# Rebuilding my website - Need your imput



## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Hello all, I am in the process of rebuilding my website and adding a lot more pics, videos and information on everything that I do! If you have time go to:

www.Antiqued-Mirrors.com

Tell me what you think, let me know how things load, if the pictures and videos are easy to see and watch and give me your honest opinion. The only way that I can fix the issues is by having people look at it and critique it.

Thanks
Rob


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

Rob Rob Rob...

Ya know, some guys would do very well having a site like that but you are not one of them. If you have a portfolio as you do and market to an extremely high end clientèle you have absolutely no reason to have a home made site. You wanted an honest opinion. 

Spend some decent money and have a custom site built that would show off your products! It will more than pay for itself. :yes: I guarantee you will be able to get the rate you want when they are already sold before you talk to them. You're selling diamonds and you are making them look like glass.


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Now that is exactly what I was looking for! I also thought I should just have the site professionally built and put together in a way that made it show off what I do. I am by far not a webmaster, I use templates, dont know much about HTML and dont really have time to mess with it!
I am working from home tomorrow so I think that I will make some calls to see how much and how long! I have a very very high end home show coming up in about 1 month...

Thank you so much for your honesty!:notworthy:


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

i agree with Tony. There is too much on your home page, too much scrolling. The layout could be balanced more, your work is incredible and the site does not convey that. 
You might want to check over at CT, there are a lot of posts that have some good info on websites. Look for Seth Holdren, he will critique your website and give you some great feedback. There is a lot of info about Footbridge Media, website company.


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## Tprivette (Nov 26, 2008)

*Website*

Our website went live recently. The original company website from 2001 was tired, and she was starting to show her age. We had a local company build our site and Im pretty happy with it. We had way to much content ready for the new site, but threw most of it away. We still have some tweaks to make with the pics etc, but the cool thing is that now we can make changes when ever we want and the admin panel is easy brezzy. Any feedback or suggestions would be helpful. thanks,


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

I agree with all of you about making it look more professional and maybe cut down on homepage clutter. I have visited professionally built websites and part of my problem with them is that they seem impersonal. They come off like to me like well they hired someone else to do that what are they going to do on my house? Then 9 out of 12 times the photos that are on the websites were bought from istockphoto.com, not actual work the person did! I dont want my homeowner or commerical business to think that either someone else is going to do my job or I need to buy photos so my site looks better.
Somehow I need to find a happy middle, which would be make my site look better, come across better while still seeming small town, home ran business. My customers like that about me as I sub out NOTHING and do everything my self one job at a time!

Thanks for the imput and I have to sit down and evaluate this to figure out what this means for the future of my site...

Thank again!
Rob


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

Rob, what I did was search the web fot web sites that I liked. I save the site addresses with notes about an item(s) that I liked. I also saved the builder/designer of the site listed on the bottom of the page then contacted them with the "specs" that I was interested in. From that you can get feedback about what you are looking for and whether what you "think" might work as opposed to what they think. That way the person who can tell you what you need rather than what you want is where you should go.

Also, if youre looking for something within the month, you may not have realistic expectations for a custom site. If someone came to you and wanted an extensive job done within the month its unlikely you would be sitting around waiting work work. A quality designer may not be available for those time constraints


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

FoilEffects said:


> I agree with all of you about making it look more professional and maybe cut down on homepage clutter. I have visited professionally built websites and part of my problem with them is that they seem impersonal. They come off like to me like well they hired someone else to do that what are they going to do on my house? Then 9 out of 12 times the photos that are on the websites were bought from istockphoto.com, not actual work the person did! I dont want my homeowner or commerical business to think that either someone else is going to do my job or I need to buy photos so my site looks better.
> Somehow I need to find a happy middle, which would be make my site look better, come across better while still seeming small town, home ran business. My customers like that about me as I sub out NOTHING and do everything my self one job at a time!
> 
> Thanks for the imput and I have to sit down and evaluate this to figure out what this means for the future of my site...
> ...


Rob

I have always been impressed with your work, probably more with the foil effects than anything. Not sure what the deal was with your transition into the mirrors, but for the life of me I cant imagine you creating a new website and not in some way featuring the amazing work you had done with the faux wood etc. The mirror work is cool too and I am sure you will do great stuff with it. 

As to your site, like Tony, I was expecting something much classier, knowing your history. Please take this in the constructive and helpful spirit in which it is intended:

1. The logo at the top of the page looks way too Moulin Rouge or bad night in Vegas. Not the image that your talents conjure.

2. The main menu should not be staggered and stacked

3. The Timeless Reflections logo might want to be featured at the very top with your contact info highly visible, although the TR logo is a bit blocky and dyslexic.

4. Again, you are crazy not to feature work from your past life. 

5. Not sure whats up with selling business cards and opening a store, but I dont think you should muddy the waters of the website on which you promote your true craft. Start another site if you want to open a store. Who are you selling that stuff to?

Finally, I agree with you that fake looking websites are horrible. Stock photos are easy to spot and to me send the wrong message. Thats why, again, holy crap you have some remarkable visual material on your own work that would be amazing to use. Use it. Get someone to build you a site but make it clear that you dont want a cookie cutter with fake stuff on it. I think that guys who build it themselves do so because they have no budget to get one designed and built. Not the message you want to send to the niche clientele that you seem to attract. 

From you, given what you have shown me visually and content wise in the past, I was expecting a site that would just blow me away. Its not there yet. Get involved in the design and get it pro built. Its alot of work on your part to make sure that your vision is clear in it, but its the only way to fly.


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Scott,

Thanks a ton as I do appreciate everyones imput on this subject! Everyone told me how much they like the foils and if there was business for that right now I would slam the site with it however I moved out of Florida back to Illinois and I want to work out of the house so I have been designing mirrors for about 12 years and have been getting slammed with work for everything from simple accent mirrors in niches to full wall panels to highlight chandeliers. To be honest I make $45 per sf for staight antiqued mirror and upward $100 per sf for special designs in the mirror. It pays out almost 20 times what painting does and at least 5 times what faux does and here is the kicker... I have absolutley 0 compitition which allows me freedom to set my own prices.
With mirrors I can open doors to do faux in million dollar mansions and it gets me with extreamly high end designers. Many guys and gals that do faux dont even have a site (dumb move if you ask me) but I have looked at mine it is just looks all jumbled up and yes I do need to move those cards off this site, I also own a sign company so I thought that I would feature my cards on the site, but really it dont make scense!

Thanks I will work on it this week!!!:thumbsup:


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Well thank you for all those that added imput toward my website. I had to change servers and used a new template that gave a much better look to the site, took out the videos, business cards and put together thumbnails for the photo gallery. I even re-wrote the entire site.

The site may not be up til 6pm but you can check it out at about 6pm Friday at www.antiqued-mirrors.com

Thanks again!


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## Kellyo (Dec 27, 2008)

You may also consider expanding your bullet points of your services on your home page to individual pages that describe each individual service in more detail. This also gives you the ability to send email marketing campaigns that give the recipient the opportunity to click a link to go to their specific interest. There are email marketing systems out there now that give you the ability to track links. Tracking these links gives you the ability to make follow up calls to people who have shown interest in your specific service. 


Antique frames
Reproduction frames
Domestic wall coverings
Commercial interiors
Counter tops
Custom Furniture
Table tops
Backsplashes 
Cabinet door inserts


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Are you talking about background pages? Linked from the word and not from the link bar right? I dont want a clutter of things to click on on the task bar however clickable links with pics is a very very good idea - thanks!


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## Kellyo (Dec 27, 2008)

That is what I mean. When you bullet point our various services make them links that open a new page that goes into greater detail and provides pics of that specific service - Here is an example site http://www.iconcontracting.net/services.html

They do not have all of the services linked up but a web site is work in progress.


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