# Put together a web site, please have a look



## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

So I've now made and designed enough pieces that I'm confident in having a website to display my talents in our wonderful of woodworking.

I put this site together pretty quickly and of course will make it better as I go, so to help me out please have a look and let me know what you think.

I'm trying to spread content over forums, google ad words ( got a free $75 to try it out ), wood working magazine online gallerys, stumble upon and facebook.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

Canadian Rocking Chairs

Thanks
Paul


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

Am I the only one that can't find … the link/URL of the website ?

Hmmmm…..


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Tip #1- please post the URL


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## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

Yes, the URL would be great.


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

okay I added the link…... can you say brain fart!


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## lib (Mar 30, 2010)

Attractive and well-organized site. Very reasonable prices for such fine work.


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## mrg (Mar 10, 2010)

Paul very nice website. Like to see another Mac user. What program are you using to build the website? If you can add keywords add them. A site i used to use is called add me. Addme.com if I remember correctly. it is free and you update once a month to move your pages up the search engine rankings. You can submit to a lot of search engines.

Your site is very clean, easy to read and easy to navigate. To get rankings add or change content so that when the search engines search once a month they see your site as fresh. If the content stays the same for a long period of time you loose ranking.


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

Great looking site. I would do a Bio page for each of you and give a more info/history on the company. With this type of high end furniture people like to know more about you.


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## vicrider (Jun 19, 2010)

Nice site, Paul,

Easy to navigate, great presentation.

good luck with your endeavor.


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## davevan (Jul 25, 2010)

The site looks great and so does your work.


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## nailbanger2 (Oct 17, 2009)

The site does look good, simple and to the point. I have to agree that a bio page on each of you (and maybe a workshop photo) would help your cause. Beautiful furniture!


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks for the feed back

I agree info / bio pag on both of us would be a good addition, we don't have any pics of us yet cause were always dirty from the shop..lol so that will be added asap thanks…


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Nice site. Loads fast- few scripts- easy to read and navigate.


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## christopheralan (Mar 19, 2008)

Very Nice!


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

come one people bring on some negatives…...lol


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## rob2 (Nov 27, 2007)

Beautiful furniture. Really lovely!!! I agree, your prices seam reasonable. The website is well laid out and logical to navigate. How about larger pictures of the furniture, maybe for download? Would love to see your shop. you do not have to be cleaned up. In process is great.


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## lwoodt (Dec 22, 2008)

You should have a period after the second persons last name.Then a capital W to start the second sentence.love the furniture,very cool.


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

Your pricing and ordering page lacks any real description of how to order. I guess I call you or Joel to order or email you. Hours to contact you? Your pieces are pure art in my opinion and your web site lacks a bit of the artistry. When I go to your gallery I would like to see more info on the specific rocker or other piece. I would like to see a larger image of the piece to start off the page than have the option for more pics. You want $2,000 to $7,500 smackers for these you need to give me more info and make it sound like a piece I need. Make them sound like the time, artistry, and craftsmanship you put into them. I am certainly not going to pay 1,500 bucs for a Simple Rocker, it doesn't look simple to me.


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## edgarO (Jun 12, 2010)

nice website. I have to agree about the bio pages. its always nice to know more about the artists.
personally i like to see bigger pictures. Also the header could be in a nicer font. It just seems very basic and simple. Also I believe that it not being centered looks a bit off. overall just my $.02s. you do beautiful work.


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

now were getting some where, love it keep it up guys thanks!

agree more personal about the pieces

agree font choices should be re-thought

my mind goes to fast for my fingers, will remember to double check grammar and what not


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

Do we get a 10% discount for advice. LOL Really just a little tweaking here and there and it will be a great site. Let us know if you update it and we can certainly tear it apart again. LOL


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## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

Paul the site looks great. Very clean format and easy to follow.


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

yes 10% discount is granted…....

I will be updating it for sure today, tomorrow, and the next day and on and on…...lol


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## BTKS (Nov 30, 2008)

Nice looking site. I'm not qualified or interested in commenting on the site but the furniture appears to be top notch and beautiful too. Good luck on the business. 
BTKS


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## miserybob (Jan 24, 2010)

I agree with wseand - "simple" is a terrible adjective for that rocker, especially if you are trying to sell it. The photos are too small and the quality isn't great - quite often within a set of pictures, the lighting and look of the photos are completely different. Also, there aren't many pictures of the WOOD! I'd love to see some larger shots of the seat so we can see how nicely its been shaped and all the pretty grain of the wood.

Other than that, it's great.

;-) (Hey, you asked for criticism!) ;-)


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Looks great, but I wondered too, why $1500 fro a "simple" rocker?


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## WWilson (Jan 5, 2010)

Hi Paul,

Nice site. A few observations:

1.) You need a "contact us" tab or link somewhere. Make it easy for your customers to get a hold of you.

2.) I always like an "about us" tab too. To me it makes any business seem more genuine, especially one that is of our craft. Don't forget you are selling yourself, not just your work.

3.) You may want to consider revising the first bit of test on your main page. You may want to consider using something called a "*value proposition*". In short it looks like this:

"We specialize in working with *blank* and helping them *blank*".

You fill in the blank. The goal here is in one sentence have your potential customer know what you are about. This statement should draw them in and make them want to read more.

You may also want to google "elevator speech" for ideas about how to get your message across quickly. For me, the first impression of a web page should be just that - quick and to the point.

I hope this input helps. Good luck!

-Will


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

Hey guys if your following this thread, please have another look, as i've updated actually competly change programs use to design the site.

I know we still need about the craftsman section, but other then that let me have it

Thanks
Paul


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## JackBarnhill (Mar 8, 2009)

I'm not sure why this is happening or if it's just my system or your web site. I tried your web site with IE8-64, Firefox, Safari and Chrome. Everything worked fine on all of the browsers except for Firefox. As soon as Firefox loaded most of your site, it locked up. I've only had this problem with one other web site. I don't know what causes it. If other people can access your web site with Firefox, then I may just have problem with mine. But, like I said all of the other browsers load and navigate your site just fine.

Other than that, it's a clean good looking site and very nice products.


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

I actually use firefox my self, and it seems to load fine on a mac and a pc

thanks for the heads up though, i'll double check from a few other places


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

It is really coming a long, looking good. No real comments on any changes, just no workshop pics yet get on it. I use Firefox as well and works fine for me.. I went to the 4.0 Beta 2 so might make a difference. Love the site, keep it up.


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

The white text on the lighter orange is a bit hard to read.


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

Gerry do you think so, does anyone else? I don't seem to but if theres some sort of consensus i'll look into it, if not it's still on my mind, thanks for the tip.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Your site looks professional, your furniture looks professional. However…

Suggestions: 
Too much vertical space taken up by Orange Title bar and Welcome bar. Its taking up too much of my vertical screen space. It serves no purpose. 
Text on right side of main page is bland. Try adding some titles for your paragraphs (like you did on the 'Update'). Titles should have a little larger text, maybe bold too. I don't want to have to read paragraphs to see what they are about. Use titles appropriately.

Pictures on main page are toooooo small. I like the size of the zoom though. Pick out your best chair and put it on the left top of your main page, inside the orange bar. Keep it the same on EVERY page too. This will become your brand. Look up branding (corporate, not woodworking, or cow punching).

< # > navigation bar is too big, and what's that symbol you used in the middle do? If it goes back one level, then use an Up arrow. When you navigate with the bar, where are you taking me? I can' t see it because it is hidden above the bar. Put them below the bar so I can see which page I've navigated to.

Outdoor furniture page: Single space lines with Natural, Stained, Painted.

Links page looks too much like text. Links are underlined, you've moved away from the standard.

Whole site leaves huge margins on left and right. I know you want to be universal, but you could increase the width just a tad bit.

Thanks for the invitation for real constructive criticism. The above was truely posted to help you get it better. I wish you well with your work.

Edit: Using IE 7 under Vista


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Looking at it again, it might just be the drop shadow effect that makes the text look not quite right. It's not so much that it's hard to see, it just doesn't look crisp.


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## CanadianWoodWorks (Dec 29, 2009)

thanks guys, replaced top header with image also not as big


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