ZoomConcept Reviews
Critical Problem who cares! you know there will be people who will try to come back by typing makesnowdotnet.com There are too many things!! I am just going to mark BAD In a sincere (and quixotic) attempt to point things out. Ok here we go...BAD BAD BAD BAD (font) BAD (font) BAD BAD BAD (this should be the primary message of your website!!!!!!!) BAD floating stuff is messy BAD should be a list -
Aaran Casey commented:not to mention the padding!
BAD sooo many levels! (font, hierarchy, message, strategy, branding..... BAD BAD .....hmmmm.....no..actually horrible Summary:
It is really is not worth the trouble to point out the issues because it is so much.
It is like asking a decorator to decorate the bench where a street bum lives. Not even close! He needs to have a house first.
I'd say, at the very least buy a template. But in reality, you need a designer. Actually..a marketer....You have a great product. Marketed right I can see this going huge.
The social marketing potential is tremendous. One can imagine client videos showing awesome carved courses. Kids pulling fabulous tricks in their own back yards, artists, towns or shopping centers making gigantic snow sculptures, snowmen, or holiday displays beautifully lit!
The potential is sooo huge...yet this site would look bad in 1995.
Please get a designer
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Cheryl Vargas commented:I like your ideas, Alex. Especially the snow sculptures (these photos alone could create new customers---in the hospitality and event management industries.)
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Cheryl Vargas commented:
I could also see a snowman contest or snow castles contest at the local mall ----INDOORS(?) LOL
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Minor Problem Too technical?
There must be a lot of technical things going on in a snowmaker. But I think most people don't want to know about it because it feels like physics class. So rather than describing science "The average water temperature at a resort is just 1C (34F), by comparison, the average water temperature for a home snowmaker is 11C (54F), and snowmaking is all above moving heat from the water, to the air, so that the water can freeze and become snow," putting pictures of snow, or the different parts of the snowmaker in action might be easier to understand for customers. That would be what makes the little kids want to buy a snowmaker!shorter bullet points.
The bullet points on description pages like this one http://www.makesnow.net/ProductPage.php?itemNumber=7 go all the way across my monitor. Half-way through, I'm not concentrating on it anymore.Serious Problem Having the category navigator on the left at all times.
At least for pages that are not directly relate to conversion. For example, here: http://www.makesnow.net/ContactUs.php Once I land on contact us, I don't have that left-hand navigation bar anymore. Yeah I have the top bar, but that doesn't look like the left bar. Same with all other pages. Based on user testing for our site, a lot of people like having navigation bars whenever, wherever possible. (The only reason to leave it out would be to keep them on the conversion track. i.e. if they are already on the checkout page, you don't want them to click on a different category and stop checking out...)Positive Feature Just link to the resources directly
For example, here http://www.makesnow.net/FreeSnowmakerPlans.php just put a link to the Adobe website. I would not want to google Adobe reader, download it, and then come back to download the pdf. It's so easy for customers to just leave.Having the category navigator on the left at all times.
At least for pages that are not directly relate to conversion. For example, here: http://www.makesnow.net/ContactUs.php Once I land on contact us, I don't have that left-hand navigation bar anymore. Yeah I have the top bar, but that doesn't look like the left bar. Same with all other pages. Based on user testing for our site, a lot of people like having navigation bars whenever, wherever possible. (The only reason to leave it out would be to keep them on the conversion track. i.e. if they are already on the checkout page, you don't want them to click on a different category and stop checking out...)New Idea Testing buttons
Big, preferably bright colored (red, orange) 'add to cart' buttons tend to do better. There is also research that says non-standard buttons (arrows rather than boxes or circles) tend to do better with conversion.Using videos, not just in the pictures and videos section.
I would put it in the product description, if possible, or in the main page. Moleskine has some videos on its notebooks http://moleskine.com/ and notebooks aren't even the type of products that require video explanations. Also, I would actually say 'pictures AND VIDEOS.'Having the category navigator on the left at all times.
At least for pages that are not directly relate to conversion. For example, here: http://www.makesnow.net/ContactUs.php Once I land on contact us, I don't have that left-hand navigation bar anymore. Yeah I have the top bar, but that doesn't look like the left bar. Same with all other pages. Based on user testing for our site, a lot of people like having navigation bars whenever, wherever possible. (The only reason to leave it out would be to keep them on the conversion track. i.e. if they are already on the checkout page, you don't want them to click on a different category and stop checking out...)Having the category navigator on the left at all times.
At least for pages that are not directly relate to conversion. For example, here: http://www.makesnow.net/ContactUs.php Once I land on contact us, I don't have that left-hand navigation bar anymore. Yeah I have the top bar, but that doesn't look like the left bar. Same with all other pages. Based on user testing for our site, a lot of people like having navigation bars whenever, wherever possible. (The only reason to leave it out would be to keep them on the conversion track. i.e. if they are already on the checkout page, you don't want them to click on a different category and stop checking out...)Having the category navigator on the left at all times.
At least for pages that are not directly relate to conversion. For example, here: http://www.makesnow.net/ContactUs.php Once I land on contact us, I don't have that left-hand navigation bar anymore. Yeah I have the top bar, but that doesn't look like the left bar. Same with all other pages. Based on user testing for our site, a lot of people like having navigation bars whenever, wherever possible. (The only reason to leave it out would be to keep them on the conversion track. i.e. if they are already on the checkout page, you don't want them to click on a different category and stop checking out...)Other Paypal and trustability
Right now you have paypal 'add to cart,' which is great. But know that some people try not to buy from a store that only has paypal checkout. (Believe me, there are stories of people calling to make sure that your business is not fake just because your website is not flashy, you don't have a gazillion phone operators, and because you have a paypal checkout.) I think it has to do with 'paypal = the easy checkout option = small business that does not have resources' kind of image. Having said that, I'm a small business owner myself, so I know paypal or lack thereof does not signify anything. Your business might be giant, and you might still be using paypal, but some people just don't care. Paypal as another option in ADDITION to all other forms of checkout is great, but 'just paypal' seems to be an alarm signal to some people.Summary:
Yay! White background + dark fonts is so much easier to read than the other way around. Also like that you chose blue as the color for accents.
You got really cool products by the way.
As for increasing conversion, these are some ideas that worked for my e-commerce site.
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Rebecca Perry commented:wow...now that's a review!
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Minor Problem on http://www.makesnow.net/Pictures.php 1 You're showing photos of adorable 'little' children, but you say your audience is 14 - 20 year olds. Show kids in that age range, having fun in the sun and snow and doing what they do! But I would go with 'stock' photos instead of home or non professional photos! Lots of sites sell awesome photos in this category at affordable prices. 2 I think the problem with these photos is that it shows snow in WINTER! Not hard to make snow in winter. But could you show a photo where there's no snow anywhere but where your machine made it? It's not essential, but just a thought. Positive Feature Great URL!
It says it all.Summary:
But if you want conversion....
I could be totally off base. I hope others will chime in.
Save the specifics for secondary pages. Show the beauty of the product. Show the beauty of SNOW!
Yes, what you sell and what it does and how it works and all that technical mumbo jumbo is important for the people (the mom and dad, uncle harry) who are making the snow. But the lil' dude and his parents really just want to see how the snow is going to look 'in action'.
The photos you currently have just don't do it. (don't mean to be mean). :-)
I guess in a kind of silly way I'm trying to tell you what my designer pals on this site would tell you. Your site is informative but not pretty. I'm not a designer, just a user. But I do know from hanging with these savvy designer guys on CF that you could get more conversions if you sold "sexy" instead of "technical".
So just to let you know where I'm coming from, as a user, I personally have no use for a snow making machine. But by the right photos, I think you could convince me that I do absolutely, NEED and can't live without a snow maker.
Show me a slide show images like the Alps, a quaint country hillside covered in snow or lots of beautifully, scenic famously popular places these folks may have already gone to or want to go to in the future.
Snowboarders, skiers, etc. are flying down the slopes. The photos have lots of 'swooshy', cold snow flying in the face of the visitor! One of the text bars flying across the bottom, say something like, "You want snow year round. We want to give it to you. Snow....made easy." And then a place for me to 'Order now" which takes me to....
Your subsequent pages give packaged prices first and then sell the pieces ala carte for those visitors who've already purchased your products and need additional parts etc.
But give me packages to choos from so a parent can see at a glance, what three, four or five price points they have to choose from to satisfy their lil' dude.
I really want to see at a glance, taking up as little of my time as possible, how much satisfying my kid is going to cost me. Don't give me too many technical choices. I don't know what to choose anyway. Choose for me.
Have links to the technical mumbo jumbo stuff for dad. Mom doesn't care, show her pretty. Show lil dude 'COOL and pretty'. And from there, I think you've got us as buyers.
Your current site assumes that I know what a 'solid aluminum home snowmaker is versus a Solid Aluminum Snowgun Bodie. (Heck, I don't even know what I just typed and how one thing relates to another).
Take me to a place called, "What you need to make snow", "What's it cost (Cool, Cooler, Coolest, BADASS---use some kid jargon in there---get away from the technical), "What add-on accessories I can buy for lil' dude (with photos of how those accessories are used---cuz we as parents don't know---and more than likely WE are paying).
I'd love to see this site revamped. It could be BADASS cool! :-)
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Alex Colina commented:Great review!
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Serious Problem on http://www.makesnow.net/Products.php?category=4 1 Very close 2 Spacing... 3 Spacing... Critical Problem White space
Big problem with usage the white space.Minor Problem on http://www.makesnow.net/ProductPage.php?itemNumber=6 1 The "US" is irrelevant and distracting. Serious Problem on http://www.makesnow.net/Products.php?category=4 1 What's with the military-style font? It doesn't convey the right mood. 2 Why not show the benefits you GET: happy kids playing in snow in June! Successful, unique fundraisers ! memorable corporate events on warm-weather locales. Positive Feature on http://www.makesnow.net/ProductPage.php?itemNumber=6 1 Good details about technical requirements, but perhaps make it easier to read. Highlight box with a subheader saying "Product Details" or "Quick Facts" New Idea on http://www.makesnow.net/Pictures.php 1 Replace the cold, industrial parts photos with one or two signature videos on the home page - a 60 second testimonial for all the FUN and excitement that can be generated with a DIY snow making machine. Summary:
Unless the market for snow-making equipment is well established, the design (IMHO) should be much more consumer-focused. Not that you will sell directly to consumers, but, you can help steer business to your trade customers.
Great point! I didn't even bother to read this very important message because it was lost.