What can I do to improve www.nikolausdrellow.com?
I just "soft-launched" the site yesterday. Designed it myself (as I couldn't afford to hire a designer). I know there must be some bugs and kinks to be worked out.
Would very much appreciate your feedback no matter what your expertise: proofreading, de-bugging, SEO, etc. Just your initial feelings about the site would also be very much appreciated.
Answers (13)
Hi Nikolaus. One stuff that I noticed while quickly surfing through your website was the following: in the portfolio section, when a user clicks on an item, the current page gets reloaded with the featured content. Instead I'd recommend to open another page for the content, in a matter that the user doesn't have to hit the browser back button in order to go back to your site portfolio. Other than that I find the look and feel quite appealing.
The look and feel is really nice - I would suggest sorting out your email address away from a gmail account - give yourself more credibility.
I am only in my third attempt to set up a blog. The more you practice the better your work will get. But secondly sometimes it takes some time to work out cinks. When I starting posting my work on poemhunter, the website had a few problems and now it works fairly well.
I've found when I need help a step by step guide book sometimes is helpful. - Lillian B. Rose (writer)
Hi,
Please check out this report I ran for you on your website. Also have a look at our home page, we have 2 whitepapers on website redesign and inbound marketing. Our company SiliconCloud (www.siliconcloud.com) are a European based inbound marketing company and clients find them very useful.
Good luck with it
Patrick
Links:
Adrian D
Instructor for Sitesell Education and business owner
Best Answers in: Computers and Software (1), Software Development (1)
Like the look and feel, plain and simple and right to the point .
On your about-me page, you using the your page keyword in the filename, the meta title and meta description and a few times in the content. Absolutely marvelous !
Just add the keyword in a paragraph heading if possible.
Have you made an xml sitemap file for the site and submitted it Google, Bing, Yahoo and Ask ?
Looks like you are going in the right direction.
Now just add a hundred more keyword focused content pages!
Nadja S
Navigating social media, marketing and entrepreneurship - in the US and abroad
Hi Nikolaus,
I would recommend the following:
1. Home page: Under the header “This ain’t my first rodeo”, link each of the services that you have listed to an applicable example in your portfolio
2. Testimonials: Instead of having a separate testimonial page, include a couple of testimonials on every page
3. Process: Add your engagement structure – Step 1: Gather requirements, Step 2 etc.. Ideally you want to use a visual since you already have a lot of text on your website.
I hope that helps.
Good Luck!
Nadja
PS: I am adding a link to my small business marketing blog in case the information could be of use to you
Links:
Tony B
MD at Realnet specialising in Internet solutions that are engineered to be found and to convert
Hi Nikolaus
First impression is that you are giving too much information on your Home Page. The Home Page should be simple and immediately set the stage for a site visitor.
Feed them the words more slowly, later as you draw them into the site.
My bible for webs sites is 'Don't make me Think' by Steve Krug.
What do you want a visitor to your page to do? If you don't know and point to a clear call to action how do you expect the visitor to what you want.
Hope that this small pointer will help you
Tony Berg
Links:
Looked good overall. Two points for improvement maybe
"About me" page, last paragraph "Pumpkin", last sentence, a small typo:
"expertiser" ?????
Graphics: Isn't the flowery typewriter a little too dated for a web copywriter?
Michael P. Manning
Linda K
B2B Copywriter, MarCom Consultant, Web Content: Textile and Handcrafted Products Companies
Hello,
I'm responding to your site both as an online copywriter, but also from the lens of my many years as an artist.
Pt1:
1. What is the most important piece of information you want someone to focus on and to grasp about you when they land on your home page for the first time? This is the anchor for the page.
Your page leaves me nowhere for my eye to land except for this strange shape I'm trying to register in my brain what it is exactly – Oh I see, I think it's a typewriter, but it has all these curlie-cues coming off of it, so I'm not 100% sure.
See how you've let me waste precious seconds of the 3-5 seconds a person takes to decide to keep reading or not? This is not good.
2. Make your top words really function as a headline in the same font size as the word Freelance, at the very least. Even a bit bigger is ok. Let that message grab the reader's attention. Use the same green as the font in your info on the left.
3. I don't mind the old fashioned typewriter but get one that's much clearer as to what it is. Get rid of the curlie-cues. Move it over to the left more. It could be a tad smaller. Move the navigation links up and enlarge them also to the same size font as the word WRITER. So make that top section be not as deep. It's taking up valuable room at the top without making a big enough contribution. The typewriter will end up being more to the side, with the headline to the right of it and under the headline are the Home, About etc in a smaller font.
4. Now start thinking about what that typewriter image implies. What does it conjure up in your mind? An old manual typewriter. As someone else mentioned, it doesn't necessarily fit with the idea of online web content writer.
For me I thought of the stereotypical newspaper reporter hunched over the keys, pounding out his story just in time to meet the deadline. The old fashioned-ness of it is in keeping with the rest of the site in terms of the font, the black/white emphasis, and your photo/image – which I do like a lot by the way.
So use this image as a springboard for the rest of your messaging. What are some of the characteristics that this newspaper guy brings to the job? Pull that into the story somehow. In fact I see you've mentioned some of them – the idea of dependability, on time and ready to go, thoroughly researched, done the old-fashioned way. And so on.
5. You did use the typewriter in the way I'm saying, but the problem is you've got several mixed metaphors going on in the subheads. This Ain't My First Rodeo just comes out of left field. I'm thinking, a rodeo? What does that have to do with anything? And then under it you say, I've written miles of content… So my brain is now trying to hook up rodeo and miles – and I'm not connecting the two. See what I mean?
Better to find words that keep the thread of the old-fashioned work ethic pulling the reader through all your subheads. Then there's a match between words, images, fonts, style.
6. I suggest you move the whole thing over to the left more. The far left margin is quite wide so plenty of room. Then as someone else mentioned, take out the Testimonials as a navigation link and spread out your testimonials on each page on the far right hand side.
The thing is you only have 3 comments on the official testimonial page. And then the moving text at the top is also distracting and hard to read. By placing these comments on each page, they will be more easily digested and paid attention to.
This is continued on Pt2.
Linda Kaun
www.lindakauncopywriting.com
Clarification added 1 month ago:
I've continued the rest of the review in a note to you.
From one copywriter to another: love it! It's direct, to the point, and addresses some important potential reader concerns. I like the design--the graphic at the top conjures an image of creativity, which is nicely balanced by the more "grounded" elements in the body, sending the message, "I'm creative, but not a flake."
In terms of improvements (and I realize some of these have already been mentioned): First, if you have them available, add more testimonials. Second, have more of a clear call to action. Third, add more content for SEO purposes. Finally, have your samples come up in a new screen.
Best wishes with your new site. I've recently updated mine as well; if you have a minute, let me know what you think (see below for URL).
Links:
We live in the world of color, time to add some. ;-)
Links:
Hi Nick -
I'd suggest making the font size of the buttons across the top large as well as the font size of the rotating quotes. Nice touch!
On this page it says: "Mouse over a page to see what role I played in the project."
In Firefox, when you mouse over, nothing comes up.
