RE: Critique Sear Works

On IE 4.72.3110.8
Connection: cablemodem ~40KB/sec
OS: Win95

Graphics:

	Found them pleasing and somewhat pertinent to the name of your business..
I, myself, would have gone more into the bulldozer and shovels theme, but
I'm a bit weird anyway.. Nice and fast loading (of course almost everything
loads fast at this speed).  8-)

Info Page:

	A bit of an issue with me here on the graphic links on the left and the
equivalent paragraph headers on the right. They do not line up on the
screen. The graphics are too tight to each other vertically, and the text
paragraphs are extremely spread out vertically. Checked this in NC4.04, same
results visually. Is this the effect you were looking for? Also, the common
graphic theme of the "pipes" seems to be lost on this page, and replaced
with dissimilar graphics instead. I would retain the same theme (just my
preference).. see my site for what I'm talking about here. It makes for less
load time, when the only thing that changes is the "banner" and an "on" or
"off" SINGLE navigation graphic.

Navigation:

	On the Estimate page the "pipes" theme is again lost and replace with
separated graphics that are even more spread out from those on the Info
page. I would like them close together, only for the reason that as a viewer
moves from page to page, They'll come to expect them in a certain spot on
the page. This makes navigation of the site quicker and without the need to
retrain the eye to understand what the new image will take them to. More
eye-to-brain co-ordination than anything else, but I'm always amazed
watching people navigate my site that after they get to the second page,
they just fly without even really looking where there mouse is positioned on
the Nav buttons. Almost like skimming a book. I've had some great comments
from some local marketing-types, and a few avid bookworms.. on this
technique.

Another note, beside the "Table of Contents" link on the FAQ page, put a
tiny (read appropriate) 'up' symbol/graphic to let people know that if they
click here, they will be returned to the top of the page. I completely
missed the Header "Table of Contents" on my first pass through the page.
Maybe a "90 degree bent pipe" that symbolizes a:


			   /\
			   /\
			>>>>

... would be appropriate here?


Amount and Quality of Info:

	I found it sufficient. Remember, you don't want to sell the farm, just the
grain... Leave them asking for more. It may not hurt to drop in a few of the
industry's "did you know"s... Up to you.


Design:

	If you were selling cogs and elbowed pipes, I'd be at your door in a
minute. I've never seen pipes so shiny!  3-)
Seriously though... I find this has little to do with "whether I'd buy", and
more to do with, is the site easy to navigate and does it "look" like this
person has enough class and taste (as well as talent) to interact with my
business and possible future clients.. Classy it is! If the price weren't so
far out of line (and I'm assuming U.S. dollars here, as I'm from Canada and
the currency was not mentioned, but I see from your "About" page that you
are based in beautiful Hawaii), I may be tempted to switch hosting services.
But alas, I am a reseller as well and get great profit margins from my
current service. The cost may be in line with Hawaii, but it's a bit off the
mark for most hosting clients. And many do not require 60 or even 100MB of
web space.. 80% of my hosting clients are under 10MB!

My .004 cents worth..


Gil Tennant
Webmaster at WebWham
http://www.webwham.com

Making web sites with IMPACT - like the Williamsburg Community Web Site
http://www.williamsburgh.org



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hwg-critique(at)hwg.org [mailto:owner-hwg-critique(at)hwg.org]On
Behalf Of Sear Works
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 1998 3:44 PM
To: hwg-critique(at)mail.hwg.org
Subject: Critique Sear Works


I'd be grateful for a critique of Sear Works at http://www.searworks.com
for:

a) ease and logic of navigation
b) amount and quality of information (is it useful or just marketing fluff?)
c) are design and content attractive and compelling enough to buy?
d) suggestions for improvement (ie. making it stand out from the rest,
attracting buyers, etc.)

Thank you!
Stephanie Sear

 ____________________
 S e a r    W o r k s
 web support services
 http://searworks.com

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