Looking for help with Website Critique

LandscapeRentals

I rent equipment for Landscapers and homeowners. My website is self produced from a template @ register.com. I am new to the SuN community and have found it a great resource. The goal of my website is to give enough info about our services and equipment so that customers can call requesting delivery. We try to have at least 1/3  of the content information that customers will seek out to return to for more landscape knowledge. I have included as many links as possible to try to increase our SEO. Any help would be greatly appreciated www.Landscape-Rentals.com</A>

InactiveMember

Good job. Above average copywriting, which could be a bit sharper, but is otherwise fine. You correctly use a large heading and the text is enticing. Especially  the "free"  part. Definitely attention getting in the right way. The mission statement contains a few cliches, but this probably isn`t a major problem. The part at the top that says "we deliver value" is definitely a cliche and not really great. Perhaps you could think of something sharper, more definite, more communicative of what you offer. With respect to the layout, I wasn`t as impressed, but that`s mostly a matter of taste. I see no reason why this site shouldn`t work quite well for you.

TwilightPics

It`s a good start but a lot of room for improvement. If you`re trying to increase your SEO you need to loose the frames, it`s killing you. The layout and design is a little substandard, but with some work there is no reason it can`t improveIf you would like feel free to submit your Landscapers site to the Business Site Showdown!  We`re trying to increase the quality of websites for business owners by making a friendly little competition.  Check it out http://www.twilightpics.com/showdownGood Lick!

isosceles

I browsed the site a bit, not reading much, but rather checking the layout etc.  My biggest problem is the use of images.  I would concentrate on making image thumbnails rather than using the actual image as the thumbnail by resizing it within html.  It makes the pages slow, even on broadband connections.  It might not appear slow to you since your web browser caches the images.  There are many freeware applications that resize images.  Make the thumbnails link to the bigger images and it will speed up the pages that you want people to read.

337design

Hey there, two quick suggestions:1.  Even though you`ve got a great name, I`d also re-inforce it with a picture.. I always suggest a picture on the homepage representing your industry.  So in the Landscape Rentals header, drop in a picture of one of your Bobcats.2.  The text on the homepage is all over the place when you adjust the browser width.  Make it a fixed width, instead of the 100%.Just my two cents!  Rock on, Ben

LandscapeRentals

Thanks for the input. I had no idea and I`m didn`t think of the fact that my computer is cache the images. I will definately work on trying to resize. thanks for the input

LandscapeRentals

Thanks for the link. I will definately submit.Thanks for the info.

LandscapeRentals

Thaks for your honest input, I had planned to get "We DELIVER Value" service marked sometime in the near future. Maybee I need to think about that.

LandscapeRentals

I have notice the same problem with the text size. I didn`t really know how to fix it. I will try sizing it to a specific size.

HPS

While I think the template is ok, unfortunately the
typography and lack of flow in the body of the site really hurts its usability.
The main content area of each page should be consistent and have a flow that
follows that natural movement of the eye on a webpage. Content needs to be
expanded and proofread for omissions (i.e. goals?).  Imagery is also a
problem as the images are overdone, too large, and in some cases blurry and not
optimized.

I would also like to stress the importance of following web design standards.
For example the style used for "our goals" and "our
mission" is web standard font color for a hyperlink.

 Use of frames is a big no-no for
SEO. I would also recommend optimizing your page titles and h tags, which would
also improve your search engine rankings.

 

Developing an effective, usable website is not a
simple task but when done right cane be the cornerstone to any businesses successful
marketing.

LandscapeRentals

Thanks for the input, everyone says no frames so I get it. I`ll have ot look into wheteher or not I can get around this in the template. Looking at the fonts, colors ect. with standards in mine is a great idea. Thanks for your help.

InactiveMember

In an earlier post, someone said they were looking for more information on who you are and what you do. You should NOT put a summary of who you are and what you do on the main page. That`s absolutely bad advice and it`s reflective of someone who knows very little about marketing communication. Information about who you are and what you do belongs on an About page. Your landing page needs to communicate what your business offers, so that a visitor can immediately determine if your product/service is relevant. Once a visitor determines relevance, they can read other pages.

LandscapeRentals

Landing page nedds to COMMUNICATE is perfect. I have to condense what we do and why you need to enter the site very quickly in that landing page. ( I guess this would be like condensing for an Elevator Pitch). Thanks again for all the insite.

InactiveMember

Forget about what you do. Forget about who you are. Forget about what you`re about. Just for now at least. 99% of customers only care about what you *offer*. The landing page needs to communicate what you offer, and must do so cleanly, crisply, and with total clarity.
I wrote a forum post on copywriting.
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Writing about what you "do" or "who you are" on the front page is always a mistake unless it`s a personal home page specifically about you. That`s why I said that the previous advice from someone, who said you should have more information about "what you do" and "who you are" or whatever on the front page, was absolutely bad advice.
Your site has other pages, such as an About page, for this information. The landing page must communicate what you *offer*.

LandscapeRentals

That looks so bad I wouldn`t do business with myself. I`ll start by eliminating all the borders and resizing. I never would have known how this looks without your help. Thanks

LandscapeRentals

I like your idea. Concise but customer-centric. In the end the only thing a customer cares about me is what I can do to help THEM.