Website

[Hooked]

http://sccomputingsolutions.com/

Hey guys, any feedback on this website would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kats22]

IMHO, it is quite plain. Doesn't really stand out. This is better (also IMHO) than a site that has pages full of nonsense that no client will want to read through, though.

I would increase the font size for the whole site....your contact info and your main wording areas are very hard to read.

Do you have a logo? This is very important. It will be a big part of your branding, which helps you stand out versus your competitors.

No prices listed? You should have them listed for potential clients...either your hourly rate (state if business rate is different) or if its per service list ALL the fees for said services.

Good luck with everything, and please don't take this as a bashing. I think you are definitely on the right track. Keep on it!

Adam

 

[Rodrick]

I agree the look and feel doesn't stand out. The navigation looks like breadcrumbs and as such could be confusing. Good start but needs some refinement.

 

[Hooked]

IMHO, it is quite plain. Doesn't really stand out. This is better (also IMHO) than a site that has pages full of nonsense that no client will want to read through, though.

I would increase the font size for the whole site....your contact info and your main wording areas are very hard to read.

Do you have a logo? This is very important. It will be a big part of your branding, which helps you stand out versus your competitors.

No prices listed? You should have them listed for potential clients...either your hourly rate (state if business rate is different) or if its per service list ALL the fees for said services.

Good luck with everything, and please don't take this as a bashing. I think you are definitely on the right track. Keep on it!

Adam

I understand, I posted it here for critique. For clarification the minimalistic look is purposeful. I find business sites with misleading or purposeless pictures, over-lengthy descriptions, and advertisements distasteful.

I agree with the font size, I'll make it larger.

I am in the process of having a logo designed. Are you sure having prices listed is a good idea, however? I don't want to turn even wealthy (for my region) clients off. I recently asked about my prices which everyone said were too low to the point of cutthroat, but now I fear they might be too high. For reference, a local plumber here might make $35/hr, and I'm charging $40/hr with a lesser flat diagnostic fee for home users (my business rates are a little higher).

I agree the look and feel doesn't stand out. The navigation looks like breadcrumbs and as such could be confusing. Good start but needs some refinement.

Yeah, I really like the minimalist look. Clutter is not my style. I agree, though, that there is too little content, I just don't know what more relevant information I could put in there. I'm unsure about putting prices, and anything else on the front page would be fluff. Also, advertisements to recoup a six dollar monthly hosting fee are crap, in my opinion.

 

[Hooked]

OK, I've designed my own logo. In keeping with the very minimalistic styling, here it is:

 

[Rodrick]

Looked at the new iteration, as for style, the header is bigger than the content on at least one page. If you really want it that minimal (which is fine with me, less bloat is nice) consider making the header smaller, font bigger again, just balance out the pages. Might even consider doing away with the three pages altogether and going with one or two balanced pages. Oh and it feels strange with all the white space on the left.

Note: just talking about overall aesthetics, my trick is to zoom out so full page fits screen and stand 5-10 feet back, helps see the overall design of the page without thinking too much about wording, etc.

 

[0ldfart]

You are making your customers do more clicking than is really justified by the content. All three pages could easily be condensed to fit on one page.

I think the blank space in the sidebar on the left is problematic. It makes the page look lopsided and you are missing an important content opportunity by leaving it unused.

Some use of colour would be good. A point of emphasis maybe?

The whole point of a web page for a computer tech is to compel people to contact you to obtain the service you are offering. Preferably in the shortest space of time possible.

Im not sure you are achieving this with the layout as it currently stands.

 

[cpaul123]

I would increase the font size as stated above. The text is getting lost and hard to read.

 

[Hooked]

OK, I'll work on everything stated.

 

[NeutronTech]

I would take out the line about prices being typically non negotiable. This is going to invite people to haggle with you thinking that their situation is atypical. You want them to know that you are a business and this is what your prices are. Saying your prices are typically non negotiable says that your flexible with your prices.

Also, it doesn't matter what the plumber charges. You are NOT too high. Trust me. I live in a rural area too where most of the people are below poverty level. When I was $60 for a virus removal I didn't get any work. I raised my prices to $99 to make up for the lack of work and now I am swamped. No one ever questions my prices and are happy to pay them. The lower your prices the harder you are going to have to work. At my $99 for a virus, for example, might take an hour. You would have to work 2 1/2 hours to make what I make. Even my onsite tutoring is billed at $65/hr whereas I think yours was $6 or something. Don't compare your prices to other people. I could care less what other people charge in my town. You should charge what your services are worth. People who need you will pay you and you will get better clientel.

Sorry I went off topic there. Make yourself appear confident and professional on your webpage. Don't make it sound like you are doubting yourself.

 

[Alan22]

This is one of my favorite SiteBuilder templates. You can place your logo on the top right of the page with the text "Silver City Computing Solutions" underneath it. I think that will look better than having the logo only in the body on the first page.

 

[Hooked]

I would take out the line about prices being typically non negotiable. This is going to invite people to haggle with you thinking that their situation is atypical. You want them to know that you are a business and this is what your prices are. Saying your prices are typically non negotiable says that your flexible with your prices.

Also, it doesn't matter what the plumber charges. You are NOT too high. Trust me. I live in a rural area too where most of the people are below poverty level. When I was $60 for a virus removal I didn't get any work. I raised my prices to $99 to make up for the lack of work and now I am swamped. No one ever questions my prices and are happy to pay them. The lower your prices the harder you are going to have to work. At my $99 for a virus, for example, might take an hour. You would have to work 2 1/2 hours to make what I make. Even my onsite tutoring is billed at $65/hr whereas I think yours was $6 or something. Don't compare your prices to other people. I could care less what other people charge in my town. You should charge what your services are worth. People who need you will pay you and you will get better clientel.

Sorry I went off topic there. Make yourself appear confident and professional on your webpage. Don't make it sound like you are doubting yourself.

I understand your advice concerning not worrying about comparisons, but may I ask why raising your prices would generate more customers? That implies that people see higher prices as better service, which may be the implication but is not necessarily true.

This is one of my favorite SiteBuilder templates. You can place your logo on the top right of the page with the text "Silver City Computing Solutions" underneath it. I think that will look better than having the logo only in the body on the first page.

Unfortunately for me, Sitebuilder has it setup (for whatever reason) so that the logo resizes itself. It's designed so I'd have to have the logo the same size as the default for it to fit properly, which is much too small.

I'd love to mess around with the HTML/CSS, but I'm not great at it (which is why I'm using Sitebuilder) and the generated code is seemingly designed to be unreadable.

 

[mraikes]

I understand your advice concerning not worrying about comparisons, but may I ask why raising your prices would generate more customers? That implies that people see higher prices as better service, which may be the implication but is not necessarily true.

Absolutely right. Higher prices don't mean a better technician. But they do mean a better businessman. Work less, make more money.

If you increased your rates 50% (Just $15 or $20), you probably wouldn't lose 25% your customers. Even if you did, you'd be ahead of the game, generating the same money but working less. That leaves time to take extra-good care of the higher paying customers - who provide higher paying referrals as well. It's a positive cycle, but you have to shoot for it.

All that being said, only you can determine the correct pricing. As a fellow New Mexican, I know there are HUGE disparities around our state. I'm in the most populous area of NM (Rio Rancho/Albuquerque) and my pricing can't compare to some who post on these forums. But it's right for my area. So I'm jealous - but I don't lose sleep over it.