Question

Topic: Website Critique

Your Opinion On A Translations Website

Posted by Anonymous on 10/18/2007 at 11:50 PM ET 125 Points
I would love to receive your input on how to improve our website in any way.

Please visit www.site-translations.com and let me know.

I look forward to receiving your comments!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 10/18/2007 at 11:56 PM Member
    looks good to me. Below are few suggestions:

    maybe you can have this whole website in spanish language to accommodate those speaking spanish to know. because many a times a foreign person may ask the spanish people to recommend.

    Also if you can put various cases that you may have worked on - gives a little credibility

  • Posted on 10/19/2007 at 5:30 AM Accepted
    Hi Isabel,

    Overall it looks like you have a nice site. The following are opinions only, you can take what you want.

    It looks like the site was build from a CSS template, a clean and easy one. This means it will be easy to change some things, and not so easy to change others.

    1. First, it would be great if you had a logo instead of the template's standard text/font (looks like Helvetica to me). That would add more originality to it.
    2. I don't like the music, especially for people checking this at the office. Since your services are b2b, I would hate for people to get blasted with the sound in the office as I did.
    3. I believe the home page header is too big. Most people immediately look under the header for information after they see the logo, so the information you convey without scrolling is limited.
    4. I really like the size of the headers on the subsequent pages, this allows for a lot of content to be reviewed very quickly by the viewer.
    5. The text in the home page header is not so good. Primarily because it is yellow on a medium blue background, it makes it hard to read.
    6. Since most people will immediately go below the header to find out more, and in combination with the color mixture, the links and information in the header will be mostly ignored.
    7. I do like the use of bold face type in the copy, it is not too much and does seem to highlight the important parts.
    8. I do like the consistent use of the titles with the last word bolded, as with the improvised logo.
    9. The colors of the website say that your corporate colors should be blue and green, or maybe green and gray. But the logo is a different color. Long term once your business is running and you can get a proper logo, it would be nice if you could coordinate the website colors and your logo colors. Really helps strengthen the brand recognition for your clients.

    Cheers!
  • Posted on 10/19/2007 at 6:52 AM Member
    Hi isabel,

    Nice site, wiht wings to fly.

    I only have a remark on the colors contrast, which is too low, in my view, especially for the light-green headers. This makes reading more difficult than it should be.

    To check contrast you can do, e.g., the following on Windows:

  • make a screen dump (press Shift + Print )

  • open Paintbrush and copy into it (press Ctrl + v)

  • select your website portion and copy it with the dotted select box (press Ctrl + c)

  • open Powerpoint and copy your selection into it

  • in the view/color menue select grayscale


    • You'll see that most body text and the green rectangles appear to be light-gray, which gives little contrast to the white background.

    Overall, all gray-tones seem to be comparable, so it's hard to visually recognize, what's important (high contrast) and what's less important (lower contrast). So this guidance path for the readers eye isn't there and all seems to have the same importance (which probably isn't true).

    Hope this helps.

    Michael

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/19/2007 at 8:32 AM Member
    The header: it's too tall, remove the animation (it distracts from the copy), and the image itself doesn't connect for me to your business.

    The copy: there's too much text in too small a font. You're also trying to accomplish too much in your home page. You don't need a "getting started" section on the home page (make that a page of its own). The Why Us is likewise too much information too soon. The home page's purpose is to get the prospect to identify with your message and click for more info. Therefore, focus on what problem you solve (why does someone want a translation?) vs. the solution you sell (Spanish translations). For example, does having a translated site mean I'll get more business? But what if my site is translated and I don't have any Spanish speakers on my staff?

    Colors: the copy on the header is very hard to read.

    Contact info: add contact info to your footer to make it easier to contact you.

    The page: try to make your home page entirely visible without scrolling.
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 10/19/2007 at 6:53 PM Member
    Hi Isabel,

    Hope every things going great for you today. I like the color of your website and some of the other things that are going on.

    YOUR CUSTOMERS OPINION REALLY COUNTS...
    Remember anything is possible and any approach is possible but everything truly depends on the audience you're trying to attract. Your audience or customer will really be the most important decision maker in any process. They're vote counts more than everything else and that's the reason you're in business anyway...right?

    SIMPLICITY & BALANCE ATTRACTS CUSTOMERS...
    I think your website needs just a little more simplicity in the area of how the words work on the page with everything else. The coordination of color and separation becomes very important in order to receive the right balance you're trying to achieve. Remember the form of a thing should follow it's function. So ask yourself the question...how is the form of my website following the function of it's design in a way that my customers are attracted to what I'm doing? If you can answer this question from your customers perspective you've got the design half licked.

    FINALLY TAKE A LOOK...
    Yeah Isabel, don't be afraid to take a look at other translation websites just to see how they're making customers feel comfortable. I'm not saying copy them...I'm just saying borrow from them in the areas where they seem to have something working where you do not.


    BE ENTICINGLY INVITING...MAKE ME WANNA WRITE...
    I'm sure you've probably seen these but what I noticed immediately about this is it's very inviting right from the start. Even their website name has a magic pull www.freetranslation.com and even though I think this one ( www.translation2.paralink.com ) could be better (in it's layout) they too have a large magic window that pulls you right in and says

    WRITE HERE PLEASE! RIGHT HERE PLEASE!!!

    And that makes me want to write...the large window is enticing.

    I do use translation websites a few times a month and that's what I like about the free translation website above that I use every time I use a website like this. Make your website inviting and ENTICING.


    A WEBSITE SHOULD WORK LIKE A POSTCARD...NOT A BLAND ENVELOPE.
    This approach works like the Post Card...No envelope makes you see the copy and want to read immediately. If it's in an envelope it takes too long to be inviting unless the COPY MAKES you want to tear the envelope open immediately. Your copy is nice but it doesn't make me what to use your website because I have to read too much. I believe the psychology you need to create is an atmosphere of

    Don't read...

    Don't wait...

    Just Translate!


    CHECK GOOGLE OUT...SIMPLE TO A FAULT but...
    It Works! take a peep at their translation which I've used a few times because it's simple. www.google.com/language_tools REMEMBER... our only real problem in life is our failure to be "MORE Creative" than we’ve ever been. If you “Invent” your opportunity YOU WILL most definitely create your future. I'm only an email away from you if you need further guidance, direction or you'd just like to talk more about it. You see I love it when my customers are happy. Is there anything else I can do for you?

    Your Servant,

    Lovingly Deremiah *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)


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