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Please review my website

healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
edited October 2008 in Website Critique

Request for a great web site critique





 






Per Dean’s blog:






1.       

URL:

http://healthcareadvocacy.org/





2.       

Website goals: Outreach (marketing) throughout the US to the uninsured and those underinsured with employer-sponsored health insurance.  You are underinsured if the sum of your premium and total unpaid medical bills exceeds 10% of income.  Consulting fees will be on a sliding based on income.  I hope that the website can be the primary outreach to patients outside the Kansas City area.  The strategy for the site is to convey a sense of calm professionalism. 






3.       

Design: Off the shelf template from Yahoo’s site builder.  Time it took to build: over a week.





 





Please comment:






1.       
What is your first impression?  If taken there by a search engine, do you want to read more or do you want to leave immediately?






2.       
Please comment on the site’s tone.  Do the colors and fonts complement the design of the site?  Is it easily read?






3.       
Please comment on the content and layout. Is the content understandable?






4.       
How is the site’s navigation?






5.       
How can a non-techie like me make the site viewable with Safari or Chrome?






6.       
Any ideas as to a low cost approach to it being found by search engines.






7.       
Does the site satisfy its goals?











Thank you for your tolerance of a “new blogger.”  Also thank you for any thoughts and suggestions.


healthcareadvocate10/23/2008 4:14 PM

Comments

  • WeblineWebline subscriber Posts: 13 Bronze Level Member
    First glance .... it doesn`t convey an image of insurance, health, or anything medical that you might want to convey through images .... to me it`s more suited to a lawn service ( the first thing that came to mind was "grass" ) .... basically it just doesn`t fit the content.
    The text on the menu is very thin, and hard to read.
    One word I keep seeing over and over is "We". Granted, this is about what you do for your customers, but it feels like you`re focusing more on yourself than your visitors needs .... "We do this" and "We do that" .... that`s fine, and you want to tell your visitors how you can benefit them, but you need to include them as well as sell yourself.
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2

    Re: Webline`s Feedback



     



    Thank you for your critique.  I very much appreciate it.


     


    For some reason, I am not seeing what you described.  I guess that is indicative of all the different software/hardware configurations out there.  I had assumed that Yahoo’s Site Builder would have considered those.  Is there a way for an amateur to assure that the pages will look the same to everyone?



     



    Thanks for pointing out how the use of “we” affects the site’s overall message.



     



    Again, I do appreciate the insights from a professional like you.  Thank you.



     



    Steve

     
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2

    Re: CraigL’s Critique



     



    Thanks for the feedback.  I appreciate your time, consideration, and insights. 



     



    I think that there may be a misunderstanding.  My site,
    http://healthcareadvocacy.org/

     , is meant to be a website, not a blog.  However, I do plan to participate in blogs engaged with issues of the financial barriers to healthcare.



     



    Thanks for pointing out that the site’s appearance and text does not convey what I wanted it to do and that it fails in its mission.  I definitely have work to do.



     




     Socrates said that the beginning of wisdom is to see yourself as others do.  Thanks for stating me down the road to a less simplistic site.



     



    Steve
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
    I have revised most of the pages on the web site based on your advice (M Hall and Craig Landes).  Thank you.
     
    Please take another look and let me know if it comes closer to hitting the mark.
     
    Again, thank you both for all of your time and help!
     
    Steve Luptak
  • vwebworldvwebworld subscriber Posts: 40
    Sorry to say the "look" of the site..because of the header image and the color is one of a lawn care business.
     
    Certainly some images would help... images of your target market... photos with which your target market can relate.
     
    I searched but couldn`t find the one question any potential customer will have - "what does this cost?"
     
    You do not mention a free 30 minute consult...until your contact us page.  I would think that may be a strong marketing point, so you should have in on your home page.
     
    ~Roland
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
    Roland,
     
    Thank you for the feedback. 
     
    Since I have to explain my strategy concerning the site`s look, it obviously does not work.  Please let me lay out my thoughts, and please give your suggestions as how to achieve my goals.  My target audience are people who are angry, upset and even frightened about financial obstacles in the way of getting their healthcare.  Some folks have said that it was the choice of "their money or their life."
     
    That said, I decided to try for a image of calm and shelter. I assumed that a flashier, more sales oriented look would lose credibility with my target market.  That is why I choose green, "lawn care."  I chose wrong.  Do you think that a forest motif would work better?  And, yes I do plan to add photos.
     
    What do you think would better convey the message that I`m going to bat for the folks?
     
    Again, thank you.
     
    Steve Luptak
     
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
    Hi Missy,
     
    Thanks for the suggestions and the link.  I very much appreciate them!!
     
    Steve Luptak
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
    Missy,
     
    Again, thank you for all of your generous help.  You have been terrific!!
     
    Steve Luptak
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
    Hi again, Missy,
     
    I just checked out factorydirectcraft.com.  Your web site is beautiful!  It is very cool.  Did you put it together yourself?  What tools did you use? 
     
    Again, thank you.
     
    Steve Luptak
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
    Mr. Aviles,
     
    Thank you for your kind words.  The site has been up for a month, but I`ve been making changes almost daily thanks to the excellent suggestions of this group.  Thank you to all!
     
    Steve Luptak
  • redfishredfish subscriber Posts: 10
    I don`t think you`ve got the right idea for your site design.  Try purchasing a template (it`ll cost you under $100, but it will get you started on the right track).  You`re trying to be an expert designer but you should be spending your time helping people in the medical arena.
    Try looking at this example.  There are tons of designs you can choose from and it will get you running fast.  You`ll just have to plug in the content (you need an editor like Dreamweaver, or any number of free or trail versions online -- just search for an HTML editor or a WYSIWYG HTML editor -- WYSIWYG=what you see is what you get and basically means that while you edit your site you can see it rather than the code).
    Some companies will edit templates for you or set them up for you.  This can save you thousands.  There is a company attached to this site (called template tuning) which specializes in this service - or you can find many others.  My company will work with prepurchased templates.  It can often be a great resource for companies with limited time or resources.  The drawback is that your site design will not be unique (but with millions of websites out there, it`s unlikely someone will stumble on another site using the same template).  But your content and pictures should define your site and keep it distinct enough anyway.
    The link above will take you to a specific template - however, you will have access to thousands.  My first suggestion would be to browse the charitable sites.  The home page can be found here.redfish10/31/2008 3:11 PM
  • healthcareadvocatehealthcareadvocate subscriber Posts: 2
    Jeff,
     
    Thank you for the great advice! 
     
    Steve Luptak
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