[Buckland]

http://demo1.maniathemes.com/carpetcleaner/

Anyone got any comments good bad or indifferent on this type of website that I am considering from a local studio.  Currently I use Office 365 but was thinking wordpress would be the way to go - are these sites OK for the next google/mobile friendly release etc. Thanks

dave

[Jonathan Evans]

Looks a good design like it very much mate 

[Mike Halliday]

It's a bit hard to say before you get some personal photos on, but the layout looks ok.

If it was mine  I would not give so much prominence to the contact section right at the top, if they have made the effort to visit your website I think they will not just straight away fill in thier contact details,  so why have it as nearly half the top.

  I would have a bigger, eye catching picture to greet thier eyes as they arrive on your page...... not a form to fill in

[Steve Chapman]

Looks a really smart layout and professional looking.....

Apparently having an enquiry form near the top of the page is the way to go now,, or so i've been told by the marketing experts.....

[Mike Halliday]

Apparently having an enquiry form near the top of the page is the way to go now,, or so i've been told by the marketing experts.....

You were told wrong

It's like sales, the most important step is asking for the order , but you don't ask for it as you walk in the door........  you need to build trust and desire ( etc )then ask for the order.  Asking for thier contact detail as soon as they land on your home page  without  answering their  needs is  pointless 

 Have  it on your homepage  but not as the first thing they see . if they want to contact you they will find your details

[Mike Halliday]

As the page loads this is the first thing you see .......



....... Is the first thing  you are going to do  is start filling in your name and email address ? (People hate putting thier email address on websites, they think they will get loads of spam)

Or will you scroll down the page and start reading .

[Buckland]

Yes thanks all for the input - it is some sort of licence deal that smaller studios buy to be able to re-sell sites with their own customers' content - licensed by a company called WPMania.net probably based in India I imagine - I can actually meet the guy who does the content work for me here which is what I prefer to do - I was just wondering if there are any particular hangups with WP viz a viz the new google regime - also if it has errors because I have seen people ripped to pieces on here by officechair warriors who do their own coding etc - I know my current site has poor visibility for mobiles - I know what you mean mike about the form coming right out and hitting you in the face especially on the mobile landing page and peeps def dont like that sort of thing - may just make them surf off somewhere else

The alternative is to get the same studio to redo my existing website on Off365 as there is a new format for websites on there that I have never converted to or used - they say they would do this for me which would probably be better - more I think about it the more the WP standard-look website experience starts to pall with me.

[Mike Halliday]

I know he's a mate of mine so my opinion is slightly biased but I think Mark at DP design does a good website for the money he charges,  I don't know how much you are paying but it might be worth giving him a ring.

[stuart_clark]

I will second that mike, mark created a website for me last june, it's on the first page of google in my area and about a fifteen mile radius,  I think mark chaged me £300 all in , and that included a years web hosting ,
cant fault mark at all, he has made countless changes for me at no cost whatsoever,  he specialises in carpet cleaning websites
Websites paid for itself many times over ,


Stuart

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Tbh I think it's poo!

It's so impersonal it's all over the place not giving or telling a good story of why call you it's too generic.

Perhaps not what you want to hear but I'd like to think that you're old enough and wise enough to accept criticism if it's just.

Steve Swinney who frequents here makes personal websites that work hard on selling 'you' also he will customise it to your liking with tried and trusted designs and giving the message you want to give to your potential customer.

Shaun

[Steve Chapman]

Its impersonal as its not been personalized yet 

[Buckland]

Thanks Steve and shaun - fair points no offence taken on poo comparison! and it is hard to visualise it as the finished thing and I def dont want the php form popping up first on mobile/tab site - that is a turn off for most people - I think my old site is too wordy and most people just want some re-assurance before they ring you so its about getting people to ring you really imo

I am not tied to the designer who sent me the template link - I only pay 5ver a month to MS for hosting currently but my site def needs updating - I did it myself in MS Office365 and they have a new type of site now with presume new code that makes it better but maybe not up to date enough with latest mobilegeddon issue - I hate the actual programme or suite of apps in O365 it makes we weep everytime I open it up it is just so poo.

But the site I built has done its job and at least the website's never gone down - the designer tells me he thinks MSO365 are going to quit offering public facing websites as part of the deal and concentrate O365 towards intranet large corp intergrated comms whatsit.

[Stoots]

dis sitez is gud but eyed changE da fontz on de ome page cuzz