Looking for insight and tips about my site

[PsychoPC]

Google analytics is saying that over the last few days I have seen a significant jump in page views. Though as of yet I am not sure if it is due to facebook, google+, twitter, YP.com listing, google local listing, or paypal local listing.
Along with all those I have posted a few times on craigslist and have been slowly spreading brochures around town.

If someone could take a look at my site and let me know what they think that would be great! I also made an extremely stream lined mobile formatted site.

GigabytezDOTcom is the site, I dont have enough posts yet to make a real link

I am still learning how to link all of this online presence stuff in an organized way. Also the site I hosted through gave me quite a bit of credits for google ad words, yahoo advert credits as well as facebook ads. Any thoughts on those options would be awesome!
OH and because I know the logo is going to come up, it is a placeholder right now as the guy I have working on one for me is taking his sweet time.

 

[Coastalbendcomputers]

I've seen worse sites and I've seen better. My initial thoughts are you should invest in a real logo and ditch the clipart text. Check out 99designs.com, 48hourslogo.com or fiverr.com also add some pictures it is proven that a lot of text is bad for conversion.

 

[PsychoPC]

More pictures like the ones I have on the services page?
Or just incorporate more in general?

 

[Xander]

"House Call $80 for first 2 hours" <- this could be read to mean $80 for 2 hours (40/hr). Might want to rephrase that ("$80/hr for the first 2") or simplify it to something like $100 for the first hour, $60/hr after that.

*Each additional service requested/required is an additional $30 unless otherwise noted.
Virus Removal - $70
PC Tune Up/Cleaning/Optimization/Update - $80

I'm not sure what that means. Does it mean that if I ask for the first two services, it's $70+$80+another $30? If that's true, and I hope it's not, that's very gougey.

3-7 business days? Are you already that busy that a virus removal can take up to 9 days to do?

 

[PsychoPC]

Ahh didnt catch that about the first 2 hours bit. But yeah is meant to be read as the initial charge is 80 and that will cover the first 2hrs of service. Any time after that is 45. this onsite service is for anything they request except for the networking setup. kind of like a flat rate that is more expensive because I am away from the office and unable to multitask on several computers.

as for the individual service listings that one service, say virus removal is 70. Then if either before or after the virus removal they would also like me to backup their data, normally 40, it is only 30. same kind of structure for the rest of the services. Also all those individual services include the cost of me picking the system up as i have no office for them to drop it off at.

The timeline is taking into account that this has been my side job until it can replace the measly paycheck i make now. Thats why i say UP TO because if its a quick fix (OS install upgrade) and pull an all nighter with the baby its nothing to check on the install progress and updates.

Thats my reasoning behind the pricing etc. I did alot of hunting around pricing in the local area, i thought it was a pretty fair structure based on what im offering vs the other guys around here.

 

[mraikes]

OK, so you've seen a jump in page views. Has your phone been ringing more?

There's so much that could be said. You need to spend some serious time reading the other website critiques already here. You'll see a lot that applies to you.

Your homepage, the most valuable and important real estate of your entire site, is a boring waste. And I didn't even bother to measure how much of it you're throwing away on the thick "follow us" bar across the top.

As a potential customer, I don't care about YOUR goals. And I don't need to be told that technology changes. Don't bother "welcoming" me to your website (has it ever mattered to YOU to see something like that?) And why is it important to tell me you're a "small operation?"

Cash moving from my wallet to your hands is absolutely dependent upon the first QUICK impression. I want to know right away if you can solve my problem. Don't make me dig for it, because I won't. It's much easier to hit the back button and click on the next guy in the search results.

Jazz up that homepage. Create a logo. Consider your site and content from the perspective of a potential customer and what THEY hope to see. And then continue through the rest of your site with that same perspective.

 

[16k_zx81]

so it seems you have put together a business website without having spent any time reading up on how to put together a business website.

dont worry - you're not alone

Fortunately for you there's a wealth of resources on how to do this, here, and on G

But seriously, read. Read and then read some more.

basics:

- the last 12 months of website critiques here

- 'website conversion examples' on G

then redo the site and come back for a serious review.

at the moment there's too much to be said about whats wrong with it and its all been said here before. I dont plan on repeating. Others that do a lot of reviews shouldnt have to either.

if you really want your site to make you money (and they can be a huge source of customers) then spend the time to learn the basics and then do the job properly.

right now what you have will not do much for you at all. It needs a do-over.

Jim

 

[angry_geek]

I just looked at the mobile page; didn't make it to the full site.

First: Home page and logo need to be much better.

About us page has way too much info about you. Customers don't care about your life story. Frankly, after reading it, I would have very little confidence in your abilities. I know we're all techs here. We know that most of what we do has been self-learned. I know that air force training can teach you a great deal (thank you for serving, by the way). However, customers don't know those things. All they're going to read is you're new, have a little training, and you may or may not be a current college student. This is not going to attract quality customers.

Your services page is confusing. After reading it, I have no idea what I'm going to pay for a given service. Personally, I don't advertise my rates (this may start a debate here, and I don't want that). I don't want the people who are just looking for the lowest bidder. I want people to call us, talk to us. Those people are much more likely to understand the difference between "value" and "price".

Overall, I would recommend you take a look at some of our sites here in the forum. Also, the grammar on your site is terrible. I understand that's not a lot of folks' area of expertise. I recommend you get someone to write some copy for you, or, at least, get someone to proofread and edit. Someone who is a stickler for grammar and detail.

 

[PsychoPC]

thank you all very much for the much needed to the point truths.
I was actually told very much the same thing by a friend who is an english and grammar buff. He has offered to rewrite much of what was said for me.
After hearing what he had to say I took a look at some of the other sites of nibble members who had them in their sigs. Mine is pretty much the opposite of business.
I am going to redo my site with word press. Read a lot of good things about it on here and it seems to be more flexible than the tools i was originally using. I will post back when I have the revamped site up and running.

 

[PsychoPC]

After much ado, I spent some money on a web dev and this is what I got.
Gigabytez Tech
Tips, ideas, insight?

 

[aweston]

1. Text is way too small. I can't read it on a 1080p screen
2. You've got some wild font things going on there. You have different fonts and point sizes. Stay consistent
3. I don't like the services on the main page. They should be links to interior pages. Maybe only highlight a few key services and tell us about them
4. The layout isn't bad. I think the bar at the top is a waste of space. I expected navigation there and when I didn't get it I got a bit disoriented.
5. For your services page, those funky boxes made getting the information I was looking for impossible. It makes it totally illegible.
6. Spelling mistake in Non-specific Compter Services. Should be Computer. By the way, those services are very specific.
7. It's obvious you work out of your home. You may as well embrace it. I don't know about down there but up here people take a very dim view of that. More so if you don't embrace it and get creative around it.
8. "Leave a testimony". Well, I was a sinner until some strange people came to my door, hit me over the head with a Bible and I saw the light while I was recovering from the concussion. Should be "leave a testimonial"
9. First two testimonals are blank
10. I would put the contact tab as the last tab.
11. I like the fact that you're using testimonials to invoke a sense of credibility
12. Get a lot more imagery going on above the front page fold with benefits. Don't make me read. I'm lazy. Show me at a glance with imagery what you want me to know or feel.
13. You have no calls to action. You NEED calls to action. Direct the flow.
14. Feedback on the front page. I think I would highlight your best one and leave it at that. Include a last name for credibility. One name testimonials are viewed with suspicion and will actually work against you.

You have an interesting logo but "Making IT work" = BORING. That's what everyone says/does. Try and get more creative there to compliment that cool looking logo.

Why us? Not at all convincing. In fact, rather bland and generic. What makes you SPECIAL? Don't play on team buzzwords when you're not. Just don't. Don't make me get into why. Just don't.

So...why you? What are you going to give them? How are they going to feel? What sensational high are you going to deliver through your awesomesauce.

Get rid of "non-specific".

I like your use of white space.

 

[PsychoPC]

Thank you very much for the thorough break down. Very helpful!
What do you mean by embracing the working from home though? Get rid of all the we and us stuff?
By call you action you mean something like "Hey check out this service over here!" kind of thing? Most of my business has been word of mouth so the website is fairly new.

 

[aweston]

A call to action is something specific. Contact us now. Buy now. Learn more. Whatever that call to action is, you need it to tell your visitor what they can expect when they click that link.

Embracing working from home. Don't be ashamed of it. It is what it is. You have reasons for doing so. What are they? Is it cheaper? Does it make it easier for the client? What are the benefits to your client as a result of you working from home? Spell those out and make them go AHHHHHH. Make their light turn on.

Definitely get rid of the we and us. It makes you look fake. You're trying to establish credibility, not alienate them before they ever pick up the phone. Remember, today's users are far more savvy and "street smart" than they've ever been. If you play them for fools you will lose. They've been burned too many times before. If you pretend you're larger than you are (a fatal mistake that many make) you WILL be called on it and it WILL cost you.

You want jobs that you can handle. You don't want to get in over your head. By using this approach you will attract the type of client that's right for you and the relationship will be that much better as a result. There's another little gem to always remember. It's not just an invoice, it's a relationship.