Opinions please

[Mrleft8]

Carter has almost finished creating my website, and would like some feedback from non-airline type people. (Her co-workers keep wanting her to include things like schedules, and route maps.... ) So constructive critism is requested, please.
WWW.douglasnoyesdesignsinwood.com (http://WWW.douglasnoyesdesignsinwood.com)

Yeah, yeah..... I know. The world's longest URL
(I brought this up from the bilge so that you topsiders could comment with out getting your feet wet ;) )

[capt jake]

Pretty sweet work there! smile.gif You have an eye for detail!

Site looks good to me, I will have to check it out further. smile.gif smile.gif

[Figment]

I think you'd be well served by the ability to have larger images. Or, perhaps the ability to "click to enlarge image". Squinting doesn't sell, ya know? ;)

Nitpicking: on a few of the pages ("groupings" for example) you have multiple photos, and one of those photos is not as brightly lit as the others. Photoshop to the rescue, baby!

I LOVE this chair! Such a sweet shape on that arm.
http://www.douglasnoyesdesignsinwood.com/Images2/chair.jpg

[Roger Stouff]

:eek: WOW!

[Donn]

Up here, it looks completely different. The photos suck, first of all. Low rez and without any semblance of composition. Repetition throughout the site, with the same pics reshown in multiple categories, ad nauseum. The pics are so small, the impression is that you're trying to hide something.

Site navigation is awkward, at best. The menu frame up top is too small, and fights with the feel of each page. Once you've scrolled to the bottom of a page, it's not available unless you home back to the top of the page.

The copy is suited to KB Toy's insert in your local Sunday paper..written for Wally World consumers, who think that furniture comes in flat boxes, with tubes of cheap glue for assembly.

Should've left it in the bilge.

Consider whipping up something to actually sell on the site, so you can afford to hire a professional designer. Maybe some nice birdhouses and mailboxes?

[Russell Sova]

I don't know Doug, Donn, but I think you just gave him an unnecessary reamin'. I think the site looks intriguing. The only help I could offer is maybe pricing needs to be shown in various woods, but overall a slick site.

[Bob Smalser]

I love the work and understand what makes it different from something produced in a factory.

But I also suspect most potential clients don't and that's what I'd want to highlight....exactly what you get for the extra money....the features they can feel and see in a personal inspection that most photo's don't show.

More detail in the pictures...perhaps with a "supersize" feature like Ebay does it or an inset collage of thumbnails that show the details of the joinery, fit and finish.

I'd also have a joinery page detailing the differences in my construction from what's done in a factory....demonstrating in direct comparison why my joints/design/finish/fit are better, will last longer and be easier to repair when the time comes with all the whys and wherefores thereof.

These pieces cost considerably more than mass-produced pieces....I'd need to sell folks on what they're getting for that money over the long haul.

[ 11-28-2004, 10:26 AM: Message edited by: Bob Smalser ]

[George Roberts]

I agree a lot with Donn.

I don't want to see the same picture of the same piece on several pages. (Sort of like the map store in the TV series the Prisoner. Were all the maps, 3x5 up to room size have the same level of detail.)

I like the background color, fonts, and font color that I have set as defaults. (If I want to read white type on black background, I will set my defaults to be that.)

The pictures are too small. (If I right click and select "view image", I get a larger version. left clicking should get a larger version also.) The larger pictures are very poor quality.

While it is nice to be a Jack-of-all-styles, it would be nice to see the style you prefer to build.

I expect you do very fine work. The site does not show that. (I do very poor work, but this photo (http://www.robertscpa.com/kayaks/PieCrustTable.JPG) hides it well.)

[John Teetsel]

On the links page, have the link open in a new window or your client will be taken off your site.

Beautiful work, Doug.

[Tom Hunter]

I agree with everything Bob said, and I have some to add.

Talk about your insperation for each peice. "The client wanted a bar that would compliment..." If you are going to mention book matched maple tell people what it is and make sure the photo resolution show it.

Tell people about the style of the furniture, is it deco, bauhaus, victorian, the kind of people who will pay for what you make want to know this stuff.

Have some one retouch the photograph of the bar so that the back wall is nolonger dark purple.

Good luck

[kc8pql]

I've been building custom furniture and cabinetry since 1972 and have been able to sell enough of it to make a living since 1979. I've come to the conclusion that there are two types of client.

Type one is interested in snob appeal. He wants to have a piece made so he can tell people he had it made. If you have a reputation, he wants to tell people he had it made by you.

Type two has a very specific want or need in mind. He's looked all over the place trying to find what he wants, but it just isn't avalable. He's heard you can make most anything. He wants this thing and he's willing to pay to have it made.

If I was doing a website, I'd taylor it to meet those two types of desires. I'd also drop the boats. It just muddies your message.

Ken

[whb]

Wow,

I really like the work.

I also like the site.

Two things I would prefer.

An ability to enlarge a photo (needs a really good quality digital image).

Not to see the same images under different titles.

And just to be arguementative, I liked the purple wall behind the bar.

Now the bar itself. Is just about the first bar I have ever seen that I would actually want in my living room.

I also agree with most of what Bob and Tom Hunter said.

Thanks,

Howard

[Ian McColgin]

The pix are nice but Donn's right. They can be better arranged to show how you fit the individual. The home page language is a bit weak.

"I specialize in one-of-a-kind furniture designed in consultation with the client."

Good start, except you don't just specialize in one-of-a-kind - it's what you do.

"While I generally build my own designs, I am happy to work with client specifications and the designs of architects and interior designers."

You already said you work with the client. You're adding architects and designers, which is fine but lacks vigor. Also, even if you repeat a chair or whatnot, each object is made alone, each has its individuality, and thus each is 'one of a kind.'

"I also build small wooden boats." And quite well, but a boat shop and a furniture shop are two different things. If you want to advertise both, try separate web pages. I think you should stick to furniture on the web page and let the boat business evolve for a while by word of mouth.

"Using mainly domestic hardwoods such as Cherry, Maple, Walnut and Oak, bent laminations and sawn veneers are often used to highlight the woods natural beauty."

And this weak, mangled sentence fragment shows that you're not an English teacher.

Have your writer treat you as you treat your clients. What do you really need to say here?

We know from the contact page that you're in Guilford. Mention Guilford here if there's a context - your shop is an historic site or Guilford is a great place as so many tasteful people live around to support your art or whatever.

Once you get past or leave out Guilford, you can go straight to the heart:

"I make individual objects of furniture to exactly fit my clients' use and location. I design each piece in its context, working with the thoughts and even detailed plans of my client and my client's architect or interior designer.

Most of my pieces are made from domestic hardwoods such as cherry, maple, walnut and oak. Depending on the design, I may use bent laminations and sawn veneers to display the structure and the beauty of the wood.

Nature abhors a straight line and so do I."

(Well, maybe not that last unless your pix really illustrate the point.)

By the way, nice work. A couple of centuries from now, your work will be handed down in families who don't buy furniture because they have furniture.

[Andrew S/Y Rocquette]

What's wrong with "constructive critism" as was requested (emphasis on CONSTRUCTIVE)?

[Ian McColgin]

I've not read the critiqes on the other places this thread appears but here, at least, the criticism is pitched to the same standard as Douglas's furniture - high.

He deserves that respect.

You can save being nice about it for my varnish work.

[paul oman]

We are known for our 'messy' but extremely informative epoxy web site (epoxyproducts.com). Most folks like it but we do have a few that HATE its crude appearance. Still we are in internet success story....

Your site is delightful and very professional. To make it successful you'll need lots of pages with lots of links between them. Perhaps even several other sites with links between the different sites. Give each product its own page and use important keywords in titles, page names, etc. all over the place.

It's not the site that matters how how it shows up in the search engines.

good work so far!

paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers
www.epoxyproducts.com/marine.html (http://www.epoxyproducts.com/marine.html)

[PeterSibley]

Lovely work...I particularly like the jewellry box smile.gif

Criticisms...I would prefer to be able to click on an image for a larger ( and better res.image) Not right click. poosbly a choice of resolution for differenct download speeds....but then most of your customers probably have high speed.

On my monitor things are rather dark...that may be my monitor..hard to know.

I concur with Bob and others about some explanation of joinery etc.Why your work is worth the money,why it will last in an air conditioned and overheated house.

Congratulations for surviving in a hard game.

[Tom Lathrop]

I like the work very much but agree that the site needs some revision.

The images are small but take as long to download as much larger ones. They absolutely need to be capable of enlargement.

All of the pieces seem beautifully made, honest in concept and material and useful. That is actually great praise since the same cannot be said for much of the work that gets displayed in Fine Woodworking or other woodworking magazines.

It deserves a better format.

[RodB]

Most improvements have been mentioned already like larger and sharper photos...overall the website does a pretty good job. Do perfect your message and do not make it too confusing. A few really good detailed photos are much better than many photos that are not so good.

As an advertising photographer I would recommend improving the lighting in several of the photos especially in the shots with a piece of furniture on a plain background. Use broad diffuse lighting, from one side and elevated, a little fill from the other. When trying to show the texture and detail of a product the lighting needs to match the objects features.

Try putting your lights behind a large sheet of tracing velum (or piece of parachute nylon) (about 60" wide, 5-6' high) thus creating a large diffuse light source which can be directional. Architectural businesses have this paper in rolls. Use a large white card to fill the other side. You will get rid of the harsh shadows and the product will look better. Crop closer to the subject when you can and try the lighter wood pieces on a medium background... say 18-30% gray or blue. It is hard to light a room but on a bright day with open windows...with a little soft fill... you may be surprised. Also, try focusing your fill lights on the ceiling thus creating a large diffuse light source from up above used in conjunction with available daylight.

RB

[ 11-30-2004, 08:04 PM: Message edited by: RodB ]

[scepticus]

on you home page, make the pictures links to the various sections so that I can click on the pic of the bar and go to that section.