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Website Critique

YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
edited August 2008 in Website Critique
I need some website critique. All comments and ideas are welcome!!
www.YourSecretSender.com
Thanks
«1

Comments

  • VideographyVideography subscriber Posts: 401 Silver Level Member
    I really like the concept.  But your site has a few problems.You really need a page titled: "How it Works".  I can`t believe that you would send a nice card for only $2.50, but I can`t get to the fine print until I register.  I would also like to see a sample of how a card is addressed and "signed".  What does it look like?
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
    I really like the concept.  But your site has a few problems.
    You really need a page titled: "How it Works".  I can`t believe that you would send a nice card for only $2.50, but I can`t get to the fine print until I register.  I would also like to see a sample of how a card is addressed and "signed".  What does it look like?

    Thank you for your response. We do have a link on the homepage that explains how we work, it`s titled "Click here to learn how to use Your Secret Sender!". It explains everything. Our cards are normally priced for $5.00 each with free shipping but right now we are having a sale of 50% off which is why everything is $2.50. As for a sample of how the card is addressed and signed, we are working on it. All cards are even marked with Hallmark, American Greeting,etc so these are high quality cards.
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2

    I wonder if people want someone else to send a physical card on a
    regualar basis? With all the e-cards nowadays, it`s true a physical
    card is more personal. But if someone wants to be more personal, why
    would they delegate the process to an impersonal company?
    Your content needs editing, both for grammar and for spelling, but that
    can come later. Additionally, I clicked for an inside view of a card,
    and the image was so small, I couldn`t read whatever was inside the
    card. So your images need to be better sized so that people can
    actually see the inside.
    Then there are the other ordinary problems of page titles, optimized
    content, and so forth. I`m not a developer, so I didn`t look at
    whatever coding issues might be lurking.
    I`d also suggest that when you discuss adding a "gift," that you
    clarify the gift as being a gift card for some amount of money. When I
    first read how it works, I thought a gift might be say, a teddy bear or
    a bottle of wine...
    The biggest question I have is what exactly are you selling? Are you
    selling gift cards....or are you selling "remembering," or scheduling?
    I don`t yet see a way to brand this site and business in such a way
    that people everywhere will instantly think of Your Secret Sender when
    they need to send a card of some sort.

    Thank you for responding! We created this service for people who are busy, like moms or regular people that have too much to do and can`t make it to the store to buy a card. The website does need some work. I am working on re-creating the website to make it look more professional but for now it`s what we`ve got.
    As for viewing the inside of the cards, what browser are you using? Are you clicking on the images to enlarge them?
    When you click to view a card, there is a drop down menu that says "Add a gift card" and from there you can pick a gift card and the amount.
    Now for the big question. We are selling a service, a greeting card service. We personally buy all types of greeting cards and take pictures of them individually and upload them to the site. From there, you can pick any card you like and fill out the information that is asked. We then take the card you picked, fill it out and mail it for you. Our slogan "Never for get a card again" works like this: When you sign up with us and purchase a card, you put the date you`d like the card to be delivered. Once you do that, it is saved and our job is to make sure that card get mailed and is received as close as possible to the day, so you never forget a card.
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
    Also, I am in the process of having a flash video made to visually show how YourSecretSender works.
  • VideographyVideography subscriber Posts: 401 Silver Level Member

    Thank you for your response. We do have a link on the homepage that explains how we work, it`s titled "Click here to learn how to use Your Secret Sender!". It explains everything.Well, no it doesn`t, or I wouldn`t have pointed it out to you.  The page simply says how to send a card, not how the process works.Nowhere did the site say "shipping included".  I was looking for the fine-print, the gotcha, the "plus $10 for handling...".  Quite frankly, if you really can mail a Hallmark card for $2.50 complete - including postage, no additional fees or costs, then it is a bargain because it`s less than the retail cost of the same cards.  If this is correct, then say so.  On the website.  It does your site no good to explain it to us - we`re telling you what the first time visitor is seeing.
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
    It`s priced at what we have it at so its attractive. We buy cards in high quanities so we are able to price them low. If you go to a store, the card itself is 5-10 dollars. We are saving you time so you don`t have to go to the store and fill it out.
  • stonesledgestonesledge subscriber Posts: 608 Silver Level Member
    There was a neat gentleman who was here at SUN who had a company named sendoutcards.com. Similar concept and i used it. I am sooo bad at remebering anything that has to do with mailing anything!!! I think the site could be a bit modernized, but love the concept.
     
    Erin
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
    Thank you. I agree, the site does need some work but it`s what we`ve got for now!
  • VideographyVideography subscriber Posts: 401 Silver Level Member
    It`s priced at what we have it at so its attractive. We buy cards in high quanities so we are able to price them low. If you go to a store, the card itself is 5-10 dollars. We are saving you time so you don`t have to go to the store and fill it out. Again, if I had to ask, then your potential customers will also want to know.  Don`t explain your business plan to us, fix the website so that the site visitor won`t ask the same questions.  Or worse, leave because they can`t find the answers to their questions.
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
    Thank you for your input. That will be in my mind for the re-design.
  • stonesledgestonesledge subscriber Posts: 608 Silver Level Member
    I like how you can add directly from your outlook account, great functionality!!
  • WeblineWebline subscriber Posts: 13 Bronze Level Member

    My first impression is that the overall concept should be fairly simple. Sign up, add some names, probably pay for some cards in advance, and they`re sent when needed. But in reading the "How it works" page, it kind of misses the point of explaining it all, as Videography pointed out. You go through a long step by step instructional thing of what to do, and most people could figure out how to do it in the same amount of time it takes to read this page. It isn`t that technical of a process, and shouldn`t need so much to explain how to use it. I think you`d be better off with some bulleted lists with short bits of info to replace this.
    But as already mentioned, you explain how to do it, where showing the process would be nice.
    The word "automatically" confuses me. Does this mean that I can set up cards for the same person for the same day for the next ten years, and they`ll be sent every year? Do I need to set it up every year? Does your site remind me every year when a card needs to be sent? Or, does "automatically" mean that I go through the process, and you automatically send it for me?
    How does the recipient know who the card is from? Do you sign them, or include a message with the cards?
    You have features to your site, like the address book import. That might be a great selling point, but I don`t know it even exists until I read the How it Works page; it`s buried in there.
    Remember, your first time visitors know nothing of your system, where you know it inside out. You need to inform us, the unknowing ones, in a way that makes it all easy to understand. You need to see it as if you`ve never seen your site before.
    Get across the message that you have a solution to a problem, and the benefits/features of that solution that you provide.
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
    Thank you for your response. Yes, automatically means that you can set up cards for the same person for the same day for the next ten years, and they`ll be sent every year. That way, you never forget a card. We include a message in the card if you`d like one and we put your return address on the envelope, like you sent the card.
  • YourSecretSenderYourSecretSender subscriber Posts: 2
    Thank you all for all of your advice. I edited "How to use Your Secret Sender" and also "About Us".  Please let me know if this is any better. Thank you.
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