My plan / website - looking for feedback

[mkzhang]

Hi, I just recently wrote the site for my company, it does a lot of things but this one aspect is my "baby" of which most of my time will go.

Can you guys look at it and give me some initial feedback? Does it look tacky? Or is what I am doing not clearly explained? Or is there something about it turning you off?

Most importantly, does this page give you a good idea what's going on, and after looking at it, would it be something you feel like you want to learn more?

I apologize in advance that I am not posting the link correctly:

Dragon Professional Service - Profit Maximization

Thanks everyone in advance, I am looking forward to anything Will kick things into gear soon when my senior engineering design project winds down :banana:

 

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[crystite]

Hi, I just recently wrote the site for my company, it does a lot of things but this one aspect is my "baby" of which most of my time will go.

Can you guys look at it and give me some initial feedback? Does it look tacky? Or is what I am doing not clearly explained? Or is there something about it turning you off?

Most importantly, does this page give you a good idea what's going on, and after looking at it, would it be something you feel like you want to learn more?

I apologize in advance that I am not posting the link correctly:

Dragon Professional Service - Profit Maximization

Thanks everyone in advance, I am looking forward to anything Will kick things into gear soon when my senior engineering design project winds down :banana:

It looks good to me. I notice though on the home page, there is no mention of this service under the services listed.

There were a few grammatical errors, like "our goal is help " is missing the "to" and "using highly advance methods " should have "advanced". I also notice you use "DP Service" to refer to the company, but other pages use "Dragon". Probably not a big deal, but maybe you would want some consistency.

One thing I was looking for but didn't see any reference to, is some track record of your company's successes in the different services provided.

But in reference to your page, I think it is clear and straightforward what you're aiming to achieve and what you'd be focusing on to achieve those goals.

 

[andviv]

I like the dark background. I think the font selection is appropriate, it looks professional.

I did NOT read the text... it is simply too much info and I rather "scan" your page to get an idea, but that much text makes me want to avoid the site completely.

It does not jump at me with a clear offer. Maybe that is OK for your target market, I don't know about that in particular.

Also, when looking at business sites, I like to see an About Us section where I can read about the people that form the team, or more about what the company is about.

 

[hayama]

I agree with the previous replies.

Consistency helps in branding and name recognition.

I'd also like to emphasize andviv's criticize the large amount of text. I would suggest doing research on writing sales pages or something similar. Try to have a main index/summary page where your key points are highlighted. You should also try to get some testimonials/proof of success on that main page as well. Then have further text in specific sections for each service. These sections should also be shorter in text, since as you have it now it's really a lot to read. Try breaking up the pages also with some diagrams and graphics.

Hope that points you in the right direction.

 

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[buckwild]

I just wanted to congratulate you on your business and the website. The site looks good, it's simple and to the point. The black, grey and white color scheme blend well together to bring out a client's attention to the profit strategy. Good choice of colors for the graph (get the idea from google?) The one thing I would change is to add a mission statement somewhere in the site. Perhaps you can place it under a tab next to the home button. Clients can see what your services are just by looking at your website but what value will you add to them? How will you stand out from other IT consulting & accounting businesses. You can also try .gif links to social media sites. Businesses are expanding their marketing efforts into social media. Take a look for yourself just google 'social media consulting.'

Good Luck

 

[Jaxi West]

Kudos on this new business!

I liked the look - especially the 'jump out at ya' colored chart at the top - in contrast to the entire color scheme.

There are a few things I agree with from previous posters:

1. About Us section - pictures of team members and either a summation of experience for each person or a long one for each person.

2. The consistency of what you call yourself. You need to be careful here as well, unless your business is also registered under the DP name, someone who wants to use that name, can - and if they want to get all nitpicky, and are the litigatious type, can come back and sue you for using their name (even though you had no ill intent for it and you had it on your website before they started their business) this is something you don't even want to hassle with so if you just type it all out, it's better. Plus, in the beginning, when you are launching a business - you want to use your full name as much as possible to get it 'branded' in people's minds.

3. Mission statements really aren't that much of a big deal anymore - if you clearly are stating throughout your pages what you do and how you plan to help the client. It's 'old fashioned' in todays business environment - although nothing wrong with putting it up. It's kind of like the 'objective' on the resume - not really going to land you the job or keep you from getting it, it's not soo crucial - but it can't hurt to put it. I have never known anyone to read a mission statement and then stop reading a website from there because they don't like what the mission statement says. From the bigger picture - it's an irrelevant thing to someone who needs/wants your service. They would be more interested in the depth of what you state/provide in the rest of the pages to help determine if they want to contact you or hire you. This is all my perspective - I am known for thinking more non traditionally - you have to do what is comfortable for you obviously.

4. This really really might be pushing it - but I will just share it with you - although I know you are just going to ignore this: When I was considering my business logo and name years ago (another company ) i wanted to make sure whatever I picked would not be offensive to any culture or region or person (as it was a global business). The color choices were obviously one, but I stayed away from animals as well as animals mean different things to people in different countries. Some are offended by the dragon - see it as a threat or a mean creature. Again, this me just pointing it out. I highly doubt you are going to change your company name and image now. Just something to consider for future businesses - if you are building more later in life

5. Overall, you give a very professional image - nothing tacky at all. One of the poster's suggested you add your client list of who you worked with. It depends on the business, some like to keep their clients private - and I respect that. Or, if you have just started out and don't have anyone, then I would suggest instead at least 2 testimonials if you can - of the type of person you are, the ethics and dedication you hold, etc. Get this from a colleagues, even former bosses, just not a friend.

6. One thing you want to do is try to show your value upfront -your sweat equity. So get a bunch of articles that you have written on your site or get a blog going with a few posts so people can immediately learn from you and come to trust you and your tips. They also get a feel for who you are - gives a more 'live human' feel to 'whomever' is behind the company.

7. Before you launch this - if there is any way you can input a survey or a poll - this would be super. This could be a handy way for you to find out what the realtime situation is (no matter what you think you know about your target market - they tell you sooo much more). Also, it shows you are open to really caring about what your prospects or clients think. If you can't do this in time before your launch, then maybe write your first blog post (or article)von a recent survey or polling that occured within your industry. I am sure there are a lot now becuase we are approaching a new year -so all the 'predictions', etc. But don't just copy and paste it on your website - write your take on it - regardless of what the poll/survey showed. It shows you can think, and have an independent voice. Even if you are agreeing with everything the polling shows, I am sure if you really gave some thought to it, you might have your own take on it or might find another interesting stat from within the poll/survey results, that you can focus on and write on.
show you are great at doing what you do - presented with a bunch of facts and figures and numbers - but can look deeper into it all and come up with brilliant solutions/ideas/ways to approach things.

Looking forward to seeing any of the revisions we have suggested here
Jaxi

 

[Jaxi West]

oh, one more small thing ---
update your copyright at the bottom.

 

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[throttleforward]

I like the site in general - some things I might add:

- can you get rid of LLC in the name? My personal opinion - and please don't take any offense, but when I see LLC as the DBA name, it makes it seem like a one-man show
- the lettering/spacing under the logo can be tightened up and more visually pleasing (left justification doesn't work here) - do you have Adobe Illustrator? That's the program I use to mess with type/font/spacing
- why should I trust this service? No testimonials, biography on the principals or people who will be proving these services...is there any way you can tell me, through the website, why I should pick you over another company with the same offering?
- decisions made through looking at a website are done instantaneously - your site layouts and text force me to ignore entire pages or blocks of text (including your home page) because it's hard to scan. I am a hurried, somewhat stupid business owner - I don't have time to read all of your content. You have to sell me with the bullet points before I will even consider diving a little deeper into your text.
- you should have a tagline of sorts that summarizes your business, probably right under your logo (which should be clickable)...something along the lines of (action verb)+(target market)+(solution). Possibly something like "Providing Chinese Businesses With US Accounting Compliance Solutions" or whatever is appropriate, so customers know immediately what your core business is. The business continuity consulting business I am considering starting might have a name of PreparedCity Business Continuity Solutions with a tagline of "Keeping Small Businesses On Their Feet"
- a communications VP I know told me that "people like to look at people" - put some pictures up there of your team to add credibility (istockphoto.com pictures might work, but they tend to be overused...I'd put some pictures up of yourself) - don't do this if you feel your team is too young-looking

 

[Jaxi West]

I thought about these three suggestions after I logged off last night:

1. You should have a Call to Action on your page. Give them something active to do. Sign up for a newsletter, or offer a free consultation so ask them to either email or call you to receive it.
- People come onto your website but you have no idea if they are multitasking, what frame of mind they are in, if they are tired or super focused and alert. So no matter what they are, you have to presume they are ' in motion' - and not really paying 100% attention
- So the Call to Action - on at least a few pages if not every page - keeps them 'awake' or snaps them out of zonesville and makes them do something. This usually gets them to pay closer attention to your website in the first place because they won't call you or sign up for a newsletter unless they think you could help them, so they might go back and reread a section or look through more pages.

2. You should engage the customer in some way immediately. Ask them a question on one or more of the pages. - A question usually grabs a person's attention and they usually pause for a moment or two longer to think about the question and answer it.
-The question should be a yes or no answer or something they don't know the answer to, and therefore might stay on your website to find out more about what you offer - realizing you will provide the answer to this question and perhaps many others that they didn't think of if they hire you.
-Either way, a question will engage them quicker into your business. If you only have a few seconds to keep their attention on each page, a question at the top of the page helps. I don't have questions on all my pages, but I have them on some.

3. I was also thinking of some kind of tagline that would make you unique -stand out from others in your industry. Why do I want to do business with you - vs all the other companies out there.
-So I was thinking you can state something like the mileage from the US to China and visa versa.(i have no idea what the mileage is) You can say something like "bringing xxmiles of experience directly to you" or something that has to do with "simplifying the process and handling the unknowns of US/China business"

Keep us posted!
Jaxi