New website - maybe advice for others?

I've been wanting to update my website for years but trying to communicate long distance (emails) with a web designer proved to be impossible. Web designers aren't exactly technical minded and certainly not for a niche product like my own.

Long story short. I found someone (professional) only 10 minutes drive with his own server etc. from where I live and we worked on it together. Much of what he said I didn't understand and it was the same the other way around. 2 months and several meetings and I must admit I'm pleased with the result. Will my potential customers be? Time will tell.

If I give the link to my website I'll be accused of spamming but like many other I have my home page on my profile.

What I'm trying to say with this thread is that you probably know your customers better than any web designer (who think it's about getting hits) but I want customers, not folk looking in. Previously I got up to 700 hits a day but I'd rather have 10 customers.

Has anyone else had the frustration of dealing with a long distance web designer or did it work out?

I feel I got a bargain and honestly expected it to cost more than it did. Anyone else feel they got their moneys worth?

I did my own website, I have never really looked at number of visits to customer ratio. However, I get a lot of contact emails from my website, so I suppose it is working.

My biggest problem is, my customers are not yuppie millennials, or whatever you call them in Denmark, and so I do not want my website built for those people. The few web design/advertising/marketing people I spoke with were clueless as to what should be on a website. They were worried about social media, they were worried about look and feel, and blah blah blah.

I want clear descriptions, with facts, nothing else.

So I did my own. No one has insulted my web design, but I have gotten a few compliments. Quite a few customers as well.

I too do mine myself, and traffic does matter. I have noticed the more traffic it has the more orders I get. I do my own SEO as well, which can not be overstated how important that is.

In my experience, you make web sites for the crawlers first and foremost. If you don't get the traffic no one will see the content. I do sell products and not services though.

I tried using one of those web designers on craigslist but the problem is they used pure HTML to build it so it was difficult to update. I totally scrapped it then watched a few tutorials on Youtube and built my own with Wordpress and Elamentor plugin.

YouTube

I did make my old website myself but it did look "home made". I wanted something I knew I couldn't do myself.

If my web designer hadn't lived so close I'd still have the old website. I much prefer the new one.

Here I can help.

First, I would sit down with a pen and paper and draft out how you "think" you want your website to look.
Remember, there's nothing wrong with borrowing a layout from another website that you admire. Competitor, CNN, doesn't matter.

This doesn't need to be a Picaso piece, just a sketch of how you feel it should look. What you're doing is called wireframing.

Next, go to Responsive web design tool, CMS, and hosting platform | Webflow . Webflow is a great online hosting service and website builder. They sell templates that you can use to build your site. For my little start up, I used a template and then had my CTO hack and slash it for me to fit our needs.

If you're inclined, you can learn how to design your website yourself. Webflow has a great set of video tutorials that walk you through the design process. You can even learn some excellent fundamentals in HTML coding ... or do what I did and stick with the template.

I used this template as my base. Cardly - Webflow HTML Website Template and then modified the colors and such to make it more "unique".

That template cost me $24. My website hosting is also $20/ month. For most of you guys, you can probably get away with the $15 option.

Since time is money, I also recommend a lot of the for hire designers that are available through webflow. If you wireframed up your website, scan and then email it to a designer. He can get it all together for you. Designers shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred.

Remember: Only you understand your business as well as you do. You must, ABSOLUTELY, must write the marketing copy yourself or delegate it to a marketing/sales guy that you trust. Tell your designer to fill in placeholder text where you want your stuff to go (Lorem Ibsum) then put the stuff in yourself through the webflow portal.

Edit: there's also an SEO portal that you can use to connect up your google search console and start getting listed by Google.

With this, you'll have a modern looking website up and running in under a week.

DrBeast said:

Here I can help.

First, I would sit down with a pen and paper and draft out how you "think" you want your website to look.
Remember, there's nothing wrong with borrowing a layout from another website that you admire. Competitor, CNN, doesn't matter.

Click to expand...

I've just cut out the rest of your post to save space I can easily follow your line of thinking.

The reason I wanted a professional was to get ideas and thoughts from his experience. Many of the things he suggested I simply hadn't considered or thought about.

My old website I'd done myself and the best thing I can say about it is that it worked. I wanted one that looked better and I didn't mind paying what it cost. To me it was never about price or saving dollars and it cost less than I had expected. The price for what I got I felt was very reasonable.

I'm sure that those that look at my new website with the intention of buying will find it much easier to work with than the old one. If not it's my fault and not the web designers. I ended up getting what I wanted but looking better than I had imagined. I couldn't have done it though without his input and help.

a few copy editor and opinion edits for you. First, the currency is in Euro, the picture is a stock photo of Benja-r-mn's. I cringe at stock photo's, especially those that do not fit description. Second, if I look at price page and see pictures of mountains of cash it gives wrong impression.
I like the term smiley for in stock.
What is the drawing animation of bolt chasing nut? out of place, and not random cool in the classical scherzo type of way.

Way to be professional and have a professional do their job, I wish more people would use this approach.
My two cents,
jed

memphisjed said:

a few copy editor and opinion edits for you. First, the currency is in Euro, the picture is a stock photo of Benja-r-mn's. I cringe at stock photo's, especially those that do not fit description. Second, if I look at price page and see pictures of mountains of cash it gives wrong impression.
I like the term smiley for in stock.
What is the drawing animation of bolt chasing nut? out of place, and not random cool in the classical scherzo type of way.

Way to be professional and have a professional do their job, I wish more people would use this approach.
My two cents,
jed

Click to expand...

Thanks. An honest opinion

The currency is in Euro because I'm in Europe. Denmark doesn't have the Euro but are of course used to it. What currency should I have used? Most currencies fluctuate so I'm playing it safe. There is a currency converter on the page so it is easy for all to find their own currency.

What picture is a "stock photo"? The text explains the "mountain of cash".

Re the animation. Most of my customers like it and so do I.

Your comments are appreciated Jed and justified. I suppose it's just impossible to make all happy

I don't think it is a good idea to put your bank information out in the open like that.

Otherwise, looks fine to me. At least you don't have a bunch of googleglop buried in there, or links to ten thousand tracking and spying sites.

EmanuelGoldstein said:

I don't think it is a good idea to put your bank information out in the open like that.

Otherwise, looks fine to me. At least you don't have a bunch of googleglop buried in there, or links to ten thousand tracking and spying sites.

Click to expand...

I don't know how things are where you are but here you can put money in. Try taking it out is a different number.

Nothing's impossible though. Well almost nothing.



OK it can be drawn

Added: In my old website all payment was by bank transfer only. Checks here went obsolete over 1 year ago. In my new website then at least payment can now also be made with PayPal.

memphisjed said:

a few copy editor and opinion edits for you. First, the currency is in Euro, the picture is a stock photo of Benja-r-mn's. I cringe at stock photo's, especially those that do not fit description. Second, if I look at price page and see pictures of mountains of cash it gives wrong impression.
I like the term smiley for in stock.
What is the drawing animation of bolt chasing nut? out of place, and not random cool in the classical scherzo type of way.

Way to be professional and have a professional do their job, I wish more people would use this approach.
My two cents,
jed

Click to expand...

An extra reply to your post.

Like most I think my product is special. As good as all enquiries and orders I get I ask for a bit more information so I'm sure they get what they need.

Example: Thread type, max/min diameters, pitch range and external and/or internal thread. About the only thing that isn't important is the tolerance as what I sell measures the thread as opposed to a Go/NoGo thread gauge.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

I don't know how things are where you are but here you can put money in. Try taking it out is a different number.

Click to expand...

That's what the b-movie starlet said as she uploaded photos of her german shepherd getting a bit of action ...

It's not just withdrawals, G Clarke ... give the info to customers I can see but there's bad people out there. They are pretty clever in a nefarious sorta way. Up to you but that's not something I would do ...

Gordon B. Clarke said:

Thanks. An honest opinion

The currency is in Euro because I'm in Europe. Denmark doesn't have the Euro but are of course used to it. What currency should I have used? Most currencies fluctuate so I'm playing it safe. There is a currency converter on the page so it is easy for all to find their own currency.

What picture is a "stock photo"? The text explains the "mountain of cash".

Re the animation. Most of my customers like it and so do I.

Your comments are appreciated Jed and justified. I suppose it's just impossible to make all happy

Click to expand...

I think his point was that there is a bit of a mis-match between Euro prices and a picture of US currency - he describes the latter as "Benjamins" as in Benjamin Franklin on the US $100 bill. IOW, he's just saying to make the picture a picture of Euros, not dollars. I think. I could always be wrong ... according to my wife, it has happened before!

awake said:

I think his point was that there is a bit of a mis-match between Euro prices and a picture of US currency - he describes the latter as "Benjamins" as in Benjamin Franklin on the US $100 bill. IOW, he's just saying to make the picture a picture of Euros, not dollars. I think. I could always be wrong ... according to my wife, it has happened before!

Click to expand...

Tell your wife this time I'm sure you're right.

To me the picture was just a pile of money and a dollar is easily recognizable. I've never given a thought to the value on each dollar. The text was as important as the picture.

The Danish Crown (DKK) follows the Euro to within ±2% and currencies tend to fluctuate so sticking to one currency is playing it safe. I'm sure Americans think it's the other currencies that fluctuate LOL

XE: EUR / USD Currency Chart. Euro to US Dollar Rates

EmanuelGoldstein said:

It's not just withdrawals, G Clarke ... give the info to customers I can see but there's bad people out there. They are pretty clever in a nefarious sorta way. Up to you but that's not something I would do ...

Click to expand...

Your observations might be worth a new thread re my bank account made public.

The amount in that account, if it was taken, wouldn't break me as it gets regulated and I have more than one account. Which brings me to a new point. I'm sure banks in different countries have different systems but my bank would cover me for any amount taken and that also includes if one of my credit cards gets stolen and I notify quickly.

Here, back in 2008, those that had invested in banks that went bankrupt lost their money. Not so those that had just had "money in the bank". They didn't lose their money.

In many ways "we look out for each other".