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Need Site Feedback

by timbreman
25 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
    • |
I've been running LoopArtists for a few years now but the traffic is not where I would like it to be yet.
I focus on audio sales with a minor focus in ads located in the free audio sections.
Just wondering if a few kind souls could give me some general feedback on the site and what can be improved. I'm open to any advice.
Thanks.
~Jon
#feedback #site
  • Profile picture of the author tolaskool
    i like the design but you might wanna reorganize the listings,just my opinion
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    • Profile picture of the author timbreman
      Originally Posted by tolaskool View Post

      i like the design but you might wanna reorganize the listings,just my opinion
      Could you elaborate which listings should be re-ordered and how?
      Thanks for your reply!
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      • Profile picture of the author IvoryPulse
        The whole site is a way too dark for my taste and reminds me of one of those wannabe DJ sites where people are eventually coming to see if something's new, and not to buy anything.

        I'd either make it brighter or in different colors with higher contrast. I'd change fonts too as they are way too common and normal for an artistic audience.

        Also, a lot of everything is going on on your homepage - you have free samples, you have a forum, you have news, you have products, you have several social media buttons on top. As a regular user I wouldn't know what to look or where to go, and most likely I wouldn't be back after I close the site once. I'd suggest you to go through the whole concept once again, decide where the focus will be and reorganize the page.
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        • Profile picture of the author timbreman
          Originally Posted by IvoryPulse View Post

          The whole site is a way too dark for my taste and reminds me of one of those wannabe DJ sites where people are eventually coming to see if something's new, and not to buy anything.

          I'd either make it brighter or in different colors with higher contrast. I'd change fonts too as they are way too common and normal for an artistic audience.

          Also, a lot of everything is going on on your homepage - you have free samples, you have a forum, you have news, you have products, you have several social media buttons on top. As a regular user I wouldn't know what to look or where to go, and most likely I wouldn't be back after I close the site once. I'd suggest you to go through the whole concept once again, decide where the focus will be and reorganize the page.
          Thanks for the feedback.
          Could you provide a few examples of sites that you would not consider confusing? With a clear message in its design? Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author yestyle
    Banned
    You should impove your design before offering products to customers. I suggest you should change background page color because they are same to your product images colors ( all things on your site are not clear ). I sure that your sales will be improved after you change your design as I suggested
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    • Profile picture of the author timbreman
      Originally Posted by yestyle View Post

      You should impove your design before offering products to customers. I suggest you should change background page color because they are same to your product images colors ( all things on your site are not clear ). I sure that your sales will be improved after you change your design as I suggested
      Could you elaborate? I don't see any products that are the same color as the background color.
      What is not clear on the site?
      Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author CynthiaNataline
    I think what yestyle meant is your content area and your background color have the same color. My suggestion would be, maybe you want to change the space below the menu to be slides. This way, you can offer more recommended products using the slides and your site can be more attractive, yet professional.

    I'm using Firefox and the login button is overlapped by the Forum tab. I agree with yestyle to distinguish the color of your content area, though. Don't forget to update here again when you've made any changes.
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    • Profile picture of the author timbreman
      Originally Posted by cynzdareveur View Post

      I think what yestyle meant is your content area and your background color have the same color. My suggestion would be, maybe you want to change the space below the menu to be slides. This way, you can offer more recommended products using the slides and your site can be more attractive, yet professional.

      I'm using Firefox and the login button is overlapped by the Forum tab. I agree with yestyle to distinguish the color of your content area, though. Don't forget to update here again when you've made any changes.
      The closest thing I'm guessing you mean is the inner part of the blue/black gradient and the blue background of the body?
      I'm testing right now in Firefox and don't have any overlapping issues. What ver are you using?
      Can you elaborate what you mean by slides? Are you referring to the slider that's currently fading between images or something else?
      Thanks for your reply!
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    • Profile picture of the author timbreman
      Originally Posted by IvoryPulse View Post

      The whole site is a way too dark for my taste and reminds me of one of those wannabe DJ sites where people are eventually coming to see if something's new, and not to buy anything.

      I'd either make it brighter or in different colors with higher contrast. I'd change fonts too as they are way too common and normal for an artistic audience.

      Also, a lot of everything is going on on your homepage - you have free samples, you have a forum, you have news, you have products, you have several social media buttons on top. As a regular user I wouldn't know what to look or where to go, and most likely I wouldn't be back after I close the site once. I'd suggest you to go through the whole concept once again, decide where the focus will be and reorganize the page.
      Originally Posted by cynzdareveur View Post

      I think what yestyle meant is your content area and your background color have the same color. My suggestion would be, maybe you want to change the space below the menu to be slides. This way, you can offer more recommended products using the slides and your site can be more attractive, yet professional.

      I'm using Firefox and the login button is overlapped by the Forum tab. I agree with yestyle to distinguish the color of your content area, though. Don't forget to update here again when you've made any changes.
      Ok so I've only updated the homepage and it's not live yet. I still need to update the slider graphic to match the lighter scheme and update some aligning issues but is this better?
      LoopArtists
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    Clearly I'm not your target audience so take this with a pinch of salt. The whole site is dark and hard to read.

    i'd try changing the black backgrounds around the menu, widgets and posts to white or pale blue and use black writing. That should make the whole thing much easier to read.
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    Personally I find that much nicer - easier on the eye and much easier to read. Yes, I like it.
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  • Profile picture of the author commerce cat
    Have you surveyed your users? They may have some insights. Maybe older customers? You could offer them a discount for participating (which might get you some extra sales too).
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    • Profile picture of the author timbreman
      Originally Posted by commerce cat View Post

      Have you surveyed your users? They may have some insights. Maybe older customers? You could offer them a discount for participating (which might get you some extra sales too).
      Yes I've tried exactly that. Even offered free products for feedback and everyone just says it looks fine. Surveys rarely work because people just want to be quick about answering the questions to get their free stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author commerce cat
    I guess the next question is who your target market? Who do you want to attract? Find out what sites they visit and look at the designs.

    White, bright, flat designs seem to be the thing at the moment amongst music fans:
    https://soundcloud.com/
    Indie Shuffle Music Blog :: Discover and Download New Music
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    Cat @ Product Creation Blog
    Join the free 30 Day Product Creation Challenge and create your ebook in a month with support
    Twitter: www.twitter.com/productcreate
    Facebook: www.twitter.com/productcreation

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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    Okay lets talk.
    I like it. colors mean nothing cause your not asking about bounce rate your asking about traffic, people don't know the colors unless they visit the page, to get an idea of how good your site is you have to look at other metrics of the site.

    Now the site. Im looking through the source code and the pages, really hard to seo something like that. Those are not your descriptions I take it. Seeing as how I got 80 to 200 results back on Google when inputting them.

    I would rewrite the descriptions in keyword language so keyword rich under each one.
    You need original content and this looks like royalty free content without me spending a few hours dissecting the site.

    You also need some original articles on that site to pull traffic in and get ranked for it.

    I never have professed to be an seo expert but I know what I am doing for the most part.
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    • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
      The current page is much better than the rework. I think it suits your target audience well. I would just tweak the contrast a bit to improve readability.

      Some critical points are in the post above. You need to improve on-page (tags and viewable) and offsite SEO.
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      • Profile picture of the author timbreman
        Originally Posted by JDArchitecture View Post

        The current page is much better than the rework. I think it suits your target audience well. I would just tweak the contrast a bit to improve readability.

        Some critical points are in the post above. You need to improve on-page (tags and viewable) and offsite SEO.
        At the time you posted this it was right around the time I was editing colors and background images so no telling what broken state you saw it in. lol
        Could you take a look one more time and tell me if you still feel the darker current scheme is better? I've become quite used to this lighter scheme but in the end what matters is what the user's experience is. I've done quite a bit of research lately on color psychology and what influences sales.

        I was starting to feel that the extreme usage of blue felt too calming with little call to action and the black backgrounds didn't allow me to use the nicer looking box images because of no contrast. Still I'm curious to hear your opinion on the revised version's current state. LoopArtists Revision

        And I will definitely be posting in the SEO section soon. Thanks!
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        • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
          Originally Posted by timbreman View Post

          At the time you posted this it was right around the time I was editing colors and background images so no telling what broken state you saw it in. lol
          Well, I'm not sure. I think the live site was a bit darker than it is now. It's fine now but if I'm remembering it right, I think somewhere between where it was and where it is now would be best.

          Could you take a look one more time and tell me if you still feel the darker current scheme is better? I've become quite used to this lighter scheme but in the end what matters is what the user's experience is.
          I definitely prefer the darker, live site. It looks much more professional and frankly, more trustworthy for my money.

          I've done quite a bit of research lately on color psychology and what influences sales.

          I was starting to feel that the extreme usage of blue felt too calming with little call to action and the black backgrounds didn't allow me to use the nicer looking box images because of no contrast.
          Actually, I think the flat images are much more dramatic as is and prefer them to the boxes. You've got the box on the product pages, which is fine.

          Psycologically speaking, I don't know. Maybe you can just change the "add to cart" button color and maybe say "buy now".

          Still I'm curious to hear your opinion on the revised version's current state. LoopArtists Revision
          I don't like it, especially compared to the live site.

          I'm not part of your target audience, but my son is. I'll try to get his feedback. We got him an Akai Pro MPK Mini for Christmas and he loves it.

          Speaking of hardware, you should look into becoming an Amazon affiliate and expanding your hardware and software sections.

          I also noticed that you use the same scheme for your forum. I have a hunch you will get more activity if you change it to normal dark text on light background.
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          • Profile picture of the author timbreman
            Originally Posted by JDArchitecture View Post

            Well, I'm not sure. I think the live site was a bit darker than it is now. It's fine now but if I'm remembering it right, I think somewhere between where it was and where it is now would be best.


            I definitely prefer the darker, live site. It looks much more professional and frankly, more trustworthy for my money.


            Actually, I think the flat images are much more dramatic as is and prefer them to the boxes. You've got the box on the product pages, which is fine.

            Psycologically speaking, I don't know. Maybe you can just change the "add to cart" button color and maybe say "buy now".


            I don't like it, especially compared to the live site.

            I'm not part of your target audience, but my son is. I'll try to get his feedback. We got him an Akai Pro MPK Mini for Christmas and he loves it.

            Speaking of hardware, you should look into becoming an Amazon affiliate and expanding your hardware and software sections.

            I also noticed that you use the same scheme for your forum. I have a hunch you will get more activity if you change it to normal dark text on light background.
            The Amazon affiliate thing is a great idea!
            It would definitely be cool to hear what your son thinks.
            That would be very helpful thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    When did this man ask about visitors leaving his site, bounce rates or low visiting time numbers.

    This man is asking how to get traffic to his ste and why it is not bringing in organic traffic.
    I am sure after he starts getting traffic then he will worry about looking at all the metrics to see if his visitors are converting well.

    So For now my advice stays the same, had some unique content, that looks like a buy one template for all site. It is isn't it. I would as I said add unique descriptions in those areas like here but I am sure that is a feed so you will not be able to.

    I don't confess to be a social media expert, I use to avoid social media like the plague but I have been testing it and it works like TNT.

    Post your questions in the seo and social media departments. Two seperate questions for the seo part and one how to drive traffic to your site with social media. If you listen to the experts there you can expect a very large increase in traffic in the next month.
    -------
    8-14-2013 - Panic Attic Dubstep Vol 1 Loop Pack
    Panic Attic Dubstep Vol 1 New creative possibilities await with these killer drum beats, blistering basslines and sick synth loops. Check out the preview for the exclusive combo pack Panic Attic Dubstep Vol 1. This sound library direct download will make your tracks stand out and get your monitors pumping!
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    • Profile picture of the author timbreman
      Originally Posted by hustlinsmoke View Post

      When did this man ask about visitors leaving his site, bounce rates or low visiting time numbers.

      This man is asking how to get traffic to his ste and why it is not bringing in organic traffic.
      I am sure after he starts getting traffic then he will worry about looking at all the metrics to see if his visitors are converting well.

      So For now my advice stays the same, had some unique content, that looks like a buy one template for all site. It is isn't it. I would as I said add unique descriptions in those areas like here but I am sure that is a feed so you will not be able to.

      I don't confess to be a social media expert, I use to avoid social media like the plague but I have been testing it and it works like TNT.

      Post your questions in the seo and social media departments. Two seperate questions for the seo part and one how to drive traffic to your site with social media. If you listen to the experts there you can expect a very large increase in traffic in the next month.
      -------
      8-14-2013 - Panic Attic Dubstep Vol 1 Loop Pack
      Panic Attic Dubstep Vol 1 New creative possibilities await with these killer drum beats, blistering basslines and sick synth loops. Check out the preview for the exclusive combo pack Panic Attic Dubstep Vol 1. This sound library direct download will make your tracks stand out and get your monitors pumping!
      Thanks again!
      Not sure what your statement "had some unique content, that looks like a buy one template for all site." meant...could you please elaborate?

      All content on the site is actually unique. I write everything including product description focusing on keywords and keyword phrases relevant to the keywords as well as youtube videos, blog updates (been slacking lately on this one), and forum posts relevant to the site. Forums apparently rate higher with google so I figured having one would give it a nice boost.

      Part of my approach is freemium-esque. I give away around 600-700 free loops as individual downloads surrounded by ad-sense and my own product recommendations. For awhile LoopArtists was on page 1 of google for the broad term "free loops". But I've slacked lately on getting new posts or loops uploaded so my rank has gone down resulting in more of a page 3 or 4 landing spot.

      Lately I've been focusing on facebook and social media in general. I recently grabbed a WSO on One Cent Facebook Likes which seems like it will be an interesting read.

      I must say even though I am getting mixed answers on this forum it has proven most helpful in pushing me to get things where I need them to be so thanks once again!
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      • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
        Then your not going to have a problem getting that up there if you can change the content. I would really go over to seo and social threads and start it there. They can help you with knowing about putting some original content up and changing those descriptions.

        See the reason I have done so well with affiliate stores even though I use a canned plugin is because of my descriptions. They are keyword rich for the Keywords I want to rank and drive traffic for.

        I understand that most of what we told you will go in and out because you need to start from ground zero and learn all this, doesn't mean you can't start now, just get some professional help, cheaper than you think it is.

        I have had sever sites hinging on the serps and paid 25 bucks to see them shoot up there.
        Originally Posted by timbreman View Post

        Thanks again!
        Not sure what your statement "had some unique content, that looks like a buy one template for all site." meant...could you please elaborate?

        All content on the site is actually unique. I write everything including product description focusing on keywords and keyword phrases relevant to the keywords as well as youtube videos, blog updates (been slacking lately on this one), and forum posts relevant to the site. Forums apparently rate higher with google so I figured having one would give it a nice boost.

        Part of my approach is freemium-esque. I give away around 600-700 free loops as individual downloads surrounded by ad-sense and my own product recommendations. For awhile LoopArtists was on page 1 of google for the broad term "free loops". But I've slacked lately on getting new posts or loops uploaded so my rank has gone down resulting in more of a page 3 or 4 landing spot.

        Lately I've been focusing on facebook and social media in general. I recently grabbed a WSO on One Cent Facebook Likes which seems like it will be an interesting read.

        I must say even though I am getting mixed answers on this forum it has proven most helpful in pushing me to get things where I need them to be so thanks once again!
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    You did something to the site didn't you. I like those colors man. Good job.
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    • Profile picture of the author timbreman
      Originally Posted by hustlinsmoke View Post

      You did something to the site didn't you. I like those colors man. Good job.
      If you're referring to the revised site then yes I made some changes last night.
      The regular live site is unchanged.

      It's very tricky with color schemes because I get so many varying opinions.
      A previous post is from someone with a son who is in my target audience so I'm very curious about his son's opinion. That will be helpful.

      I try and keep all my descriptions original a full of keywords so I'm confused as to which descriptions you're referring to.
      Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    Well I wish a wordsmith would come in and help you.
    See I'm not good with words or explaining things to people I leave steps out and so forth.
    My adhd is bad.

    I am good at teaching but I take my coaching students by the hand to teach.
    If someone would come in that is a wordsmith that would help you tremendously
    Like Lexi or Willie or quite a few others.

    I added those two names in hope they see them in search and come in for you.
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