True. At the least you are less likely to lose half the page because a table is wrongly closed, or a in the wrong place.
True, but since FrontPaghe doesn't even give a DOCTYPE I doubt you can do strict XHTML with it, can you? (Dunno, never tried FrontPage, always written my HTML in a plain text editor.)
And they nbeed to say clearly to the reader that they are links. To very many people blue does that. Nothing to do with MS.
AAAAAaaaaargh! My humble apologies. Try . One of the first rules of websites: if you want to set up a successful business with one, register all possible variants!
AIUI the Distance Selling stuff says that full contact details are required. A real address (not PO Box etc), telephone numbers.
Like it, simple and clean. I've been looking at TV/Film production company web sites recently. The number of those that are flash only or have small white on black text. Flash is a right PITA, looks good (if you like that sort of thing) the first time you load a page but when you just want to skip back to get details or check something watching the same slow animation is just awful.
Anyway, watch the verticals on the before after pictures on the homepage. The two new fence panels on the right hand side still look to be falling down. B-)
About Us: A blank line between the 1st and 2nd paras. This "NPTC Qualified in Competence in Chainsaw and related Operations, and also C&G electrically qualified." could probably be split into two lines and I'm not sure what "C&G electrically qualified" actually means.
Like the map (you have permission of course?) though the first time I looked at it I didn't see the inner circle just the outer one.
Rogues gallery, like the annotated examples of problems. Some of the images don't add much. My Gallery, awkward to navigate. I'd like previous/next buttons under the big image. A number are before/after pairs be nice to see these pairs at the same size and the same time. You also loose the header/navigation bar so lots of use of the back button required to get back to the site. Same on the feeback form, no header.
Good point, testimonials might be better included as images (scans or photos) of the actual letters. Suitably PaintShop Pro'd to obscure peoples details, maybe with the nice comments left full level and the rest dropped down a bit, like the on the map.
If I go for the half or full day, does the charge include the first half hour charge? I assume it does, but maybe it would be an idea to clarify.
Also, there is a point at which the first half hour charge plus incremental half hours reaches the half day charge. At that point, I guess you would just charge out for the half day and done with it.
How would you charge for jobs taking 3/4 of a day? Half day plus some half hours or?
I can follow the logic of how you hav structured the pricing to maximise efficiency, but it does raise some questions around these "middle" cases.
I don't know that these need to be clarified on the web site - the simplicity is an appealling thing about it - but I guess that it will come up when quoting.
Yes. I think that saying that you will automatically go for the lower charge is a great way to say that you are not going to rip people off and they don't need to worry about the different possible options.
It sets out the store on charges while not making a Ben Hur out of the whole thing that people either won't understand or think that you are packaging up a complicated scale of fees to catch them later.
I would feel very comfortable with this as a potential customer.
To me, though successful business is easy.
- Say what you are going to do
- Say what it will cost, but include any risk factors
- Deliver on what you say that you will do
I think that this is an excellent basis for doing that.
It's advertising, it has prices, it has details of what you can "buy"... It really depends on how badly worded the DSR is but I do doubt that the DSR does apply.
Like others I do not like dealling with sites that do not have real, independantly verifiable, contact information on them.
Actually, I'm very picky. I don't buy that many tools in terms of volume, but when I do, I select what I'm looking for in functionality and quality first, then I think about whether I am prepared to pay the asking or a negotiated price for it. I seldom pay the asking price. If there is a big discrepancy, I will see what I need to compromise on functionality and quality to meet the price objective. I never think in terms of "what is the least money can I pay for this generic type of tool". That is too simplistic and doesn't produce a good outcome.
Regarding working with customers......
The main point is to identify what is important to the customer - i.e. what he sees as value to him and to home in on those aspects.
Generally I have dealt with B2B and not B2C situations.
B2C, which is often, but not always related to volume and price is an art in itself. I know some very well experienced professionals in this field (on both the manufacturer and distributor side) and have put together campaigns around that. Success comes from making the logistics easy and making sure that the front line sales people (be they telesales or in a shop) have a simple message to deliver and remember that what I have is more sttractive to them and the customer than the next one.
B2B is very different. Businesses buy for lots of different reasons, but they usually come down to make money or save money. It's also entirely possible for the same product to seem very expensive to one customer and not at all expensive to another. It depends on how it can be related to their business and the value it gives them in their eyes.
I completely agree. I always tell people the way it is and what is relevant to them. I make sure that I can deliver on what I say before I say it. I also make sure that they feel that what they bought did what they were promised that it would do and ideally more. This doesn't mean that one has to point out the deficiencies of the product or service if it is not going to affect the customer.
It's really not that hard.
I certainly feel for your situation where somebody in a remote location (e.g. a product manager) has done something which really doesn't hold up to scrutiny and prevents you following these principles.
I hope that this new enterprise gives you the opportunity to put your principles into practice in a business that you can control. I know that they are the right ones.
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