Submitted for your review - just another Zencart

[phlembol]

Greetings Y'all! I have been reading this forum for a while now and have learned much. The we're-all-in-this-together attitude comes through and I hope I can contribute in the future. Today, however, I am presenting my own work for review. http://noble-efforts.com Credit and blame are all mine, so I am interested equally in the technical and the aesthetic.

I have been working on a standardized listing template that I can easily transfer between store inventory or auction format. That can be seen here http://noble-efforts.com/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=102 . I have not updated all products to this format yet.

There are several things I will be looking to change as I learn more about the Zen-Cart template system. Like, if I am to keep multiple product types, it would be better to have the music specific side-boxes on just those pages related to music items. I haven't figured out how to do that yet. The text menu system could use an update also.

In general, IMHO, it still looks home made and too out-of-the-box. What say you?

(BTW, I too have been suffering with the SQL constipation issue. That's why the parse timer is being temporarily displayed. If the site doesn't answer, that's the deal. Please try again later.)

[YvetteKuhns]

I didn't like the logo at all. It is unprofessional and difficult to read. The blue ribbon makes me think of the awards at the 4-H farm shows. I am confused at this website. The name of the website sounds more like a nonprofit organization. There isn't an About Us page to explain who is trying to get my money.

There are records and candy sold at the same place. That is strange. You aren't really expecting people to pay THAT much for those old records, are you? If so, I got a thousand records for your customers. I had to laugh. We can't give those away at yard sales, but we can donate them to the Goodwill. They sell them for $1 now. I bought a box of old records for $5 just to get some John Lennon records for one of my programmers who is a big fan.

Your website has to compete with other music sites and auction sites like eBay.

[phlembol]

Thanks Yvette for taking the time to look and to respond. Feedback is always good. My lack of (IT) professionalism is well based. Learning is an everyday occurrence, if I'm lucky. I am glad to have rediscovered this forum.

I thought I accomplished "About Us" on the front page just below center. Contact info is labeled and available.

As for the mix of products, I intend to add more unrelated items in the future. Are you suggesting they should each have a separate presence?

Goodwill can be a good source for LPs, but they have to be in near perfect shape and/or rare. I try to stay away from anything of lesser quality. Having said that, I recognize my prices may be high at the moment. Part of the plan is to partner with eBay for promotion, so I will be closer to the pulse as time goes on. I was building as an eBay seller a few years ago when I had to stop and travel for my day job. I'm just getting back into it. It didn't help anything that I lost all my previous work when my house burned last summer. Anyway, everyone has a story.

Does having a Google PageRank of 4/10 count for anything?

[YvetteKuhns]

First, let me apologize for having only half of my response posted. The batteries died in my wireless keyboard! Then I was too busy to get back to the forum. Your site is currently slow.

The color scheme could be more bold colors such as red or orange for the header, but not the background.

As for the mix of products, I intend to add more unrelated items in the future. Are you suggesting they should each have a separate presence?


Your product line is a bit unbalanced. If you have hundreds of records and just two unrelated items, you are stuck. You can place links to the candy in ads on the side instead, maybe. At this time, it feels like you have a music website and your sister said, "Hey, can you sell these candies, too? I like them.". ;)

Since you are adding more unrelated items, you can separate into a music website and a variety store as far as the look is concerned. I don't know how many more items you are adding and what type of items you are adding, so I can't comment further on that yet.

I thought I accomplished "About Us" on the front page just below center. Contact info is labeled and available.

I can't find the About Us information. Are you talking about that brief paragraph? I am looking for a page that tells the name and location of the business, how long it was in business, why I should trust you and why I should buy from YOU and not your competitors.

Goodwill can be a good source for LPs, but they have to be in near perfect shape and/or rare. I try to stay away from anything of lesser quality. Having said that, I recognize my prices may be high at the moment.

If your prices are not competitive, you will scare away customers and they might not come back. It would be better to have lower prices. You can raise them later, if your competitors raise their prices. If it is under $10, I am more likely to buy it. This is especially true for things I do not need. I will spend money on food, clothes, cars and homes, but entertainment is not high on my priorities.

Many people are selling their old LPs as they purchase CDs and MP3s. There is a store a few miles from me that allows people to buy, sell and trade music. I don't think anything there is more than $5. Most items are $1.99. You mentioned quality and these are also rated mint, near mint and so on.

I have had many people offer money for my records, but I keep them anyway. I have LPs, 45s, 8 tracks, cassettes, CDs and MP3s. It is fun to share them with my 9 year old son Mark who likes rap music, but he will also listen to my classic rock, hard rock and other music. He doesn't listen to as much of my husband's music, because my husband is much older. Mark likes the Monkees which is funny since I used to watch their show when I was Mark's age. :)

It didn't help anything that I lost all my previous work when my house burned last summer. Anyway, everyone has a story.

I can relate to that. A storm zapped my computer at my previous home. We had health and financial problems that forced us to sell our home. After moving into the new home, water got into the basement and destroyed items stored there, including my office papers and computer equipment. I had to build new computers yet again.

A storm zapped my phone line in the new home and stuff keeps happening. Meanwhile, we still go to the chiropractor three times a week after being rear-ended by a fuel oil truck last year. The past year or two has been crazy for me, too. I hope things get better for you.

Does having a Google PageRank of 4/10 count for anything?

When people look for link exchanges, they want to find a Google PR of at least 4/10. Some people dwell on the PR too much. It does help you find better quality links. It is better to get links from sites related to your site topic or target audience and that get good ranking for their keyword phrases.