cnfrost

I think SEO is something you probably needn't worry too much about. I don't really know how all those search algorithms work, but if you google "candles" you can see that even Yankme only comes up fifth in the search results. A better bet would be to rely less on search engines and more on active marketing. If you really want more pages, you should look into doing a separate page for each product. For example, instead of having one generic page for your candles with a drop-down list of fragrances, you could have a separate page for each fragrance with it's own respective photo. You have what? 8 or 10 different fragrance choices for your candles? That's 8 or 10 new pages you get to add. Do that to each of your product categories, and now you've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 extra pages for the spiders to crawl. As for the B&B consolidation.....you wouldn't be losing any pages. You can still have a page dedicated to each category. They just wouldn't all be listed on your homepage, mixed in with everything else. They could click on B&B, and it would bring up a B&B homepage that would have links to each B&B category. You'd actually be picking up an extra page (the B&B home), and adding a certain amount of organization and flow to your site. As for reducing the number of clicks....while excessive clicking is generally considered bad, a certain amount is necessary. After all, that's probably how your potential customer got to your site in the first place. Personally, if I were a potential customer, I would trade a click for superior organization. In the end, it's not about the number of clicks, but the amount of time spent looking for something. If it takes too long for someone to find what they are looking for, they will simply give up and leave.

I second the overnightprints.com recommendation!

You may also want to consider consolidating some of your links on the right. You've got 21 of them! That can be a little overwhelming for your typical internet user, who probably isn't going to take the time to read them all. For example, you've got a link for "email" and one for "contact us". That's a little redundant, and one of those could easily be eliminated without really losing anything. Your links for soap, hand sanitizer, lip balm, shampoo, lotion, lotion stick, and bath salts, could easily be consolidated into one link for bath & body. That would go a long way towards cleaning up your link list. Maybe you could design it so that once they click on bath & body, there is a different list of links showing soap, hand sanitizer, etc.

Are you using 2 different hosts? I wonder, because on your home page, there is a link for bravenet, and on all of the rest of the pages, there is a link for WebHero. I'm not real sure what that's all about, and your customers shouldn't even be given the opportunity to think about it. Also, on your interesting links page, you've got a link to something called top100.biz? Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on it. I have no idea why that link is there. It has nothing to do with your business or candle/soap making at all. I would get rid of all of that stuff. I know that with free hosting, sometimes that's not an option. If that happens to be the situation you are in, I think I would just pony up the few dollars a month for ad-free hosting.

On your Search-Live Help page......if you insist on having a search functionality, you should probably either eliminate the "search the web" option, or at least have it default to search your own website. No sense driving traffic away from your site.

I'm a bit of an amateur photographer, and wouldn't mind tackling this one, if you kind folks wouldn't mind posting specifically what improvements you're looking for. But just for general tips, I would say that if you don't already have one, a tripod can be your best friend. Lighting has already been touched on here, not only quality, but quantity as well. SoapDiva, I hope you don't mind if I critique your photo... Maybe bounce some light up from the bottom left....it's a little dark down there. I'm not familiar with the AU80, but if you have the option of using manual controls, I might use a slower shutter speed (maybe 1/20 sec. instead of 1/40 sec.) to let in more light, and close the aperture a bit (f/3.5 or f/4 instead of f/2.8). This should let you get the entire product in focus (instead of just the front of it) while still keeping the background a bit fuzzy. No offense?

mmmmmmmm.......4630.........gooooey

One problem with having your links on the right (and this is why most sites put them on the left) is that different computers display web pages differently. With the links on the right, some people may have to scroll to see them. Horizontal scrolling is a big no-no.

That's terrible. I had that happen to me about a week ago. I accidentally banged it on my pouring pitcher and the tip broke. Had to run down the street to the grocer's to buy a replacement and ended up paying twice as much as it would have cost to order one online. I think the next time I place an order, I'm going to purchase a backup.

I had never considered this question before, but awickedscent made a post that got me wondering.....What is the difference between a dipped taper and one that comes out of a mold (other than the way they are made)? Is one preferable to the other, and for what reasons?

You might try this: http://www.ebottles.com/showbottles.asp?familyid=1303

Thanks everyone! I guess when I get home from work tonight, I'll try another batch with double dye.

I'm using one chip per pound. But it's not the shade I'm concerned about. The color looks like you're viewing it through a cloud of fog. It's creamy or pastel-looking rather than vibrant.

So I've been playing around in the kitchen, making container candles. I'm wondering why the color in all of my candles come out with a pastel look? Is it the wax (4630 paraffin) or the dye (Reddi-Glo chips)? Or is it something else, perhaps I need an additive? What do I need to do or change to get a bright clean color in my containers?

Has anyone else ordered wax from CS? I got a couple slabs of 4630 paraffin and they are dirty! Just wondered if this is what I should expect from them?

I think everybody has already pretty much covered this one with some accurate answers. As soon as he creates the artwork, it's copyrighted. Using it is very illegal, and I can't imagine how not fun a lawsuit would be. Stella had it right about just dropping him a line and asking about using his images. If you're planning on selling canes, there's a decent chance that he won't care if you use his images, if you give him credit. Or you may be able to reach an agreement on a royalty fee. Either way, make sure you get it all in writing. It simply wouldn't do to have him change his mind. On a related note.....you might want to check out istockphoto.com. You can get unlimited commercial use of all different kinds of photos and vector art for just a couple of bucks each. I kinda like this one:

Thank you! I saw the wikipedia article when I was searching, but I didn't really understand it :embarasse Your explanation made much more sense!

I'm looking at ordering some Orange FO from Peak, and noticed the flash point is 135. What exactly does that mean? Is it going to burst into flame when I pour it into 175 degree wax? Are there any extra precautions that should be taken when working with an FO that has a lower FP?

Thanks! I'm using paraffin right now, 4630. But I would like to take a crack at soy sometime in the future. I was also wondering about the claim that 4630 is a single-pour wax under optimal conditions. What are these optimal conditions? I've pre-heated my containers and poured at around 180 degrees, but have yet to make a candle that couldn't use a top-off.

So my starter kit arrived Friday. I did a couple of pours yesterday, and they seemed to go alright. I did a couple pounds of French Vanilla and a couple pounds of Mango Papaya. Each batch got me 2 tins and 3 half-pint masons. Which left just enough wax to top them off after they cooled. Now that they've cooled, they look pretty good. Better than I expected for my first try, even. My question now is, how long should I let them set before I burn them? I seem to remember reading somewhere about letting them "cure" for a certain amount of time. Is that necessary? And if so, for how long? Hopefully, tonight I will have time to pour some Strawberry Kiwi

Cool, another Hoosier! Perhaps you can give me a few pointers when I start messing around with soy.

So while I wait for my starter kit to arrive, I thought I might take a stab at figuring out what I am getting into. So........... How much time do y'all spend every week making candles? And what kind of chandler are you? Do you just do it as a hobby? Do you make enough that you can sell a few on the side to support your habit? Or are you making a serious attempt at running a business?

AHA! I should re-use the tins! Don't I feel stupid now? :embarasse LOL

Hi, Chris here. Total noob. Been kicking around the idea of making some candles lately and found my way here. I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks now, just trying to figure out what all is involved (considerably more than I would have thought), and what I need (which I'm still not real sure about). So I thought I'd finally introduce myself, throw a few questions out there, and see if anyone is bored enough to help me out a little bit. I think I've decided to purchase Peak's container candle starter kit. Seems simple enough, until I start doing a little math. Since it comes with eight 8 ounce tins (which oddly enough only hold 6 ounces of wax each....go figure) I'm going to end up with approximately 122 ounces of leftover wax. What to do with the leftover wax? I'm thinking of pouring it into some half-pint masons. So my first question would be, how much wax will one of these masons hold? My second question is which wick to use in the masons? The kit comes with 6" 51-32-18Z zinc core wicks. Should I have any problem using those? Another issue I have is how much FO to use. Is 1 ounce/pound about right? I seem to remember reading about using that ratio with the 4630 wax, but I can't remember for sure. Any info would be greatly appreciated, and I look forward to getting to know everyone here.