So the guy that is supposed to be building my website has been dicking around since Feb. with it, and I am losing patience. I am a pretty patient guy. I am at the point now, that in order to get it done the way I want it, I am going to have to go hold his hand and walk him through things myself. It seems to be doing no good to tell him what I want, as he doesn't seem to get it. Right now it has been active for 2 months and I have yet to let it be known due to my dissatisfaction. ( is that a word ? )

What I ask of you guys is to take a look at it and let me know what you find annoying, difficult or unneccesary. There are a few things I plan to have him completely change, but will not mention here as to not sway anyones input. I will say that I am VERY unhappy with the fact that he asked me to write a few paragraphs about me and the shop, then chops it down into the broken, misspelled, nonflowing dribble that is there currently.

Thanks in advance

http://kahikocustoms.com/wordpress/

pictures need to be web optimized so they load faster (72ppi is optimal for web pictures.)
i think on about and contact page add your real name adds a feeling of security to potential customers. and more about who you are.

Not an expert, but the first home page seems to load very slow. And I would show the finished product on the pictures then click to see how it was done. Just IMO, cause at first I was like, what GT flairs?

Yeah that was another issue of mine. I TOLD him to put a pic of the car with flares on in the pic. I also told him to put the pics within the folder in order from start to finish. As you can see they are not that way. Sorry I'm just agetting more and more pissed.

I'm witholding my comments on the " home " page, which is my biggest issue, until I get more feedback

Ok Scotty B. Whose website is this? Bottom line up front the about page doesnt say who you are where you are located or anything about who ever the shop owner is. The home page does take a hot minute or two to load. For the preview pics an option would be to be able to review them and then select the one you want to enlarge. There is no mistaking the shop name since it is enbossed in EVERY picture to the point that it actually over powers the actual vehicle. All these are just my opinions and we all know what they are like But you do really awesome work.

Sent ya a PM.

it will load much faster if the pictures go to 72ppi.

slow webiste, no contact info, no photos of your shop and tools, if you have a clean organized shop you need to advetise that too.

put a street address and phone number down along with your name and an email address. I wont deal with no address internet firms. I want to talk with teh owner on the phone not via a contact page.

a list of cutomer referances would be a big bonus too. you best advertisements are satified customers


i recall one guy that did body work,all he focused on was his website for months, thinking it would bring in customers, but all he had was pissed of customers, so he lost business, so dont get hanged up on the perfect website, word of mouth is best if you do great work. but if you have a website, make sure it has all repeat ALL contact info at a minimum.

nice projects you got posted there, however the unfinished 914 nose shot as your first home page photo is not good, it is unfinished your first home page photos should be of you best most exotic finished cars, not a 914 work in progess shot. savbe that 914 in progeress photo till later in the website, not on the home page.

I agree with all that you have said, and honestly the reason the website ISN'T done is because I HAVE NOT spent any time on it. I left it all up to the guy that " knew what he was doing ". I have tried to focus on my work and nothing else but it seems there is always something getting in the way. Either my families cars, injuries, or trying to keep someone elses life in order. Slowly but surely I am eliminating all of these issues, and right now the website needs to be taken care of. As for a lack of contact info, I am well aware of that, and am not worried about it until the site goes public. As I stated, I have intentionally NOT let anyone know about it becauase it is not finished, and is not what I want out of it. When the time comes that it is done, there will be contact info on it Until then you all know how to get hold of me

Watermarks on progress pictures of cars are very distracting.

A little caption on each picture in the sequence adds a lot.

Web dude seems more interested in "cute" buttons and animations that conveying information.

Find a new web guy, that is way too long for that kind of result.

I have always loved seeing pictures of your work, you will have a great site eventually.

John

You do fantastic work and the website doesn't do it justice.

On a side note the roach coach reflection in the hood and and engine sitting in the field doesn't say "high quality" to me, even though your paint work is beautiful. Set up your pictures to avoid distractions.

There are so many talented web folks here, I am sure some will step up to help with the stuff you need.

What everybody else said, plus it needs a picture of the Atomic Ammonia Fridge

The designer doesn't have a marketing bone in his-her body. The site looks high school template. Spend a half day looking at local to you web sites and hire the designer of a site that flows with eye candy...it has to look, flow, and feel pleasing to the viewer.

I would suggest printing pics, writing your story and description of work and mocking up the entire site on paper. Then give it to someone who can handle the technical side of setting up the site. You need to be the one doing the "creative". The tech part can be outsourced in less than a day and for less than $100.

Personally, I would name your shop and services after yourself. People relate to people and not corporate identities. People already know Scotty B's - Painting and Restoration.

Unless you are going with a very basic site, there is no way this process would work. Gathering pics, writing copy, and having an idea of what the site should do is always helpful and preferred. But... $100 to put it all together into a web site?

I agree.

[quote name='poorsche914' post='1366649' date='Sep 6 2010, 10:44 AM']
[quote name='mepstein' post='1366634' date='Sep 6 2010, 10:15 AM']
I would suggest printing pics, writing your story and description of work and mocking up the entire site on paper. Then give it to someone who can handle the technical side of setting up the site. You need to be the one doing the "creative". The tech part can be outsourced in less than a day and for less than $100.[/quote]Unless you are going with a very basic site, there is no way this process would work. Gathering pics, writing copy, and having an idea of what the site should do is always helpful and preferred. But... $100 to put it all together into a web site?



[quote name='mepstein' post='1366634' date='Sep 6 2010, 10:15 AM']
Personally, I would name your shop and services after yourself. People relate to people and not corporate identities. People already know Scotty B's - Painting and Restoration.
[/quote]I agree.
/quote]

Yes, I haven't done it for a while but there are many services that outsource to India and will do it all for very little money in a day or less. A website like Scott's is very low tech and has been done a million times over.

Bingo. There is a heck of a difference between a marketer and someone who just does the tech. Scotty seems to want a marketer. He obviously has just a tech who knows how to use templates (http://wordpress.org/). You won't get a marketer for $100 for sure. Even with a fully developed story board and provided photos/text it would be tough to get it done for $100.

Whoever you get you might want to lose the flash - there is a bun fight developing against flash (apple leading the way) and it could get ugly. No flash on itouch, ipad, iwhatever.

Agree with most of the above. The home page should definitely show finished cars and not "projects." And you need to get the text edited by someone who can write and spell English. I know spelling isn't much rated in the era of spellcheck but the correct acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabrica Automobili is not Alpha.
The Alfas are gorgeous; congratulations on doing such fine work.
In a past life I was an editor. I would be happy to help you with any text or writing you may need.

Chris

Okay. I have criticism. If I did not know you and the work that you do, and found your shop online, I would not come to see you. Remember, a person can go a lot of places to have their car painted - and they can get them painted way cheaper then what they will get from you. This sounds hokey and cliche, but you are selling dreams, not paint and bodywork.

1) Don't insult your customers (potential and current) on your intro page.
Well, then I will take my car to someone who "gets it." I know what you are saying, but there are better ways to say it.

2) The watermarks are distracting in the pictures. Your brand is right above them. You do not want folks trying to figure out what the watermark is, you want them to see how flawless the paint is. If you are worried about someone stealing your images, make your signature smaller, easier to see, and out of the way of the subject of the image. Example:
IMAGE huge! So I took it down.
Even if you have them set to draw small on the screen, you are still loading all that image and it makes your site very slow.
Can't see a well detailed engine. The huge watermark makes it look dirty and rusty. And when you realize its a watermark, you are no longer looking at the engine, but trying to read the watermark.

3) How are "Custom Jobs" different then "Projects"? Each owner is going to bring you a car with his own unique vision, or is going to be bringing you his car hoping that YOU will be helping him find a unique vision. Even if the majority of the work that you do is wrote and boring, to your customer it is fresh and exciting.

4) You need to show more completed work. Artsy pictures of 356 hoods are nice, but a lot of guys, even car guys, are not going to know what it is they are looking at.

5) Don't show pictures that are "before" type pictures unless you have a clear "after" type picture that is bigger and better. First image of your main page is a 914 tub. Clearly a before. But we don't get to see the after, and that is not what you want customers to be thinking about.

Gotta go. Please take my comments int he spirit that they were given.

Zach

Man Scotty, you do nice work!! You just have to find someone to do your site with at least half as much talent as you have.

I agree with most of the previous comments and will add another. When looking at the project photos I like to look at full size. When I get the photo at full screen there are no navigation elements so I can go directly to the next or back to previous without using the back button and go back and then select another. Make it easy for me to enjoy your work.

I don't know how web savvy you are here, but this is a fairly simple wordpresss blog site running a template and plugins. You could probably "finish" your site with out too much trouble. I didn't see any flash when I surfed it on my iPad so it looks like it's all Ajax plugins. This should be just a few hours of editing text and uploading pics. If you can make a cool myspace page you can build this site. Buy Wordpress for dummies and fire this clown!

I'm color blind I could not read the print on the front page - the various areas of the site. I would consider changing the colors to something with more contrast. Yellow and white doesn't work for me. (I can't see yellows and yellow greens) Just a thought

Bill

lately i have become a believer that the domain name matters, thus i would lean..

charlescityautobody.com ( easy to spell and remember )

and >> auto body << is a heavily searched phrase and your site can explain that you specialize in customs and resto, you may snag a few this way.

or

richmondrestorations.com
richmondcustoms.com
richmondautorestoration.com

>> auto restoration << is semi heavily searched

all avail per godaddy.

i might put the idea in peoples heads to have their car towed to and from, your shop and offers contact info for several flatbed tow companies.

think about insurance - that they either have it - or you have it in case their car gets stolen or falls off a lift, etc.

see this ... ( use exact search and look at monthly )
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordTo...orceLegacy=true

--

i like to see projects - from start to finish - others may disagree

i think mcmark is letting people see what they can expect.

example..

http://www.originalcustoms.com/

Scotty don't give up just don't get too frustrated either. Sometimes you gotta learn to do things yourself to have good control of the project as you know. I got sorta lost on the 356 hood from the reflections. The kit car looks nice and all the paint looks great. You will need a better background and refelections for the best examples of your great paint jobs. Don't let a trashy background scare new customer off. My shop and yard probably looks worse than yours but I'm not trying to get business. I know theres only so many hours in a day when you are trying to make a living so just try to fix your web site a little at a time without the guy you are probably gonna fire anyway.

Scotty, I like the design logo of the website, with the bamboo. Nice touch there, I'd have to say keep that. The others have nailed the same things I noticed, off with the watermarks on pics, the about info is the same as the intro page info, redundant. He has sentence fragments in that as well. [The right look]. Those should be full sentence, or done away with. It makes it appear choppy.
Your work is beautiful, no doubts there. I also agree on the reflections in the paint of the roach coach and background engine. Pure field or something vacant with no distractions is alot more appealing.
Pics of the shop and contact info also needed, as stated before...

Also, and this is only a thought, but it's something I used to do for my Landscaping customers.
Each year you can feature 12 customers (their rides really) as a pin up month for a calendar. It might sound hokie, but people love to see their pride and joys displayed for themselves and others.
A small fee for the calendars, and people can have a keepsake for their trophy room, to show friends, etc.

Like the others said, you'll get the website stuff handled, and best of luck in your buisness. The works is beautiful!

Joe

I liked it, for the most part, but I'm a sucker for web sites showing classic cars The colour scheme was a little hard to read (white text on green) and clashed, to my eye, with the colours of the Kahiko logo, which is very good. The photos loaded a little slowly, but it was tolerable. Presumably there will be a lot more text to read when it is finished?

Tell the guy he needs to start using a HTML validator. Your pages are thowing html erros left and right ...

Firefox has a good plugin for validation. I'm also getting tons of CSS errors. Again, Firefox has a good error console for that sort of thing.

I'm not sure what development environment he's using, but his HTML code looks horrible. No structure or formatting. Yuk ...

Andy

He's using WordPress

Coupla comments from an outside observer.

That opening paragraph on Kahiko is a little rambling/unjoited/ and a little too "spacey cutsey" for car guys. Would need to be tightened up so it makes sense yet relays your "Kahiko" intent.

Ferrarri has one too many 'rr's- try Ferrari

Alpha to Alfa

Confusing- top slidey bar says "customs" and "projects" but no "restorations" are listed. Just below that in the paragraph heading it says restorations and customs. Look under "customs" in the slide bar, and you find what looks to be 914 floor pan restoration and hell hole repair. Would it fit better in the missing restorations? No topics are listed under projects. Could Evil's car fit there??????

Suggestion to Scottyb: Don't limit yourself to total restorations. Do part jobs too. For example, with a CSOB 914 owner, getting the hell hole fixed might be important so that they can go forth and make the engine and tranny run. If they get it runing, then they might feel good enough to spring for the rest of the resto. Need to add a statement somewhere so people won't think you limit yourself just to total restos.

Back to the website: Add a statement "US and Foreign cars" somewhere. Without it you might turn off one or the other.

The Ferrari shows bonding with exotic car guys, the 914 and 356 with german car guys. You need to hit the muscle car guys, and (if you don't hurl) the Asian car guys.

Add a pic or two of some of your personal cars under projects to show "bonding" with prospective clients. That big assed convertible of yours comes to mind to attract muscle car guys. Maybe a descriptor sentence or two as to your plans
- "resto, lower, repaint with flames" ????

Yer Volvo might appeal to tofu eaters.

Hope that helps,

Good luck,

Ken

Thanks for the feedback guys. This is just what I wanted. Now that you have said your parts, I will add that yes, the spelling is a HUGE issue of mine. As for the reflections in the Alfa hood, That was the old shop I shared with someone else, and we had a tow trunk/junk man next door, nothing I can do about the environment short of taking the panels to the park

My plan is to eliminate the " home " page completely and make the " Custom jobs " page my new home page. I will drop the " projects " page and add a " for sale " page for selling parts, tools, cars etc. Someone stated that he seems more enamored with buttons and gadgets then with the content and that hit the nail right on the head. For me the whole site was just too busy, attemted flashy, and confsing. Too many ways to see the same pics, etc. I did not have any issues with the watermarks, but after your feedback I will get them reduced in size, I was just worried about someone taking my pics and using them as theirs. As for finished cars, I jsut don't have any of my own work that has been completed yet. I will be adding pics of Mikes and Marks cars as I move forward, as well as my motorcycle and any other whole jobs I do. Right now all I have are finished Alfas and partially finished Porsches