addicted2labels

You asked a good question; "Would you buy from us?!" as that is the most important thing for a company like addicted2labels.

There are elements of the design that i like but overall i'm not sure it gels perfectly. My biggest problem is that the top banners font just isn't clear enough when it's that small, especially with the animation in the background (which i like).

Why have you got a contact button on the top banner? You already have a contact page and i HATE it when contact buttons just open a blank e-mail. What if they use internet based e-mail?

I take it you are a soletrader? I think its good you describe yourself as 'we' but you have slipped up in the message board area.

Your biggest problem will be doing well in the search engines. At the moment your site is poorly optimised and you have no incoming links recognised by Google so as it stands, no one will ever find your site. You need to weigh up how much it will cost to do well organically, through search engine optimisation, or by buying Google Ads.

Good luck

-Rob

addicted2 wrote: How does it load on dial up or non flash users?

In short - it doesn't

I am on dialup and a non flash user (by choice), all I see is:

Quote: You have visited a site that uses the latest Macromedia Flash Player.

We have detected that either you do not have the player installed, or you need to upgrade the version you are currently using.

Macromedia Flash Player is one of the most widely distributed pieces of software in the world and is safe to install. Downloading and installing the player should take no more than a couple of minutes.

If you are using Internet Explorer on Windows, the download should be taking place in the background. An installation window will then pop up in a few moments asking you to install the player. Once the installation has completed, click 'Back' to return to the site.

If you are not using Internet Explorer on Windows, your browser should be prompting you how to get the player.

If the installation window does not appear after a few minutes, or you are not using Internet Explorer then click here to to be taken to Macromedia where you will be able to get the player and get help on any installation issues.

I am so glad I don't use IE "If you are using Internet Explorer on Windows, the download should be taking place in the background." yeah like I want that junk slowing down my slow connection.

Would I buy from you? Can't see your site so would go to your competitor who doesn't use plugins

A flash site for this kind of business really isn't necessary. You can do pretty much everything you have going on on the current site without flash. It may not be as easy for you, but the customers should be convenienced, not you.

I like the banner, and most of the site for that matter. I don't understand the need for a message board. What will they be posting? Perhaps just set up a feedback form or something similar.

For your FAQ, here's a better way to organize it (IMO). Put links to all of the FAQs at the top, using this code:
<a href="#linktoFAQ">Question</a>'
Then, under each FAQ, add a link that goes back to the top. This way (especially when you find your site has a lot of questions and answers, they'll be easier to organize.

Good luck with your business.

Your site has a hip but professional layout for non-flash users, (a major plus) and I would certainly buy from you, with a couple minor suggestions. First, the "View Shopping Bag" should open in the same window, not as a pop-up. I would include in the FAQ some info about international shipping (i.e., if I order from the United States, do I get it via UPS?"). Lastly, I would be cautious about putting your sales e-mail directly on the page; offer it as a cool linked image. Overall, looks like you're off to a great start!

I'm using Opera 7.5 on a dial-up connection and I think I'm missing something here. Will try another browser but the flash doesn't seem to be doing much other than flashing and there's a lot of blank space in the content area. For a clothings site I would expect to see some prominent photos of the merchandise on the front page but I don't.

Oh, there it is - just took forever to show up. I think it would b ebetter to use more smaller images here rather than one big one. You could just list the labels in plain text and have a few photos to catch attention. Using fewer smaller photos would mean that they would gradually show up for dialpup users rather than showing a blank space while the whole image loads.

The layout overall looks like a badly customized template. The navigation area has mroe of a sleek, modern design while the logo and photo areas are more grunge. The whole site should have the same look and feel.

I am finding the blue and grey colour scheme to be extrememly dull. This might be appropriate for a super-corproate information based site but for something like this you should be able to to do something more exciting.

Browsing through the site - the product photos are taking a really long time to load. Some of the product pages are comletely blank. The page title should be much longer and more comprehensive. First of all, this means that the tabs won't be so small (D and G makes for a very small tab which can be hard to click on), and it will help you get better placement in the search engines. If someone was searching for "dolce and gabanna" for example, your site wouldn't come up. Page hearders should be done as regular HTML rather than graphics for this reason as well.

If I was in the market for this sort of merchandise I'm not sure that I would shop here. The empty pages are more of a concern than anything. It would depend on how good the prices are and what other sites are competing in the market.

I like it. It has sort of a grunge look, though. So I'd try to not make it so ordered and straight line.

The flash animation banner looks very impressive, but the more you scroll down the page the less impressive it gets, XD Personally at the bottom of the page your persistant linkbacks to directories and topsites should be removed. It doesnt exactly present a professional sort of atmosphere to have these links plastered all around the websites. On a lighter side note the use of an animated side sliding navigation link looks very impressive and commendable.

I clicked the link on your site but because I don't use flash players nothing shows up. Maybe you could add something for non-flash users.

It's generally fast to load for me and plays host to a nice design.

Your main problem comes in the search engine side of things though as mentioned which is intergal to rectify for a site of your nature.

I like the site overall but sincve it is a e-commerce site I thin I should be more severe.
pros: I like the font used, the site is clear enough
Cons: Too much brand are listed in the middle of the screen, that makes us think you want people to give you credibility through the brands. That doens't work.
The few models presented at the bottom are very good though and it makes the website look pro
As for the animation at the top, it is very annoying in the long term even though it may look cool for some people.
I don't find a lot of other problems but I would not buy from you as I would spot the amateurish website (even though it looks good B+) Maybe the format looks to much like a newsletter

Thanks for everyone's suggestions, we have made a few changes to the site.

Any other comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

Many thanks