Official Luthiers Forum!

Am seeking feedback on my new web site which isn't "live" yet. Please let me know what you think.

http://www.patfosterguitars.com/rwtestsite/site3/

Thanks!

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

My critique is going to be purely on the basis that this is a website to promote business for yourself.

First of all, the appointments and pricing page is a bit confusing and it really needs to be more organized. I'm sure this probably isn't a fully developed version of the page since it's not live yet, but that's definitely something to work on. Also, I'm not a fan of putting a bunch of resource links on the website if it's for business purposes. Resources are easy enough to google if one wants to look them up and also, I'm not so sure you want to direct people to resources that help people build a guitar themselves if you're the one trying to convince them to pay you to build a guitar for them. It really sends a mixed message in my opinion.

I do like the color scheme, though. And the simplicity of the site is nice.

Hi Pat,
I used to be a graphic artist before guitars took over my life .For what it's worth, the site looks good to me but the options page reads very strange.By breaking things into two columns it fractures some of the catagories.I feel it would read better if the options were single line not broken into two columns.
Just my two cents,hope it helps In taking things to a new level.
Good luck , Brett

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How long is that in luthyears?

I agree with the previous posters. The appointments & pricing page isn't very clear. If it had bullets, it would be much more readable. Otherwise, I think it's a very nice site. Easy to navigate and gives you all the information you need. Just add some bullets to that one page and it'll be quite nice. I particularly like all the pictures of your builds. That's a nice touch, IMHO.

Matt

I will agree with the others Pat. It needs a little work on the options and pricing pages but other than that I like it.The photos are top notch and it is very easy to navigate . Good Luck with your site and good luck with your business.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Excellent!!

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

I have to agree with everyone when they say that the appointments and standard options page is a little confusing. Bullets or a paragraph followed by a list will read a lot better and look a lot more professional in my opinion. I also have to agree with Michael when saying the the resource page, although good, may send mix messages.

But other than that, the site is excellent. It loads quickly and the website flows very easily. The pictures are perfect and are very pleasing to look at. The website it also very simple and easy to navigate.

Great job! That will be one killer website once you get it live.

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-Rob Eckert
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I took heed on the Options and Pricing page, making it into two separate pages. I think it is much better. I'm definitely reconsidering the resources page.

I appreciate input, hope to hear more.

http://patfosterguitars.com/rwtestsite/site3/

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I think it looks much better now. As for the resource page, it's not a huge issue I suppose. If it were me however, I would definitely not put up a list of suppliers just because you generally don't want customers to start thinking about the cost of raw materials vs. the finished product. I think if you are going to keep a resources page, maybe link to some articles discussing guitars or weighing the merits of different aspects and styles or something, you know? Like an OM vs. Dread type of thing.

OK, Michael, ya got me convinced! I took it out and it seems right. It will show up in a few minutes.

Thanks.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Hi Pat, I just checked your site it looks great, good photos Etc,
Regards Robert,

Pat,
I like it. Very straightforward. Ideas? You might think about a short bio, picture of yourself and stuff about any special training you had and how long you have been building. People seem to like that. Any reviews of your instruments from satisfied customers or retailers would be good too.
Nice Job
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Nice job, but I am not sure why the circle cutting jig has the same billing as the documented builds.It kind of makes me wonder if the other tools feel left out of the spotlight.
Looking good
Brett

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How long is that in luthyears?

How about a photo of you in the shop? Maybe several? If I was in the market for a hand made guitar I'd want to get a sense of the master craftsman bleeding into the instruments... ever see The Red Violin? I wouldn't be particularly interested in the circle jig either, though I wouldn't mind marveling at some contraption in action making room for a rosette.

I like the layout and the colors, and the guitars...

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Gabriel Regalbuto
Carlsbad, California
Freedom 35!

Hi Pat! Congratulations my friend on your guitar building endeavor and your new web site.

I didn't get the opportunity to view your site until this morning but I very much like what I see. The look and feel and the photography of the instruments is excellent. I also like the color scheme as well.

There are a number of schools of thought for how to market oneself and what you do via the web. Unfortunately the Internet makes it so very easy for nearly anyone to get their message out there that we all have seen examples of people's attempts at this that were less than stellar...... Your site is a very good example of keeping it simple and on message.

What you ultimately want from your site is for it to help generate interest in what you do to prospective customers who are interested in what you do AND qualified to become clients as well. This idea of using one's site to not only disseminate info but to set expectations and qualify prospects is often where we see who is a marketing pro and who is not. People who have not sold things professionally generally will not realize that quantity is no match for quality in as much as it is better to reach 5 qualified prospects and have one buy than to reach 500 unqualified suspects and have no one buy.......

I like your site and the only thing that I would do would be the addition of some verbage to assist you in gaining organic hits. For those who don't know what organic means in the sense of a web site organic hits are hits from search engines that come to you based on your content, that you control and publish, that is rich with relevant key words.

With this said I would exploit your geographic area and populate your site with the words Spokane often. In addition if there is a particular style of guitar that you plan to specialize in, like John How and the Stellas, say this often in your site to get the organic hits. Remember with the price of gas folks just may be rediscovering what they can acquire and consume more locally! Exploit this.

I like the site overall - simple, to the point. I see too many websites that have so much blather that I just have no desire to read on.

One suggestion on the home page, this is where you are going to hook someone. When I read the text, it feels like I have picked up a book and started reading in the middle of the book. This might be a place to introduce yourself, photo of yourself working on a guitar or something that really grabs you and wants to look further. Personally, I like little text on a home page - just enough to let people know that you build and sell custom guitars. Make them want to go to the next page

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John Ressler

I agree with John. I does seem like opening a book in the middle. As a matter of fact, what you currently have for your home page could be made into a building philosophy page that many luthiers seem to have on their sites. I always think that's a nice touch. It gives the potential customer some assurance that you build only with the highest of methods and intentions, which I'm more than sure you do. It would tell me "hey, I only build something of the highest possible quality with only you in mind." People can then see this with all the pictures you have of actual builds.

Matt

Pat, this is actually very timely for me, as I'm putting finishing touches on my new site.
I like yours very much, something about the colors appeal to me.
Also, very crisp photography.
I would like to see some listing and descriptions of the different models you offer, so the buyer gets a better feel for what's available.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

First, something minor: don't refer to "shell" and expect everyone to know you mean pearl.

More significant: The "Gallery" makes it look like you have only built two guitars. And there are too many small guitar fragments without enough overall views. Go from the general view to the specific parts.

There are waaayyy too many repetitive photos of building process. For example, one photo of your side bender will do; you have several. I'd edit out at least 2/3 of those shots. And what's the circle cutter doing there? If you want to show your jigs, make a separate page with thumbnails linking to several jigs. If this is the only one that's photogenic, stick with a shot of it in the build process (one is enough--you are not showing off jig making finesse for other luthiers to see here).

Good luck!

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Thanks for the compliments and suggestions. ALL are much appreciated. I expect that I'll be making some changes from every suggestion so generously offered here.

Thanks,

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Hi Pat,

Let's talk about the contact page. The fill-in form has little value since you've required (as indicated by the asterisk) email contact info. Let the user utilize their email client with a mailto: since there's less of a chance of spelling and scripting errors, and you're already including it as an option anyway. This only leaves your email address and phone number as the pertinent info you've provided on the page. This can be added to your masthead on every page:

Pat Foster Guitars
Spokane, Washington
(509) 328-7169
foo@foo.com

This would eliminate the need for the Contact page altogether.

Commissioning. You might want to rethink this link title since the language is very specific to those "in the know". "Ordering" would be better since it's more commonly used in the shopping/purchasing lexicon.

As mentioned, group the Appointments section into its components, be it wood type, processes, whatever. There needs to be some separation and logic here. Look at other successful builders' sites for ideas.

The only other thing is that I know nothing of you as a guitar builder. Experience, apprenticeships, etc. As a buyer, my noob radar goes off. This is fine too, as long as you're up front about it, and I'm willing to take the financial risk. Otherwise, it appears unintentionally deceitful given the language and quality assurances of the intro paragraphs.

Colour contrast, page and line length, and overall design is very good. Simple and elegant.

Good job.

This is a great thread - lots of good tips from knowledgeable people. I know it will help me if I ever get a website someday.
My 2 $.02? I'm a big believer in having a thumbnail beside anything you want the customer to pay extra for. The natural reaction to an option description/price is "what do I get for my money?" So I would accompany the abalone top purlfing option with a thumbnail to a flattering photo of my prettiest example, etc. etc.
Pat, did you create these pages yourself? (If so, what software, if you don't mind me asking?)

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Dave
Milton, ON

Bigger pics. Big shiny pictures sell. Somewhat simplistic, but true.

But over all its a clean looking site that could use some content tweaks as suggested.

Good stuff, Warren and Zach. Thanks.

Dave,

I used Rapidweaver for the site pages. It's a Mac program that costs about $50. Has a lot of themes/templates available, many for free. Also a lot of javascript and php add-ons. The themes and snippets can be added without any knowledge of html or anything else. I just got tired of tweaking little details in Dreamweaver and RW makes it easy to do changes to the site without the 400-pound gorilla feel that comes with using DW. RW is at http://www.realmacsoftware.com . They have a demo, I believe, that functions fully but restricts the number of pages in a site.


Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Thanks Pat.
I'd need a PC version but at least it's possible. (...like the "without any knowledge of html or anything else" part)

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Dave
Milton, ON