The Technology Company's new website - comments welcome ...

[gidon]

Sorry I've not been very active here. Been busy with the new venture.

The shop's now been running almost 5 months (yikes) and I've just launched a full e-commerce website. It's pretty sparse at the moment - adding more products from the shop every day. But I would really appreciate forum members' comments. Look, feel, focus, ease of use etc etc.

You can see the furniture I made with the forum's help under "find us" - click on the photo of the shop to see a virutal tour.

And please come and visit if you're anywhere near Tavistock in Devon. We can discuss technology or woodwork! We're open Tuesday to Saturday, 9-5.

http://www.thetechnologycompany.co.uk

Thanks

Gidon

 

[Max Power]

Speaking purely as a potential customer (as I know nothing about the technical aspect of web sites) it looks very professional and user friendly

 

[Mattty]

I think it looks great. Very professional. Infact it looks like the site would have cost a fortune to do.
Nice job.

How is business in the shop?

 

[andycktm]

Can i ask Gidon and i've seen this on many sites,why is it the more you spend the more delivery costs?
If i bought one torch i'd expect to pay for delivery but if i bought ten i'd expect cheaper/free not to pay more for delivery :?

 

[Mike.C]

Very professional, a website to be proud of.

Cheers

Mike

 

[gidon]

Thank you all for your comments - they are really appreciated!

Matty business is good thanks - still very early days and still discovering the most effective ways of advertising - a lot of money can be wasted! As the famous quote goes: "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."

Andy delivery charges are something I consider crucial so will definately take your comments on board. I want charges to be as fair (and straightforward) as possible - the site is setup to directly quote actual royal mail prices if I enter the weight of my products. And this is something I will consider. But if an item has free delivery it will be free delivery however many you order. (More Fenix torches will be added very shortly.) Higher value items (like computers) on our website tend to be quite expensive to ship hence the higher charge for orders over £50. We will try to offer as many items as we can with free delivery though.

Please keep the comments coming!

Cheers

Gidon

 

[andycktm]

Without making it look to cheap,you could to do special offer's deal of the week e.t.c (even if there not that cheap :wink: )
Look at screwfix and argos......... its all in the mind!!!
It's funny because if something is £45 + £5 delivery it doesn't seem as good as £50 + free delivery!
Good luck with the venture

 

[gidon]

Thanks Andy.
Yes will have frequent special offers - just as soon as I get all our products up!
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Vormulac]

Website looks good! I used to go to school in Tavistock, shame there wasn't anything like your shop then, it would have been stuffed to the rafters with drooling schoolboys!

 

[hivisvest72]

Hi Gidon,

Congratulations on a first class looking website - loads very nicely, the html behind the scenes validates very well, so should prove very good both in human interaction and importantly in search engine rankings.

One comments I'd make from a aesthetic perspective, is that I think the items down the right fade into one another - eg the text is all very white, and it doesn't clearly distinguish when one ends and the next starts on a quick glance.

Combined to that, the "Add to cart" button could be made to stand out more (if you copied the styling that you have for the items down the centre then this would probably solve both those minor niggles).

I'd even go further - when you want someone to commit to clicking on the link I like to differentiate that "call to action" compared with standard links on the page (eg contact us, store finder etc). Common practice is to either wrap that with a background image to make it stand out (like the Amazon 'add to basket' button), or at least put an arrow or some directional indicator (usually pointing to the right to suggest forward - Argos and a number of financial services companies use this approach).

Other than those minor things, a great example of good quality code and pleasing design coming together.

Good luck with the business.

Cheers

Alan

 

[gidon]

Thanks V - hopefully you'll be able to pay a visit as a drooling adult!
Alan - really appreciate your comments - they make a lot of sense. Will see what I can do when I get a chance. Think you are right need something to make the products on the right stand out ...
Thanks,
Gidon

 

[sparkymarky]

hey gidon, website looks great, not a million miles from you, i`m over in holsworthy, will try and drop in next time i`m in the area.
mark.

 

[Anonymous]

i had an eccommerce website selling TV brackets and if i am honest your lay out etc etc knocked socks off mine. I experimented with a few things and the one that won for me was i inflated my prices by 10% then had a 10% sale on at all times "offer must end soon"

thats when i got the majority of my business. I made everything free delivery again i just added the postage costs to the product price

You maybe thinking well where is it now? its due to be relaunched soon in the next month or so.

 

[Benchwayze]

Website looks good! I used to go to school in Tavistock, shame there wasn't anything like your shop then, it would have been stuffed to the rafters with drooling schoolboys!

Living on a school route, I get loads of kids walking past my drive while I am working. The only time any of them came up to me to ask anything, was when they tried to flog me a Black & Decker Router. (Which I presumed they had nicked from someone else. Cynical old sod am I not?)

8)

That's a nice site Gidon, and I might PM you one day about choosing a movie camera!

Regards
John

 

[misterfish]

I like it. It runs quickly and is pleasing to the eye and it works (quickly). it is the type of website that I will happily peruse and purchase from if I find something that I want, need and can obtain approval for purchase from 'the authority'.

Another feature I like is the simplicity with which I can find delivery costs. There are so many sites around where actually finding this information is difficult or impossible. I like to know how much the whole purchase is likely to cost and your approach make it very clear.

Well done.

Misterfish

 

[gidon]

sparkymarky - yes please pop in when you're next nearby.
Mark - good luck with the re-launch and thanks for the tips.
John - email / phone us any time!
Misterfish - thanks for the feedback - very encouraging to hear you find it easy to browse. I get frustrated with websites where delivery charges are buried away too.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Orcamesh]

Hey Gidon, how you doing? Long time no see/speak! I didnt realise you had had a change of direction like this! Very interesting shop and cracking website, I guess you have been on the sharp end of a steep learning curve then? Good luck with it and if I am down that way I might come in and surprise you! cheers Steve

 

[wizer]

Hi Gidon. Missed this post somehow. You've done a fantastic job, I can't really fault it at all. My only tiny gripe is the blue background which bleeds into the columns. Tho even that has grown on me in the few mins I've been looking at it.

What have you built it on? Doesn't look like OsC to me?

 

[gidon]

Hi Steve
Good to see you back! Yes has been a very interesting year to say the least! Please do pop in when you are next nearby.
Hi Wizer
Thanks for your very generous feedback! Not seen OSC - just looked it up - doh! Mine is build from a template that's I've modified using mainly CSS.
Cheers
Gidon