Any opinions on my new website at work?

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 deacondeacon 06 Apr 2020

Firstly: Alan et al, if this post isn't allowed just remove it, I don't want to be out of order.

Now, I'm working from home, during these awkward times and looking at ways to improve our website at work, and struggling to be honest. Yes there's a fair few spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes dotted about which I'm working on but it's the overall feel of the site I'd like opinions on. Is it easy to use, is it confusing etc. Feel free to be as negative or as positive as you like (and just as interested in opinions from people that no nothing about websites/underfloor heating.thanks a lot

Deacon

ukunderfloorheating.co.uk 

 Maynard 06 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

You have to go through a lot of clicks to get any guide of price. As a comparison, one of your competitor's sites has guide prices for the main categories on the first page.

If I was being really picky I would say that the black "active" text on the top links is hard to read, maybe would be better if it was underlined instead?

Clicking through via "Homeowners & DIY" gives me the option for the "shop" but the links at the top call it the "store" (which is also the name of a competitor so might be confusing?).

Maynard

 marsbar 06 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

Works well on my mobile (samsung) all the buttons and so on work nicely and it's well laid out for mobile use.  It doesn't jump around or anything annoying.  I quite like the colours and layout but I'm really not artistic so I don't know.  It seems easy to find things.  

OP deacondeacon 06 Apr 2020
In reply to Maynard:

Cheers for that. I'll defo look into them. Particularly the shop/store issue. Others have said that the 'click throughs' can seem a little confusing too. 

OP deacondeacon 06 Apr 2020
In reply to marsbar:

Cheers, the actual colours and styling is something that tends to get good feedback  

Groenhuijzen 06 Apr 2020

If you want your company name and domain name to be the same, it's a good idea to secure your domain name before formally deciding on a company name, otherwise you might get your new company set up only to find you cannot have a website in that name https://www.dgcustomerfirst.net/

Post edited at 14:50
 krikoman 06 Apr 2020
In reply to Groenhuijzen:

> If you want your company name and domain name to be the same, it's a good idea to secure your domain name before formally deciding on a company name...

Do this, when we set our company up 16 years ago now, it was really really difficult to find a name that wasn't already used either at Companies House or for a web site.

We ended up picking something quite esoteric, to enable us to have both.

OP deacondeacon 06 Apr 2020
In reply to Groenhuijzen:

Our domain name is our company name apart from the .co.uk

UK Underfloor Heating

ukunderfloorheating.co.uk

Or do you mean something else? 

 SenzuBean 07 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

First impression of the homepage: Too many colours (too bright of a yellow, lots of blue [blue is a cold colour, heating is warm], greens, orange, etc).
Maybe the yellow is okay, but it's a similar luminance & saturation as the light blue and that means they don't contrast enough stylistically (which they should, the yellow should take preference).

Remember that people buy with their emotions first, and then use logic to justify it after. With that in mind, I'd say the home page doesn't need so hard to try and win the logic battle and instead should prioritize emotion - warm, simple, clean, safe are what I'd associate underfloor heating with. Where's your pictures of women lounging around in dressing gowns, or babies crawling on the floor with gobby smiles on their faces?

I don't know who your customers are, but question whether they will have a positive association with those brands (I've never heard of any of them). If those brands don't advertise extensively on TV or radio already, then you're not gaining anything by putting them on the front page and are adding needless complexity.

The Why Choose and the We offer have some redundancies (and why is one bold?) The navigation is also a bit all over the show. There's a navbar at the top, then 4 buttons (which it's not clear whether they are just short-links to what's in the nav-bar) and then you have 3 more big buttons. That's very confusing.
You also have 'Shop' and 'Store' naming - you should pick one.

Maybe move the quote option closer to the Quick callback (you should know what your conversion rate for quotes is, so if it's high - then you want to drive as many quotes as possible). Maybe in fact you make more sales from quotes than callbacks? If so, adjust.

Why is the email and the phone number on different bars? Maybe merge the top 2 bars. You don't need the 'Secure Checkout' button as well I think (?), can't you check-out if you click on basket?

The shop is too difficult to access. You want people to have as little friction as possible when buying things, so with 2 clicks I should be able to have something in my cart. There's a reason why Amazon made one-click buying.

Anyway sorry for the rambling reply, I hope it can help a bit.


 

OP deacondeacon 07 Apr 2020
In reply to SenzuBean:

That's great, appreciate the feedback 

 tom r 07 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

It looks good to me. The blue header bar section and the bit above it look a little off. Maybe it is the menu not aligning with the rest of the page, the font looks different as well?

Post edited at 14:44
staticx 07 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

I always like when there's a night mode, pure white is way too bright for me.

OP deacondeacon 07 Apr 2020
In reply to staticx:

Good info. I wonder if nightmode  is changed at the website or if its something at your own end. I'll look into it. 

OP deacondeacon 07 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

I really appreciate all the comments everyone, thanks a lot. 

Even if they're just opinions, keep 'em coming  

 Jasonic 07 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

Have you considered hiring a graphic designer ?

OP deacondeacon 07 Apr 2020
In reply to Jasonic:

Funnily enough my wife is a graphic designer but is print based, and she's just too busy to help at the minute. We do get another graphic designer to help out a little but he's not full time. It tends to be a few days every couple of months. 

OP deacondeacon 07 Apr 2020
In reply to Jasonic:

Yeah, it seems difficult to target to homeowners and tradesmen at the same time. 

 freeflyer 08 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

I typed "underfloor heating" into the Chrome search bar. After scrolling through three pages of competitors, you came up on page 4 as an ad:

"DIY Underfloor Heating Kits | 20 SQM pack £516.00 inc VAT‎

Ad·www.ukunderfloorheating.co.uk/‎

‎0333 250 2475

All sizes available. Free Next Day Delivery. Easy to install. Price Match Promise. DIY screed underfloor heating packs for solid floors. Perfect for conservatories. DIY Installation Packs. Price Promise. Free UK Shipping. Free Helpline. Free Quotes.

30 SQM Underfloor Heating

10 SQM Underfloor Heating

10 Square Meter Pack - 

£462.00"

On your website you say: "Although our kits are simple to install, once you have laid your pipes and put your system together we recommend hiring a qualified plumber to connect and test everything to ensure your system works to its full potential."

I know nothing about underfloor heating, but I do know a bit about web advertising, although it's not my business. At one point we were spending about 15% of revenue on Google, and it worked.

It's about landing pages. Understand who is likely to be visiting your site, organise your Google Ads campaigns so the potential customers arrive at the place which gives them the right information for them. Spend some money on this; Google Ads work, but they're expensive, so don't waste your money if the website doesn't draw them in.

Are you going for householders, DIYers or installers? If householders, as previous posters have suggested, keep it simple, pretty pictures, and tell them to contact you for advice on installation; low to zero technical information, phone number, hints of attractive pricing, tempting product features, whatever it takes to get the phone call. You get the idea, do something appropriate for the other categories.

Get some advice from an SEO company about improving your organic search rating. They will also help with the above.

 Mark Edwards 08 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

As someone who had intended to do a DIY install of underfloor heating this year, the links I followed were as I would have expected. The only minor gripe I have is the proposed layout diagrams. Your examples are a simple linear arrangement, I was considering the more complex spiral layout where the feed pipe spirals into to the centre of the room and then the return is placed between the ‘hot’ lines. Your kit solution is good but I would like an option to select the parts I require. OK, it would require a more complex kitting list but maybe an option worth considering.

I will keep you company on the top of my supplier list as once this is over I will be in the market for the components and am happy to support a fellow UKC’er. P.S. I like it that you are recommending the Heatmiser range. I currently have one of their (old) controllers running the under floor heating in my kitchen and can’t fault it.

OP deacondeacon 08 Apr 2020
In reply to Mark Edwards:

Thanks Mark,  yes the concentric (spiral) design, and the serpentine or double serpentine design (zigzag) are used in different applications and we obviously design to suit the particular project.

With regards to the kit list, it's difficult (and to be honest one of the biggest problems we're having). It's very tricky to give people all the options and freedom to be able to make multiple selections while keeping everything simple and straightforward.

Give me a shout when you're closer to needing the equipment. I'll make sure you get a UKC discount.

Deacon

OP deacondeacon 08 Apr 2020
In reply to freeflyer:

Thanks a lot free flyer  

 RobertHepburn 08 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

Hey Deacon,

Hope you are doing well up in the peaks .

First thoughts (Windows 10 laptop with Chrome):

There is a lot in there and I like a home page that has lots of links to things.

It copes well when I resize to mobile size.

I also like the clear help link.

The home page is slightly messy, and the main picture is obscured by the big boxes. I would like to see one really nice uncluttered picture to draw people in.

The menu structure is a bit weird - all one level except one, which has lots of sub items. Have a think about structuring this better?

The black on blue on the main menu is hard to read. Have you run this through disability compliance checkers? As well as being the law (disability discrimination act), disabled people buy home heating as well . You should design the site to accommodate them and have a section at the bottom saying what you have done to help. I know its lots of work allowing people to resize text, work with a screen reader and navigate with just a keyboard etc, but once it is done then it should be easy to maintain.

The four coloured buttons below the menu don't change on hover, which is different to other buttons.

The social media icons disappear when you hover.

I can see you are getting some good advice on here, but it can also be worth finding an expert on sites like fiverr. We used that for our main site (www.londonair.org.uk) and they gave us some useful insights.

Good luck with it

OP deacondeacon 08 Apr 2020
In reply to RobertHepburn:

Brilliant, that's great Rob. I'll look into them all, and make some changes. 

And you better come up for a climb when we're allowed back on rock  

 Mark Edwards 09 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

> Give me a shout when you're closer to needing the equipment. I'll make sure you get a UKC discount.

Oh, for life after Corvid, I can’t wait to get going. I will remember your offer. Thanks.

 freeflyer 09 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

No worries - good luck mate.

 Mark Edwards 09 Apr 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

P.S. On thinking about it, how about a calculator for the estimated length of pipe required (assuming rectangular rooms) and the option for multiple rooms? I’m thinking of one pump, two motorised vales (and controllers) and the pipework. I don’t think I need a manifold but am open to persuasion.

OP deacondeacon 09 Apr 2020
In reply to Mark Edwards:

I'll send you an email/private message  and we can go through a few details. 


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