted here awhile back about an idea I had for a pond maintenance business I was thinking of opening. I got some feedback and the name "All you do is feed the fish" from Julles I believe. He mentioned a company in Texas that had it on their trucks. I couldn't find it online so I stole the slogan

. Anyway, I went ahead and opened the business! It's called "Professional Pond Maintenance and Fish Care. I'm not posting here to promote the business as that would be absurd considering that you folks are from all over. I only serve the Southern Oregon area. I'm hoping to get some feedback on the website I designed to go with the business. It's very pond related! I'm waiting until the weather gets better to post pictures of the ponds I maintain but once up their will be some pretty ones. The links page is also a work in progress. Notice the link to this forum however.

I'd appreciate any feedback you can give, positive or negative, about my site. Please keep the negative feedback constructive! Can you read it ok? I'm thinking the folks here would be an excellent focus group concerning my site.

Here is the link:
http://allyoudoisfeedthefish.net

Moderator:: I looked for the rules concerning this type of post and couldn't find anything prohibiting it. However if this is against the rules please delete the post and accept my apologies.

Thank You,
Christian

Jerry · « **Reply #1 on:** April 05, 2008, 10:46:20 PM »

It's ok. This is sure pond related. If you were in Southern California, we could use you!
The site looks good. You can use some pond photos.

CT · « **Reply #2 on:** April 06, 2008, 04:14:29 AM »

Christian,
Nice web site. Did you mention the area that you are in or that you service? Or did I miss it, it's early yet

The home page seems pretty busy. A bit difficult for my old eyes to separate the written word from the picture but that is probably just me. Maybe a different color for the text? On the photo page, consider increasing the size of the pictures and more of them.

Otherwise, I like the layout. I wish you well. A natural offshoot to your service would be aquarium maintenance when you expand and hire employees. Lots of people have ponds and aquariums as well and could use your service.
Kay

Pheon · « **Reply #3 on:** April 06, 2008, 05:57:26 AM »

Thanks you guys. I will be adding more photo's. In fact quite a few. Thing is right now the ponds aren't looking there best being winter and all. In about a month they will start showing up on the images page. Also thank you Kay for the ease of reading info. The home page I need to re-work. I'm going to move the picture I think as the text color is as good as it's going to get. I'm based out of Southern Oregon.

Thanks,
Christian

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #4 on:** April 06, 2008, 07:51:21 AM »

That is a very nice website. I like the frog rib-bit in the links section. Maybe something like music, waterfall sounds or the same playing quietly in the background in the other sections.

True photos (less stretched) of the ones you have may be nicer as a background to your write up with words written in the faded center of photo (similar to Contact page). Did that make any sense? Don't care for the black background.

Can't wait for more photos of your work. The one before and after job looks like you know how to professionally finish a home job. Although it would have been nice to see the more happy fish in the after shot too.

Is that enough critique? Professional Pond Maintenance and Fish Care
by Christian.
All you do is feed the fish!!

Good Luck! But with great skills and care you shouldn't need it.

Julles · « **Reply #5 on:** April 06, 2008, 04:04:43 PM »

I think the site looks great. (Oh, and I'm tickled that you could use that "All you do is feed the fish," line. And... uh,,, I'm a GIRL!)

I generally find black pages to be hard to read, but yours is A-OK. You might consider making the white font "bold" so it's easier to read. Lots of baby boomers out here, with failing eyes.

Also, it would be helpful to mention prices. Even if you can't give any idea of prices because you haven't seen the pond, SOME sort of info to help the viewer know what he's in for. Even if you just say, "e-mail for pricing information." That offers the viewer something.

Re the pics... to be honest, to me, the "before" picture looks much better. First of all, the seating area is very inviting, even if it has nothing to do with the pond, its ambiance is very appealing. Second, the fish in the pic really add to what ponders love to see. Third, honestly, I don't see much difference between the two ponds. But, to my eyes at least, in the "after" picture, the water actually looks cloudy. Not good.

Re the frog sounds.... By reading above, I guess lots of folks like sound effects. And a frog is hard to beat. But I'm someone for whom sound can be VERY irritating. On John's site, Garden Endeavors, I sometimes just shut the whole thing off, because the water and other sounds are too loud and too annoying - interfere with my thinking. Maybe a button or something to shut off the sound, for those who don't want it? I realize my speakers have a volume control, but it's not handy. A button on the screen would be easier.

On your "services" button, you did a very good job of explaining exacly what you do. I had questions, but once I clicked that button, it was very clear. Explaining all that makes your services more valuable to the customer.

On the "about me" page, you could break it up into more paragraphs. Easier to read when it's not a huge block of type. In the first paragraph, I would break it after "Next thing you know, you have a pond!" NEW paragraph contains the bad news, "Then comes the green water, etc."

It's also good that you mentioned the natural approach. People these days are getting more and more into being "green". EVERY magazine I read of late has at least one article about living green.

As another benefit to clients, would you be able to use any of the sludge for fertilizer?

Pheon · « **Reply #6 on:** April 06, 2008, 05:11:18 PM »

Thanks!

miguynmkoi.. I think I might change the name to what you suggested. I like it a lot ( by Christian ). I'm trying to make the business about what I can do. Great Idea!

Julles.. Gosh I'm sorry about calling you a guy. It had been awhile since I saw the post and I don't know why.

On that picture. I took it right after the pond was completed and yeah the water was cloudy. I plan to go back soon and take another pic. I agree that it would be nice to see the fish and set up as it was before

. I feel rushed to get pictures up but don't want to put up ones with ugly dead plants etc. A month from now and I'll have a bunch. I'm going to go on a picture tour of the ponds I work on or maintain.

The sludge idea is great. I already do it just haven't put it on the site.

The pricing makes me nervous. I go back and forth in my mind on the subject. I know I like pricing on any site I go to. It's a catch 22. If I say on the site that I charge a $50.00 initial consultation fee and $75.00 hr that may scare folks off but over the phone I've had very little resistance to those figures. Maybe your idea is best and ask people to call for pricing.

I appreciate any and all grammatical advice. I'm going to change that paragraph as you suggested. I've been meaning to bring it to an English teacher but haven't gotten to it yet.

Thank you guys for the advice. I'm taking it all in and I'm sure it will improve my site and business.

Christian

Shep · « **Reply #7 on:** April 06, 2008, 05:22:24 PM »

If possible I had would have a minimum of 3 Customer Testimonials. Best of luck!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #8 on:** April 06, 2008, 06:02:15 PM »

You're welcomed Christian! Personal touches that show you care on your website gives future clients a warm and fuzzy feeling about hiring a total stranger to work in their home.

Shep's right about testimonials from happy customers.

Jonna · « **Reply #9 on:** April 06, 2008, 08:55:31 PM »

Nice work Christian. Here are my suggestions. I'm another one who really doesn't like the look of a black background and white text, it screams home-made and unprofessional to me. I think you would have a much nicer look with a lighter background and dark print. Also, the buttons on the left are made to go on a light background so the edges of them are rough and don't look good. Either you will need to re-do the buttons using a black background or match your background to the edges of the buttons. I recommend you re-do the buttons to match the background but that you also change the background to a more natural - nature friendly - color. Black backgrounds are best on heavy metal band sites if anywhere.

The picture on the front page is stretched so much that it hurts my eyes to look at it. Better to crop a picture to the shape you want and then lock the size so it doesn't stretch on a larger monitor. Pictures that can change size with a monitor's resolution or size will look bad on most machines as you will only hit the exact right size rarely. I'd say always lock the size of your pictures so they can't stretch. The thumbnails on the images section are too small on the other hand, up them to at least 300px in width (I think they are 110 now). Many people will never bother to click a picture to see it larger so make your thumbnails large enough to get your point across.

I'd also say not to put up a picture if the difference in look isn't highly in your favor. Those before and after pics are not good for that.

It's a tough thing and learning web design on top of your real job is a lot. Good luck, it sounds like a great business.

Jonna

Julles · « **Reply #10 on:** April 07, 2008, 06:53:43 AM »

When I started my business, I took a class by SCORE, something like Service Corps of Retired Executives... a free service and free class from the Federal government. Even though I had been in management for eons, I learned a lot from that class. You might see if it's available in your area.

Anyway, one thing they said was, to have what you do be in the name of your business, and preferalby it should be the first word, so someone thumbing through the phone book can find you easily. Such as, "Pond Maintenance and Fish Care by Professionals."

I don't know what My Guy & My Koi's suggestion was for a name, but when you put your own name in there, such as "Pond Maintenance by Christian," to me it sounds amaturish. I also would steer away from the word "Christian." I realize it is your name, but it's also a religious denomination, and it's a generally good idea to NOT have any reference to religion in your business dealings - unless you are catering to a specific church group. Not being a Christian myself, I, for one, make it a point to NEVER call someone with those Christian fish symbols as part of their business logo. Afriad I'd be prostelitized to.

Your site says you do fish care. Other than transporting, I don't see anything listed about that. Under "services" you could list what you do with fish, and how you do it. Treatment, sexing, transporting, quarantining, catching the culls, whatever.

Oh, and no problem about my name.

"Jules" (one "L") IS a man's name, to be honest, and in France, "jules" is a common slang for what in English would be "guy" or "dude."

Pheon · « **Reply #11 on:** April 07, 2008, 08:16:16 AM »

Julles. Hi. The name is something I go back and forth on quite a bit. In my other business, when advertising in the newspaper, I refrain from putting Chistian 761-5759, and instead put, call Christian 761-5759, for the exact reasons you specify. I am a Christian myself (not a hardcore fundamentalist type) but I realize as far as for business purposes it turns some people off. I agree it would be unwise to put a fish symbol in my ads. I don't want to limit my customer base. I've posted similar posts on many forums and groups to get feedback and my name does come up. One person went so far as to tell me I will never succeed without changing my name. Yeah sure I'll change it to Vinny ( no offense to any Vinny's out there). I do see your point on the (by Christian) in the title. I will have to think about it. What I have found is that when using my name it attracts Christian's and if I put it in the context "call Christian" the other folks are like oh that's just his name. Maybe!

I've changed the look of the site and incorporated some suggestions from you guys. I ditched the black background(Jonna's doing) and changed some pictures around.

I'm going to copy some pictures of flowers from this site for fillers on my site. If anyone has problems with that please let me know.

Thanks,
Christian

-Greg- · « **Reply #12 on:** April 07, 2008, 08:17:59 AM »

Christian, great idea on the business and website. X2 what Jonna indicated about the resolution and picture size, even the text in the buttons to me looks distorted. Maybe you could embed a quicktime movie where the picture is, at the bottom of the movie you could have the controller buttons visible so that anyone who is annoyed could simply stop the movie or mute the sound. I don't know what web designing program you are using, but in my opinion, iweb is the most user friendly if you are not well versed in html. Jules had some great ideas as well, especially about the "living green", now is the time to capitalize on that catch phrase! I will however have to disagree with him about your name, I personally have no problem with whatever religion/color/sex etc. that your name might suggest, as long as you have a good reputation, good feedback and good prices, you would be ok with me, I know others may have a different opinion though. Good luck!

Greg

http://web.mac.com/gunkel04

crazyfishlady · « **Reply #13 on:** April 08, 2008, 08:29:51 AM »

Just looking at your site today; I see you have been making many of the changes suggested here.

I agree the look of the navigation buttons doesn't really seem to work. Buttons reek homegrown site. Yahoo site builder has limitations, but try just smoothing things a little, even plain text links might work better than those buttons.
The "About Me button" --no, it isn't about you it's about your business
Softer colors wouldn't overwhelm the viewer or your content.
I would decrease your font size. Avoid italic text, much harder to read. I have my resolution very high and the text was huge. Someone with their monitor set for large fonts would get blasted. Doesn't need to be more than 10pt. Don't worry about filling the page with text. White space is good.
Different layout on the links page. It's scattered and confusing.

Don't mean to sound so harsh; I just have a critical eye, sorry.

Julles · « **Reply #14 on:** April 09, 2008, 07:07:00 AM »

Wow, looks great. Isn't it a good idea, to get feedback?

On the "Note: I'm not a veterinarian," This makes it sound like you don't know ANYTHING. Maybe you could soften it to say, "I'm not a licensed veterinarian."

On the home page, I think the top two lines should be larger, and a little more seperation / spacing before what comes below.

I also think you should have some graphics or photos on either side of those first two lines. To catch the eye and tease the curiosity. Look at the header on American Ponders. And how about changing the font a little... like a "shadow" effect or some fancier font (but still easy to read), or can you figure out how to make the letters look like water, or something?

Also, I'm not sure I'm crazy about the new color. What do you others think?

And "call Christian" is fine with me. It's clear that that's your name, not an orientation.

happyoutsidegirl · « **Reply #15 on:** April 09, 2008, 08:00:27 AM »

Hi, I just saw your site today so can't compair from your first post but I enjoyed it. I thought it was a great site and easy to navigate.I hope you do really well with your new advinture!

models916 · « **Reply #16 on:** April 09, 2008, 09:48:31 AM »

Should have some sort of price list just in a general sense. Maybe $ per gallon or sq ft. or depth x length. Maybe ala carte on everything with a disclaimer.

Julles · « **Reply #17 on:** April 09, 2008, 02:05:19 PM »

I don't know about that price thing... I agree, SOME general idea is a big help to the buyer.

But I own a small business (wallpaper installation), and I NEVER quote prices over the phone. Well, sometimes a very vague price, with a stipulation that it is not a definate price, until I see it and do a proper bid.

As soon as you quote something without seeing it, even a "ballpark" figure, the client thinks that's the set price, and then you get there, and it's not what he described at all... all sorts of extra work you weren't aware of, special situations, etc. Also, if you give a price per sq. foot, they go and figure it up themselves, and think they know what your price should be, but, of course, they have no clue about measuring, and they forget other things that should be figured in, and then they get ticked off at you, or think you're cheating them, and they think they know more than you.

I don't know the answer to this... Probably need more suggestions from people.

Pheon · « **Reply #18 on:** April 09, 2008, 06:49:20 PM »

You guys are awesome!! I'm learning a lot. Very nice and knowledgeable group of people on this forum. I sincerely appreciate everyone who has posted feedback on my site. I still have lot's of changes to make but I'm short on time. I'm getting busy. I opened a property services company simultaneously with the pond company and I'm getting swamped. I love it!! Can't believe I WORKED selling cars and RV'S for 15 years. I work now from 5am to 8pm but it's not the same. It's like I'm doing stuff on my day off.

I'm going to continue making changes to my site and in a few weeks I'll bump my post so you guys can check it out.

Thanks Again,
Christian

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #19 on:** April 09, 2008, 09:23:25 PM »

Hey Christian, site looking way nicer! Congrats on Business!

Jonna · « **Reply #20 on:** April 10, 2008, 08:29:54 PM »

I think it is looking a lot better Christian

Way to go! The pictures are holding their shape and the color change is more the colors you want to see in your yard, the waterlily pics are great. Good work and good luck with your new businesses, you are starting a new life.