Custom Website Feedback - WITH SHOPPING CART

[bscphoto]

Hi guys, i'm looking for feedback on the website that i built. The whole this is a merge of the html files that

were made from scratch, and a customized version of oscommerce which has been a godsend for photographer web

sales. I am VERY happy with it btw.

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I got feedback on the oscommerce site, but i am interested in getting some other photographer's feedback on the

site. Feel free to add somethings to your cart, just dont buy anything unless you intend to.

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PLEASE, the more feedback the better, good and bad!

here is the site:<br><br>

<a href="www.bscphoto.com">Photography Website</a>

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If you click on the link at the top where it says PRINT SHOP, you will see the store side of it. You can see

examples of images/product layout if you go to pets -> trap falls kennel club

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Let me know what you all think. Your advice is much valued.

[dawn_kelly]

After I add an image to the cart, how do I get back to the gallery? Only way I could figure it out was to hit the back

button twice or to go through the gallery select pop-up again. There should be an easier, more visible method to

return to the gallery.

[bscphoto]

yea.. you are the second that mentioned that.. there is a breadcrumb trail at the VERY VERY top, but seems i should move that down some and maybe outline it in a black box, make the text white on black.. thanks for the tip.

[dawn_kelly]

Hi Lindsay,

That breadcrumb trail is so small and so far away from where the customer's focus is that I doubt may will find it. Also, not to be rude, but I think you are giving customers too much credit for being able how to navigate back with just that. Are you able to add a "Back To Gallery" link or button? You want customers concentrating on your images, not on a frustrating how-do-I-navigate issues.

 

Just my .02

[alman_one]

it is very ugly

[bscphoto]

yes, i did address the issue and am going to have a next and previous link on every product page where the customers can just click through one by one. I will also add a back to gallery link as well.. the issue is figuring out how to do it. It calls for some $array that i am not too familiar with. I tried it last night adn didnt work, so i'm looking for a pre scripted idea

[paul_chilton2]

Lindsay,

 

I think your website is way too busy/cluttered. There is so much going on that I didn't know where to look to find what I wanted. Not intuitive at all. I also didn't like having to scroll down every page I visited. If I were a prospective customer I would not enjoy the experience of buying from your site. Have a look at some other photographers websites and find ones you like/find easy to use and then compare them with yours. Hopefully you will then see what I mean. Remember you are using this site to sell to the general public and most of them like it simple.

 

Good luck.

[bscphoto]

H,, i thought i already posted a response, but i guess it got lost.

 

Paul, i understand your cricisms. I AM addressing the issue of navitgation now. I am going to be offering a popup HOVER image, so the customer can view large images without having to click on each individual product.. This should help a LOT in the navigation. I am also added a PREVIOUS and NEXT button to every 'product" in the page.

 

As far as having to scroll, i do understand what you are saying, HOWEVER. and this is only my opinion (why i am searching for others) i felt that since every single "product" had the same description, the customer would read it once and then go through the rest of the images and know what they were ordering. I am also going to all images to each description in the specialty items sections.

 

I could move the image to the left, have the description to the right of the image in a column (not wrapping) and the quantity boxes beneath the image in the same column. That way they can see most of the description and MOST of the option box.

 

As far as cluttered, i'm sorry you think that. I am actually very happy with the design of this. I feel that MOST photography sites are SOO minimalisting and boring and they all look the same. I also chose not to use the regular photography "carts" because i always got lost when trying to purchase form them> There was one inparticular that really threw me for a loop. This site (the one i created) works exactly like any online store would work, and less like a photography store - which is what most people are used to when shopping.

 

I know i said i am happy with the design, but am still interested as to what you think i should do to "unclutter" Do you feel that ther eis unnessecary text or images in certain places? Or i should move some thing?

 

I did try to make the site as clean as i could, but there were some things that i felt were nessecities that i did not want to do away with.

[bscphoto]

well, just a quick update.. i added the PREVIOUS and NEXT buttons to the image info pages.

 

i also decided to add a hover effect where the customer hovers over the image on the listing page and it will show the larger image.. this makes it so they can see the large images without having to click through anything

[gmahler5th]

Print Shop is not intuitive. "Print Shop" means nothing to me until I read your comment about this link in your

original post.

 

Navigation once inside the store is confusing... E.g. links to client galleries should NOT be a part of your global

navigation scheme. You have 5 layers of navigation. Simplify and streamline to improve user experience and

minimize the confusion and frustration.

 

Use of button_details.png is cheesy... it's too artistic, and not enough business. Use a plain text link instead.

 

The black background color is not very effective. Let the background color remain white, and keep a gray or black

1px border around your images.

 

The SSL seal should link to the SSL certificate authority's assertion that you are who you say you are. Link to the

privacy policy with the text "Privacy Policy" and do not confuse the two.

 

 

Left<->Right scrolling issues even at 1280 monitor resolution. Should never force the user to scroll left to right.

 

Inconsistent image sizes in your gallery creates a navigation nightmare and unfortunately biases the user's attention

to images that you like, versus what they might find attractive. Use a uniform dimension for all the images in your

proofing gallery. This gives the user control, and helps improve the speed and efficiency of the browsing experience.

 

A note about your stores navigation. You should not display "My Profile" and "Checkout" to a visitor who hasn't even

logged into your store yet. This is beyond your control, but your shopping cart vendor should KNOW better than do

do this. With dynamic session controls, these contextual links should be displayed to a user only once they have

logged into your site.

 

Your free shipping offer is generous, but it is LOST in the sillyness of your store's navigation. I only notice it because

I gave a conscious effort to critique your store. otherwise I would have left your store before realizing this benefit

applied to me.