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14 years ago

Hiya,

Site isn't too bad - however I would look at perhaps putting a nicer heading banner in to really capture the audiences attention when they first get onto the site

Cheers,
Amie Etheridge

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jonshannow

14 years ago

Hello,

I think you need something to grab their attention in the header.

Also is the main body text all in italics? I would think about changing it so it is a little easier to read.

Separate your internal links and the links that take you to another page. That can hinder conversion imo.

Change your banner ads to better match your niche and I think of a more lighter / brighter color scheme would brighten the site up.

Consider finding someone to make a really cool banner (you can get these really cheap on the forums.)

Good luck!

Thanks

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Doug Stewart Online

14 years ago

Hi

I agree with the previous two replies about the header. Also I'm a bit confused about the domain name and niche in respect to a couple of the banners you have there i.e the web hosting and the google sniper.

May I suggest looking for some affiliate banners for similar niches to yours on Clickbank.com or Paydotcom.com

Best wishes

Doug

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FrankJohnson

14 years ago

Hi. Here are some further suggestions:

1. I think there is a disconnect between your main website theme and your main categories (which I assume are represented by the buttons at the top of the left-hand column - Free Weight Loss Books, Forex Money Making, etc.). I don't see the connection between a sober lifestyle and weight loss, money making, etc.

2. A couple of those main category buttons take you off of the website to another site. That's a great way to lose traffic forever.

3. On your contact us page, what's the design at the top - above the "Contact Us" heading. It's confusing to me. I thought maybe it was a captcha, but I don't see any field to enter the characters in, so that must not be it.

4. I would look carefully at your grammar and spelling. I saw a number of errors immediately. If I were visiting your site, I'd probably leave pretty quickly because of that.

Hope that helps,

Frank

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Sober4Life

14 years ago

Originally Posted by FrankJohnson

Hi. Here are some further suggestions:

1. I think there is a disconnect between your main website theme and your main categories (which I assume are represented by the buttons at the top of the left-hand column - Free Weight Loss Books, Forex Money Making, etc.). I don't see the connection between a sober lifestyle and weight loss, money making, etc.

2. A couple of those main category buttons take you off of the website to another site. That's a great way to lose traffic forever.

3. On your contact us page, what's the design at the top - above the "Contact Us" heading. It's confusing to me. I thought maybe it was a captcha, but I don't see any field to enter the characters in, so that must not be it.

4. I would look carefully at your grammar and spelling. I saw a number of errors immediately. If I were visiting your site, I'd probably leave pretty quickly because of that.

Hope that helps,

Frank

Thank you very much for your cander, this is exactly the kind on input I've been looking for, I will make the changes and if you would please check them for me if you do not mind, I will change this evening, Again Thanks you

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FrankJohnson

14 years ago

I'd be happy to check. If you don't see something from me later tonight, feel free to PM me - I can be fairly absent-minded at times, especially now when I'm really busy with my day job (holiday season). Don't be shy about reminding me, because I do want to help.

Frank

Thanks
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Sober4Life

14 years ago

Originally Posted by FrankJohnson

I'd be happy to check. If you don't see something from me later tonight, feel free to PM me - I can be fairly absent-minded at times, especially now when I'm really busy with my day job (holiday season). Don't be shy about reminding me, because I do want to help.

Frank

The design on the top of the Contact page is my LOGO (S4LC, Sober4Life Club) that I desigened but I guess it's not a good place for it, I'm getting a lot of very suggestions here and I want to Thank you all for the input, When I get home tonight I will be working on the headers so they POP and make sure all the spelling to good, I kinda new at this so this input is great.

I will be forusing a little more on staying sober, FYI, I'm using the Weight Gain, Muscle building system Now and the Cooking to keep me busy so I do not drink, all the links and banner I have there are actually things that are very useful to me in staying sober (I will be removing the FAPturbo, Gsnipper banner and just use a small link) I need to stream line the sober process and spell it out a little more, Cause of my drinking problem I am trying to make a little money as well as help others achive a sober life.

Againg Thanks you All

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Ralf Skirr 14 years ago

The design looked a bit outdated to me, but what I noticed most is the cookbook section.

I would not expect that under the title sober4life.

Not sure if it's a good idea to mix weight loss and alcoholism on one site.

Those looking for a solution to an alcohol problem will be alienated by weight loss and cookbook.

Those who would (theoretically) looking for weight loss would be irritated by the alcoholism topic - except that they probably would not visit a site names sober4life in the first place.

So my main suggestion is to focus the site on 1 topic, or in marketing speek: 1 niche.

Ralf
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tjmiller

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Sober4Life

The design on the top of the Contact page is my LOGO (S4LC, Sober4Life Club) that I desigened but I guess it's not a good place for it, I'm getting a lot of very suggestions here and I want to Thank you all for the input, When I get home tonight I will be working on the headers so they POP and make sure all the spelling to good, I kinda new at this so this input is great.

I will be forusing a little more on staying sober, FYI, I'm using the Weight Gain, Muscle building system Now and the Cooking to keep me busy so I do not drink, all the links and banner I have there are actually things that are very useful to me in staying sober (I will be removing the FAPturbo, Gsnipper banner and just use a small link) I need to stream line the sober process and spell it out a little more, Cause of my drinking problem I am trying to make a little money as well as help others achive a sober life.

Againg Thanks you All

Sober4Life,
First, congrats on tackling a tough topic, both for yourself, and to help others.

Things to think about:
About 8 years ago I went to a certified hypnotherapist to help me quit smoking. He told me at that time that although he hypnotizes people for smoking, alcoholism, weight loss, and many other smaller problems, he would NEVER attempt to conquer more than one of the Big Three at one time.

I think that is a reason to delete the weight loss and other non-related issues from your site. If these things are working for you, that's great. You will be receiving multiple benefits.

What you might consider is an article on your site, outlining things to try that could help take someone's mind off drinking. Then list some of the things that work for you, and others: cooking, exercise, art, hiking, music, writing... you see where I'm going? But don't try to actively promote weight loss products, at least not on this site.

Other things I would change: I agree with everyone who said that a different header would work better. You need something that ties to your subject matter. Also, you really do need someone to edit content. WHAT you have to say is getting a little lost in HOW you are saying it. Grammar, spelling, and even phrasing really count in how your image is perceived.

Good luck to you!

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Sober4Life 14 years ago

I have made some changes please take a look even though I'm still working it, Hope I'm goning the the right direction
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Tredi Andrasa

14 years ago

I agree with guy who said you need to work on the header. Also I think this website is look too plain. You need some ornaments to make it more 'pop-out'. I'm sorry if I just can give a suggestion related in design field. because that's was my expertise

Thanks

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Doiron

14 years ago

It's a great idea for a site and a very valuable idea. I hope it helps a lot of people.

For my taste, the site looks a little "busy" with quite a lot going on. The font seems to change halfway down the home page. I think italics should be used sparingly - to really make something stand out or to refer to titles, quotations, testimonials and so on.

I'd move your site name up to the banner - between the silver/grey bars. You can move the "welcome" and "Stop the Madness ..." down below the banner without losing anything.

I see the word "Commerce" in translucent script in the header and I'm not sure why that's there.

You want to get someone to proofread the site. Spelling and grammar are both very important in making a good impression and there are at least 12 errors just in the italicized paragraphs on the top half of the page.

I hope I'm not being too blunt but these are the things that will hinder your plans to quit your day job.

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sanjid112

14 years ago

The main first thing I discovered when visiting your site, the font you use and italicized. Other thing would be why you make all of the paragraph in centered? The text button on the top, it will look more nicer if you center it.

1. Change the font.
2. Fix the italicized.
3. Center the text buttons top of page
4. If you want to bold the main categories on the left of your main page, change the color.
5. See the other comments above me.

Cheers,
-Malik

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Bob Harmon

14 years ago

First of all I think it's a great idea for a niche. I think it is a rampant problem in the world today and if just one person gets help because of your site then you've done a good job.

On that note, you may want to look into getting a new header image designed maybe something like a cocktail glass spilled, or something relating to alcohol.(you can get this done pretty cheaply at elance.com or guru.com)

Second, after reading the story on your home page right after you say"Start your ride now" there is a banner advertising hosting. My first inclination is to click on the banner not the highlighted phrase that will take people to the alcohol product. Then right after that is a link to fat loss secrets. Where did that come from?

I think you should get rid of the diet and weight loss and cooking products on this site and try to find more products related to alcoholism you could sell instead. Too much variety isn't always a good thing. You may can find some products with resell rights that are related to your niche. A site I like is mydigital-empire.com, I've bought a few resell rights products from there in the past.

Anyway, I hope this helps you out some.

Bob

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LAG

14 years ago

My best advice is to pick one topic/theme/niche and stick with it. There may be some weight loss associated with a cessation of drinking alcohol but it's not the main issue in question.

Sober4LifeClub is a great name but where's the club? How do I join? What am I going to find there? Weight loss tips? AdSense ads that really do not blend into the pages well? Who are you designing this site for?

If you have advice on getting sober and maintaining sobriety - that's great. Your attempt to monetize the site before you have any relevant content is very obvious and would not be helpful to anyone trying to find a haven.

There is an image in your template sidebar that is distracting. It seems to say Commerce. This is again a major distraction for a site that purports to be about sobriety.

Best wishes,

Leslie

Thanks
2 replies

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Sober4Life

14 years ago

Originally Posted by LAG

My best advice is to pick one topic/theme/niche and stick with it. There may be some weight loss associated with a cessation of drinking alcohol but it's not the main issue in question.

Sober4LifeClub is a great name but where's the club? How do I join? What am I going to find there? Weight loss tips? AdSense ads that really do not blend into the pages well? Who are you designing this site for?

If you have advice on getting sober and maintaining sobriety - that's great. Your attempt to monetize the site before you have any relevant content is very obvious and would not be helpful to anyone trying to find a haven.

There is an image in your template sidebar that is distracting. It seems to say Commerce. This is again a major distraction for a site that purports to be about sobriety.

Best wishes,

Leslie

I'm getting some amazing help from all of you, as Far as the Club I have a Forum that I have yet to make public on the site, The Club is also just the comunity of all us Drunk out there and by giving us a place to sound off in my forum I guess would be the Club

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Sober4Life

14 years ago

Originally Posted by LAG

My best advice is to pick one topic/theme/niche and stick with it. There may be some weight loss associated with a cessation of drinking alcohol but it's not the main issue in question.

Sober4LifeClub is a great name but where's the club? How do I join? What am I going to find there? Weight loss tips? AdSense ads that really do not blend into the pages well? Who are you designing this site for?

If you have advice on getting sober and maintaining sobriety - that's great. Your attempt to monetize the site before you have any relevant content is very obvious and would not be helpful to anyone trying to find a haven.

There is an image in your template sidebar that is distracting. It seems to say Commerce. This is again a major distraction for a site that purports to be about sobriety.

Best wishes,

Leslie

Thank you Leslie, I'm making changes on the fly I quess you can say from all the amazing help I'm getting here, I will be removing the weight Loss and adding a forum this weekend, Again, Thank you so much

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LAG

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Sober4Life

Thank you Leslie, I'm making changes on the fly I quess you can say from all the amazing help I'm getting here, I will be removing the weight Loss and adding a forum this weekend, Again, Thank you so much

Wow, I looked at the site today and it's much improved! You must have been working all weekend!

If you don't mind, I have a couple of suggestions that may or may not improve the site but would be something I would do.

Instead of having all of your articles on one page, why not create links to the various articles on the main Articles page and then you can have each article on it's own page. Once each page is indexed in Google (you can check by typing site:sober4lifeclub-dot-com into the Google search box) you can add AdSense to each of the article pages.

I'm not sure why you are using contrasting colors for your AdSense ads. I have found over the years that using colors that blend the ads into the pages work best. So on your home page, for example, using a white background (#FFFFFF) with the standard link color for the Title (#0000FF) and black or gray for the URL on the bottom (#000000 or #CCCCCC) would look very nice and become part of the page instead of standing out.

There are many opinions about AdSense appearance but testing is the best way to know what works and what doesn't. Be careful with AdSense ads on pages like About Us because unless you have very focused keyword-rich content on those pages, your ads will be about anything and everything instead of your topic.

Best wishes,

Leslie

P.S. Congratulations on getting the forum up!

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Sober4Life

14 years ago

Hey All, I have made a lots of changes to my site Please go check out the NEW s0er4lifeclub site and write me as to what you think.

All your input has been wonderful and I hope these changes make my site more web friendly

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Orlando Web Design

14 years ago

I think it is GREAT that you a providing a website with positive content. There are lots of ppl out there who need this kind of help so keep up the good work.

I agree with most of the posts here.

The graphic design is lacking but keep going!

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Sober4Life

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Orlando Web Design

I think it is GREAT that you a providing a website with positive content. There are lots of ppl out there who need this kind of help so keep up the good work.

I agree with most of the posts here.

The graphic design is lacking but keep going!

Thank you very much, I have been working on this site to make it more visually and user friendly, I guess I have some work to do on the graphics but the content seems to be OK I see, I strugle every day with the disease myself and it my way to try to help others, Thank you for the kind words

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kimperino1985

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Sober4Life

Im working online to be able to Fire my Boss but not in the next 90 days I'm sure but it would be nice but do not see that happening, I'm thinking more like 9 months :confused:

Please take a look at my home site and rate it for me please.
see my profile for the address at the Sober4LifeClub home page and thank you in advance

Is the content OK?

Heading is not attractive. Change the 'welcome' font and size. Put in special effects like glassy effect to the web pages.

Thanks

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LazyMogul.com

14 years ago

Kudos on the website and on the subject matter... This is a problem that is destroying people and their families...

ABOUT YOUR DESIGN....

It's ok, but can i suggest you do something completely 180 degrees?

lose all the graphics and formatting... use a simple website with only
3 colors... white background, black text, with red or redish headings.
(This will create seriousness and urgency)

then create a product and sell that. The product should be on a "control your drinking" or "quit drinking" subject.

What you want to do is quit your job, so you need something to sell. Then go
to clickbank and use them as your payment processor. Once you're all setup
come back to this Forum and get Joint Venture Partners to help you promote
the product.

-C

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Orlando Web Design

14 years ago

Just keep living in Serenity and you will be fine

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FrankJohnson

14 years ago

Sober4Life - sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. My day job becomes very, very hectic during the last three months of the year because we make most of our money during the holiday season.

I took a look at your revised site - much, much better. I especially like the fact that it seems like a focused website now - one niche topic. That's great!

A couple of additional suggestions:

1. I think it would be good to match the look and feel of the forums to the rest of the site. It was fairly jarring when I visited the forums - I thought I had gone to a different site.

2. I'm still noticing a number of spelling and grammar errors, so I would look to clean those up.

Hope that helps,

Frank

Thanks
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Sober4Life

14 years ago

Originally Posted by FrankJohnson

Sober4Life - sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. My day job becomes very, very hectic during the last three months of the year because we make most of our money during the holiday season.

I took a look at your revised site - much, much better. I especially like the fact that it seems like a focused website now - one niche topic. That's great!

A couple of additional suggestions:

1. I think it would be good to match the look and feel of the forums to the rest of the site. It was fairly jarring when I visited the forums - I thought I had gone to a different site.

2. I'm still noticing a number of spelling and grammar errors, so I would look to clean those up.

Hope that helps,

Frank

Hey Frank, Thank you for the input but in my Forum setup I'm unable to do much customizing, I tried to get it closer to the theme of my site.

I will take anyother look at all the spelling

Again, Thank for your help your awesome

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