Industrial Supplies

[bjbtexas]

www.sigfas.com

 

Clean simple look was the goal. So many part names need to be cleaned up. The categories are too deep and the SEO (CHEMO) won't work. Error: Packet size too large.

 

Any comments appreciated.

 

Thanks,

[Victor Wise]

Hello,

 

I aesthetically like how your website looks. Its really clean and professional looking. You should move your phone number from the bottom of the page to right under your logo on the top left. This is considered by most e-commerce professionals as the "best" placement for a phone number.

 

I think you need to make some changes though in the way categories and sub categories are presented. You have so many products, I have to click on something like 5 different links just to get to a product page. I would recommend on pages like http://www.sigfas.com/index.php?cPath=1007...10002_100720004 you put a button under each product such as 'details' or 'add to cart'. I think for pages such as:http://www.sigfas.com/index.php?cPath=1007_100710002 you should try including a picture for each category. This would make the site more visual and friendly. Also, if you add some text, you can turn this page into a great landing page for customers to arrive to from a ppc search result. I would recommend the same thing for category pages such as http://www.sigfas.com/index.php?cPath=1007 , you need to make it more visual and captilize on SEM by making it a good landing page.

 

I like the site alot. It looks really clean and trustworthy. But its not friendly!

[bjbtexas]

You have so many products, I have to click on something like 5 different links just to get to a product page. I would recommend on pages like http://www.sigfas.com/index.php?cPath=1007...10002_100720004 you put a button under each product such as 'details' or 'add to cart'.

 

I agree completely. It's a ton of products, way to nested and I've struggled with that issue. I had the SEO - html rewrite turned on and it couldn't handle it due to the depth of the categories – Error: “packet size too large”. Trying to meet a deadline I went ahead and backed that out. (I know I'll shoot myself later)

 

The issue starts with bad data on over 40,000 items. I've got to find someone to massage the data then I can get to a friendlier site. It seems like they have described the product 100% by the time you get to it in the links.

 

All that info needs to be 1 at most two off the home page. Then the product info page can have all the good stuff.

 

I think for pages such as:http://www.sigfas.com/index.php?cPath=1007_100710002 you should try including a picture for each category. This would make the site more visual and friendly. Also, if you add some text, you can turn this page into a great landing page for customers to arrive to from a ppc search result. I would recommend the same thing for category pages such as http://www.sigfas.com/index.php?cPath=1007 , you need to make it more visual and capitalizes on SEM by making it a good landing page.

 

I have a random picture for categories installed, but same story. It's turned off. I have gigs of pictures, but not all products have pictures and the random picture contr was putting up the same ugly coming soon graphic.

 

On the landing pages I’ll get that when I hire someone to manipulate the data to a less nested form -- putting the sub category info on the product pages, like you point out. Also putting default pictures per category.

 

Thanks for the great comments!

[chooch]

Full credit to you for the work you've done but the site seems a little dull and amount of clicks and clicks that need to be made before an image of an item is actually seen is 'a lot'.

 

The category and sub-category listing in the category box is very impressive but the logic of having the same in the left hand column in a big white empty space is beyond me.

 

I do think the stylesheet could be used a little more effectively to jazz up the site.

 

Good Luck

[bjbtexas]

Full credit to you for the work you've done but the site seems a little dull and amount of clicks and clicks that need to be made before an image of an item is actually seen is 'a lot'.

 

The category and sub-category listing in the category box is very impressive but the logic of having the same in the left hand column in a big white empty space is beyond me.

 

I do think the stylesheet could be used a little more effectively to jazz up the site.

 

Good Luck

 

Thanks for the credit on the site - it's cumulative. I've built the package in going live on several different stores over the last couple of years. It has so many mods it’s very hard to mod these days with or with out my "beyond Compare" helper. Like my wife said to me the other day when I was adding an update to the XML UPS shipping module, "that looks like gibberish," believe me I couldn’t do it with out “Beyond Compare”

 

The category links are a huge issue. With over 60,000 items and still only half on the website I’ve realized I’m going to need to go back soon and clean this up. The issue is an archaic database strategy. It was built around a menu driven inventory system that worked well in the thinking of keyboard only - command line logic. On the web it has got to get much flatter, but I’m going to need to farm this out. Essentially send the catalog to someone have them build the database from scratch.

 

The deeply nested categories present another problem in that the SEO re-write does work at all. It’s a priority to fix the database, but with 120,000 products you can see the issues. Take for example a drill bit it come in 10-20 different diameters, 2-4 different materials, and 5-6 different brands.

 

Oh and I have no brand names yet, and this is a huge factor in which all customers have favorites -- just like Ford vs. Chevy.

 

The images are missing for the same reason I don’t have the SEO mod turned on – too much bandwidth and extremely slow loading speeds with so many categories. I have the package installed to generate random pictures with each category, but its all commented out -- the server can’t handle it.

 

The thought on the left justified products is to get the Product Text as close to the top as possible. In the past the text on my osCommerce product info pages has had very little to do with the actual product as listed in the SE text. Of course these pages looked much better with the pictures generated from the random category picture generator mod. Interesting though the pages are staring to rank better than most I’ve had in the past.

 

There is a side note here, the-on-the-fly image resizing, watermarking, picture encrypting mod I chose compromised the various "table_background" images. They don’t display because they are in the same directory as the product images instead of in the include/language/… directory where most site images reside. This resizing mod does not support the gif images and addes the watermark to the JPGs.

 

In trying to "jazz it up" I added just a little more color at the top of the page with 4 dynamic buttons to help on navigation of common site functions. I'm very concerned about the site’s audience -- balancing clean and simple graphics and still appealing to engineer types. Have you ever seen AutoCAD -- darn near scares me it so bland!

 

Lastly, some one had mentioned the phone number earlier in a more prominent position at the top of the page. That suggestion will be added soon as the company (an ongoing business concern) dedicates more resources to the website.

[Victor Wise]

It really sounds like you are on top of things! This site definitely has potential for serious profit! If it didn't, you probably wouldn't have so many technical problems.

 

 

I wanted to comment on the Autocad feeling you were aspiring for. While a good start - I would recommend against designing the website only for analytical personality types. By crafting some hyperlinks to appeal to amiable personality types, you could have a portion of the website less 'autocaddish' and more persuasive towards non-analyticals.

 

Since your site is so massive, this is really an academic discussion -sorry. How many pages do you have anyways?

[bjbtexas]

How many pages do you have anyways?

 

I have 60789 products active in Google base. With all the the drilling down in categories it adds tons more. Hopefully, I'll get the categories straightened up soon enough. Of course, then I'll be back in the Google dance. :o

[chooch]

I have 60789 products active in Google base.

without a doubt you have put a lot of energy, focus and effort in to this project and it will hopefully pay off.

 

just adding 60k+ products would take a long time and test anyones patience, so i sincerely wish you success.

 

good luck

[bjbtexas]

I made some very slight changes to the layout.

• 800 number at the top of the page.
  
• A drop shadow left border
  
• A gray left side Trough
  

Any better? or worse?

 

Thanks,

[rommany]

It doesn't look right to me, im using IE and your nav bar goes right along but you have a blue line going down the right hand side a few inches in and it just looks wrong.

 

I know you have a load of products but im not sure if i like how it just goes from the categories on the right then switching to the categories on the left as well, its just a tad confusing, i also don't like the idea that i have to clink 3 to 4 pages before i see any kind of image.

 

I would remove the page visits since as this adds no value, i would also center the site.

 

Why do you have two search boxes ?

 

Other than that i agree with above comments the site does look great and trustworthy and im sure it will do very well.

 

Good Luck

[bjbtexas]

It doesn't look right to me, im using IE and your nav bar goes right along but you have a blue line going down the right hand side a few inches in and it just looks wrong.

 

I know you have a load of products but im not sure if i like how it just goes from the categories on the right then switching to the categories on the left as well, its just a tad confusing, i also don't like the idea that i have to clink 3 to 4 pages before i see any kind of image.

 

I would remove the page visits since as this adds no value, i would also center the site.

 

Why do you have two search boxes ?

 

Other than that i agree with above comments the site does look great and trustworthy and im sure it will do very well.

 

Good Luck

[bjbtexas]

It doesn't look right to me, im using IE and your nav bar goes right along but you have a blue line going down the right hand side a few inches in and it just looks wrong.

 

I know you have a load of products but im not sure if i like how it just goes from the categories on the right then switching to the categories on the left as well, its just a tad confusing, i also don't like the idea that i have to clink 3 to 4 pages before i see any kind of image.

 

I would remove the page visits since as this adds no value, i would also center the site.

 

Why do you have two search boxes ?

 

Other than that i agree with above comments the site does look great and trustworthy and im sure it will do very well.

 

Good Luck

 

Okay, I got rod of the counter. I agree it didn't add value.

 

I also got rid of the second search box. It's now just advanced search on the left column.

 

The multitude of categories with no pictures is a huge project, but it is a must.

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope you guys are right on the success.

 

Question: One of the standard-bearers in industrial supply is www.grainger.com.

 

Graphically how do the sites compare? :huh:

 

And thanks again for all the comments.

[rommany]

That looks a lot better, i still would center the shop and add them images if possible? then stop playing with it as it looks great...

 

Dont worry about grainger.com, worry about exchanging hundreds of links and adding good content that are keyword loaded and the site and the search engines will do the rest..

 

Good Luck and Happy New Year : )

[bjbtexas]

That looks a lot better, i still would center the shop and add them images if possible? then stop playing with it as it looks great...

 

Dont worry about grainger.com, worry about exchanging hundreds of links and adding good content that are keyword loaded and the site and the search engines will do the rest..

 

Good Luck and Happy New Year : )

 

Thanks - I need to take that advice!

 

Link building and content... the easy part is over... now the work begins!

 

I'll think about the centering <_<

 

cheers!

[chooch]

Centering would definately improve the look on the eye but i wanted to comment on the SEO URL problem... i didn't know that contribution has the packet size problem... have you looked in to any other ones?

 

You could always use metatags contributions for the time being - that would certainly help a bit with rankings and all!

[bjbtexas]

Centering would definately improve the look on the eye but i wanted to comment on the SEO URL problem... i didn't know that contribution has the packet size problem... have you looked in to any other ones?

 

You could always use metatags contributions for the time being - that would certainly help a bit with rankings and all!

 

I'm sure the packet size issue is the depth of the categories. I've had this SEO Contrib working on other sites on the same server. I think the biggest value is to shorten the clicks to the products. The other contribs I tried at first didn't seem to work. I started my build two years ago, so things could have changed.

 

I have a meta-tags script using the bread crumb trail for keywords and description. Google has picked up the description quite nicely. Makes more sense than most descriptions you see for Google spidered pages.

<meta name="description" content=" Fine <?php echo strip_tags($breadcrumb->trail(' ')); ?> sold here">

[chooch]

I have a meta-tags script using the bread crumb trail for keywords and description. Google has picked up the description quite nicely. Makes more sense than most descriptions you see for Google spidered pages.

<meta name="description" content=" Fine <?php echo strip_tags($breadcrumb->trail(' ')); ?> sold here">

I see you have metatags installed but i noticed also the limited specific text in them.....

 

Very interesting, which contribution did you use for the metatags v/s breadcrumbs? I didn't know there was one that linked the two... i know of breadcrumb mods and netatags mods - but not of one that incorporates both of them at once!

[bjbtexas]

I see you have metatags installed but i noticed also the limited specific text in them.....

 

Very interesting, which contribution did you use for the metatags v/s breadcrumbs? I didn't know there was one that linked the two... i know of breadcrumb mods and netatags mods - but not of one that incorporates both of them at once!

 

 

I think it was a late night session quick and dirty that I borrowed from the "Breadcrumb Trail Page Title" contrib. As I've indicated my personal build of osCommerce is a multi year adventure.

 

My goal was trying to get Google to use my text, but I wanted different text on every page. The breadcrumb trail from the database was the most descriptive feature on most of the items.

[chooch]

My goal was trying to get Google to use my text, but I wanted different text on every page. The breadcrumb trail from the database was the most descriptive feature on most of the items.

 

That breadcrumb mod is available from the downloads section, i have used it in a store but the idea of adding metatags via the breadcrumbs is totally new to me...

 

I appreciate the fact your store was built over a period of a long time but if you manage to remember how you linked the metatags to the breadcrumb trail please let me know - i would be grateful as i want to experiment with that feature.

[bjbtexas]

if you manage to remember how you linked the metatags to the breadcrumb trail please let me know - i would be grateful as i want to experiment with that feature.

 

First, please forgive my ignorance -- coding php is not my forte. I edit and little else. I may be missing the question you are asking.

 

First I hacked the starting names of the breadcrumb trail. I believe they are in the base file of the Language.

 

Catalog>includes>language>English.php

 

There I changed it to something a little more to my liking.

 

define('HEADER_TITLE_TOP', 'SigFas');
define('HEADER_TITLE_CATALOG', 'Supply Catalog');

 

Then in every page I wanted a better description than what I was getting from the various other meta tag packages I've tried I added the simple code:

 

<meta name="description" content="Enter any text <?php echo strip_tags($breadcrumb->trail(' ')); ?> extra complimentary text here">
<meta name="keywords" content="<?php echo strip_tags($breadcrumb->trail(', ')); ?>">

 

That is it. application top calls the breadcrumb trail in just about every page right?

 

Not perfect, but Google descriptions very seldom have much smooth flowing text anyway.

[chooch]

Thanks for the reply - i'll start playing around with the code and add it to a test site to see what happens...

 

Thanks