Community Forums › Forums › Archived Forums › Showcase and Feedback › First Genesis site, a bit plain? For a driving school
- This topic has 16 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 7 months ago by copious.
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August 19, 2014 at 10:39 am #119796copiousParticipant
Hi everyone, I've made a few WordPress sites before but this is my first website made with the Genesis framework, and I used the Sample Theme, with a few modifications. It's for my friend's driving school. The website is going to be bilingual English and French (I will use the WordPress Multilingual plugin to get the navigation to work), but for now I just have the English version up and running. The current site is bilingual and made in html but I think it looks painfully dated. I made it back in 2006.
Here's the new site: http://virtualmaximum.com/wds/
I'm waiting to get some more feedback from my friend. So far her son, who works in the office, told me it's very plain. He liked the improved layout and navigation but kept telling me it's plain. I know it's kind of minimalist, but I thought it won't distract people, and won't go out of style as quickly. Let me know what you think - good or bad, please tell me. For comparison, if you'd like to see the current (old) site, it's at http://wendysdrivingschool.com/en/index.php
Thanks! 🙂
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August 20, 2014 at 9:07 am #120009AnitaKeymasterIt's plain, but it's getting the point across. I think it's better than the original. If you wanted, you could just add a splash of color to it. I did this with Firebug for Firefox - http://awesomescreenshot.com/0053cfsz78. Add a color to the body to make the content pop a bit more. You could also move the three widgets - Follow Us, Search and Recent posts to the Footer area (Footer 1, Footer 2, Footer 3) so there isn't so much dead space on the right of your content. It would balance a bit better. But it's to the point which is what you want.
Love coffee, chocolate and my Bella!
August 21, 2014 at 6:10 am #120186copiousParticipantThanks Anita, those are great ideas! I spoke with my friend, and she wants to make the navigation bar navy blue (same color as her cars). And then a different color for the body background sounds good. It's a business website, so I think it's OK for it to be a bit plain. Many business websites are quite minimalist and plain. But a bit of color as you suggest would be fine. I didn't quite like the pale gray it currently has, anyways.
I like the idea of moving the three widgets for Follow Us, Search and Recent Posts to the footer to balance it out a bit.
One thing I personally don't like, and my friend and her son also mentioned it, was the large white space in the header. On her current website, there's a picture of a car in between the logo and the phone numbers, which fills in the space nicely. I tried doing this with the Genesis same theme, but it was getting cut off on iPhones (and I think iPads). They way it's set up now, is foolproof for any mobile device or computer, but the trade-off is the large white space. I need to figure out how to add a graphic there which could either disappear when viewed on mobile devices, or go below the logo.
Occasional WordPress designer, learning more with each website!
August 21, 2014 at 6:48 am #120194AnitaKeymasterBrad has a tutorial here for adding a Header Left widget area. You could modify it to float the widget center and add it there. Then for mobile, you could add css to reduce the image or on small devices like 320 or 468 you could add css to hide that image (only show it for larger mobile devices.
Love coffee, chocolate and my Bella!
August 21, 2014 at 7:33 am #120201copiousParticipantGreat, thanks! I'll take a look at that tonight. I want to try it now, but I have to go out for the day. I just posted a question on this in the CSS part of the forum. Not sure if I can delete that post now, but I'll add to it.
I just moved those widgets to the footer, and that cleans it up quite a bit. I took your suggestion of color for the background, though I used a different color. And I took my friend's suggestion to make the navigation bar (and to match, the footer and "send" button) in navy blue, same as her cars. So now the website is at least consistent with the colors she's branded her cars with, red, white and blue! And the background color for the body is a pewter kind of gray with a bit of beige. Personally I liked the #333333 gray navigation bar better, but it's all about compromises and making sure everyone is happy.
Occasional WordPress designer, learning more with each website!
August 21, 2014 at 7:38 am #120204AnitaKeymasterYes, it looks great. Now get the other image in there and you'll be all set. Great job!
Love coffee, chocolate and my Bella!
August 21, 2014 at 1:48 pm #119969Ben @ Inbound CreativeMemberI'm sorry to agree, but it is kind of plain. It also doesn't look like what you'd expect from a home page.
It's good that you're trying to keep it minimalist. However, there's a difference between using what appears to be the Genesis Sample Theme and minimalist. Personally, if I was wanting to keep the development short, I'd have looked at using something like , or .
August 23, 2014 at 1:21 am #120605Ben @ Inbound CreativeMemberSorry. Not sure why this post has only just appeared. I posted it about an hour after you posted your thread. It's looking much better now that Anita's suggestions have been added.
August 23, 2014 at 9:54 pm #120722copiousParticipantThat's strange how your reply didn't get posted right away... oh well! In any case, thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
I kind of liked the minimalist look, but am open to the idea of some color in the body. I'm not sure if I like the pewter I currently have there, so the color might change, but I don't think my friend will like it with plain white or pale gray as it originally was. I still haven't got the extra image next to the logo, but that should help too as it will fill in that white space when viewed on non-mobile devices (computers as opposed to phones or tablets).
Occasional WordPress designer, learning more with each website!
August 24, 2014 at 1:12 pm #120805TomParticipantBen wrote:
Personally, if I was wanting to keep the development short, I’d have looked at using something like , or .
I wish your recommendations had been printed. Do you recall what they were?I had been thinking of something more structured to highlight features/benefits and call(s)-to-action. Playing around with a new wireframe tool and looking at Jan Hoek's new Stay Sleepy theme I started to piece something together for fun. I'm not convinced of the need for a slider, but it's a start. Jan was offering the theme at only $20 for his subscribers/$34 others.
Full: size: http://i.imgur.com/xsdvAmz.png
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[ Follow me: Twitter ] [ Follow Themes: Twitter ] [ My Favourite Webhost ]August 25, 2014 at 2:33 am #120870Ben @ Inbound CreativeMemberI think they were Executive and Education.
August 25, 2014 at 2:27 pm #120987copiousParticipantTom, that's a great looking design. It definitely looks cleaner and more upscale that mine. You know about the importance of a call to action, etc. I'm trying to find the balance between an attractive website and one that has maximum impact and converts website visitors to callers (or to fill in the contact form) and eventually become customers.
There are a few reasons I did some of the things I did, which you may or may not know about. I've also been learning about Internet marketing for a while, and direct response marketing with websites and direct response copywriting. Some of the techniques result in a less aesthetically pleasing appearance, but are proven to have higher conversions, according to some of the successful Internet marketers I've been following. My friend's driving school is in a very competitive area, in her local area, so she needs as many advantages as possible.
- In the driving school industry (and many other local service based businesses), some people just want the phone number to call, so I make it as easy as possible by putting the phone numbers right there in the header. It's worked well on the previous html website. And now with the Genesis website, the phone numbers can be clicked to call when viewed on a mobile phone, which many people view the site on. In this industry, getting people to call is a big thing, because (depending on who answers the phone at the office), they have a pretty good chance of selling them the course if they just call. And some current customers just want the phone number quickly, so it's there, easy to find on every page.
- I'd like to keep a bit of extra space in the navigation open in case we add another page later. Not essential but nice to have if possible.
- I like the way you highlighted the Easy Payment Plan. The refresher lessons aren't a big seller, so I probably wouldn't put them up front, but something else could go in that spot.
- The orange "Register Now" button with the red dotted line around the box like a coupon looks a bit tacky. I know. But it's a variation on the "Belcher Box" developed by successful Internet marketer Perry Belcher. He found the right combination of graphics, colors, etc for maximum conversion. It may look tacky, but it works well! And my friend wants to get as many people as possible to register online, as it's been quite successful so far, with just a simple text link on the current html website.
- I agree a slider probably isn't necessary. I'm going to take some better pictures in a few weeks. But my goal is to put a video in that spot where the slider is right now, taking up about the same amount of space. From an SEO standpoint, the longer people stay on a website, the better Google likes it, as we all know. Having a short video will help increase the chances of that. So I'm hoping to have a video there. If not, then a smaller static image will probably go there.
- I'm not sure if the contact form on your version of the website is moved further down the page, or reserved for the contact page, but from a marketing standpoint, I want to have it on all pages, including the home page. I need a stronger call to action to entice people to use the form, but that's the general gist of why I wanted it there.
- The "as seen in the Montreal Gazette" and "as heard on CBC Radio One" are important to establish credibility. Again, I'm not sure if they would appeared further down the page with your design, or if you removed them. I got that tip from a guy who runs a business making websites for carpet cleaners, and many of his tips I've found can be applied to other service based local businesses. It's hard to quantify or prove if this works, but I've had it on the html website for a while too.
I took a look at the Stay Sleepy theme - looks good. I also just bought the complete set of Studiopress themes during the sale they had last week. With $100 off and the returning customer 25% discount, I couldn't resist. So future sites can look a bit more visually appealing. I am kind of considering using a new theme for this website. The navigation is good now, and the content has been rearranged in a better way, so using a new theme would be easy to do now.
Occasional WordPress designer, learning more with each website!
August 25, 2014 at 2:35 pm #120989copiousParticipantSorry if I came across as trying to justify too many things. I really do appreciate the feedback on the design aspect. I'm still learning and want to be sure to find the right balance between an attractive looking website and one that converts well. Experience is the best teacher, and I have a bit of it, but I'm still learning!
Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions. I've implemented several of them and I think it makes the website look a lot better already!
Occasional WordPress designer, learning more with each website!
August 25, 2014 at 7:15 pm #121029TomParticipantYou don't have anything to justify. I learned about another wireframe tool and had some fun mocking up a project from your site - it certainly wasn't complete, just for fun. And I learned about driving instruction in Montreal. No worries.
Now that you have the Pro Plus pack your Genesis fun will be infinite!
(PS. thanks to Ben for your reply about themes)
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[ Follow me: Twitter ] [ Follow Themes: Twitter ] [ My Favourite Webhost ]August 26, 2014 at 12:52 pm #121175copiousParticipantGreat, thanks Tom! I'm kind of stuck between making a website with as many Internet Marketing techniques as possible, and a clean, aesthetically pleasing appearance. Unfortunately, I'm finding, the two are not always compatible. Being that the driving school industry in the Montreal area is quite competitive, we need all of the help we can get. So, I may have to give up a more stylish site for one that's more geared towards direct response advertising.
It's OK, some of the Internet marketers have similar website layouts and still make a fortune selling their wares. Within reason, I think my friend would rather have a website that gets her more customers rather than one which looks nice, lol. Of course, it still has to look clean and professional. Believe me, a few of her competitors have websites that look like a 5 year old made them as a first attempt at web design! And some of her competitors have beautiful looking websites that could probably win a graphic design award, but the content is not strong, and they lack calls to action.
10 years ago when she started with one location, having a website was a novelty. She was one of the few driving schools with a website. Back then, it was still all about good Yellow Page ads. How times have changed! 😉 And I'm still, always happy to get tips and suggestions. I've implemented most of them, and I think it makes the website better. I'm not that fond of the body background color, but my friend likes it, and it's her website in the end. I'm not sure if I'll redesign the site any time soon, or use any of the themes from the Pro Pack. We'll see. Thanks again for all of the great tips! They help me with this site and with future sites!
Occasional WordPress designer, learning more with each website!
August 26, 2014 at 1:08 pm #121179Ben @ Inbound CreativeMemberDon't forget, most internet marketing techniques are designed to acquire the visitor – not the lead. That's the domain of conversion optimisation.
August 27, 2014 at 8:28 am #121325copiousParticipantThe Internet Marketers I've been studying are into both, acquiring the visitor (more SEO) and the lead (more Internet marketing for the lead generation aspect of it). I agree, there's a difference. I'm still learning, but I can usually identify a website where it's been optimized for lead generation. I'm trying to find the balance between all of these things right now. Thanks! 🙂
Occasional WordPress designer, learning more with each website!
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