Comments on new jewelry website

[Tomcat]

Hi all,

 

I need some feedback on www.18carati.com before going live.

 

I'm aware that there still are some bugs, not finished pages etc. , but I would like some general comments on the site.

 

Payments are on TEST mode, so feel free to order the most expensive gift on sale... :D

 

Thanks

Franco

[boxtel]

Hi all,

 

I need some feedback on www.18carati.com before going live.

 

I'm aware that there still are some bugs, not finished pages etc. , but I would like some general comments on the site.

 

Payments are on TEST mode, so feel free to order the most expensive gift on sale... :D

 

Thanks

Franco

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well, for starters.

 

don't use that tab bar, out of style with the rest of your site which looks pretty great.

 

I wonder why you needs 18 queries for the popup images.

 

You have the same shopping cart problem as many others, customers can enter 9999999999999999999999999999 and still only get billed virtually nothing.

 

you still ask my gender which is non of your business. At least make it optional.

 

you have this on your new products page :

 

echo$products_new['products_name']; 1.000 ct. Acquamarine ring 0.09 ct.

Date Added:

 

Price: $866.63

 

echo$products_new['products_name']; 1.800 ct. Acquamarine ring 0.21 ct.

Date Added:

 

Price: $880.09

 

echo$products_new['products_name']; Diamond band ring with central diamond 0.04 ct.

Date Added:

 

Price: $832.99

 

echo$products_new['products_name']; Diamond cross 0.26 ct.

Date Added:

 

Price: $882.78

 

echo$products_new['products_name']; Diamond cross 0.48 ct.

Date Added:

 

Price: $219.35

 

echo$products_new['products_name']; Diamond cross necklace 0.08 ct.

Date Added:

 

Price: $876.05

 

echo$products_new['products_name']; Diamond cross necklace 0.08 ct.

Date Added:

 

Price: $858.56

 

echo$products_new['products_name'];

 

how many requests you have received is only of value to you not me.

 

do you really have different language files for english and american ?

 

Very impressed with your stones information box.

 

improve on your buttons, they don't do justice to you otherwise nice design.

 

205 queries for your homepage is pretty much.

 

But your homepage looks pretty good, except for the footer which I think is too large. But that is a taste matter.

[Andrew Yuen]

Sorry to say but your site needs a lot of work done on it. First fix the menu it is messed up. When you click on a tab on the tab menu it seems the background is shifted one pixel down if you know what I mean. Also take away some of the world pay logos you have 3 of them on one page I think the customer gets the point with just 1. Your store is not centered and in a fixed width table. It looks really bad on my laptop which has a 1400 X1050 screen. What does ?3 130 p.av.? mean in your bottom bar where your counter is? Also take away the counter I don't think it's useful or accurate. The quick search should be near the top on the left column, it should be below the categories box. Fix the border on the login page. One is yellow and the other one is not. Why do you have dropdown for US states and territories but dropdown for all the countries? Also your category pictures ALL need to be changed. I would also get rid of the gold/silver prices on the top of every page. Is that necessary? I would put it on another separate page (which is what I did on my jewelry site). Please don't take this review the wrong way. These are only my opinions. Your site needs a lot of work but after it is done I am sure it will look much better.

[Tomcat]

Well, thanks guys for your useful comments.

 

Andew,

Why do you have dropdown for US states and territories but dropdown for all the countries? Also your category pictures ALL need to be changed

In the dropdown there are provinces( or US terr.) and nations, what's wrong with that ? What's wrong with the category pics ?

I would put it on another separate page (which is what I did on my jewelry site).

I was going to....I just didn't know what to put in there... what's your ULR by the way ?

 

Amanda,

don't use that tab bar, out of style with the rest of your site which looks pretty great

Do you think I should change tab bar or just get rid of it ?

I wonder why you needs 18 queries for the popup images.

well, don't know... will find out and fix it.

Also query counter at bottom is just for my reference during test, it will soon go away.

do you really have different language files for english and american ?

I do yes, for a number of reasons ( ring size tables, currency, VAT, etc.)

205 queries for your homepage is pretty much.

They are about 150 on home page for me.I know it's still too much.. I've got to work on that.

 

Thanks

 

Franco

[boxtel]

Well, thanks guys for your useful comments.

 

Andew,

 

In the dropdown there are provinces( or US terr.) and nations, what's wrong with that ? What's wrong with the category pics ?

 

I was going to....I just didn't know what to put in there... what's your ULR by the way ?

 

Amanda,

 

Do you think I should change tab bar or just get rid of it ?

well, don't know... will find out and fix it.

Also query counter at bottom is just for my reference during test, it will soon go away.

I do yes, for a number of reasons ( ring size tables, currency, VAT, etc.)

 

They are about 150 on home page for me.I know it's still too much.. I've got to work on that.

 

Thanks

 

Franco

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you don't need to loose the bar menu, just make it in the same style .

 

by the way, currency, VAT and stuff like that is country related, not language related.

If you still want to separate english from american, use a different image for the english. now it suggests both.

[Andrew Yuen]

What's wrong with the drop down box? This is what is wrong: YOU have all US states and US territories in your drop down box but NO out of US states in the drop down box BUT you do have all the countries in the countries drop down box. If you are only accepting orders in the US and its territories eliminate all other countries from your countries drop down box. Else make the state a text field and not a drop down. Say I was from Alberta Canada. I could not fill out the state dropdown for there is no Alberta in the list. BUT I could fill out the country, Canada. If you want to check out my jewelry store SEE my home page. Your category pics are fuzzy and not clear.

[burt]

It looks amateur which is not the right impression to be giving when your items have a high ticket value.

 

For Jewelry [ Jewellery ] Stores I am of the opinion that less is more.

 

I'm also in the middle of building a Jewelry Store and received some good feedback - have a look at the comments on http://www.oscommerce.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120260 which may give you some ideas as to the way forward.

 

hth

[Tomcat]

It looks amateur which is not the right impression to be giving when your items have a high ticket value.

Thanks Gary, can you quicly explain why it looks amateur ?

For Jewelry [ Jewellery ] Stores I am of the opinion that less is more

I didn't get this one, what do you mean ?

 

One thing I liked of your jewellery site are pictures, they look really professional. Did you take them ? can you share any hints on what kind of light/camera you're using ?

 

Franco

[burt]

I think it's because there seems to be no real design behind your site - and there's a couple of scrolling effects along with the button set (you need a new set!)...it all adds up and just doesn't look right to sell Jewellery...

 

When I say "less is more", I mean that your site should not detract from your products - as for now, on your site, my eye gets pulled towards the right column, as there is a couple of scrolling boxes ("bestsellers" box and mailing list)...

 

When I get around to taking my images, I'll be using a Nikon Coolpix 5700 [ http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp5700/ ] - this is a slightly older camera, but still good enough for most subjects. I have a small cubelight ordered [ http://www.lastolite.com/ ], so I should be able to get really nice close ups which should help to sell the products!

 

hth

[eddyb]

I have to agree with Burt on the less is more approach - if you are selling expensive items which are materialistic - i.e. they are only being bought on the "bling" factor. The pictures have to be the main factor of your site. You are doing this well with the lareg pictures however - simplify simplify simplify !

 

Imagine I am a prospective cutsomer.Get rid of the banner at the top - i want to buy my wife some jewellery I DONT want to see stock quotes.

 

Also get rid of the tabs - the categories are easy to see along the left. The tabs make the page look cluttered.

 

Similarly get rid of the marquee. Im sorry but the word tacky comes to mind. The same applied to the letters in the newsletter box.

 

The logo at the top would look better stretched to full width IMO - do this by removing the bevel effect and then continuing the blue on the right hand side.

 

HTH,

Ed

[Tomcat]

I have to agree with Burt on the less is more approach - if you are selling expensive items which are materialistic - i.e. they are only being bought on the "bling" factor. The pictures have to be the main factor of your site. You are doing this well with the lareg pictures however - simplify simplify simplify !

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks Ed, got the message ...

 

Franco