Looking for help with my website - suggestions welcomed

As per Lynn's suggestion I am asking for a review of my website. It has been up and running for a few months now. I know that it is not perfect by any means. I also know I need help and guidance to get it flowing in the right direction.

So having said that I would appreciate any of you who wish to participate, to give me some feedback about what you think would help me improve my site.

I welcome your suggestions because most of you have been doing this a lot longer than I have and experience counts. I know that I can gain valuable insight form what you all have already been through. That is what I am trying to do...learn and grow.

Thank you in advance,
Christine

Hi Christine :) Are we looking at http://www.womenshomeactivities.com/, the site in your signature?

At a first quick look the first thing I'd probably like to see is some more images in posts to dress things up and guide me where to go next.

Hi Christine

I use that theme for my dad's website www.davidreneke.com, it is really adaptable and you can make it your own with a few simple changes. So I would suggest to play with the many options.

My first thoughts when I go to your site are, like Loretta, it is very wordy and needs more pics and colour. IMO :)

I really like your site and the info was interesting. The other thing I would do differently is to put your disclaimer, disclosure and privacy pages into the footer and leave your main menu for income generation and site navigation.

Cheers
Leigh

I like the topic - and I agree that you have good content here.

The content at the top of the main page, a "sticky post" I assume, does not address the WIIFM (what's in it for me?) factor for your visitor when they first arrive. It describes you, and your features - instead it should speak to your visitor and their needs, or the benefits of your site.

I would shorten it, put most of that info on the About page, and have a quick intro there that leads your first-time visitors into the best features of your site.

Also see: 7 Elements of a Great Blog Post for more ideas.

I only briefly looked at your site and I think you've got a great start. I think there will be interest in a number of your topics.

Here are some random suggestions for areas of improvement....

I can't really figure out what your site is all about. Your title and tag line "activities for women" and "giving women choices in life" leave me wondering... what kind of activities and choices about what? Then your welcome message talks about product recommendations and activities for children and grandchildren which don't really relate to activities and choices for women in my mind (admittedly, I may have a weird mind ;)). To keep visitors on your site we need to know that there's something there for us within the first few seconds of arriving. You pretty much have to take us by the hand and tell/show us what we want.

Be more confident about what you're presenting. You say "we want to..." several times. Don't be afraid to assert that you are offering good stuff.

Be a little more personal / personable. You talk about the "girls" and "the little boy" but you don't name them. And I completely understand if you don't want to use their real names, but I think it would be better to just make up names than to keep referring to them impersonally.

And finally, make actual recommendations for the products you use... Rather than list all the different types of canners, say which one you use and why. Or if you want to work in another link or two, talk about why you chose one over the other so you can mention both.

Keep up the good work!

edited to add: LOL! I got interrupted mid-post and didn't see Lynn's post before I added mine... Wouldn't have repeated the WIIFM recommendation if I had. :o

First let me Thank each of you who took your valuable time to take a look at my site. You have made some great suggestions and I take them to heart.

Much of what has been said I have been thinking about myself, but it helps to hear from others to confirm if I would be taking the right action or not.

@retta - yes you were correct in assuming that was the site I wanted the review for, a newbie mistake I should have directed you so in my post.

I agree I need more images. That is one thing I still need to learn about. I do have some pictures of my own that I would like to put on the site. I just need to make sure I understand how to upload them and know where to place them properly. I think I could use a tutorial guide of some such. Do you know of any?
I would also like to learn about using other sources for graphics and pictures. I will have to check into this more.

This may be a silly question but do you mind being a little more specific when you say "guide me where to go next"? I am more than willing to try anything that will help improve this site.

@Leigh - I may have to "pick your brain" a little if you don't mind :D about using this theme. This is my first website and I get a little intimidated by making a whole lot of changes to the theme. I just don't want to mess things up and I don't know how to change things.
You are right I do tend to get a bit wordy...yikes gotta work on that. :rolleyes:
I agree about the disclaimer, disclosure etc part too. I told my husband about that a while ago. (He helps me with my site, he's a tad more techy in all of this than I) Any suggestions on site navigation?

@Lynn - You hit one of my nails on the head with my welcome. My gut told me to do what YOU suggested Lynn, but I listened to someone else and should have gone with what I first thought. Some of that info was on my about page but I tried their suggestion and it never did feel quite right. I will make that adjustment along with the suggestion about focusing on my visitors. That makes perfect sense to me. :)
Thanks for the link, I will check it out as soon as I finish up here.

@Linda - I agree with you about my meta description. I have been racking my brain about how to better word this. I haven't come up with the right saying yet, but I don't give up. I definitely will make that change soon.

My lack of assertiveness comes from my "newbieness" but you are right. It is definitely time to stand up tall and be confident.

The reason I did not include the kids names is that I need to check with the parents first about including them. Actually I really like writing in a more personable way. Pen names is a good suggestion.

I agree about the product recommendations too. I should have included my own evaluation of some of the products. The day I wrote that I was a little more concerned about the images. It was the first time I had attempted to upload any and that thru me off track a little. I can still make some amendments to that post and I think you are right so this too goes on my list of things to do to improve my site.

Again I just can't thank each of you enough for helping me. You don't know how much I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions. This is such a wonderful and helpful forum. I have learned a lot just by reading through the posts and from what you have given me here.

Gotta go get my TO DO started and read the info that Lynn linked me to.
Y'all are GREAT, Thanks Bunches! :)

Blessings,
Christine

Thanks for the opportunity to review your site Christine. Here's my two cents worth....

I like the overall look by the way. Sharp.

Here are some changes I would suggest for the text. Bear in mind that I am not approaching these suggestions from an internet marketing perspective but more from a reader's perspective who wants to know what your site is about quickly.

Your text right now reads...

Quote:

---

Welcome to Women’s Home Activities – We are a just a couple of regular folks, (that’s right, a husband and wife team) that started this site with two main things in mind. We wanted to have a site that offers:

1. Good Quality Products – The products that we promote on this site are ones that either we own and use ourselves or have researched and found to be of top quality.

2. Helpful Information – We give insights to you based on our own life experiences and knowledge base gained through education and research of topics that we are interested in and would like to pass on to you.

We want to be upfront and honest with you, we are affiliate marketers and we make a small commission when you make a purchase through the links on our site.

We know that women make decisions daily about the activities for their family. As an educator with over 20 years of experience, I want to share with you some tips and advice that I have used that will assist you with your children and grandchildren. You will find educational ideas as well as other activities that we practice in our own home.

Read through the topics you find interesting. We welcome your comments and suggestions for our site.

---

Here's how I would change it...

Quote:

---

Welcome to Women’s Home Activities – This site offers:

1. Quality Products – products that we own and use ourselves or that we have researched and found to be of top quality.

2. Helpful Information – We share insights from our experience and our research that will help you pick the best products.

Women make decisions daily that are important to their families. As an educator with over 20 years of experience, I want to share with you some tips and advice that can help you with your children and grandchildren. You will find educational ideas as well as other activities that we practice in our own home.

Read through the topics you find interesting. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

Disclaimer: if you wish to support this web site to enable us to continue bringing you great product ideas and suggestions please consider purchasing products we have on this web site through this web site. By doing so we receive a small commission.

---

That's just a quick rewrite. It could be made better but hopefully that will help you and give you something to work with.

As I said I like the site. So please don't take my rewrite personally. I just think it can be streamlined and made clearer.

Carlos

Thank you divengrabber and carlos for taking a look at my site.

@ diven: I am a little confused. Could you explain in a little more detail what you mean by "just move to promotion work"?

@Carlos: Thanks for the compliments on the site. I have been working hard to get all of this together. I know that I still have a ways to go, but I am no quitter. I will figure this out. It is encouraging to hear from those who have more experience that at least my first attempts at blogging is not a total washout. I now believe this site is worth saving with the adjustments I am working on.

I did not take offense to anything you suggested. I asked for a review and welcome the thoughts and insights others have to give. I feel blessed to receive this valuable information from any who would like to participate. It helps me learn and grow and I am all about that as my signature line implies. :)

I do see what you mean about the welcome statements; they need to be more concise and to the point. I am also taking into consideration the suggestions made by Lynn and the others that previously made comments on how to improve the site.

I have decided it is best to stay focused on ONE THING at a time. So today I am working on Day 1 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge from Problogger. Great stuff! This first day goes hand in hand with what was suggested to me earlier about my tagline so I am working on this first. As I complete one task, I will move on to the others as not to get overwhelmed trying to finish everything at once.

Sometimes the mind can get bogged down, then not much of anything gets accomplished. So for a newbie like me I have found that this is the best approach in order to stay focused.

Again I would like to thank each of you for your help and support. It is such a relief to know that there are others willing to offer advice and direction to those of us first starting out. I really appreciate each of you for your willingness to assist me in this great adventure.

Blessings,
Christine

Not to bog you down further, but I recognized the theme too - atahualpa. After spending way too much time playing with the zillions of free themes, this is one that I find easier to customize. They walk you thru it in the ATO (atahupa theme options) section in your dashboard. Better than that, they are very active and helpful in their forum
http://forum.bytesforall.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2
I've found that the time the developers spend patiently answering newbie questions well worth a small donation. They also seem to update the theme frequently.

I like your site - interesting content even for a non parent like me. BTW it's the image below your header (the image is actually a 2nd header) that makes the theme so recognizable. That ATO section makes it pretty easy to change it, move it or eliminate it

I'll be interested to watch this as you move forward.

Thanks for viewing my site jk. I am glad that you find the content interesting. I love to write and want to reach out to anyone who might find what I have to say appealing.

You didn't bog me down. I am glad that you let me know more about my theme. I chose it originally because of the layout and now I am finding out all kinds of useful information that will help me develop my site further. So thank you again for passing on the link and pointers. I will have to go to the forum you suggested and learn more about it.

I am working hard at "moving forward" with this site. Any suggestions I receive I welcome and appreciate. Do check back and feel free to comment, that only helps me in the long run.

Blessings,
Christine

Ok y'all, my morning mission is accomplished.

I have now changed the tagline of my site. This is a test...it is only a test (she giggles)
Seriously though, please tell me what you think. Am I on the right track for a better description of the site or do I still need to work on the tagline? I am open to suggestions.

Let me know what you think. I appreciate the feedback.

Thanks,
Christine

I've no idea about the SEO quality or marketing side of this - BUT I can tell you that the new tagline made me smile. It feels positive.

If I were looking for good stuff to do with my kids (versus cool stuff to do with my kid that has little value towards promoting family, etc.), I'd be reading into that website.

Wow JK thanks a bunch for the feedback. You got exactly what I was aiming to do. Hopefully the visitors to my blog will too! :)

I am still trying to learn all I can about the SEO side myself. Research I am finding is key.

Off to work on my next project...fixing my welcome sticky post.

Thanks again for your input and good luck to you and your endeavors.

Blessings,
Christine

For the images, see the link I gave you earlier on the 7 elements for a blog post. There is a Flickr link there. I also use iStockPhoto.com but that is a paid site (cheap and great).

Thanks for the links Lynn. I will check them out and decide which photos would fit my needs.

I may need to ask a few more questions about the whole download/upload process though if that's ok. Part of the reason I haven't added photos yet or changed a whole lot with my theme is that I am still trying to figure all of the "techy" side of the website building. I just don't want to mess anything up.

This is part that can be a bit intimidating at least it is for me. I am a pretty quick learner though so I will read and see if I can figure it all out.

Thanks again.
Christine

Try this thread and see if that helps, with the images:

http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.co...ead.php?t=1421

:)