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Hi

 

I like the logo, but personally I think the bright red and bright green are quite garish - I think if you toned it down a bit (lighter shades/pastel) it would look a lot better?

 

Also, when you click a category, the image to the right of the 'Buzz Coffee' text (whether its the T2 image, or coffee packets, etc) are pushing tha actual items down the page, and the few 800x600 viewers left aren't going to see anything....

 

Anyway, hope i help a little - some of the products look good!

 

RB

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Ok I hear you about the colours. They are the company colours & what the owner want. The retail shop are these colours & it looks great, we even took out cafe of the year. But thanks anyway. Can I have some more non colour related reviews please

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You want non-color related feedback when the colors are the biggest problem with your site? Besides the colors your site is basic OSC.

 

How about a compromise with the owner - swap the green used in the breadcrumbs area with the green used in the body. You will have all the requisite colors but the garish bright green will be minimized. It may look good in the store but it looks like crap here.

 

Your logo is very pixilated and the red header area takes up way too much real estate to only contain your small logo. Expand the logo or add more content.

 

Dots aren't very descriptive navigation. Make them useful or get rid of them.

 

What I'm assuming is coffee beans on the front page looks alot like dog doo. You need a better picture.

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They are the company colours & what the owner want.

 

Then it is your job as the developer to show the owner what is going to produce sales.

 

The retail shop are these colours & it looks great, we even took out cafe of the year.

 

Thats super, and I am happy for your brick and mortar success. However, the walls of your store do not glow with a backlight. Computer monitors do however, and given the setting of most of your customers will probably be their dimly lighted home office or living room browsing the web you should really rethink what you are doing.

 

Quite frankly your design is jarring to the eyes and painful to browse though. The green is so bright it halo's the black text! How can you expect anyone to read that for long?

 

But thanks anyway. Can I have some more non colour related reviews please

 

Arrogant. You have used a basic osC install and matched a horrible color scheme with it. What else is there to comment on? What have you changed that is noteworthy?

 

Everyone here has their own store and jobs to look after, and they were just trying to give you some choice advice on what you are doing poorly. Be nice, free help is a rare thing.

My advice comes in two flavors- Pick the one that won't offend you.

 

Hard and Cynical: How to Make a Horrible osCommerce Site

 

Warm and Fuzzy: How to Make an Awesome osCommerce Site

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Quote:

Arrogant. You have used a basic osC install and matched a horrible color scheme with it. What else is there to comment on? What have you changed that is noteworthy?

 

I was not being arrogant, but it appears you are. I was just looking for feedback

 

Quote:

Everyone here has their own store and jobs to look after, and they were just trying to give you some choice advice on what you are doing poorly. Be nice, free help is a rare thing.

 

I was being nice about it. If you are so busy don't bother with your advice.

You are giving nothing but nasty remarks, I am new to this & trying to learn.

I would love other remarks though. I will talk to the owner & see what I can come with. Thanks for the helpful advice.

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Oh so very much better.

 

On this page: http://www.buzzcoffee.com.au/catalog/index.php?cPath=3 The category image is huge. Might want to think about resizing that one.

 

I would recomend you move the search box up- the top two things a customer is going to use is your categories listing and your search, its probably the best pratice to have it at the top.

 

The My Account, Cart Contents, and Checkout buttons are difficult to read. The buttons are good- they match your site. Might want to see if you can increase the text size on those or choose a slightly cleaner font.

 

Most people remove the languages box if they only have one language, might want to think about that.

 

Your privacy notice would not really stand up to legal review. There are many sample privacy policies that can be adapted to your specific application, try the one at http://www.truste.org/bus/pub_sample.html and edit as needed.

 

The same goes for your conditions of use. The great thing about legal documents (at least in the US) is you can not copyright them. Find your favorite mega shopping site and see what they have. adapt as needed.

 

Most shoppers feel much more safe when they know a store's physical address. Your blank space in your header might be a good place for an address and phone number to your store. It goes a long way in building confidence.

 

You have both Top and Catalog in your breadcrumb trail. I recomend removing one of them as to not confuse the customer.

 

You might want to concider white text in the dark green breadcrumb bar and see how it looks. I think it might be higher contrast.

 

The stock osC buttons really need to go, nobody likes those things :) There are many button sets in the contribs section, you should check some out.

My advice comes in two flavors- Pick the one that won't offend you.

 

Hard and Cynical: How to Make a Horrible osCommerce Site

 

Warm and Fuzzy: How to Make an Awesome osCommerce Site

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Let's start with spelling on the front page,

 

We have sorced the best...

 

==> sourced

 

which everyone has maybe overlooked because, frankly, they're right about the color scheme, But, it is not just the color scheme which makes the page hard to read. In graphic layout and design you want to make the page as easy to read as possible. This means that presentation of information should visually be as short, sweet, and consistent as possible. You have to hook the customer at first glance - all you have is what they see on the computer screen when it first appears. You do not have the benefit of a full page newspaper add, only an area about 6" by 11". On the front page I see...

 

White font, black font, second style font in the green ovals, third style font in the red oval, green ovals, red oval, small red dots, white punctuation between the black print, small arrows outlined in blue, removed all images except the magnifying image in quick find, two different logos - one in header and one in red oval + the name Buzz Coffee repeated - that's the name three times in the top half of the viewable page in three different formats, 'osCommerce 2.2-MS2' smack in the middle(?!?) of the page, OSC again twice in the footer (copyright and logo) - are you selling coffee or OSC, give OSC credit with the 'powered by' copyright, don't make it a main feature on your page, Too much empty red real estate in header = lost advertising/promotional space. Logo takes up too much vertical room and not enough horizontal (every wonder why the OSC logo is the way it is?)

 

I'm sure there is more but you should get the picture. This is waaaay too much information to process before the reader can even focus on what you are selling. Go to successful, high volume sites like Amazon.com and look at what they do - there is a reason for it - it WORKS! They put as much information on the initial screen view as they can, but it is fairly consistent in it's presentation and, yes, the color scheme does not detract from the products. Red and green attract too much attention - are you selling coffee or 'red and green'?

 

Show the owner this message, and the others too. These are people trying to make a living off the internet just like him. They KNOW what works. Egos and likes have to be put aside in marketing. The customer is not going to an Italian or Mexican circus, they are going to YOUR coffee shop. They cannot taste your coffee so make them believe your coffee tastes good by designing the site with good taste.

 

First of all make the whole site white background, then try redesigning the logo in something like photoshop - make the bag red and put the word Buzz on the bag in black. turn the bag sideways so the green coffee beans spill out (you roast green coffee beans right?) and put the words 'coffee beans' in black in amongst the beans spilling out of the bag. This will gain you vertical display space, take up approximately one third of the horizontal screenspace, and subtly and cleverly show the company colors and name. Dump the red and green ovals and dots - use coffee beans instead. The customer is not in your store to pick up a bag of coffee or taste it so every time they click on a coffee bean they are coming as close to 'touching' your product as they can. Make all text black. If you have to use one of the colors, use red or green (but NOT both) as the header bars and breadcrumb line. Bold the text in the header bars and breadcrumb line but DO NOT use different sized and style of text. Try having the loose coffee beans in the new products box spilling out of their bag instead of just in a pile - it shows action and looks less as a previous critic suggested, although I was thinking in terms of a pile of rabbit pellets. Possibly move the welcome/login line into the header above the coffee bean nav buttons and get rid of all text on that opening page except for something like "Whether for your home or business, Buzz Coffee offers only the finest in fresh roasted organic coffee (we do the roasting!), teas, brewing equipment, and related products." This brings up the pictures of the products into the 'first sight' viewing area when the web site loads.

 

...and get rid of the multiple esspresso machine pictures. They look like three different machines. Large flashing pictures are distracting. One (the BEST one) will do nicely.

 

Remember - when designing for sales remember these guidelines.

 

1) Does it keep the positive focus on the product?

2) Is is short, simple, and easy to understand?

3) Have you made maximum effective use of all available space, especially the 'first glance' viewing area?

4) When the site is successful because you've followed my suggestions, send me a check for $1000 - what you would normally pay up front for such professional graphic layout and design advice.... Just kidding. But a modest donation to OSCommerce would be nice.

 

Good luck,

Charles

We stand in ignorance only for questions not asked. Plug up the leaks in your knowledge base and open up a flood of understanding.
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Thanks that is a great help, I have been talking to the owner & he is happy with the changes, but I still have a way to go. Is the header showing as red on other computers?

quote _The stock osC buttons really need to go_ what are these? I'm sorry, I am new to php

Also is the site too wide?? if so how do I shrink it

Thanks heaps for all your help :D

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I agree with Chance, your on the right track

 

more spelling...

 

Shipping and Returns

 

distroyed

 

==> destroyed

 

Privacy Notice

 

Buzz Coffee Beans will not disclose your information to anyone. We do not sell e-mail lists All credit card deatils are distroyed and protected by our secure server.

 

==> destroyed

 

also missing period after 'e-mail lists.

 

Conditions of Use

 

If you have any questions regarding your purchase please ask before you buy, This saves items being charged for that you do not want. Have fun shopping with us.

 

comma (,) after 'purchased', period (.) after 'buy' (currently a comma).

 

Proper grammar and spelling is essential to effective marketing and sales. In fact, the appearance of the entire site is. If the presentation is poor then it gives the impression that the product is poor too.

 

Charles

We stand in ignorance only for questions not asked. Plug up the leaks in your knowledge base and open up a flood of understanding.
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The stock osC buttons really need to go

 

They are the images included with OSC such as the 'Continue' button and the little man in the top right corner of the Privacy page.

 

They are found in the images directory and should be removed or replaced.

 

charles

We stand in ignorance only for questions not asked. Plug up the leaks in your knowledge base and open up a flood of understanding.
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Sorry about the spelling.

 

Your logo and 'shrink and redesign' is a good alternative.

 

Syrups image is realy huge and took a looong time to load.

 

Charles

We stand in ignorance only for questions not asked. Plug up the leaks in your knowledge base and open up a flood of understanding.
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Recommend you using better graphics. The gif files in the top right have a darker red outside than the background colour. Use transparent background.

 

On my laptop I see the background as a horrible neon green goop colour, recommend to change it

 

As for the rest, perhaps you could modify the OSCommerce template/stylesheet a bit more.

 

I'm not sure if my site is any better - www.misohoni.com/catalog/

 

Cheers

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Thanks misohoni, I am working on everything & changing all the graphics. how is it you change the style sheet.

I had a look at your site & the greys & browns made me want to cry, maybe you could change the grey background.

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I had a look at your site & the greys & browns made me want to cry, maybe you could change the grey background.

 

Ah Ha! Now thats some feedback. That guy has his own can of color problem worms.

 

I'm not sure if my site is any better - www.misohoni.com/catalog/

 

misohoni you are attempting to circumvent the posting rules on this forum. You do not have the "powered by osCommerce" required text on your site, and you have posted it in a chain of threads with the obvious intent of getting feedback.

 

If you can't support the project with a simple 3 word string, quit spamming other people's requests for review. Comply with the rules and start your own.

My advice comes in two flavors- Pick the one that won't offend you.

 

Hard and Cynical: How to Make a Horrible osCommerce Site

 

Warm and Fuzzy: How to Make an Awesome osCommerce Site

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spelling errors are not errors. I am n Australian & our spelling is english not US. Thanks anyway

 

WHat does that have to do with anything. You still spelt destroyed wrong ( it is not distroyed it is "Destroyed" and you don't spell sorced like so, it is "sourced"

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I had a look at your site & the greys & browns made me want to cry, maybe you could change the grey background.

 

Ah Ha! Now thats some feedback. That guy has his own can of color problem worms.

 

I'm not sure if my site is any better - www.misohoni.com/catalog/

 

misohoni you are attempting to circumvent the posting rules on this forum. You do not have the "powered by osCommerce" required text on your site, and you have posted it in a chain of threads with the obvious intent of getting feedback.

 

If you can't support the project with a simple 3 word string, quit spamming other people's requests for review. Comply with the rules and start your own.

Chance, not sure who you are - but thanks for your message. Didn't realise I deleted the Powered by... on my site but it's fixed now - sorry to offend.

 

I don't believe I'm spamming since I'm helping others with their sites. As for people checking out mine, ok I'll stop mentioning it. Not sure if "made me want to cry" is constructive, but I'll take it.

 

Thanks

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Dear Chris,

 

I took a visit to your site and couldn't get past the green. It's fluorescent effect was distracting. I'm not a PHP expert but I do have years of web page design and marketing experience. A few suggestions if you'd like:

 

1- Less is more

2- Subtle is better - as a sales pitch and as an invitation.

3- female shoppers are the leading source of revenue.

 

Have you looked around for a small "coffee" gif file to use as a background in your header? Or, from a single coffee-bean jpg, you can Photoshop-create a subtle background for the main page - make it so it depicts VERY scattered coffee beans on white bg in about 50% transluscent. To look for a ready-made such background, search Google pic files for "coffee bean" buttons and bullets. Keywords "coffee bean" "coffee beans" "java" "coffee" "bean".

 

All in all, avoid 'loud' color. It makes the site look ma&pa and/or unprofessional.

 

That's my input.

 

Lisa

GLK

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Chris wrote:

Ok I hear you about the colours. They are the company colours & what the owner want. The retail shop are these colours & it looks great, we even took out cafe of the year. But thanks anyway. Can I have some more non colour related reviews please

 

 

I read the whole thread AFTER I posted my first critique Chris. So I see why you're sticking with the red and green. However, as long as your client insists on blaring those colors in his customer's eyes, his sales will suffer. As the site's designer, it will reflect back on to you, so it's your responsibility to convince (sell)this information to your client.

 

Most products have catchy trademarks and logos that have weird, loud colors. And that's good - as long as these colors remain in the context of a logo or trademark stamp which are the markes customers identify with and look for. The BUZZ logo with the burlap sac of coffee beans would look great in a 3-D green, red and beige and used as the identofying mark of this client's product and authentic internet location. Why not design the LOGO in those colors INSTEAD of making the whole web site about color instead of product?

 

Again, yours truly,

 

Lisa

GLK

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Thanks for your advice lisa, I am taking it all onboard & making changes. I have changed the background to a softer green in the catalogue & am making the changes to a white background in the html part of the site. I don't have photoshop but am using paintshop pro, so I'll see what i can come up with. Another party made the logo & I am very unhappy with the results he has given me. I am in conferance with the owner to try & make a logo change, I'm a designer by trade & the colours have been offensive to me also so i hear you all. The owner is comming around to my thoughts after all your neg feedback so thanks for it all. I'll keep making any changes you can offer.

Thanks :P

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