Website opinions?

[nick85]

Hi,

My ideas for organic beauty products ave gone a long way and now I wholesale them! Heres the website doing it, any opinions?

www.organicarian.com

Also running an ebay store, looking good!

Regards, Nick.

[Eagle]

Hi Nick

It's not too bad but, if anything, I'd ditch the font (the one on the grey buttons). I just think it makes the site look amateurish.

Hope this helps!

Mark

[..DN..]

Hi Nick,

You might want to read up on the law regarding online sales etc. I see that you have privacy policy on the help page but you need to include more information on the site for it to comply. Eg Supplier Name and Business Address as you are taking payment in advance. Who am I contracting with if I buy from you? Are you an individual, LTD etc? You mention on your About Us page that you are a company but dont say Ltd etc.

I think the DTI website or Business Link will have all the info.
Hope this helps,

DN

[barefoot_boo]

Sorry, but I think the whole site looks very amateurish. Which is a shame because the products themselves sound very nice. The site doesn't seem to have a cohesive 'design' - its just a lot of random elements chucked together. I could go into the specifics of what I don't think works, but I'm not sure if thats what you're after or just an initial impression?

[webprojectuk]

I have to agree with barefoot.

Thanks,
ne-fishing.co.uk

[actionscript]

Hi Nick,

I think your business will do well, but not from your website as it stands.

Agree 100% with other comments, you are not showing your products as well as they should be, ie when I click on a product to view , I get a small thumbnail image of the product, you have a large area doing nothing (load of empty space on page) when I click on enlarge image the pop up doesnt display the image, I get no image. People who are buying online what the info to be presented to them instantly and dont want to be clicking enlarge image, especially when you have plenty of space to add an enlarged image of the product in the first place.

Font is bad and pixalated, making it difficult to read on buttons.

You have a dead link on index page "please browse our on-line shop to view"
when I click on highlighted on-line shop, I get a dead link - page not found.

On positive side! site functions well when I added products to cart, and displays info correct.

Please dont let these comments put you off, they are meant to help, but I think you need to redesign the layout of the website to appeal more to buyers.

[Ken]

I can't comment on the website really - I'm not a pro like the others here - but I'd like to comment on your products.

I really like the sound of them - ie,I actually would be tempted to buy - and I think your pricing is good.Given that we're in the run up to Christmas,I especially like the sound of your gift pack - there seems to be a lot in it and it's a reasonable price.
The labelling looks ok too.

Constructive suggestions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.You stated that your products are certified organic...but you don't seem to have a Soil Association mark ? As someone who buys organic (or free range) ...if i can afford it,I would be looking for that kind of accreditation.Otherwise;how do i know that what you're selling is really organic ?Esp as (as someone else here pointed out) - I have no idea who you are ?!!!

2.Companies like Waitrose and also Coop eg, who have made a name for themselves sourcing organic food have also adopted a policy of showing where the goods in question actually originate from.I know,as a seller,you're not going to be tempted to state exactly who you got your 'ingredients' from....but as a buyer I'd be interested to know more on this area. I don't know;eg,lemons from a picturesque little old organic farm in spain somewhere ! It's all adds to the marketability/touchy-feely bit.

3.Gift packs :You've only got the one at the mo.As a buyer,I'd like to see a bit more choice , also for varying cost. What springs to mind is how well Body Shop have got the whole 'price grading' in terms of gifts sorted out - ie,as well as having larger and more expensive gift baskets (£35) on their shelves , they also have smaller packs/baskets for around the £10-£15 mark ; which is the kind of money you (I !) want to spend on someone at Christmas - ( ie,a friend,but not so much of a friend that I'm going to spend £££ on them !!! ) Of course,people wanting to spend only £10-£15 on a gift for someone should (in theory) go to your main shop instead and select items up to that amount....but it's a hassle and they won't get the packaging. I always think that if you put a solution in front of people,so that it removes the necesssity for them to think,that it is far,far better. Why not put a smaller basket up ; ie,instant gift solution.
A nice idea throughout the year would be seasonal themed gift packs.Eg,on Valentines Day ,for the special one in your life,perhaps a rose petal themed selection ? Or for Easter ,mint ???? (I don't know how practical these are,but it's the idea )

4.Payment: Personally,having read so many scare stories about it,I'm not a massive fan of Paypal.That would deter me (personally)

5.Delivery.Free delivery is great....but how do i know that what you're sending me is actually going to arrive - esp. at this time of year ? I know you're prob keeping these details to yourself (understandably....) ,but if you're using royal mail normal delivery (ie,for items under 2kg) as a buyer you have no way of either confirming to the seller that you have actually sent the stuff or that it is being processed by RM. What happens if RM lose it ? Either you use RM Special delivery for goods up to 2kg (*which includes insurance up to value of goods of £28 or for value over that,an additional £1 for insurance up to £500) which will give you a track and trace no and will assure your customer that you have sent it.
or
Failing that,for items over 2kg,courier service?Lots of courier services tend to charge about £5.50 ex vat for goods up to the 5 kg weight...so you might be able to give your customers more confidence that the goods they order will turn up and in one piece.

6.Marketing: Product Placement - there is a shop called the Organic Pharmacy (Organix?) on the Kings Rd (London SW3) which sells only organic beauty products.Its v popular ...I was reading Sat Times mag a few weeks back and the writer of the beauty article was waxing lyrical about that shop.Perhaps a cunning PR piece sent to the times writer might be an idea?
Maybe you could interest the Organic Pharmacy in your products?


Ken
----------------------

[VLAHAKISA]

I would agree with what has been said regarding the design - work needs doing to create something a bit more professional in appearance, because it does come across as a DIY website which will put off a lot of potential customers.

Trust is a big issue when it comes to paying for goods online and therefore its vital that you appear completely professional.

If you can't afford a designer start by having a good look at the websites of your competitors and others in a similar industry - look at the best of these and think about what makes these websites seem professional.

Some good examples of sites that appear professional are:

http://www.avea.co.uk/

http://www.naturalcollection.com/nat...uralbeautycare




Regards

Amanda

[Daniel H]

Don't know what others think, but as a visitor to the site, if there are 20 products I would rather see them all on one page.

Instead of having to go into each category with most of having 1 item in them.

[Hot Igloo]

First of all, wow, your products look fab! (Do you have wholesale information on the site, though? I couldn't seem to find it.) I'd be really tempted to buy from you, but I have to agree with what others have said; the site has a bit of an amateurish look to it and that would really put me off.

I think the main problem is that it all looks a bit "thrown together", as if it's all been a bit of a rush job, and it reminded me a bit too much of a eBay page. It doesn't give the impression of a professional setup, but very much of an eBay trader working out of home. As I said, the products are great, but you're not showing them off to best advantage, and I don't think the design really "matches" the product, if you know what I mean?

If I was selling these kind of products I'd go for something really simple and stylish - maybe a little bit quirky; these are the kind of products you'd buy to pamper yourself or give as a gift, but the site has more of a functional, "rough and ready" look about it.

The other problem I see is having the Paypal and Nochex logos so prominent on your front page. I don't have a problem with paypal myself, but if these are the only payment options you're offering, again, it says "amateur" to me and that could create a trust issue for some buyers. Have you thought about other methods of online payments? If you have a business bank account you can hire a credit card machine for a monthly fee - might be something worth looking into.

Hope this doesn't put you off too much; you've made a great start and from what I've seen everything seems to work well. Good luck with it!

[Martin]

Hi, I'd agree with alot of the comments. Nice products but lack of visual appeal from the website.

Font
The Font used (In Menu) is unsightly for general reading, so i'd change this for all other text except the logo. (Remembering that not everyone has 20/20 vision, so picking a easy to read default font helps)

Menu
The Menu is centered to the middle of the page which means the user is required to scroll down to use/view the menu on long pages. I personally feel this should be stuck at the top of page in view at all times.
(See : http://organicarian.co.uk/ViewItem.php?ItemID=16 )

Products Listings
The Product listings could be a little better. For example look at this page (1), the product image is dark and theres no description of the product. It's also been resized but lost it's clarity. To view a description I need to dig further into your site. If I didn't click the (Click for description) links I wouldn't know hardly know anything of your product. I think you need to bring the information to the customer and not ask the customer to find the information. (So add a little more info to the product listings) There's no time to play in an information maze.

(See :)
(1) http://organicarian.co.uk/ShowCatego...?CategoryID=11
(2) http://organicarian.co.uk/ViewItem.php?ItemID=8

Ads by Google
Is it really worth you having advertising on your site? I mean how much income does it make having it on one page.

Not only that but due to the way Google Ads work it will pick out ads due to the words on your page and will infact bring you into competition with yourself.

(See : http://organicarian.co.uk/search.php )

About Us - Contact Us
Even after viewing the About Us page I know no more about who is the company selling these items. There's also no address or contact numbers on the site. (This i'm sure needs to be updated to comply with regulations)

Poor Coding
Please check out these links
W3 Validation

And

W3 CSS Validation

I bring this to your attention as it maybe hurting your SEO. You have only 3 pages listed. The main .co.uk. the .com and the first page of your shop.

also there's accessibility issues with missing Alt tags etc.


Sorry if seems harsh, isn't meant to but constructive criticism can only lead to more sales.

All the best

Martin

[vigo]

also there's accessibility issues with missing Alt tags etc.

Alt attributes surely, darling? (I'm picky about this particular mistep )

Good, valid, semantic HTML is also an accessibility issue IMHO (as well as being good for SE's as you mentioned Martin)

[Rachel Habacus]

Hey there,

Congrats on getting it all together, it's quite a mission putting together a web-site. I've built three so far since getting Dreamweaver six weeks ago and I'm still not happy or finished - so keep going.

I found a freeware effects maker on www.download.com which will create the code for very smart menubars have a look for advanced effect maker 1.0, it is suitable for both mac and Pc.

I do have a comment separate to the others however, and that's your picture cut-outs, it's so important to have clear pictures on your website, and it's also very important that they are cut out well. Do you have photoshop or a similar product?

Good luck with it all,

Rachel

[Eagle]

Hi

It's not only about 'cut outs' - quality of product photography is paramount. If the product is poorly lit in the first place, no amount of cutting out will save it.

If the customer sees amateur, poorly lit photographs, they're more likely to presume the business is a fly-by-night, amateur enterprise.

Make them bright and punchy - even add a little artistic flair for product shots as it provides interest for otherwise mundane items. (See below!) Nothing like hiring a professional to boost sales.

[Rachel Habacus]

It's true, but we're not being negative, just helpful....promise!!

Rachel