Any thoughts about our new website

Hi All, would appreciate any feedback on our new website www.bennettdesign.co.uk

I posted request under Blatant Ads, but see this might be a better area to seek opinion.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Dan

Being honest, for a design company I would have expected it to be better designed.
There's no grid, my eye doesn't know where to look and the rotating blob in the middle of the page is slow and tiresome.

Well I asked for opinions, thanks Lee.

Some of the Text in the body of the page looks very gray and a bit hard to read.

Small text on tabs.

Might not be an issue for all depends on your sight.

Thanks for input Martin. Also been contemplating Lee's comments, which as a design business (been at it since 1990) hits hard. But its important to get objective feedback. Do others agree with Lee?

If I start with "sorry" would that soften the blow? I'm afraid I do agree with Lee. It's a very dull first page. Also you have to scroll down to see the rest of the list or the full picture of that middle thing, which is too slow. Wouldn't rotating larger images of your work be better? Nothing hits you as "wow" which for a design company you want. You expect to see something innovative, creative and different, the site is none of these things.

That list of plan it create it etc on my computer I have to scroll down to see the last thing and noticed that you have to do that on the rest of the pages - I would expect to be able to see all those things at one go.

I have good eyesight and those tabs are definitely too small.

The snapshot pics in the top left hand corner are too small I think. Although the one of the cow does make you think you want to see more to see what is different but once clicked on there is no "surprise". The other one a dull example too?

Sorry, but hope that is helpful!

Helen, thank you for taking the time to critic our site.  We will certainly take in to account what you say; some of your comments about having to scroll down are not so easy to understand because every browser I've viewed the site on, I see the whole page without scrolling - I'll keep testing, but I really do appreciate the fact you've taken the time to comment. The "middle thing" should change at 5 second intervals; is it taking longer than that, or is 5 seconds too long?

If you have anyway of taking a screen shot and emailing to me I would be very greatful.  Again when I view the page the snapshots are prominent and the tabs are quite clear.  I absolutely accept that just becuase I think what I can see is good, doesn't mean others can see it as I view it, or agree!

When showcasing work we try to find things we think others will find interesting; in the case of Sharrow Bay's Sticky Toffee Pudding this doesn't do it for you. Is this because the pudding design doesn't do it for you, or the "brand" name is not interesting/mean anything to you?

I know, lots of questions, but I'm hoping 4Ners can help us get our message right.

Dan

Have emailed you the screen shot

5 seconds may be okay but it's distrcting if you are looking at anything else particularly as the other writing is so small.

The toffee - picture is dark and you can't clearly see it, the photo isn't doing the branding justice, or at least that size it isn't (even when clicked on)

Helen, thank you so much for your help.  We will set about reviewing your comments.

Kind regards

Dan

Sorry, another +1 for Lee's comments.

Centre of the page is just "hello" (not even "hello world" for us geeky types) and for some reason my eyes got drawn to that.

The menu options don't really tell me what I'm clicking on, nor do things like "Integrated Solutions" (which leads to the photography page).

Sideways text to tell me to click here to read more. More what? Plus I've been trained by Google, Amazon, etc to click (usually blue) underlined links. Plus it doesn't click anyway

Dan,

Nice to meet you today at MK and thank's for the 1-2-1.

I will get back to you about the site on here later today.

Martin

From an SEO perspective, I advise that the navigational links (such as 'plan it', 'create it' etc. are recoded so the keywords are in the anchor text. If you view your source, they are not coded that way. Also noticed your link to BUSINESS COPY on terms and condtions page is broken. All the pages under 'print and media' have the same content (I guess that is because your site is under development, but I will make sure Google is not crawling all the duplicate content in the meantime). Your navigational menu disappears off the side of the page on small monitors. I also noted that there are some steps you can take to improve the speed at which your pages load. Hope this is of use. Please let me know if you would like more details on how to resolve.

Thanks you all for your help.  Philip your points are very constructive, thank you.  We are collecting feedback, and will set about reviewing and make changes as appropriate.  Please do continue commenting folks.

Have a good weekend, don't work too hard...ensure you keep a healthy work:life balance.

Dan

Hi Daniel

I also have a holiday place in Cumbria  (I live in Kendal) and this thread came up in my Google Alerts because of your own association with 'lake district holiday cottages'. :)

Gosh, what a hard bunch to please.  I don't think your site is as bad as others are making out.  Sure, I can see areas that could be improved but I don't think it's as lacking as others here suggest.  I happen to be viewing it on a laptop, using Chrome, and these are the issues that spring to mind for me:

 - the 'hello' does strike me as a bit bland

 - the links are small but readable for me

 - I feel there are too many navigation options - too much vying for my attention and I'm not altogether sure where to look - we have links along the top, at the top right, down the left, and in the main body

 - the pale blue text on the left isn't so easy for me to read on my laptop screen, but still do-able. The white text on grey when I hover over a star is more difficult still.

Hope this is some help.

Hi Paul, thanks for your very constructive thoughts.

Firstly we really miss the Lakes; I'm sure we've come across each other before. My family had a hotel in Hawkshead until they retired in 2001.

Whilst much appreciating people taking the time to view and make comments on our site, and I did ask!, I'm still happy with the overall concept, and totlally understand we're not going to appeal to everyone.  One of my biggest gripes about the Internet is forgetting a basic marketing principal - know who your audience is; whilst of course the web opens you up to everyone everywhere.  Knowing what is difficult to read,and colours and  links that don't work is hughly helpful, as of course you get too close to your own stuff.  Ultimately, will our website work in our chosen markets...I'll keep you posted.

Ta Dan