Looking for website criticisms!

[HeavenScentU]

I may have missed it, but it doesn't state anywhere what type of candle wax you use. That maybe useful to the customers buying your products.

[Penny]

Love your site. Neutral colors always make me think of comfort. I like to be comfortable when shopping. I think you've done a great job so far. Once you incorporate some of the changes, you'll be good to go.

[TwinMom]

I like it, the pictures look great, I like the neutral colour scheme-not too hard on the eyes, it is easy to get around. Good job!

[MissMary]

Thanks again for all the suggestions and kudos!

I've got quite a list between the emails, PM's and this thread!

I really do want to thank you all soooooo much for helping out and for being so positive!! Almost everything pointed out were either things that never came across my mind, or things I hadn't even noticed! I'm starting the changes now, in my word and photoshop files that I save on my comp so I can copy paste later this evening!

[KristineG]

I think your site looks great. Very elegant. The one thing that that stood out (you did ask for criticisms) is the pictures. JMO but why not eliminate all the pictures of the same thing and switch to a drop down selection for fragrance and one picture of each size/style? Also, IMHO, if you feel you've tested properly then go for it. Good Luck

[MissMary]

Up above, I explained that I wanted to take pics for each scent, so that when people ordered, they wouldn't expect white and get pink or something like that, so over time, as I got orders poured, I'd take pics before I send them out.

Do you think that matters much? Or do people generally expect a colored candle when ordering a scent?

[Ring of Fire]

Yes MissMary, you go for it. Site looks nice.

[SliverOfWax]

It is possible to "power test" if you're an experienced chandler and already know what your typical starting points are. I'm not sure 3 or 4 months equates to "experienced". Reading and researching also does not equate to experience. Neither does the amount of money you've spent.

The site itself is pleasant. You've addressed the pictures so hopefully, the long string of identical pictures will disappear. My opinion is it's not necessary to have a picture of every color. In your scent dropdown, you could include the color; i.e., "Honeysuckle (yellow)". Or if you're not making your product ahead of time, give the customer a choice of colors.

Miss Mary asked for opinions. I can't believe some people think some of the opinions/suggestions are mean. That's about the funniest thing I've read all day.

[Meridith]

Miss Mary asked for opinions. I can't believe some people think some of the opinions/suggestions are mean. That's about the funniest thing I've read all day.

If you noticed they are newbies too. Hopefully they will figure it out and realize that these were not mean comments. Hopefully they will realize that all comments were asked for and given in a helpful spirit. Hopefully they will realize that running with this biz too soon can give a bad name to all chandlers. Hopefully they will realize that these comments come from some that have been there, done it and have the t-shirt. Hopefully.

Miss Mary, It is nice to see that you are taking all comments and suggestions gracefully and are not letting some others get you riled up because they think some of the suggestions are mean. I truly do not believe that one person meant to be mean and hope that you take into consideration all suggestions and apply them as you see necessary. Wrong or right, it all comes out in the wash, right? I think you are off to a nice start and wish you much success.

[SliverOfWax]

I have both the t-shirt AND the handbag, lol.

Yes, I, too appreciate the spirit in which Miss Mary asked and is listening. It's her site and she needs only satisfy herself, not us.

[MissMary]

It is possible to "power test" if you're an experienced chandler and already know what your typical starting points are. I'm not sure 3 or 4 months equates to "experienced". Reading and researching also does not equate to experience. Neither does the amount of money you've spent.

That's my point though. 3 or 4 months doesn't equate to experience, because no matter how much time goes by, it's how much of that time is used to test! I'd consider quite a few people here that have been in the game much less than some others who've been doing it twice as long, simply because they've tested more, and more often.

The site itself is pleasant. You've addressed the pictures so hopefully, the long string of identical pictures will disappear. My opinion is it's not necessary to have a picture of every color. In your scent dropdown, you could include the color; i.e., "Honeysuckle (yellow)". Or if you're not making your product ahead of time, give the customer a choice of colors.

Miss Mary asked for opinions. I can't believe some people think some of the opinions/suggestions are mean. That's about the funniest thing I've read all day.

I think it's more on the snider side as opposed to mean, for a few that can't comprehend that it IS possible to test more than one candle at a time. I've gotten a few of the same people on this thread sending out kudos in public, but but making a few nastier comments in PM's and emails. Money does matter, because I was able to drop that kind of cash to get everything at once and continue testing without taking a day or days off to wait or pick up materials. It was all ready to go as soon as I woke up.

That's absolutely fine to me, some people wanna save face, and if that's how they choose to handle it, it's fine. I even emailed my Excel folder of my testing (minus the actual wicks used, I'm not giving away the goods ), because someone told me "It's impossible to test more than 1 candle and it takes at least a month to get that candle right". But to me, a month isn't hours tested... they forget to mention to me, that in a thread of theirs, they only test and pour on the weekends. :tiptoe:

I figure I like what my Fortune Cookie just told me... Tough times never last, but tough people do!

And to be quite frank, there are some people that don't have a clue about candles when they buy them, but they, too, think months and years = hours of testing. And I figure this is a good learning experience for me to be able to eloquently defend myself and what I've done with my products to the naturally curious and/or skeptic consumer.

Web Stuff:

And dang nabbit, I went and changed some stuff and borked the html and forgot to do a backup before messing with it. Now I gotta get that back before making more changes!

I already did make some though, I shortened the wording on the welcome quite a bit, and put it all together, using a bolded statement to separate. I tried using color, but honestly, no other text color really came out right. Inquiry should be changed now.

I think, judging by most of your comments, I am going with the drop down box for scents. Some liked it separate like that, but most opted for drop downs.

What do ya'll think about changing the layout a scosh so that I can possibly add an additional page that might have a 'wax dot' pic of the fragrance with descriptions? This way, they still get a guess idea on color and scent description, but only need to look once as opposed to each size, and will need to go to the area for sale for the drop downs?

[SliverOfWax]

You shouldn't have to change your layout to add a page. Perhaps on your scent description page, you could include the color.

But I don't make candles to order and I make almost all of mine without dye, so what do I know!

Since all monitors are different, I'm not sure a wax dot would work. You know without question someone would complain that they thought it was going to be darker or lighter, lol. I don't believe color is as important as you're making it. But again, they're your customers and you would know.

Keep at it. You'll get it just the way you want it.

www.StuffSunshineLikes.com

[MissMary]

The modules I'm using, only have a limited customization, so I'd probably have to add some sort of side bar that leads to a page outside my shopping cart. Everything you see there, is inside it. The only place I can really customize is the upper links (contact, candle tips, etc.)

That's a really good point about the monitors. I didn't think of that one either. I honestly don't know if it's important, I don't really have any customers yet, just some family and a few friends that are starting to refuse getting them for free. I could hand a tarred and burnt out candle and they'd tell me it was great.

Thanks for the input!

[Suzanne]

Very nice site MissMary. I may have missed it but I didn't notice an "About Us". If you want people to place orders using your website I would think you would need to have information about YOU and your company. I can't even see where you are located or would be shipping from on your site. And the contact us wouldn't cut it for me. That's to generic. You need to list the city, state, phone number and email for your company or a lot of people will shy away from ordering from you unless they know you. I'm sure you'll get it tweaked up just fine. Good luck to you!

[CareBear]

I like your site - the scheme is elegant and earthy at the same time - very nice.

I'm not sure if I'm correct on this, but it looks like your customers HAVE to set up an "account" which is something I shy away from personally - perhaps you could make that optional. I dunno tho, maybe it's just me.

And this one thing is very nit-picky so I apologize if I'm pushing it, but the statement "Burn at least 1 hour for every inch wide" is a bit off to me - I think you could say "for every inch of width" or something like that. Or "Minimum burn times should be one hour per inch in diameter"

[MissMary]

Thanks Suzanne, you have a very good point there! I'm probably not going to do phone number, because I don't specifically have a business line yet, but the rest of the info, absolutely!

CareBear, I had totally forgot to switch the account to optional, now if I can remember where that was....

The width thing is in the progress of being changed as we speak!

[MissMary]

Okay! Yay!

I've got contact info updated and a separate phone line coming soon. I've reworded a lot on the site per suggestions, removed search, did the drop down lists, shortened the main wording even more so, fixed some cell spacing to bring the 'shopping cart' words over, expanded the privacy notice, and fixed the page headers...

I think I covered just about everything I intended to, except the account deal, I can't find it anywhere! I'm going to search tomorrow, because I think my eyes are going to cross from all the html editing.

Thanks again so very much guys (I'd spam it, but we don't need a 40" long post of thank you's! ), I couldn't have polished it up without you!

[Tereasa]

Since I've been addressed for making a comment about someone being 'mean' I will address it. Firstly, someone ASSUMES I'm a newbie because I have a wax drip. I was actually a member of the old CT board and have been making candles and dabbling in bath and body since 1998. Does this mean I'm experienced enough to sell? Do I pass ya'lls experience timeline? It doesn't matter because I don't sell candles. This is a hobby for me. My point is this: I was raised by my grandparents and this has perhaps given me some old fashioned morals. I was taught that if you don't have anything nice or constructive to say, then keep your damn mouth shut. If I posted tomorrow that I have a website and would anyone check it out, everyone would jump on me because according to my rating here, I'm a wax drip and many would assume that I'm an inexperienced chandler. Such is not the case. And THAT is why I hesitated to post on this board. Some of you do put people on the defensive and make them want to send you all of their notes just to prove to you that they might have a clue. As I recall, Miss Mary asked for website criticism, not a critique of her experience. The old CT board was NOT like this. It was actually a community of helpful people.

[Meridith]

Well I stand corrected. Is this better for you, Some appear to be newbies!! That appearance may be assumed due to their join date or their attitude and comments in conjunction with join date. In your case, both fit. I was trying to point out some things that newbies might not realize based on the posts. You don't need to get so defensive - a simple little explanation would suffice. Remember your own grandparents advice.

If someone asks for critiques and comments and that person is fairly new to this business, as Miss Mary is, it is not unreasonable for others to question whether they are ready or not. It's our reputation too. You should know that. And if you have been around so long, you will know that it is not uncommon to see those that want to start too soon and think they can get rich quick. Miss Mary has very gracefully addressed those concerns and I believe she will do o.k. Those comments seemed to bother you more than her. Apparently she was able to take them for how they were meant.

No one in this thread was being mean or intending to be mean. Including now. And if it bothers you that you appear to be a newbie by your join date and can get upset because someone assumes you are based on that, you can put something in your siggy that signifies your original join date.

[IndyGirl]

My post was not meant to be "mean" as some would say. It was not through Mary's join date that I surmised she was new. I actually read her posts. I was just shocked to find out, by her own words, that in February of this year she was just starting using stuff from Michael's to do votives and now a full blown website selling containers with other items expected. No matter how much you have read on this board, how much money you throw at candle making, or that you've got insurance makes it feasible to be selling to the general public in such a short time. This is my opinion as a long time candle maker. Mary will do what Mary wants to do regardless of what my opinion is. She asked for website criticism and mine was that she had a website at all. Take it for what you want. Read all of her posts and all of the advice she gives to everyone. She's obviously a very smart young lady so, I suppose she should understand why anyone would question how she is able to start selling in such a short period. As to the comment, "It's not rocket science", it's also not go to the craft store, buy some wax, throw some fo in it and a wick and sell it either.

[Bonne]

I'm such a "color ho"~I'd like to see a grouping of various colored glass jar candles just to get me . Makes me want to stop by your place next time I'm in the Springs! (I'm in Littleton~:rolleyes2 )

[MissMary]

Thanks, that's a great idea Bonne!