# Rebuilt the website - It is up and running!!!



## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Well thanks for all the help, the new site is now up and running! I took all your suggestions and changed every inch of the site to reflect what everyone said. Your thoughts and insight from an outside party looking in is exactly what I needed. This will still get some tweeking and I will change things around from time to time but for the most part this is the new site...

www.Antiqued-Mirrors.com

Thanks again, let me know what you think now!
Rob


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

The format looks great! There are several spelling/grammar errors though.
Keep working on it!


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

1. Omit from home page: Our 3 unique antique patterns are available in Light, Medium & Heavy although we do offer other decorative glass finishes.​ 
2. Copy 

Rob Schramm, Owner/Mirror Designer​ 
Timeless Reflections is owned and operated by Rob Schramm an Ottawa Illinois native. He has been doing decorative finishes in homes and business for well over 15 years. Rob has always had a love for mirrors and decorative finishes. In the last 10 years Rob has developed many different ways to add beauty to both homes and business with the addition of custom antique mirrors. He does all the finishing by himself as he always wants the most attention to detail.​ 
TR's antique mirror glass is done by hand, this is not a commerical spray application but insted each mirror is planned in advance for each project.​ 

_Letter from the owner..._
_Thank you for visiting my site and taking interest into our antique mirror glass. When and if you choose to have a new project done, rest assure if you choose TR I personally will make the experience one that you will be proud to show off for years to come!_​ 
_I do not hire anyone to do the work for me, I layout, design and finish all projects myself. On smaller panels, tiles, backsplash glass I also do all the packing. On larger projects we have to have the glass custom packed by the shipping company. I want this experience to be the best and will go out of my way to assure that you are 100% satisfied with the finished project._​ 
_Thanks again for visiting_
_Rob Schramm, Owner_
_Timeless Reflections_​ 
3. Pop ups for pictures
4. Ive never seen a good reason for a counter and weather adds. It just takes the visitors attention away.
5. The video is really not something that works well. 


Overall, if you just needed something for the short term since you had a show coming up then I would just clean it up. It is much better than what you had but I still think you need a professional site. I think you should reevaluate your copy. Think of doing a sales presentation and I think there would be a lot that you could leave out or change.


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Ok I can see that there is still fixes! I posted this on about 8 sites that I go to from time to time and other than mispellings you are the only one that didnt think it looked 100% better then the other. I have been to 1000's (not kidding) of professional websites and what I hate about them is what I left out of mine. Mostly the cold infectious text which doesnt give you the feel of who will do the work, just the awards that they have won. I too have won many awards for finishes, won many Parade and Showcase of Homes for my finishes over the years but to me visitors dont want to know about my past as much as what I can do for them today! That is what I have tried to translate here on the site.
I will look at the issues that you mentioned as I know you are just doing what I asked and in part I belive that you are right.

The nice thing is that there isnt very many that do what I do so I am not worried that my compitition has a better website then I do, just want to be done with it!

Do you really think I should loose the video as well?


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Rob

I think part of what you are finding in the feedback you are getting is that many of us know how incredibly impressive your work is and have seen and admired it on this forum, so our expectation is a website that has the same wow factor as your work as well as strong content. The first site missed the mark by several miles, and you knew it. The new site, if I didnt know it was you, I would look at it and think its pretty good but overall a pretty average presentation. Because I know its you, I think more in terms of if I was referring a customer to you and sent them to your site, I dont think they would get the full effect of who you are and what you are capable of doing for them. 

That being said, I know from our own experience that it takes time and constant tweaking to build a site that you are really pretty happy with. For the time you have in it, and the fact that its diy, I think its a very good starting point. A good foundation that you could build on. Thats why you will get generally pretty good feedback about it. However, I also cant get past the fact that your services deserve to be visually represented by a pro site builder...I know some of your concerns about going that way, but I do think that would put you over the top with your web presence. 

You have stated that you dont have much or any competition, but you still owe it to yourself to put out the best marketing piece you can. There may be no competition now, but as you saw with the faux effects, they will come and you may regret if you havent set an impossibly high bar for them to quickly attain. You need to do everything you can to capture the market for antiqued mirrors while you have the audience to yourself. You have alot of strength in the uniqueness of your service and clear differentiation that I dont think your current site drives home poignantly to potential customers - yet. The strongest possible site in visual and copy, with companion marketing tools would point you safely in that direction, and well ahead of the johnnycomelatelys. Just my opinion.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Rob

Just one more point, then I will stop...

I think that one of your biggest advantages is that you are selling a product more than a service. That means you have the ability to ship that product far beyond your local market. For that reason, I think you would be very smart to turn the site over to a service that will know how to maximize your web presence beyond your local market through strong seo. That means you will want to carefully consider the appearance you are giving your business on the site. You may not want to have the look of a "Rob even packs the mirrors" kind of operation. 

I know an old timer local blacksmith who struggled for years building the most beautiful wrought iron chandeliers that were very pricy and appealed only to a certain clientele. In the late 90s he started attending national trade shows with his stuff, and just to fill up his display he brought some custom coat hooks he had forged and bent to a unique design. Pretty early in the show he noticed that they were gathering alot of interest from a group of chinese guys who were photographing them carefully and talking in chinese about them. He was too busy talking to the people oohing and aaahing over his chandeliers to go over to see what the guys were doing. 6 months later, his hook design had been commercialized and was showing up in national mail order catalogs. He quickly took note, and started marketing them in the right way to the right people and was able to recover some of the reward from the wave that he himself had started. Thats why I am emphasizing the need to strongly establish your business as THE name in antique mirrors, so that any time anyone, even chinese guys, mention it your name will be associated with it. Honestly, I dont know of, nor have I heard of, anyone doing mirror antiquing. I hope to see it stay that way!


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

You have so many good ideas and I have established a marketing campaign with the hosting company who will get me to the top of the list on all major and minor search engines. There are very few in the US that actually do mirror antiquing and I doubt that there will be a ton jumping on the bandwagon but I agree that I need to get my little business out to the masses.
Posting on websites, forums and other things like that pop up really high on the chain. The Chinese already antique mirror glass however it is $75 sf, and you have to buy 10 4x8 panels!!! Each panel also cost a min of $179 to ship! Not worried about this changing at all.
I have some larger trade shows set up for spring and I am working with a designer with a store in the merchandise mart in chicago and atlanta and if I get in with her I will be swamped!!!
I will probably pick your brain some more soon!


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

Rob, 

I think V said it much more clearly than I did. I apologize if I came off offensive. I hear this from my wife frequently and you would think she would learn not to ask my opinion of something. The new site is 100% better than the old site. 

I like the idea of personalizing your site - the pic with your daughter does that well. When they hire you they are not hiring a corporation that is going to stamp out mirrors but they are hiring the craftsman behind it. 

The video I think can work but the video you have produced does not. I would treat it much more like a 30 second commercial rather than a homemade video. I think the majority of people have not heard of antiquing mirrors. I think you should use your site to educate and impress. Your site talks to me like I know your business and know what I am shopping for. 

I think the level of work you are capable of is really on a much higher level then most. I would be thrilled to learn under you. I think as Vermont mentioned, you have not even come close to your potential and frankly need to look farther than what it seems you have. Your site is much better but I still think a custom professional site could promote your service/product in a way that would only bring more success.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

I voted that I _Like it but you could do more!_ 
I voted this way not because i am any kind of authority on websites but because i have admired your faux work and am impressed by your mirror work as well. I think that you do not point out your faux accomplishments as much as you should. I mean that MDF mantel and built in behind it is exceptional.


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Thanks for the kind words and trust me when I say I do not take offense at much, I sometimes just dont understand what is being said. I planned today to put in a faux section to the website as I was concentrating on doing the mirrors as the focus of my work is the mirrors but more than anything it is doing high end work.

Thanks again and check the site out Sunday night and I should have the faux on there by then!


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## FoilEffects (Dec 19, 2007)

Took out page counters on all but the homepage, added a faux finishing page and will soon add a faux gallery but not in the mood for it today! Changed around a number of things to fit what I wanted better! I like it much more now.:thumbsup:


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