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Share Your Website and Let's Discuss...
ok...i don't mean to be super critical here, but i'm gonna state it. WHY is it that so many MT's sites are visually appauling?????? i am a graphic designer and have been working in marketing for years. as an MT i have searched and searched the web for various massage sites. sites by an individual MT to small practices, from spas to corporate america massage sites. i have come across only a handful that visually keep me on the page.
might i make a suggestion? less is more.
one of the biggest issues i see on sites is that they are crammed with content expecting the visitor to read through. some sites have one page that just scrolls on indefinitely. other sites have poor navigation/organization. and then some just throw anything and everything on the home page. once you do this you risk losing your visitor's attention.
i'm not advocating having only pretty pictures. but a well thought out photo with minimal content which motivates the visitor to take action by either going to another page, calling you or emailing you will do far better than putting everything on your site and hoping your visitor finds what he/she is looking for.
i'd love nothing more than to see our profession become a powerhouse in the medical industry. and as such we need to make the most of the web. but to do so we need to present ourselves professionally and that means polished and organized.
do a search for yourself. compare some medical websites to your own and then decide...is your website really presenting you in the best way possible.
(sorry if this offends any...it is not directed at any one)
let's use our safe haven here to share our sites (i'm working on getting mine up and running) and brainstorm with constructive feedback.
might i make a suggestion? less is more.
one of the biggest issues i see on sites is that they are crammed with content expecting the visitor to read through. some sites have one page that just scrolls on indefinitely. other sites have poor navigation/organization. and then some just throw anything and everything on the home page. once you do this you risk losing your visitor's attention.
i'm not advocating having only pretty pictures. but a well thought out photo with minimal content which motivates the visitor to take action by either going to another page, calling you or emailing you will do far better than putting everything on your site and hoping your visitor finds what he/she is looking for.
i'd love nothing more than to see our profession become a powerhouse in the medical industry. and as such we need to make the most of the web. but to do so we need to present ourselves professionally and that means polished and organized.
do a search for yourself. compare some medical websites to your own and then decide...is your website really presenting you in the best way possible.
(sorry if this offends any...it is not directed at any one)
let's use our safe haven here to share our sites (i'm working on getting mine up and running) and brainstorm with constructive feedback.
Views: 1393
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lisa on
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OK you're turn Trevor...seems i overlooked you!! :)
first off i noticed your photo usage are mostly of women being massaged? i know particularly here in the states, men have difficulty going to a male therapist. so sometimes having that imagery can help in your design. besides which...you work with athletes...so why not have some of that in your imagery instead of mostly women and relaxation?
another curiosity is how you have BOTH your name stylized as if it's a logo but you also list Massage Glasgow...not in any stylized look. so it makes me confused as to what your business is called. are you like a doc in that you want to be known as Trevor or do you want your business name to be known. right now your name jumps more than your business name.
i LOVE the color scheme. the black and white photography. the green accents. the simple use of fonts. really nice. i also love the nav bar and how you have it organized as well as WHAT you list.
i love your usage of diagrams and muscle imagery. i love the self-help treatment and how you have it archived instead of having a gazillion links in the main area. :)
and one of my FAVORITE things you do is the friends & colleagues link. that's awesome. what a great idea.
really well done site Trevor
Trevor said:http://www.massage-glasgow.co.uk
Built it myself, it works as it brings in new clients ever week. Has had lots of compliments and does extremely well in Google.
One quick question, why do people put Google advert on there web sites? Does it really bring in revenue? I wouldn't include it on my site and am just wondering about peoples reasoning?
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Permalink Reply by nHarmony Massage and Bodywork on
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Hello Lisa. I wanted to see if you had time for one more website critique? I did not create my own website so I am intrested in getting your feedback in regards to wether or not it was a good investement. I have never gotten any traffic from the site, that I am aware of, so I am curious. Thanks in advance for time. www.nharmonymassage.com
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Permalink Reply by Trevor Chisman on
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I was begining to think you'd overlooked me but thanks for having a look and for your lovely comments! :)
I have spent over a year slowly adding to, changing and amending the site till it has arrived at this current state.
You are absolutely right about the pictures of women and relaxation massage, i use stock images and have found it hard to find suitable images of men being massaged by men, but I will get back to looking as I think it would be improved with as you same some more appropriate imagery.
As for the logo / name thing, well spotted! I trade under my name Trevor Chisman which is why it is stylised at the top, however my site does extremely well in Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines for my chosen search terms which are "sports" "deep tissue" "massage" and "Glasgow". This is because I use these words over and over again on my home page, so much even that to some it can appear as if Massage Glasgow is a business name, it isn't. Hopefully it doesn't cause so much confusion people don't ring but perhaps I should make it more obvious I am trading as Trevor Chisman.
Thanks for the comments about the "friends and colleagues" page this is actually the newest addition to my site and is my reaction to many therapist unwillingness to refer clients out to more appropriate therapist when required and to the feeling many therapists have that we have to fight each other to get and keep clients. I like my clients to know I am part if a network of therapists and I have tried different treatments myself and I wod recommend thsese therapist to them.
Again thanks for looking at the site and for all your suggestions, I will be acting on them and I hope others here act on the great advice you've given them too.
T
Lisa said:OK you're turn Trevor...seems i overlooked you!! :) first off i noticed your photo usage are mostly of women being massaged? i know particularly here in the states, men have difficulty going to a male therapist. so sometimes having that imagery can help in your design. besides which...you work with athletes...so why not have some of that in your imagery instead of mostly women and relaxation?
another curiosity is how you have BOTH your name stylized as if it's a logo but you also list Massage Glasgow...not in any stylized look. so it makes me confused as to what your business is called. are you like a doc in that you want to be known as Trevor or do you want your business name to be known. right now your name jumps more than your business name.
i LOVE the color scheme. the black and white photography. the green accents. the simple use of fonts. really nice. i also love the nav bar and how you have it organized as well as WHAT you list.
i love your usage of diagrams and muscle imagery. i love the self-help treatment and how you have it archived instead of having a gazillion links in the main area. :)
and one of my FAVORITE things you do is the friends & colleagues link. that's awesome. what a great idea.
really well done site Trevor
Trevor said:http://www.massage-glasgow.co.uk
Built it myself, it works as it brings in new clients ever week. Has had lots of compliments and does extremely well in Google.
One quick question, why do people put Google advert on there web sites? Does it really bring in revenue? I wouldn't include it on my site and am just wondering about peoples reasoning?
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Permalink Reply by Joanne Cole on
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Thanks for your advice Lisa. It's really appreciated! I'll see what I can do with the photo.
Lisa said:Joanne,
I really like the look of yours. it's soft and clean. good color scheme. i love the little emblems to separate the bodies of content. might want to repeat that in the services page.
on the about you page i would have your name repeated by your photo so it's the first thing one sees. Also, you might want to just outline your photo. maybe crop the photo a little and put a block of color (of the same height) next to it and put your name in that. this way your photo and name are mimicing the photos/blocks pattern the way the other photos are displayed (make sense?)
i also really like the gallery of images of your room.
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Hi Tinika,
Here are a couple of thoughts on your site...
your main "logo" nharmony is getting lost in the bamboo. you may want to move it over to the right a bit.
also i would put the text below it (discover the 60 minute...) underneath the photos as the first text in the shaded purple. that way the "logo" stands out on it's own.
as much as i love animation...i feel like the constant photos changing is a distraction. i would go with one photo in that spot but change it for different pages. also be sure that when you are placing the photos in that shape and space, that you don't stretch the photos out. you always want to fit photos porportionately. right now some of the photos seem stretched.
the animated line "you could earn a 30 minute..." i would just put at the bottom of that shaded box centered as accent text to everything else. again the animation is distracting.
in general i am wondering if black text would stand out more and be more easily read for the bulk of content. and just use the purple when highlighting. this goes especially true for the pricing page. i would make the modality and the price in the purple bold and the rest in black.
you have a lot of content, especially when it comes to your prices. honestly i got confused at the differences between Services and Rates, Membership Plans, and Packages. I'm wondering if you might want to try and simplify it. Maybe don't list everything but general prices and then have them contact you. that will also help give a "call to action" for them to contact you.
other than that nice job.
nHarmony Massage and Bodywork said:Hello Lisa. I wanted to see if you had time for one more website critique? I did not create my own website so I am intrested in getting your feedback in regards to wether or not it was a good investement. I have never gotten any traffic from the site, that I am aware of, so I am curious. Thanks in advance for time. www.nharmonymassage.com
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Hi Bonnie...
Here are a few thoughts...
One thing i noticed right off the bat was that there are NO massage images. Is there any way to change the top left image for different pages? that might help add some imagery without changing up the layout.
Also...i'm finding it a little hard to read your content. I think the white space across is just too long for paragraphs to run across. two suggestions that might help...either use the left edge of the tan box up top as a "margin" and keep all your text basically between the tan box from left to right...OR...try breaking up the content into 2 columns so it reads easier.
you could keep your label for what page your on and any additional links you have in the left section underneath the photo. and then put bulk content under the tan box. make sense? for instance on your Services page...the label "Service" and the 3 links could stay flush left so they fit within the width of the image box above it and then the content would start to the right of that so that it stays in the width of the tan box.
another thing...for many people here...
if you're not going to have a "logo" persay, then try playing with color, bold and different fonts to make your business text name have a little style. otherwise it just looks plain and more easily forgotten.
for you Bonnie...maybe make the "body" in a bulkier font and "work" in a thin font. and then the "ultra" could be either of those fonts in a different color. Take a look at Trevor's site. He does well with stylizing his name to look more "logo" than just his name.
Bonnie Kimble said:Lisa,
I do agree with many of the comments you've provided others on their websites. I recently completed my website, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
One thing I know I'm missing is a detailed location. I graduated recently. Currently, I am working with a chiropractor where I can't bring my own clients in. I looking for space to rent, so I am currently only working with those I know personally or are referred to me as I'm in my home.
Thank you for taking the time to take a look!
www.bodyworkultra.com
Thanks,
Bonnie
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Permalink Reply by Donna Whitton on
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okay, so I took your advice to heart and made some changes to my website; I hope this is more appealing especially since I made a huge change with my header (something I've been meaning to do for some time so it would host my logo).
There's still some changes I want to make but it's more of an over-hall than tweaking. Until then ...
www.reconnectingessentials.com
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Thanks for your feedback Lisa. I was thinking some of the same things. I'll forward this infomation on to the website designer.Good suggestions.
Thanks,
Tinika
Lisa said:Hi Tinika,
Here are a couple of thoughts on your site...
your main "logo" nharmony is getting lost in the bamboo. you may want to move it over to the right a bit.
also i would put the text below it (discover the 60 minute...) underneath the photos as the first text in the shaded purple. that way the "logo" stands out on it's own.
as much as i love animation...i feel like the constant photos changing is a distraction. i would go with one photo in that spot but change it for different pages. also be sure that when you are placing the photos in that shape and space, that you don't stretch the photos out. you always want to fit photos porportionately. right now some of the photos seem stretched.
the animated line "you could earn a 30 minute..." i would just put at the bottom of that shaded box centered as accent text to everything else. again the animation is distracting.
in general i am wondering if black text would stand out more and be more easily read for the bulk of content. and just use the purple when highlighting. this goes especially true for the pricing page. i would make the modality and the price in the purple bold and the rest in black.
you have a lot of content, especially when it comes to your prices. honestly i got confused at the differences between Services and Rates, Membership Plans, and Packages. I'm wondering if you might want to try and simplify it. Maybe don't list everything but general prices and then have them contact you. that will also help give a "call to action" for them to contact you.
other than that nice job.
nHarmony Massage and Bodywork said:Hello Lisa. I wanted to see if you had time for one more website critique? I did not create my own website so I am intrested in getting your feedback in regards to wether or not it was a good investement. I have never gotten any traffic from the site, that I am aware of, so I am curious. Thanks in advance for time. www.nharmonymassage.com
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Permalink Reply by Nate Ewert on
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Permalink Reply by Ruth M. Schopper-Hughes on
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Hi Nate...
I haven't forgotten you. :) Here are some thoughts:
OK...right off the bat...if i'm looking for a massage and not a salon treatment, i don't think i'd go any further with your site. from the first home the only mention of massage is small text adding you to the list of services for the salon. no no no no no. :)
you can both share the website but there has to be an equal balance of salon and massage...especially in imagery which is what catches someone's eye first. the first thing i see when i open that page is a person getting her hair done and the location. i would start by putting the pretty of your place in the left hand corner and then have 2 images in the content area with information for both underneath it. so that way as a visitor i can decide immediately am i here for salon or for massage. and then go immediately to the appropriate next page.
split that page up in half, side by side with one side salon and one side massage. then under that you can list the hours, the address and the map. also...if the hours are different for you versus your wife, than you want to list the hours smaller within the content under each image versus one big one at the bottom.
visually i would try and have "open tues - sat" on one line than have it break up. make it smaller to fit. it will stand out by it's color. i would also make the "call today" and phone numbers a little smaller and what ARE the numbers? is one a cell is one for you and the other for your wife? is one for massage versus salon? i'd be a little more descriptive as to what/who you're calling for each.
the "about us" tab should have one for you and one for your wife. if she also does massage then great...she can list it there. and you have your page listing your qualifications, prices, bio, etc. again...you need to be separate but together. right now this site is screaming your wife's services and you just a very little. i think it would work better to give equal billing all while under the "company".
for the "services" page that initial nav page i would put all services as same color with a bullet to add just a little graphic element and just list them straight down and not in 2 columns. if you're gonna keep the columns than there needs to be a little more air in between.
the community service page is great. you should try and get yourself out there doing some community massages and get some clippings there for yourself too.
and again...i would check out making the business name more "logo" ish versus text.
Nate Ewert said:
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Thank you! That was great feedback. The addition of my services was a afterthought. She was designing the site for herself. Once it was done we decided to add the massage info.
Lisa said:Hi Nate...
I haven't forgotten you. :) Here are some thoughts:
OK...right off the bat...if i'm looking for a massage and not a salon treatment, i don't think i'd go any further with your site. from the first home the only mention of massage is small text adding you to the list of services for the salon. no no no no no. :)
you can both share the website but there has to be an equal balance of salon and massage...especially in imagery which is what catches someone's eye first. the first thing i see when i open that page is a person getting her hair done and the location. i would start by putting the pretty of your place in the left hand corner and then have 2 images in the content area with information for both underneath it. so that way as a visitor i can decide immediately am i here for salon or for massage. and then go immediately to the appropriate next page.
split that page up in half, side by side with one side salon and one side massage. then under that you can list the hours, the address and the map. also...if the hours are different for you versus your wife, than you want to list the hours smaller within the content under each image versus one big one at the bottom.
visually i would try and have "open tues - sat" on one line than have it break up. make it smaller to fit. it will stand out by it's color. i would also make the "call today" and phone numbers a little smaller and what ARE the numbers? is one a cell is one for you and the other for your wife? is one for massage versus salon? i'd be a little more descriptive as to what/who you're calling for each.
the "about us" tab should have one for you and one for your wife. if she also does massage then great...she can list it there. and you have your page listing your qualifications, prices, bio, etc. again...you need to be separate but together. right now this site is screaming your wife's services and you just a very little. i think it would work better to give equal billing all while under the "company".
for the "services" page that initial nav page i would put all services as same color with a bullet to add just a little graphic element and just list them straight down and not in 2 columns. if you're gonna keep the columns than there needs to be a little more air in between.
the community service page is great. you should try and get yourself out there doing some community massages and get some clippings there for yourself too.
and again...i would check out making the business name more "logo" ish versus text.
Nate Ewert said:
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