Overall Summary
You have an attractive, professional-looking, fast-loading site. Your "you-focused" copy is excellent.
Your primary need is for more credibility-building information, and for a reorganization of your site's contents and layout.
Your Professional Site Review
FORM: COLORS, FONTS, NAVIGATION, LAYOUT/ORGANIZATION
Your colors and fonts look absolutely fine. This particular font is well suited for web reading, the text is large enough to read easily, your text contrasts well with the background, and the subtle background makes your graphics stand out. Nice job.
Your navigation system is easy to locate, very legible, and appropriate. However, I would change the title of the "Welcome" page to "Home" page in the navigation bar (it's more commonly used and understood) and, as I'll explain in a moment, I would add a few more pages.
One area that needs improvement is making your copy a little easier to read. People read differently online; they tend to skim rather than read large chunks of text. Adding bullets and headings make it easier for them to absorb your information. For example, on your home page, your list of possible gift recipients should be bulleted.
FUNCTION: LINKS, COMPATIBILITY, LOAD TIME, ACCESSIBILITY
I don't see any non-functioning links, your pages load very quickly and they are compatible with leading browsers. No problems there!
However, I do suggest that the graphic for the Personal Chefs Network be moved to another page, probably the "About Us" page. That graphic is a link away from your site. On your home page, especially, you don't want people leaving to go check out your competitors! Whenever possible, too, make sure that a link to another site opens in a new browser window.
And I suggest that you do more internal linking within your site. When a topic comes up, such as "Gift Certificates", make those words a link to the section on your site where you talk about it. That makes it easier for people to immediately go to what interests them most. (Make sure you follow the Internet custom of making links blue and underlined.)
You DO have some accessibility problems, but these seem inherent to the website-building service you're using, so I don't know if you can change them. For example, the site is built using frames, which is generally not recommended. If they are used, each specific frame should have a title.
Also, every picture in a website should have an ALT attribute specified.
FILLER: GRAPHICS AND TEXT
Your graphics make my mouth water (which is GOOD for a Personal Chef Service!) They're beautiful, load quickly and definitely give someone the feeling that hiring you to cook for them would be a real treat. You also did a good job of situating them on your page and not overloading your homepage with too many of them.
Your text paints a wonderful and very appealing picture of the benefits someone would get by using your service. However, the words on your home page really need to draw the reader in. They need to give people a compelling reason to keep reading. And since your service is purchased for emotional reasons as well as practical reasons, appealing to the visitor's emotion is smart, too. (Actually, MOST purchases are made for emotional reasons; we use logic to bolster our emotional response.)
The word "Welcome" should be deleted; it adds nothing and is overused. I do like the "Healthy, delicious dining in the comfort of your own home" line. The words "in home" as in "Your in home cooking service" should be hyphenated; they function as one word.
But after that, paint a picture, perhaps, of an overworked mom coming home to a family screaming for their supper. (If you have a different target client, describe THAT person's situation.) Instead of frantically scrounging through the cupboards or ordering a pizza (again), she can calmly and quickly toss a salad and microwave one of your delicious meals in just a few minutes. Or ask questions that your reader will immediately respond to: "Tired of fast food? Too busy to cook?"
And because I get the distinct impression that you really want to promote the "Gift Certificate" idea, why not give that its own page, with its own link in the navigation bar?
One more thing: since you didn't give complete contact information at the bottom of your home page, I checked your "About Us" page to see if it was there. You should add your address to reassure people you're not a "fly by night" operation. You also don't say what geographic area you cover; that should also be added.
FEEL: THE PERSONALITY OF THE SITE, ITS FOCUS, AND YOUR CREDIBILITY
Your site gives the impression that you provide a quality service and you've done a terrific job of explaining its benefits. You come across as friendly and professional, too.
What it lacks is credibility-building features. You need testimonials from satisfied clients right on the homepage.
And your Hotmail email address also detracts from your credibility. A "freebie" email account doesn't give people the impression that you're serious about your business. Look into that with your web host; you can also get a "real" name (such as: you@yourname.com) through Yahoo!
CONCLUSIONYou're off to an excellent start to a website; your "novice" site is more well done than many professional sites I've seen. Clarifying your services a bit more (and adding those pages I suggested) should diminish the number of people who click away because they're confused. Adding more credibility-building information should increase the number of prospects. |
