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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 Erica Olson on
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Dammit, this service sucks. I want my money back. ;P
Lisa said:Hey all...i know there are a few sites i haven't looked at yet. I haven't abandoned you i've just been working on my OWN site to get it up and running. :)
I will get to those that i haven't looked at soon. be patient.
L
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Permalink Reply by Lisa on
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hehehe...
hey i'm still waiting for the check in the mail. ;)
Erica Olson said:Dammit, this service sucks. I want my money back. ;P
Lisa said:Hey all...i know there are a few sites i haven't looked at yet. I haven't abandoned you i've just been working on my OWN site to get it up and running. :)
I will get to those that i haven't looked at soon. be patient.
L
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Hi George...
Ok...first i'm not sure how it's "suppose" to look rather than how's it's coming out on my screen (and remember, everyone's screen is going to show it differently. what i see is a LARGE blank space to the right under the navigation menu's. it is making the page feel very unbalanced. also any time you have a photo try to mimic the white border that you have in the header.
i would accent the Gift Certificate info a little differently so it stands out a little more. and maybe even put it on the home page as well. i am also finding the type sizes on this page to be a little unbalanced. the prices are much bigger than the header of what it is. might try to make those equal. also s if there is a way to do a dotted line from the Special to the price since they are so far from each other. (i.e. First Time Clients..................................................Only $45). same goes for the services page regarding my comments of the dotted line to help the visitor follow what service goes to what. you also might want to line up each line so that the service and the first line of the hour/pricing are aligned and then let the rest fall naturally. make sense?
might want to change up the wording on your appointment request form to something like Physical Ailments versus "Complaints".
George Anthony Muro said:Lisa, provide me your professional opinion on my web site. www.body-rejuvenation.net Thanks.
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Hi Mary,
Ok here we go.
on the home page the very important info on the right is very small. you may want to make it larger for those of us that are getting old and just can't see as well as we used to. :) also you might want to see how it looks having the photo and label of photo in the right spacing and have the content in the left. that way the information is more readily available to see as soon as you are on the page versus having to scroll down past the photo. remember you only have seconds to capture the visitors attention. and typically they want to know the who's what where and whys.
on the other pages like the Bountiful Benefits, Distinctive Kneads, Testimonials pages, etc. there is a lot of wasted space not being used on the right side of the dotted line. why not spread the info out. or be consistent and use that side for photos and the left side of the dotted line for content.
you're rates and services page have no rates and it's hard to follow. "other locations" should be left justified and then each location should be left justified as well. making them centred is just not working for me. "contact" should be centred over the contact info and in general on that page you need to change up the colors so that it's more organized between headers, subheaders and content.
Your photos on the photo page go over the dotted line on the right side which is a big distraction. and lines and photos are so close in size but because they aren't lined up it looks a little cluttered. i'd also make the 3 smaller photos into 1 photo with the border treatment that you have on the others to make those 3 a little bit more uniformed to the others.
spacing is a little off on the Links page and suddenly there is a new color introduced. remember to keep things all looking consistent you have to make sure you keep text styles the same across the site.
and lastly on the contact page you need to make it all a lot larger since that's all that's on the page and make sure the word "contact" is centered as well.
also...one last thought. your header has your business name really small and then there's really nothing in it. and there's no indication via imagery in the header as to your business being a Canine massage business. might want to incorporate some imagery up there.
Mary G. Wakeman said:I receive positive responses to my website; it is clean, simple and not cluttered - continually under construction.
www.beyondthebellyrub.com
Mary
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Hi Hillary...
I like the home page. the only thing i would say is make the content left justified not centered. it will read better.
on "why massage works" i'm not sure i like the photo. and since your site really centers around the one main photo i'd make sure it's always relevant. that on just seems random. might also want to bullet the last bit of the list on that page just to give it a little more organization.
on the rates and services i would be consistent with on photo and bump up the text.
since the "styles of massage" page has more info i'm ok with it having more photos. but i'm wondering if it would look better to make sure all photos were the same width for a nice edge to the page. i'd stick with the 2 photos on the left and the 2 photos on the right but get rid of the on smaller on at the bottom. i think that one's not needed and then the photos are more consistent. i also think you should try and line up the "reiki" with the first photo on the right.
and i might make the info on the contact page a little bigger so it takes up a little more space to even out your photo.
otherwise it's nice.
Hillary Kate Arrieta said:Okay- I have changed my business and and domain- so here's the new domain
www.gaiabodywork.com
Still updating the text-
thanks
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Permalink Reply by LeahF on
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Lisa,
First of all, I completely agree with you! It's time to raise the bar on the standard of design for massage websites. With that being said I would love your expert advice on my website. I just created my website over the last month through squarespace.com. I am still working with the photos by making them a clickable thumbnail so people can enlarge the smaller photo.
www.mettamassagecenter.com
thanks!!! I am open to any criticism, encouragement or just thoughts.
Leah
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ok...it's MY turn for some feedback. I finally have a site up and running. be gentle. :)
www.itmassagedallas.com
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Dude . . . $45 for 1.5 hours? Damn, I wish you lived closer!
Questions/observations:
- why is Trevor's site linked off of yours at the bottom? Doesn't seem to have any relation.
- I like the graphic for the 1/2 off holiday special, but no info on when it expires. Also, I love the colors of your site, but the cherry red of the holiday special graphic is a bit . . . jarring, I guess.
- I have some grammar nazi feedback that I can email separately to you, if you'd like.
- Good questions and well-written answers on the FAQs page.
- I'd flip-flop "Approach" and "Mission" so that the Mission appears earlier on the "About ME" page. Even though you say why you don't list your services, I'd still suggest listing modalities that you are certified in, just so potential clients have an idea of what you can do.
- I like the testimonials, but it'd be nice to have some non-cyclist ones on there (I presume DORBA is a cycling group).
- Nice pics of your room on "Location & Hours"
Overall, nicely done. Quick, clean, not overly verbose. Nice color, nice graphics, consistent header. I also like the "relax, revive, recover" byline--I'm so tired of nothing more than "relax, unwind, indulge" verbiage.
I'm getting ready to hack mine apart again. *sigh* I just wish I knew how to do it myself instead of relying on others.
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Permalink Reply by Liz Purnell-Webb on
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Always happy to improve, my website is currently under construction and will be finalised in a couple of weeks, I would welcome any constructive criticism. I live and work in Hong Kong so please visit my site and let me know your thoughts.
www.whitelotustherapy.com
Thanks
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Permalink Reply by Marissa on
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Ha! Grammar Nazi. I knew there was another phrase for my OCD!
Erica Olson said:Dude . . . $45 for 1.5 hours? Damn, I wish you lived closer!
Questions/observations:
- why is Trevor's site linked off of yours at the bottom? Doesn't seem to have any relation.
- I like the graphic for the 1/2 off holiday special, but no info on when it expires. Also, I love the colors of your site, but the cherry red of the holiday special graphic is a bit . . . jarring, I guess.
- I have some grammar nazi feedback that I can email separately to you, if you'd like.
- Good questions and well-written answers on the FAQs page.
- I'd flip-flop "Approach" and "Mission" so that the Mission appears earlier on the "About ME" page. Even though you say why you don't list your services, I'd still suggest listing modalities that you are certified in, just so potential clients have an idea of what you can do.
- I like the testimonials, but it'd be nice to have some non-cyclist ones on there (I presume DORBA is a cycling group).
- Nice pics of your room on "Location & Hours"
Overall, nicely done. Quick, clean, not overly verbose. Nice color, nice graphics, consistent header. I also like the "relax, revive, recover" byline--I'm so tired of nothing more than "relax, unwind, indulge" verbiage.
I'm getting ready to hack mine apart again. *sigh* I just wish I knew how to do it myself instead of relying on others.
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Hi Erica,
Thanks for the input!!
Trevor's site is linked to my site at the bottom as a reciprical link. I am not an expert in the runnings of the web site, but more the design. Maybe someone can explain it better but these links basically help you rank higher on google. I have been instructed to sign my site up to as many directories as possible.
Correct about the expiration on the holiday special. I guess i figured "holiday" was enough for the expiration. and since it's a holiday special, it's in a christmasy red. done purposely so it stands out and not blend into the site.
i would love your grammar nazi feedback. I'll take a look. I'm not too hung up on the grammar (unless it's a typo) since i want it to flow as if I'm talking and not necessarily like a book read. make sense?
good point on the modalities.
unfortunately all my clients to date are cyclists, so i can't do anything about that. as I get others I will swap some out. my target market will still be athletic/fitness type of clients, so i intentionally included the "cyclists" so that an athlete coming to the site would see that i have great recommendations from other athletes. but i do agree it needs to be a bit broader.
Erica Olson said:Dude . . . $45 for 1.5 hours? Damn, I wish you lived closer!
Questions/observations:
- why is Trevor's site linked off of yours at the bottom? Doesn't seem to have any relation.
- I like the graphic for the 1/2 off holiday special, but no info on when it expires. Also, I love the colors of your site, but the cherry red of the holiday special graphic is a bit . . . jarring, I guess.
- I have some grammar nazi feedback that I can email separately to you, if you'd like.
- Good questions and well-written answers on the FAQs page.
- I'd flip-flop "Approach" and "Mission" so that the Mission appears earlier on the "About ME" page. Even though you say why you don't list your services, I'd still suggest listing modalities that you are certified in, just so potential clients have an idea of what you can do.
- I like the testimonials, but it'd be nice to have some non-cyclist ones on there (I presume DORBA is a cycling group).
- Nice pics of your room on "Location & Hours"
Overall, nicely done. Quick, clean, not overly verbose. Nice color, nice graphics, consistent header. I also like the "relax, revive, recover" byline--I'm so tired of nothing more than "relax, unwind, indulge" verbiage.
I'm getting ready to hack mine apart again. *sigh* I just wish I knew how to do it myself instead of relying on others.
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Re: reciprocal links, instead of having it at the bottom of the page, I'd recommend having a separate "links" page (if that'll still do it for you, which I would think it ought to). Without any sort of context, it'd make me think that his was the parent company and that you were the US location, or something. I believe there are also ways to get higher Google rankings than just linking to all and sundry, ie metatags.
Regarding going all Grammar Nazi on you (glad you enjoy the saying, Marissa!), I'll send you an email with details. Look for one from me from heartfiremassage@gmail. As for your "voice," it's all about the way you write--conversational versus formal. You've got a good writing voice anyway (not everyone does), but paying attention to grammar/punctuation is still incredibly important in order to present a professional appearance. There's really only minor tweaking needed.
Since you'll be focusing to build an athletic clientele (which makes me like your "relax, revive, recover" line even more!), is that something you might want to mention somewhere in the site? Not just by your population of testimonials, but elsewhere in the body of the site--perhaps allude to it in the "about me" section under "approach"?
Lisa said:Hi Erica,
Thanks for the input!!
Trevor's site is linked to my site at the bottom as a reciprical link. I am not an expert in the runnings of the web site, but more the design. Maybe someone can explain it better but these links basically help you rank higher on google. I have been instructed to sign my site up to as many directories as possible.
Correct about the expiration on the holiday special. I guess i figured "holiday" was enough for the expiration. and since it's a holiday special, it's in a christmasy red. done purposely so it stands out and not blend into the site.
i would love your grammar nazi feedback. I'll take a look. I'm not too hung up on the grammar (unless it's a typo) since i want it to flow as if I'm talking and not necessarily like a book read. make sense?
good point on the modalities.
unfortunately all my clients to date are cyclists, so i can't do anything about that. as I get others I will swap some out. my target market will still be athletic/fitness type of clients, so i intentionally included the "cyclists" so that an athlete coming to the site would see that i have great recommendations from other athletes. but i do agree it needs to be a bit broader.
Erica Olson said:Dude . . . $45 for 1.5 hours? Damn, I wish you lived closer!
Questions/observations:
- why is Trevor's site linked off of yours at the bottom? Doesn't seem to have any relation.
- I like the graphic for the 1/2 off holiday special, but no info on when it expires. Also, I love the colors of your site, but the cherry red of the holiday special graphic is a bit . . . jarring, I guess.
- I have some grammar nazi feedback that I can email separately to you, if you'd like.
- Good questions and well-written answers on the FAQs page.
- I'd flip-flop "Approach" and "Mission" so that the Mission appears earlier on the "About ME" page. Even though you say why you don't list your services, I'd still suggest listing modalities that you are certified in, just so potential clients have an idea of what you can do.
- I like the testimonials, but it'd be nice to have some non-cyclist ones on there (I presume DORBA is a cycling group).
- Nice pics of your room on "Location & Hours"
Overall, nicely done. Quick, clean, not overly verbose. Nice color, nice graphics, consistent header. I also like the "relax, revive, recover" byline--I'm so tired of nothing more than "relax, unwind, indulge" verbiage.
I'm getting ready to hack mine apart again. *sigh* I just wish I knew how to do it myself instead of relying on others.
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