Some feedback please

[websnail]

Rob, I appreciate that this may well seem like stealth spamming so for anyone who has any doubts I'd like to state quite openly and for the record that the site I'm about to ask about is my own, it is a commercial venture so if you have a sensitive disposition to pork, and sandwich filling please look away now.


Ok, that out of the way, I have a new e-commerce store for all my bits and bobs after my little experiment on eBay took off in unexpected ways. A colleague from my old web-hosting/designing days helped me out with the store system and after a lot of work I've got it up here

Now, aside from obviously wanting to attract punters in the future, the real reason for my post is that I'm interested in a few opinions on whether I'm actually getting things right. Ok, I'm actually quite desperate to know what works and what doesn't.

In particular I'd like to know if my articles (see the horizontal green menu bar) are waaay too wordy and/or could be improved on...

Comments, outright flambe for my appalling grammar, use of the presidents (no, that'd be the Queen! ) English, lack or overuse of photos, etc... would be most welcome...

*puts on suitable flame proof suit and waits for the searing to commence*

 

[Ron350]

OK you asked for it.

The only thing that bothers me is the scary looking octopus logo. The octopus looks like it is about to leap off the screen and bite me. LOL

 

[websnail]

OK you asked for it.

The only thing that bothers me is the scary looking octopus logo. The octopus looks like it is about to leap off the screen and bite me. LOL

OK then.. Kill scarey octopus logo..

Erm... riiiiight

 

[Froggy]

Hey! Leave the octopus alone!

Nothing wrong with the logo. The only way the logo could be improved is to give it some "human / mammal" eyes instead of the squinty things, but thats not a problem.

Your site looks fine to me, and the articles are the right length and content, site looks OK, but on the home page you need to have a third and 4th image/ product on the top line. Two on top, four next row..then one looks to me a little messy / non-symmetrical, and might possible be interpreted as "lack of content / product" If you could centre the top two it would look better. There is a balance between "enough" and "cluttered" and generally you are OK.

Pictures for every product is, in my opinion, a Good Thing so people an both see what they are getting, and an image made by you, and not stock, gives the impression that the goods really do exist. Your time on eBay would have taught you this I guess.

Good luck!

 

[websnail]

Hey! Leave the octopus alone!

Nothing wrong with the logo. The only way the logo could be improved is to give it some "human / mammal" eyes instead of the squinty things, but thats not a problem.

The marine protection league jump into action Duly noted... I think I'll leave it as is though but considering a small ink cloud as an addition.. Twee though.. something to think about maybe.

Your site looks fine to me, and the articles are the right length and content, site looks OK, but on the home page you need to have a third and 4th image/ product on the top line. Two on top, four next row..then one looks to me a little messy / non-symmetrical, and might possible be interpreted as "lack of content / product" If you could centre the top two it would look better. There is a balance between "enough" and "cluttered" and generally you are OK.

That's pretty easy... Just set a couple more products as "featured" so that sorted it.. Good points though and appreciated.. Ta

Pictures for every product is, in my opinion, a Good Thing so people an both see what they are getting, and an image made by you, and not stock, gives the impression that the goods really do exist. Your time on eBay would have taught you this I guess.

Had some feedback from the guy who helped with the cart itself and he pointed out that the pictures themselves look a little "amateur hour" which is fair comment.

His suggestion was to get a decent day outside and take the pictures in natural light in the yard which is probably good for light but when it comes to the background I'm a bit unsure. Many of the products are tiny and made of white or transparent materials. So I'd be interested in seeing how much better I could do that... Suspect that's waaay outside the remit of this thread though.

Anyhoo.. yeah you're right about the eBay thing... linking a commercial promo pic' gives potential customers the impression that you have nothing different to offer and might just be a scam. That's special to ebay more though I guess

Good luck!

Thanks... I'll store that up

 

[Froggy]

Had some feedback from the guy who helped with the cart itself and he pointed out that the pictures themselves look a little "amateur hour" which is fair comment.

Well, amateur hour is a bit strong, but I see his point.

Those items pictured on a black background work perfectly well. There a a couple which are out of focus, which need to be re-done.

Items on the grey and even the light wooden background seem to blend into the background, the translucent adaptors are the main culprit. This could be caused by the use of flash, you might try a steady hand and turning the flash off, it will stop the highlights. For dark objects, the light background works fine.

Going outside will also remove the need for flash, you might wish to make a small "set" made out of that matt black material you have, perhaps a floor and a back wall. This should enable you do show your cleaning ink bottle better, with a side on picture as opposed to a down-looking view. You have a typo "paid" instead of "pair" of powdered rubber gloves. I like the warning you give, good man.

If you are going to re-do the pictures, you need to pay attention to how the items are displayed. Line them up right, equally space them. You can use little blobs of blue tack to keep them where you want them, if you can keep it hidden.

You may think this is a bit overboard, but believe you me there are photographers who make plenty of money from catalogues by being good with a ruler. Unfortunately, pictures have to be "bang on" because we can easily see when they are not. That's why we spend so much time worrying about what sort of ink to buy...

Anyway, my few pennethworth. Just keep the Octopus safe, whatever you do...

 

[Grandad35]

His suggestion was to get a decent day outside and take the pictures in natural light in the yard which is probably good for light but when it comes to the background I'm a bit unsure. Many of the products are tiny and made of white or transparent materials. So I'd be interested in seeing how much better I could do that... Suspect that's waaay outside the remit of this thread though.

To get good lighting, you might want to try building something like this. Go the a local store that sells fabric, and look for some pieces of velvet (or something that doesn't have a visible "grain" to the weave) in various colors to use as a background. Put your camera on a tripod and use a high f-stop, low ISO speed and a long exposure to get tack sharp images. You might also want to try a small, hand-held light to act as a spot light. You're not really concerned about getting accurate color, so using special lights shouldn't be necessary. Play around with the lighting, and you should be able to get some good images.

If you are going to shoot outside, wait for an overcast day or shoot in a shady area - don't even think about shooting in direct sunlight.

 

[websnail]

Thanks for those ideas folks... All good... The only small problem is that space is at a premium at the moment with stocks starting to take up any spare space and the wedding presents doesn't help.

I think a collapsible box is going to be the most workable but one thing that does spring to mind is the fact that most of my pics are digital and I have an Ixus 60 for that. In terms of flash it's pretty crud but the general quality is quite good.. Using a standard film camera is going to take more time than I'd like and money too so I think I'll try a few things based around those ideas and see how I get on before investing too much more.

Thanks again...