We’ve been debugging for days. It went live and we’ve been through numerous server crashes in the first 48 hours all because of the mess the last webmaster made in 2 updates.
That last site started at about 15 pages, and grew over the next 3 years or so to 1500 pages.
It’s taken the new webby about a year to muster the nerve to dive into this, but it seems to be operational now.
There’s one link on the main page that points at the wrong page, and a couple of typos… we’ve got a pretty good handle on that.
What I am interested in is the feel you get from it in the position of potential client. If you were a mid to high end client looking for a deckbuilder or pergola guy… would you be tempted to call…
Does the navigation make sense to folks from the south or west coast… or even other countries?
Thanks guys… the link is in the tag line.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Replies
I spent 2 minutes on it. Opening page is attractive, easy to navigate. I looked at one deck plan to purchase, there is a misspelled word, but otherwise looks ok. Took me a little bit to realize this is a franchise operation, or sercvice master-type referrals.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Servicemaster? Jeeze, no.
They need to offer a 5 year warranty and stay true to the details. More like a franchise--without signing in blood. We give them details, on line presence and usually way less than a phone book ad.
And no competing for leads... you service a territory, represent us well and things continue.
Just trying to help a few artistic types make the money they should be.
Servicemaster...blasphemy! Is that what you guys think I am....
(I'll just go over and enter in your deck contest then!)
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Hey Lawrence. Looks good to me, but then I'm a regular visitor to your website. Only problem is, I get caught up in admiring the photos, and that's as far as I ever get. =)"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Thanks Huck.. maybe someday I can get work as a photographer!
How is going in Bakersfield? Busy?
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Your photography is great. What kind of camera do you use?
Work here is slow. I did a porch remodel for my mom in L.A., and have a fence rebuild for her neighbor tomorrow. Then Thurs. I start a handicap accessibility remodel that should run about 6-8 weeks, in Bako.
edited to add: one complaint - the picasa slide show pictures are just too small. Is there any way to see a full screen version of each pic?
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Edited 4/27/2009 12:05 am by Huck
picasa...
are you at the blog? The decks blog?
the new site is gardenstructure.com
Thanks tho...
I am always using just out of date photography equipment. I think it is an E300 Olympus... you can get the newer one with 2 lenses for about $400 nowadays. Just shoot with a tripod and use the raw, shq and a big storage card. Take lots of photos. They don't cost anything. The one I have is 3 years old now. Ready for a new one--battery hatch has fallen off and I have duct tape holding the battery in!
There's a few guidelines to shooting good outdoor pics... we'll talk.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
picasa... are you at the blog? The decks blog? the new site is gardenstructure.com
OK, sure, ignore the question. Yeah, the blog. But same deal on the website. Says click for closeup, but the image I'm gettng is about as big as a credit card. And some of the images are not loading. And sometimes when you click for a closeup, you get this
Server Error in Application "http://WWW.GARDENSTRUCTURE.COM"
Internet Information Services 7.0
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck...curser over the little pictures...then a 500 pixel wide photo replaces the main photo...it's like the fh version but you don't have to click--and you can upload photos at will...nudge.
What operating system are you using... and if you can copy and paste any images not loading that would be helpful.
Also, if you can find that picasa referral on the website please copy me the url.
I have big black bags under my eyes and I know there are still about 700 pages to edit.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
windows xp Professional Verson 2002
when I go to gallery - click decks - none of the pictures load. Same with arbors. But if I click "learn more", then a pic will show up.
at the bottom of this page http://www.gardenstructure.com/deck_photos_deck_photos_deck, when I click To see more photos click deck photos, it goes to...
http://www.winterburngroup.on.ca/s/decks_designs.html
which is the page with the link to picasa, and the heading/background images are not loading."...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
BTW, Picasa is linked from the website as well"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
My point was ... I was expecting a web site for a contractor serving a relatively small area, not a nationwide audience. It is a nice site, to answer your original question, loads quickly, clearly laid out, etc."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Thanks Ed.
When I first started posting here I was still working full time as a carpenter and Clinton was president.
Anyone think the photos should be toned down? Scaring potential clients off?
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
I think the photos could potentially scare people off. They also might be qualifying them and that is actually a benefit for you though.
That's where tesamonials will come in. You can use them to temper the photos by choosing them carefully and having them out there on the same page as the photo.
I think anyone scared off by the pictures are clients he doesn't want anyway. I think most people who want that level of detailing would be hard-pressed to find a contractor who could deliver, and the pictures would tell them they just found one.
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
I think both you and blue are perfectly correct. Both are true and that is why I am struggling with the decision--though part of it was seeing the results of a broken site and not even realizing it was broken.... until Huck pointed it out! Thanks Huck. Good Eye.
Three major rules to marketing as I recall. Market Consistently. Shoot while the birds are in the air and always show off your best stuff.
The first one we do in spades... 125,000 visits to the site in the past month.
#2 is the issue... which birds are in the air and how many. Blue has a good point. If not enough high end work... we may have to aim lower in the sky to keep everyone busy.
#3 is another issue. If what we show off drives off legitimate clients that we can possibly make profit servicing and keep more of us busy... that may be prudent.
I hear all too often "I don't think we can afford what you do". Those pretty pictures on the site likely make up 5-10% of what our builders actually do. Most of it is pretty utilitarian. It may be the only way to judge is give it 2 weeks and then get feedback from all our people.
That issue from yesterday is repaired... all photos load now--every time.
Thanks for input guys!
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Well, Blue is pretty good at this kind of analysis.
Maybe you could combine both his suggestions, i.e. a testimonial, "After I saw the beatiful photos of their work, I thought I wouldn't be able to afford them for my humble abode. But they came out and built me a beautiful, functional fence that fit in perfectly with my simple decor, and my budget!" - Ima Teightwaad, homeowner, Flint, Michigan"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
hey.... if i ever get my life back on track, i'll jump on that projectMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
lawrence...stunning photo on the opening page
i notice you have no RI representation....Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hi Mike--
Thanks for the compliment. There are actually 5 large photos that come up. As you mouseover the small photos below they change to large photos--and they are clickable to reach the most popular gallery pages.
Not in RI yet... got somebody in mind?? I only know of one capable builder in that area!! ;o)
We should talk.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Totally love the site and I'm not easy to please !
http://www.cliffordrenovations.com
http://www.ramdass.org
Edited 5/11/2009 12:33 am ET by andybuildz
Lawrence - if you give me permission to use a photo from your website, or email me one, I'll post a photo and a link on my website. I like using my website to link to other reputable and quality-oriented companies."...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Lawrence, It's been a while, good to see things are going well for you.I first visited your website years ago, and yes, it was a maze of pages back then. The new layout is vastly superior. While i didn't navigate everywhere, what I saw was clean, logical layout, pages load well, mouse-overs are effective. I like very much the background colors. It hints at "green" and "outdoors" while still providing god contrast for the text.Critique? A couple minor things:1) When I go on your "home" page, the main photo is labeled "pergola". Underneath that main photo you have alternate mouseover thumbnail photos, from left-to-right in order:
-wood fences
-pergola
-deck
-outdoor room
-landscape design
If "pergola" will always load as the main photo on the home page, then I'd like to see the pergola thumbnail be the leftmost thumbnail underneath the main page.I'd try to rank order those in visual and job selling importance. The pergola you have is just gorgeous, keep that first. Decks are probably next, then maybe fences, then outdoor rooms, then landscape design. 2) On the home page, under the drop down menus for "gallery" and "DIY plans", from top-to-bottom I'd prefer those be in the same order as the left-to-right mouseover thumbnails on the home page.3) The "Articles" drop down menu? I'd reorder those, putting "refinishing decks and pergolas" ahead of "Exterior stain". And I'd rename those two. I'd rename "refinishing..." to "Staining Outdoor Decks and Pergolas" and I'd add "troubleshooting" or "problem solving" to the name of the "exterior stain" article, since that is what it deals with.4) The article, "Exterior Stain":
-Some of the problems and solutions in the "exterior stain" article seem to be flip-flopped. 5) In the "refinishing...' article, it shows up as a different font, both type and size, from the other fonts on your website. Parts are italicized, others are not. I'm not sure if that is intentional or not.6) Your site deals with high-end installations. I'd be careful about adding simpler designs to this site and trying to have this one website as the "be all" to every level of outdoor construction. Instead consider starting a separate sister website that deals with lower-tier, or less-detailed, more simple designs that you offer.
Mongo!
Thank you for the insightful ideas and critique.
You are a taskmaster!!! Looks like I have work to do. The second site is going through some reworking as we speek--then I can propogate.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
I don't see any taglines. I probably got them shut off but I would like to see the website.
http://www.gardenstructure.com blue...
How is life?
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Life is good.
Your website looks spectacular. It was easy to understand. One glaring ommission was testamonials. Certainly, you must have some people that have said nice things. I din't search the entire site. I might have viewed 15 pages but I didn't see one testamonial.
I also found it interesting that I happened to see your name...but only after I'd clicked onto the "plan" section. After looking at the various locations, I then began to wonder...."...does Lawrence do ALL the designs?"
So, in one sense, you seem to be projecting a team effort to get all the work done at all those locations but there is no mention of them doing any designs or plans.
What does this all mean? Maybe to most people, nothing. To me, it's a mystery.
I did like how you quickly got the money issue on plan costs. You stated it succintly and I appreciate that.
Overall, I rate your website excellent from my own uneducated perspective. Thanks for not trying to impress me with web tricks.
There is a testimonials page... I haven't updated that in a few years and yes...there are plenty to add.
That will be accessible from FAQ, which is sort of company information.. Everything will be blocked from the search engines... like this forum.
It is a good point Blue, however I have seen some tremendous frauds perpetrated on the back of testimonials and references. Something to be said for the value of referrals in salesmanship though.
Thanks for the reminder.
I'll get those up right after I do the custom designs page.
A lot of the best designs are either by me, or elaborations on one of my designs. Sounds conceited, but there are a few guys that really are spectacular and as time goes on you will see more and more showcases. You have to remember the majority of my time has been spent designing the last 10 or so years.
http://www.gardenstructure.com/a1aPergola_Company?gallery was based on T005 pro.. a standard plan... but Lance Hans brought it to life and gave it a Florida Flavor.
http://www.gardenstructure.com/pergolas_kitchener?gallery was designed by Mark Schwarz-- , he is a spectacular woodwork and landscape designer in his own right. Keep an eye on him.
http://www.gardenstructure.com/gallery/section/landscape_design click on a few of the projects on this page and it will blow your mind. Dave Macilius, Paul Corsetti and Paul St. Pierre in Windsor are all phenomenal landscape designer... and no slouches when it comes to woodwork. I am huge fans of them all. Guys like Paul Corsetti can make images jump off paper with nothing more than markers... mind blowing.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
>>What I am interested in is the feel you get from it in the position of potential client. If you were a mid to high end client looking for a deckbuilder or pergola guy... would you be tempted to call...
Maybe, it depends on my ntolerance for ambiguity.
It took me several minutes tio figure what you guys are - my first guess was contractors, but that was disabused when I clicked on the "Hire a Builder" link.
It wasn't until futzing around for several minutes (which I probably wouldn't have done if I were looking for your services, that I found the description by scrolling down to the bottom of the home page.
It is my understanding that putting important information where people have to look for it isn't a great web site idea.
Visually, it's very nice. (But I'd lose the flipping images in the upper right corner....)
Personally, I don't like top navigation bars with drop lists - the suddent appearance nd disappearance of the drop list bugs me as I mouse over the page. Subjective view, of course.
I wonder if the same can be done with a "time delayed" hover - with, say, 1/10 sec hover delay.
Your "Join Us" page needs updating: "Recession Deal until Feb 31-09! "
And navigation icons/buttons back to the main site
"The web's best back-yard building resource." In the headline - maybe creates an amateurish DIY flavor (very subjective)
Linking the "big image to rollover on the thumbnails below is confusing - It took me awhile to figure how how/why the image changed, at first I thought it was a slide show, but then couldn't figure at first how the changes happened,
It seems to me that making a visitor think about HOW the site works distracts from the selling message.
Formating of the Refinishing page needs to be changed. And the headline shouldn't be an almost match the "Section" Name of another linked page: This is a refinishing page, not a "LETS STAIN THAT DECK! " page
"Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman
http://rjw-progressive.blogspot.com/
Thanks RJW,
I guess we are getting off topic. I know there are literally hundreds of pages to tighten up, placeholder links are at the bottom of the page and now that I have the architectural tools to connect pages to others without seeing links that can all be cleaned up.
This site took nearly 6 months to get built, so most of those pages I couldn't edit until this week when it finally went live. I still don't have tools for redirects or webstats... and the content is mostly 6 months old.
I chose the busiest webmaster in North America...
I appreciate the tips on what everyone things is the priority for editing, but some things I cannot even access, like the buttons on the main page... that's all hard coded by the webmaster.
I appreciate all the feedback! Keep it coming.
ps. some of the content was part of the other conjoined twin website that is awaiting transplants... that's where the other stain article was.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Nice site! And I'm envious of your backlinks...Oooops many are your sites. I just looked at a few but about.com? Nice! How many blogs do you operate?
What's up with this site?
http://www.winterburngroup.on.ca/
lost interest?
"I chose the busiest webmaster in North America..."
Tell the guy to make use of page title tags more effeciently. HUGE loss of potential traffic. Freaking HUGE!
Site around since '98. I'm envious once again. Great use of making the internet work for you.
Hi Hardwood...
Thanks, yeah, we've been here since the early days of web.
Still cleaning up the new site--webmaster does the coding, we fill in the rest. Title tags will get tweaked as needed, lets see where she settles first. I have about 1000 pages to hand edit.. clean up old links to the other site etc.
Winterburngroup is being worked on presently, it was an appendage of GS.com early on, not much advantage to that anymore. We kept it alive when we changed to the main domain because it had page rank...
Now we need to separate the cojoined twin. It will just be the Toronto site coming up.
I have 3 blogs... quite a bit of content there.
Google says design for viewers.. so that is what we are doing.
Just on GS.com we get about 150k uniques a month.
L
ps. Hardwood guy... I ghost write another blog for some folks with a hardwood mill.. check it out! http://collingwood-flooring.blogspot.com Not much traffic yet... another 30 posts or so and they will have something. He's sold a lot of floors already even with meager traffic. Great guy Merv.
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Edited 4/29/2009 7:22 pm ET by Lawrence
check it out! http://collingwood-flooring.blogspot.com
Ask him if I can get a few articles up. Heck he could be of use to my main site (profile). I'm always looking for stuff. I've also been tinkering with a blog. Gets about 200 visits a day.
http://hardwoodflooringnut.blogspot.com/
Your site makes me drool. I'd love to have a shot at working on a site with that much potential! And gardens are big!
Compete says 28K monthly, but I've never seen their program before. Programs are never the same.
Compete is one of my favorite sites... it is apparently accurate for many sites... not ours. They really just assign a value in visits to backlinks and assign seasonality to participating tool bar (alexa) clients.
Clever stuff...
Having a site with that kind of popularity is actually fun to work with... You want a keyphrase... you are the elephant rolling over people and most of the time you can do it with straight content. Like running all motor and winning on pinks.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
My only complaint from a consumer standpoint is that the site screams "middleman". Then again, I am personally adverse to middlemen while the majority of the world may not be.
Otherwise I was very impressed with the pictures of projects.
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
Pete,
You remember me from the early days of breaktime right?
So you remember I was a working carpenter for many years. I started doing design because I couldn't wait for architects to do designs that I wanted to build.
Since I was good at design, and there are many thousands of great builders (many here for sure), and I could not possibly build all the projects of note in even 1 city --it only made sense to open things up.
I looked at the franchise models and determined that is far to adversarial for my tastes. Thought they must spend piles on litigation to collect the 10% of gross due according to the contracts.
I also didn't want to force anyone to buy anything unless there was advantage for them to do that.
That's why it is a simple licensing deal.
They buy locally, we give them the knowhow to put it together, a web presence and a brand to operate within.
So long as they represent us well, stay true to details, stand behind their warranty... it continues forever.
The builders can use our stock designs as a leaping off point for custom designs and we give them credit for design collaborations if that is the case.
It is most certainly not the tyrannical middleman with the iron fist slamming on the table. The leads go directly to the builders in fact... no middleman.
Pete,Thank you for your point... we have to let people know that fact.
It is so hard to get everything on that all important main page.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
I don't mean middleman in the sense of me and you in a business relationship... I meant it in a way of me as a consumer/homeowner looking for a contractor. The site makes me feel like I am not dealing with the builder but instead some sales oriented middleman.
<!----><!----><!---->
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
Ohh, Ok.
Normally Pete, the potential builder clients come through the area specific pages.
Those are personalized.
Client goes to Google...Types in Ajax Deck Company
Then they see a personalized page telling them about their local builder named Terry ...
Shows some of his work. Has his direct contacts on the page.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
I like the site, displays well, easy on the eyes, doesn't hit any of my pet peeves.
Regarding testimonials, any way to weave them onto the pages rather than keeping them separate? I see that so often in advertisements that there's gotta be a good reason they do that.
Ken-- Great Idea, thanks!
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog
Just curious as I'm a stats addict. One can learn a great deal about a site with stats. How much traffic hits your home page versus others? More than 50%?
A fraction of what you think.
I am still very unhappy with the state of things here. We are barely functional and it seems the webmastering is going at snails pace. He just needs to get it done.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it! Decks Blog