Too much content on your website?

Cardaddy,

Wow, excellent post and cudos for taking the time to write this all out. It is well thought out and took some time. Members like you is what makes this forum so great. :xyxthumbs:
 
hilld said:
Cardaddy,

Wow, excellent post and cudos for taking the time to write this all out. It is well thought out and took some time. Members like you is what makes this forum so great. :xyxthumbs:
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Thanks indeed for you kind comments.
I've had sites in the past (for other businesses) that have been successful. We don't have a site now mainly because we don't need/want the business it'd generate. ;)
 
Looks a little busy to me, but hey im constantly redesigning mine. Never happy with it. I do like the simple is better approach. I do have a lot of type in the services offered page but i track my sites traffic and can tell you people do not want to spend a lot of time reading. The flow seems to go from home page, to pricing. Sometimes they go to gallery which is i really want them to go to sell my service.
 
Hey Eric!

Yep, your site is easier to follow 'fer' sure. ;) Love your side-by-side shots! (You could actually get even more in there by doing them as split screen 50/50's.) ;)

One thing that surprised me though is I figured there was more money in Jacksonville. :dunno: Looking at your work.... I can't imagine going 20 miles AND buffing (even AIO) for under a $100. :eek: I'll charge $60~$80 for a wash (albeit a 3~4 hour job), wheels, wheel wells, jambs, glass inside and out, dash wipe, then all of them shined, coated etc. with a spray wax/sealant, remove the mats (light spot clean) and throw in an interior vacuum.

Last time I did anything mobile (I generally don't do mobile) along those lines it was just a bit more detail oriented around all the cracks, crevices, nooks-n-crannies (but the interior was spotless already). Did the whole snow foam deal then I did the leather just for snits-n-giggles, Opti-Bond on the tires, and that one was $150 (then again it was a Viper). :D

Did want to give you the ol' :dblthumb2: for your service though. That Coast Guard gig has got to be cool brother!:props:
 
Thanks again for everyone's posts and comments on this thread - especially you Tony for your multiple posts to me about my site. It has all been very helpful. I took some time over the last couple of weeks to try and clean some stuff up on the site and I think it will get me by for now without doing a bigger overhaul.

On a side note, I've completely lost all hope in GoDaddy and I'm currently in the market to switch to something new. My mobile site has been screwy for months now and after working with them on it for hours over the phone, they still can't even figure out what's causing the issues, let alone how to fix them. Long story short, I'm done with them, so I don't want to put more time into the site right now. I'd rather focus on the next version and really nail that one down since I'll be rebuilding from the ground up. I'm trying to view it as a positive right now :D

Any suggestions on good companies to build a site with? I'm leaning toward Squarespace right now, but I'm open to suggestions/comments. Thanks again guys!
 
Thanks CarDaddy. Yeah there is good money in JAX but unfortunately I'm on the Westside and all that money is closer to the beaches. Plus this's elect is completely saturated. I was much busier in Detroit.
 
toycar18 said:
It could be cleaned up so it is an easier read. Not necessarily how much info but how it is organized. Font, spacing, pics etc.

seems cluttered. Needs better flow.

Hope that makes sense. I could explain it much better in person.
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I would agree, it could be cleaned up a little and a little bit more organized.

I would say that you don't need to go into so much depth about your services and would change your gallery to only include featured cars.
 
toycar18 said:
It could be cleaned up so it is an easier read. Not necessarily how much info but how it is organized. Font, spacing, pics etc.

seems cluttered. Needs better flow.

Hope that makes sense. I could explain it much better in person.
Click to expand...

jarred767 said:
Thanks again for everyone's posts and comments on this thread - especially you Tony for your multiple posts to me about my site. It has all been very helpful. I took some time over the last couple of weeks to try and clean some stuff up on the site and I think it will get me by for now without doing a bigger overhaul.

On a side note, I've completely lost all hope in GoDaddy and I'm currently in the market to switch to something new. My mobile site has been screwy for months now and after working with them on it for hours over the phone, they still can't even figure out what's causing the issues, let alone how to fix them. Long story short, I'm done with them, so I don't want to put more time into the site right now. I'd rather focus on the next version and really nail that one down since I'll be rebuilding from the ground up. I'm trying to view it as a positive right now :D

Any suggestions on good companies to build a site with? I'm leaning toward Squarespace right now, but I'm open to suggestions/comments. Thanks again guys!
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Look into Office 365 For business. I purchased that because I was getting upset with my host and have now transferred everything over to them.

Positives:
Up to date software for Microsoft Office at all times.
Free Public Website
1TB of Onedrive space per user.
Simple to use if you have any experience with sharepoint etc.

I couldn't be happier with my switch and I am saving money since I don't have to pay my host 180 a year and then pay for 100 for my Office 365. Now I pay 12.50 a month annual commitment for a free website and full office 365 Enterprise for business.

But I went from spending 280 bucks a year to 150 a year for my website. Was a no brainer for me.
 
Thanks for the additional thoughts guys I appreciate it. I've made some adjustments to clean some things up temporarily and I think I'm leaving GoDaddy and gonna start fresh, so the added advice will definitely be useful. Thanks again! :xyxthumbs:

sweatthedetails said:
Thanks CarDaddy. Yeah there is good money in JAX but unfortunately I'm on the Westside and all that money is closer to the beaches. Plus this's elect is completely saturated. I was much busier in Detroit.
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Not to derail this thread, but I noticed you mentioned that you moved from Detroit to JAX and it sounds like you moved the detailing business too. Are you mobile or did you move into a new shop? I'm planning on moving my business from Seattle, WA to Bend, OR this spring, so that's why it caught my attention.

Anything that you did that you thought was great, or things that you would change if you did the move over again? Any advice that you might be able to share on how to move a detailing business to a completely new market would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to PM me too if you'd rather go that route. Thanks!
 
Feel free to browse through my website and let me know what you think. I would be more than happy to help with setting you up. Very easy way to manage everything along with customers. Email Blasts for advertising. Facebook integration is great too. You don't have to have a lot of experience with microsoft products, it just help if you know how to work sharepoint and sharepoint designer.
 
Hi Jarred, I'm in the Coast Guard and detail on the side. So I have to adapt to a different market every 4 years. It takes time to build your business so this is rough, it's a good thing this is not my main source of income. Just like when I started in Detroit its slow getting my name out. But unlike when I started, I now know it will get better. My first year in Detroit I did a lot of discounted work just to get my name out. Also my website took at least two years to get on the first page of Google. Make sure to move your google map spot and not start over with a new one. Also make sure to update any other search engines you are on, bing, yahoo, angieslist, etc.
My business increased every year in the D and I saw the same customers every year along with adding new ones. My last year there I only did return customers and actually turned a lot of people away. It took me 4 years to get to that point, but I now know it's attainable so this time I'm not discouraged at all.
In Detroit I got a lot of work thru Craigslist, but for some reason I have nothing from it here. Also my Adwords campaigns don't seem as effective. I really think I should change my number to a local one. A lot of people who call me that is their first question. So change your number when you move, it will help. My best source of business here seems to come from Facebook of all places. There are a ton of local car enthusiast pages here. Jax mustangs, Jax bimmers and the like. So I go on there and offer different deals like my $80 special I'm running right now. Plus I put a link to my website on there and it's cool because I can watch all the traffic the post generates thru google analytics. When ever I do this I will typically book my schedule for weeks in advance. This will be how I do it till I get that great return customer base again. Good luck and remember it takes time, be patient. I think by year 2-3 you will be super busy.


www.JaxDetails.com
www.Facebook.com/DentsAndDetails
I may be slow, but I do poor work.
 
sweatthedetails said:
Hi Jarred, I'm in the Coast Guard and detail on the side. So I have to adapt to a different market every 4 years. It takes time to build your business so this is rough, it's a good thing this is not my main source of income. Just like when I started in Detroit its slow getting my name out. But unlike when I started, I now know it will get better. My first year in Detroit I did a lot of discounted work just to get my name out. Also my website took at least two years to get on the first page of Google. Make sure to move your google map spot and not start over with a new one. Also make sure to update any other search engines you are on, bing, yahoo, angieslist, etc.
My business increased every year in the D and I saw the same customers every year along with adding new ones. My last year there I only did return customers and actually turned a lot of people away. It took me 4 years to get to that point, but I now know it's attainable so this time I'm not discouraged at all.
In Detroit I got a lot of work thru Craigslist, but for some reason I have nothing from it here. Also my Adwords campaigns don't seem as effective. I really think I should change my number to a local one. A lot of people who call me that is their first question. So change your number when you move, it will help. My best source of business here seems to come from Facebook of all places. There are a ton of local car enthusiast pages here. Jax mustangs, Jax bimmers and the like. So I go on there and offer different deals like my $80 special I'm running right now. Plus I put a link to my website on there and it's cool because I can watch all the traffic the post generates thru google analytics. When ever I do this I will typically book my schedule for weeks in advance. This will be how I do it till I get that great return customer base again. Good luck and remember it takes time, be patient. I think by year 2-3 you will be super busy.
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Thanks for all of the great info somehow I missed this when you first posted it, but I really appreciate it. That's great to know with Google Maps, and I'm definitely planning on getting a new local number, that seems like the best route there. I'll be planning on moving all of my website and online stuff over a month or so before I make the move so that I can gain some web presence before the move. Luckily, there are only a few other detailers in the market there already and a couple seem like very very small operations, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get on the front page of Google. My biggest concern will probably be working through the winters as there's a little more cold and snow than here in Seattle. I've saved up some extra $$$ to help with the transition as I build a new customer base, but my goal is to be going full steam ahead one year after the move.

Thanks again for the tips. Really super appreciated.:dblthumb2::dblthumb2:
 
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