What would you improve? Free website building service

[mindmaster]

I just launched a service where I build websites for free. The service is available only for startups. Basically I offer website building and some customization on design, along with features such as: security and on-page SEO.
I know that this is useful as I am helping others to save time and money. Usually I sold this service for $50-$250.
What I am interested to improve is the customer relation. Here are 2 directions I aim to improve.
First is the landing page. I want it to be written as simple as possible, so that anyone can understand if that service is suited for them or not.
Second direction is a better sells funnel. Currently I have a submission form where clients are submitting their details.

I would appreciate your input on any of these 2 matters. The website is BuildaSiteEasy.com

Cheers

 

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[Milkanic]

My first question is why you are giving away your time for free...

 

[mindmaster]

The service is free for the client.
I am getting paid through the hosting companies that I recommend to the clients.
It's a win-win situation.

 

[Martinv678]

I like the idea and think it has the potential as you stated with the hosting companies paying you but..
and I hate saying but..

1. When you hit your web site it should be in your face exactly what you do above the fold (e.g what you see on the screen without scrolling). Maybe a carousel or banner to really show off what you're providing. At the moment its formatted like a word document and from experience the user you're aiming at has the attention span of a fish and will not read through you're sales pitch!
2. I know you said you install Wordpress for free but so can anyone, what USP does your site have that is going to wow me so much that I need to press the red button?
3. The red button.... The is just an opinion but... If you changed the CSS to..
font-size: 22px; (Em's are also better as they render better across all devices and browsers so maybe..
line-height: 25px;
You may get a few more clicks as the writing is more legible and your CTA (Call to action) is more prominent.
4. People usually convert better if they do not have to scroll all the way to the bottom to contact you... zzzz. Put a contact tab on the side which reveals a contact box which they can quickly use to get in contact with you!
5. The writing is all a little too small.
6. The lack of full stops (periods) on the headings....

I hope this feedback is useful... I hope not too harsh, I used to hate people telling me differently about my websites.
Good luck, you're off to a great start!

 

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[wildambitions]

You first need to better define your business. Is your client (and your niche) going to be to further develop their websites or is it to have your primary income be provided by your selling the hosting packages of someone else's product? Or a combination of both. Each will have different funnels that will need to be developed.

As far as the landing page of this site... You will need to have someplace where you develop yourself into the "go to person: for this service and then refer them there after the relationship is established. You may be able to buy traffic to come to the site and you may have a few who will find it on their own but for the most part you have to have the authority of that niche before someone buys into it and actually places an order.

Now to the second part of your question, the relationship. You need to get your self some authority in the installation and web hosting industry. It is it's own beast. But, if you provide real time value to those looking for that service you can begin to build the relationships. Example: Find a few hosting forums that you get involved with within those communities and answer peoples questions about hosting. Build the relationships and ultimately the authority in the community. Find some people in adjacent niches to network with. Time is the only way to build relationships. It is a slow process but if you are in the right niche for your skillset, it will pay back.

 

[V8Bill]

I also work in the website industry. I mostly supply small business and many have come to me after wasting time and coming across as cheap and inferior because of their "free" websites (which actually cost them thousands in lost revenue). In my experience they are very wary of "free" anything as it it's usually accompanied by poor service and no incentive to do anything but the most basic of tasks. Businesses don't want "free" they want customers and they want a smart website that looks like it cost a lot of money so they can appear professional to their visitors. A decent (small) business website has many tuned features that take someone with skill and experience some time to make. They obviously have value. Are you targeting small business or just personal websites?

I wanted to vote on your poll but you didn't have a choice for me.

 

[Steve W]

I had a very quick look at your site & noticed the following:

• The site doesn't reflect what you intend to do for your clients (it uses the default WP theme & IMO is very plain & unpolished to look at).
  
• Neither your site or those in your testominials validate.
• Mousing-over your red button causes it to change size & the text below it to move.
• Much of your content is gramatically incorrect.
• You don't say why YOU should install WP for the client instead of them simply doing it themselves.

First impressions count...

BTW, I used to use WP for clients' sites before creating my own CMS & charged for both site design (using my own themes admittedly) AND the hosting I provided. Any client worth having will perceive free as being worth exactly that amount so I'd suggest at least charging a nominal fee for installation. Also, why get your clients to do any of the work at all? I register domains for my clients, create websites & webapps and provide hosting - all of which is chargable.

Best of luck with it.

 

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[mindmaster]

Wow. Thanks for the replies guys.
I appreciate the feedback.

So far I am planning to tweak the landing page:
Bigger font size
Clear call to action
clear USP
A sidebar for contact /or/ email subscription
Better grammar

 

[smarty]

First of all I like your approach to this business, doing the work once and earning affiliate commission in perpetuity from the hosting. If I was to start my first ever website, I think I would take this deal. However you must make it more clear how it works so people won't think this is a scam. People who are just starting online don't know much of the technical things and may get confused. With that being said, I would do some changes in layout and the text.
In order to not make a long-text boring reply, take a look on the screenshots below on how I would improve your site:

"We Install WordPress for Free." turned me OFF instantly. I would change it to something like the screnshot below.


2. I would display features in boxes, like this:


3. What is 1 & 2? Give people links to the hosting companies and give them step-by-step instructions on how to proceed. In the past I used to give people a coupon code and some of them would still sign up without it because some people are just too confused about this stuff.


4. And please for God's sake get rid of the red background here, it's an eye-killer and looks very cheap. Something like the image below looks better to me but I'm not a designer, I just think the massive-red looks bad.


That's it basically. I see some valid points on the comments from other people here and I see you are changing the site so keep improving.

[UPDATE:] in the poll I don't see any option for me so I will just ignore voting. To get a proper feedback from the poll, include both positive and negative options so people can choose to vote good/bad for the offer, layout etc.

 

[smarty]

Also the fields "Receipt from the Hosting company" and "Description of your Site:" should probably be TextArea not Input boxes. Like this:

 

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[Gale4rc]

What type of residuals do you get off the $12/mo for hosting (im guessing is the price) ?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The service is available only for startups.

No start-up on earth is going to go for cheap, free design, otherwise that wouldn't make it a startup. I think you are confusing "startup" with "small business". You might want to make that distinction -- Joe Schmo who just started a window cleaning business could be your customer and would be considered your perfect target audience-- when someone says "startup" I think about some type of customized web solution, maybe funding, a management team, and a very unique concept, not a Wordpress install. I wouldn't call the Fastlane Forum a "startup" but more of a small business.

 

[smarty]

No start-up on earth is going to go for cheap, free design, otherwise that wouldn't make it a startup.

Correct, not only on earth but no start-up in the universe i would say. Unless he offers highly customized templates etc. I think his target audience are beginners who want a simple blog or website for the first time. Just a few years ago I used to look for free hosting and free domain thinking "when I finally get a .com domain... oh God, I will own a piece of the internet lol

 

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[mindmaster]

Thanks Dj DeMarco for your observation.
Small business is a better representation of my targeted market, than startups.

Smarty I like what you did there. Already implementing some of your suggestions to see how it looks.