New Website in deveolpment - Comments please

[Mark Saiger]

Hi everyone,

I have been so busy, that I just had to turn the new website development over to my web design gal who also did my original website.

This is just what she put together for me and I haven't even had a chance to do much looking at it....

Today is my first day to really dive into it a bit.

I caught a few things the other day (basically phone number things)

But, those of you with fresh eyes and can look it over with suggestions, I will try and relay on to her....and thanks....I appreciate it.

This is also mobile friendly (one of the reasons I needed to get on it) so if you want to look on your phones (or even take the time) so can comment there, I appreciate it.

You can PM me if you feel more comfortable telling me something that needs total scraping....

Thanks!

http://www.saigers.com/newsite/

 

[Dmreed4311]

Love it, one thing. You need a home page button on every page, I know your logo acts as that but you need a button that says "home" IMO just for easy navigation.

 

[Mark Saiger]

Love it, one thing. You need a home page button on every page, I know your logo acts as that but you need a button that says "home" IMO just for easy navigation.

Thank you....great idea I will pass on

 

[rjwood]

Very nice, Mark. She's a good developer.

 

[Mark Saiger]

Very nice, Mark. She's a good developer.

Thank you,

I will pass on the compliment

 

[rjwood]

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Thank you,

I will pass on the compliment

She appears to understand the power of visuals and the fact that most people are best communicated with visually. The text info is short and to the point without needing to investigate anything further.

You're obviously growing to the point of advertising beyond just a local personalized company, though your personality is one that seems personal. That's often a difficult transition point in the growth process of a small business. It appears as though you're doing it rather well. Congratulations!

 

[Mark Saiger]

She appears to understand the power of visuals and the fact that most people are best communicated with visually. The text info is short and to the point without needing to investigate anything further.

You're obviously growing to the point of advertising beyond just a local personalized company, though your personality is one that seems personal. That's a difficult transition point in the growth process of a small business. It appears as if you're doing it rather well. Congratulations!

 

[rjwood]

Will she be adding a testimonials or reviews tab? I linked mine with my google+ page instead of having them on the the site. Googe+ reviews help in more than one way, but mostly they contribute legitimacy to businesses since they can't be fudged.

 

[Mark Saiger]

Will she be adding a testimonials or reviews tab? I linked mine with my google+ page instead of having them on the the site. Googe+ reviews help in more than one way, but mostly they contribute legitimacy to businesses since they can't be fudged.

I will mention that also...

The clients up here do not do much Google + and are mainly Facebook types.....But great idea.....

I have even have a Yelp page claimed for year and half, and most people don't know what that really is....even though our new vehicles have it on the GPS stereo systems.....

We are a bit behind the times up here....but they are some loyal customers

Maybe we can figure out a way to make it more encouraged to leave some type of review....

 

[Mikey P]

I love it...lol

One typo I saw was Furniture TAGS, instead of Tabs...
Unless that what you call them out there..

 

[Desk Jockey]

Looks great very clean, very blue! Love it!

 

[Mark Saiger]

I love Mark

One typo I saw was Furnitute TAGS, instead of Tabs...
Unless that what you call them out there..

Will get that changed....thanks....

I am cutting and pasting all these notes into my planner so I can forward out....

Really appreciate it!

 

[rjwood]

I love Mark

Shiver-me-timbers!

 

[Mark Saiger]

Shiver-me-timbers!

LOL

 

[michealtroy]

LOOK GREAT!! CONGRATS MUCH SUCCESS

 

[GeneMiller]

I'm sure like me most of your customers are women. I really think they could care less or even know what a butler, zipper, rotovac or anything else really is... I've asked hundreds of customers about their previous experience with other cleaners. They never talk about or mention their tools . Most of the time when I ask they don't even know what he did. There are exceptions, but they are rare. The part showing how you protect the floor and doorway that's great. The seal-a-door and corner guards need a big screen because it's important to most homeowners. Zipper wand technology cleans better and dries faster, and is more important than the size or jets. We are the only ones that care about that. The picture of the two butlers is great, because it shows you have nice clean vans and it looks very professional. The words just clutter it up. The homeowner isn't going to care about brand or what's inside or how you're going to clean it. Just get it clean and dry, fast. Your a personable guy but you don't have a video talking about your company and why they should choose you. Just a few thoughts from a guy without any web presence.

Gene

 

[rjwood]

I'm sure like me most of your customers are women. I really think they could care less or even know what a butler, zipper, rotovac or anything else really is... I've asked hundreds of customers about their previous experience with other cleaners. They never talk about or mention their tools . Most of the time when I ask they don't even know what he did. There are exceptions, but they are rare. The part showing how you protect the floor and doorway that's great. The seal-a-door and corner guards need a big screen because it's important to most homeowners. Zipper wand technology cleans better and dries faster, and is more important than the size or jets. We are the only ones that care about that. The picture of the two butlers is great, because it shows you have nice clean vans and it looks very professional. The words just clutter it up. The homeowner isn't going to care about brand or what's inside or how you're going to clean it. Just get it clean and dry, fast. Your a personable guy but you don't have a video talking about your company and why they should choose you. Just a few thoughts from a guy without any web presence.

Gene

I put "state of the art equipment" on mine and showing the Rotovac photo.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Looks great!

Nice job

 

[Desk Jockey]

They never talk about or mention their tools

I was on a water loss yesterday and was riding the extractor, the client said "that Rover, it really does the job". I was dumbfounded. We had worked for him before and I suppose being a male he remembers innovative equipment. Lots of people will comment on how well its is extracting, or about how they have never seen anything like it but not by name. That was a first.

 

[dgardner]

I was on a water loss yesterday and was riding the extractor

Wait - you were actually working?

 

[Shane Deubell]

and and on a saturday

 

[Desk Jockey]

Wait - you were actually working?

Friday night, Saturday and yes today.

I'd like to say its been fun but its been murder. I'm old, fat and tired...and that was before the storms!

 

[Louis]

Looks nice. It helps that everything is beautiful and green in that picture. In California that picture wouldn't look so good. Now the 80 cleaning products. This sounds like an addiction that may require professional help. How do you get 80 products and all of those toys on that van Mr Copperfield ?

 

[Russ T.]

I think it's good that the tools and equipment are mentioned. It's a concrete difference that separates from competition. Customers will care if we care enough to educate them.

Mark is all about his tools and showcases them all the time on the FB biz page. It's who he is and his passion for these things makes him and his biz unique.

Shout Zipper and Rotovac from the rooftops Mark! They will love it because YOU love it.

 

[encapman]

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Thank you....great idea I will pass on

I hope you don't "pass on" just quite yet Mark. At least not before the website is finished.

My suggestion... Lose the "brand names"... Butler, Zipper, Rotovac, Duk Guard, Seal A Door, etc. You may invariably change something up. Let's say you change truck mounts down the road, or you find something you like better than Duk Guard or whatever. You don't want your website to be married to a particular brand (unless of course it's Releasit) Also, the word Guard is misspelled... "Gaurd".

Instead why not make up generic expressions for each of those items...
High Powered mobile cleaning plant. State of the art high pressure carpet extraction wands. Rotary extraction tool. Corner guards. Door Seal. You could say the same thing, without tying yourself to a particular brand. I'm just thinking I wouldn't want to have my website or any of my marketing tied to a particular tool or method. IMO I think that's a marketing mistake.

In fact, I think it's a whole lot better to build marketing around RESULTS, rather than tools & methods. But you may feel differently. Here's a video blog that I created a couple of years ago on this topic.

http://www.excellent-supply.com/Why-do-Carpet-Cleaners-insist-on-selling-Method_b_8.html

Overall though I absolutely LOVE the new site. This looks top notch all the way!

 

[GeneMiller]

You can always have a tech page where you talk about your equipment. However everybody claims to have state of the art equipment. Im guessing what you use to clean with isn't in their top 5 concerns except is it safe for pets,kids etc. Dont confuse the things we care about with things a woman will care about. In the end to each his own. Definitely think you should add a video talking about the reasons to hire Saiger.

Gene

 

[tmiklethun]

I think it looks very nice, but I tend to agree with GENE, touting the tools on the home page I think misses the mark. That impresses fellow cleaners more then potential customers. I would use the space to talk about your USP, New Client Special Offer or your Rock Solid Guarantee. Something that will make the client say "Yes" and pick up the phone.

I also believe in today's world a landing page video is very important. Helps make you more personable, keeps them on your site longer which helps SEO and much more.

 

[Hoody]

I would make the images in the slideshow on the home page not as tall to bring more content above the fold. Also I would have the slideshow auto play with a 5-7 second interval so that the viewer will see them as they may not know to use the arrows to scroll through the pictures.

After note: since she is using Bootstrap for the framework, she may consider adding the img-responsive class to the homepage images and that will help them condense down a bit as the screen size gets smaller.

I noticed upholstery is spelled wrong on the upholstery page.

This is just a personal preference but I find it helps the user experience. I would suggest using a fixed or "sticky" header. That way the logo, number and navigation are always at the top of the page the the content will scroll "behind" it. It makes it easier to find your number that way. Adding a box shadow effect to the header adds a nice effect as the user is scrolling is well.

On the mobile view - I suggest center the social icons with the logo and make the phone number change to a tap to call button that is centered with the logo and social icons. A lot of people don't know that you can tap the number to call, but a button that says "Call Us" that looks similar to the call button on a cell phone helps the user a lot - just makes it easier to not have to write down a number. I would also consider making the logo and social icons slightly smaller and condense the size of the header on mobile for more real estate below to come into view.

Overall it's a great responsive site, your developer did a great job, and I think it conveys the overall message and brand of your company very well. Just a few tweaks and it'll be perfect and I hope it suits you well!

 

[Mark Saiger]

Thanks everyone,

I have been cutting and pasting all this info so I can discuss it with her.

Hoody, I was hoping you would find this thread too

Funny thing as commented about the tools and or methods.....she was the one that put that info in there and thought it was cool all the newer tools we are carrying......andso did two of her office gals that were looking it over....go figure....

Anyway, I think they got a bunch of ideas off my Facebook pages and were using them here....

But, I sure do appreciate everything that has been shared here from all of you....

But, also, please keep the ideas coming as I really value the information and I am sure others might be also gaining awesome info for their future web builds or changes too....

WHAT A GREAT GROUP OF PEOPLE HERE!

 

[Mark Saiger]

Just want to tell everyone an interesting story about the power of this post.

This is the only place this website was revealed.....

And, my web designer called me to let me know the web host had to increase the band width of my web address....

And they said "better check to make sure you weren't hacked!" because of so much traffic

By the way, we were not hacked, my web person is making a bunch of changes and will have it live soon.

She made the link a dead link for the rest of the site for now so Google doesn't penalize us....

Now, that is just awesome crazy!

Thanks Mikey's Board!

There is a lot of traffic happening here even if people don't post

Looking forward to seeing new names and new posters as I have been seeing.

So, Welcome to Mikey's all you people out there Glad you made it here