Our New Website

[The Shark]

Hi guys,

My son and I have a shared interest in hobby woodworking, and have gone a step further and set up a small website.

Hopefully it is self-explanatory, and has been really set up so we can continue to have a shared interest.

I have included a link in my signature block, and we would appreciate any constructive comments.

Thanks for looking,

Malc

 

[Ian]

Hi Malc

Nice and clean & not too fussy.

I would rethink about making items for cost + small profit as you might find even if people get it at a very reasonable price they still might want a high level of service and workmanship, which could lead to you putting in quite a bit of time on projects with little return.

Cheers

Ian

 

[woodbloke]

Hi Malc

Nice and clean & not too fussy.

I would rethink about making items for cost + small profit as you might find even if people get it at a very reasonable price they still might want a high level of service and workmanship, which could lead to you putting in quite a bit of time on projects with little return.

Cheers

Ian

I agree about the website...clean and uncluttered. I also think that if you start to make something, make sure that you charge a commensurate rate for the job. It needn't be at a pro 'shop rate, but it ought to make the customer realize that he/she will be paying a respectable amount for it. As an example, on the gallery page there are one or two pics of simple picture frames in oak. I've just completed a pair of frames in mahogany for my boss at work and charged him £60 for the job...I don't know whether that's a lot for pic framing, but I thought it seemed about right for a fairly simple piece of work - Rob

 

[The Shark]

Hello Ian and Rob,

Many thanks for your thoughts and comments.

I fully appreciate what you are saying, and realise I will have to be careful with regard to the financial side.

For now, I have changed the home page from " a bit of pocket money" to " a reasonable amount of pocket money". I'll see if this works, but will be keeping an eye on what happens (assuming we get any interest at all :roll: )

Cheers,

Malc

 

[brianhabby]

I would second what others have said about pricing but at the end of the day you will learn from your own experience in this matter.

The site certainly does look nice and clean with no fancy 'rubbish' that you see on many website these days. Just because the technology allows you to add bells and whistles everywhere doesn't mean you should. The main purpose of a website such as yours, is to impart relevant information, and yours does this nicely, with what I believe to be one glaring exception.

Where in the world are you? There is no indication as to your whereabouts, let alone an address and phone number, which I believe all commercial sites should include, although some don't.

I'm not sure many people will contact you with commissions unless they have at least some idea of where you are located.

That said, you have a good site with some nice pieces of work displayed and I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours,

regards

Brian

 

[The Shark]

Thanks, Brian,

It does say "based in the Midlands" on the home page, but I'll alter that!

Thanks,

Malc

 

[Lee J]

as for the website, as someone who designs and creates website I can honestly say it's very good. Love the light hearted humour. It's so frustrating designing and creating sites for clients that are straight laced and stiff. a bit of humour draws in the potential next pay day and instantly puts you at the front of the line for the job - providing the buyer has a sense of humour!

great stuff - good luck and well done

 

[Dibs-h]

The Contact US form doesn't appear to have any kind of validation - i.e. I can enter "a" in the first name field and it submit & it takes you to the "Thank You" page.

Now It may send the message - or it may not, but if it doesn't surely you't want it to return some kind of message back to the user?

HIH

Dibs

 

[sparkymarky]

hi malc, i like the website the light harted text on the homepage gives a friendly approach.
i also like your `waters woodworking` avatar, with the ribbon and the three peices of timber though i think it could do with being made bigger, text especially, as having a icon which your customers could identify you with, could be a great help as your buisness picks up.
best of luck to both of you, mark.

 

[The Shark]

Hi guys,

Once again, many thanks for your comments

Lee, I appreciate your thoughts as someone who knows what they are talking about. I am not a web designer, but tried to put together something that was simple but would appeal to people who are (a) not woodworkers themselves (b) not massively computer buffs.
I realise some people don't like humour, but that is how me and my son are, what you see is what you get. We'll see if it works or not.

Dibs-h, I take it you tried 2 contacts with "a", as that is what came through. I understand what you are saying, but as a computer novice, I have no idea how to alter it. I'll have a look in to it.

Sparkymarky - I'll have a look at that later, thanks.

Malc

 

[Dibs-h]

Dibs-h, I take it you tried 2 contacts with "a", as that is what came through. I understand what you are saying, but as a computer novice, I have no idea how to alter it. I'll have a look in to it.

Malc

Yes that was me.

I haven't tried to see if I can use it to send spam tho! That's the real risk - having your hosting company suspend your site, because someone has been able to break your contact form and use it to send spam.

What did you use to generate your current site?

Dibs

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Hi Malc,

Nice site, apart from IMHO the 'French Stick Cutting Board', this is clearly just a piece of timber. I'd either remove it, or make a joke out of the fact that you can either do a lot or a little with timber, or can be as complex or simple as the buyer would like.

Just my two penneth. Good luck with it all. _Dan.

 

[Pond]

Hi,

I echo the comments about contact details.

I NEVER contact a company from their website unless at least a telephone number and preferably an address is on the contact page. This is because I feel they may have something to hide and don't want me to know where they are. This is ususally because they are trying to appear as an 'international' company operating from their mum's council flat spare bedroom!

An address will also be found by search engines, so should get more local enquiries.

I doubt many people would put 'midlands woodworkers' into google, they would more likely put in 'woodworkers in Leicester'.

Nice 'professional' looking site, though. Better than mine and I paid money for this: http://www.iconac.co.uk

 

[adidat]

that cheese board is brilliant, where do you buy burr's like that?

adidat

 

[The Shark]

Hi guys,

Many thanks for the useful comments

I am getting a bit out of my depth now, so will consult my website guru once she has finished work, got home, cooked the lads' tea, walked the dogs, done the washing up, done a clothes wash, done the ironing, and mopped my fevered brow and listened to all my moans after a hard day at the office :wink: Seriously, we will have a look at them all, thank you!

Hi Malc,

Nice site, apart from IMHO the 'French Stick Cutting Board', this is clearly just a piece of timber. I'd either remove it, or make a joke out of the fact that you can either do a lot or a little with timber, or can be as complex or simple as the buyer would like.

Just my two penneth. Good luck with it all. _Dan.

Dan, you are absolutely right, that is exactly what it is. I was asked if I could make a cutting board for a french stick. I ran a 3' piece of rough sawn through the bandsaw to get it to width, gave it 2 passes through the thicknesser, ran a chamfer bit round all 4 sides, sanded and oiled it ( food safe oil). Half hour tops, and it was just what was required.

that cheese board is brilliant, where do you buy burr's like that?

adidat

I was given this one, but have previously bought from Good Timber near Northampton. No idea how they compare price wise, it's just a pleasant drive out on a summer's day for us from home. I used Rustins Plastic Coating on the bottom to stop it scratching the table top, and food safe for the top.

http://www.goodtimber.com/good_timber_index.htm


Cheers,

Malc

 

[Losos]

The site certainly does look nice and clean with no fancy 'rubbish' that you see on many website these days. Just because the technology allows you to add bells and whistles everywhere doesn't mean you should. The main purpose of a website such as yours, is to impart relevant information, and yours does this nicely, with what I believe to be one glaring exception.

Oh boy I so agree with this comment, I'm on a number of forums and some are just so cluttered and complicated. I found out today that there is provision on one for both PM's (Private messages) and Visitor Messages - who the hell wants two of the same thing on the same forum I don't get it :x

As for the address and telephone, well I just assumed that, at this stage in your development, you didn't want the phone ringing all the time and people turning up unanounced at your door.

But hopefully as you get more into the project you may want that and a phone number would be useful. Best of luck in your endevours.

 

[The Shark]

As for the address and telephone, well I just assumed that, at this stage in your development, you didn't want the phone ringing all the time and people turning up unanounced at your door.

Spot on!! Fancy choosing my lottery numbers this week? :wink:

Malc