Posted by Kydocrunner on 2/2/06 10:01am
Msg #93311

Input on new website Please

Good morning everyone. I just finished a 4 day project playing around with building a new website. I am wondering if anyone has had much luck picking up new clients via a website or if TC and SSuse this site and ones like it to locate notaries exclusively. Please check out my new site and let me know what you think.

htp://home.earthlink.net/~exoticbird

I am also wondering if I should get a business site and domain name. Any thoughts/ comments greatly appreciated. Thanks, Cheryl

Reply by NM_CO on 2/2/06 10:22am
Msg #93319

Here's my suggestions:

Your number flashing around with my mouse makes me cross eyed.
On the "Fees" page - I would try to align all of the fees in a column.
The column on your "Fees" page where you enter your contact info should be a paragraph with a bigger field for input or seperate fields for each question you want answered.

Other than that, I like it!

Reply by Cheryl Aerts on 2/2/06 10:35am
Msg #93327

Thanks so much. I've made a note of your sugestions and will correct them. Thanks again.

Reply by Beth/MD on 2/2/06 10:37am
Msg #93328

I like the home page. Nice and neat. No clutter. However, I have to agree with Paula, the mouse thing with the phone number is a annoying distraction. She also made a good point about the fees page.

And YES, get a business name/site. exotic bird sounds like a pet store.

Reply by eXpedN_TX on 2/2/06 10:40am
Msg #93331

Nice job! Looks very professional. I would maybe get rid of the phone number scrolling around because it is very distracting. I like the concept of it, it just makes me feel dizzy and confused when I am trying to click on a link. I think having a website is nice because you can refer people to it for more information and such. For example: for "general" notarizations, I put more info on my website because I get a lot of callers wanting me to notarize something that doesn't have notarial wording. Since they don't know what options they have, I refer them to my website which links to the Texas SOS so they can see their options. It saves me a lot of time because they a lot of times they tell me "It's a simple notarization." Simple yes, but since I can not practice law, I can not tell them which one to use...the Texas SOS site backs me up on this. Have a wonderful day!

Reply by Kydocrunner on 2/2/06 12:27pm
Msg #93385

Thanks ex I hadnt thought of a link for sos what a great idea.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 2/2/06 10:48am
Msg #93335

Cheryl, I strongly suggest you get a domain name that reflects a "notary" theme and use some keywords that will allow for the multitude of search engines to find your site.

(I also sent you a private email.)

Reply by Anonymous on 2/2/06 10:50am
Msg #93337

Yes, the home page looks good. The other sections are informative. Yes, the phone number chasing the mouse is distracting and aggrivating. Yes you need a business name and web site. How else will someone doing a search find you?

Reply by Kydocrunner on 2/2/06 12:25pm
Msg #93383

Thanks all for the feedback. Thanks NM for the fee page suggestion, I have changed that page. Thanks for the heads up Paw, Please keep me posted. Beth, if you saw my office you would see it is a pet store LOL (just kidding). Thanks all! I knew I could count on you guys for great advice.

Reply by CarolynCO on 2/2/06 12:30pm
Msg #93388

The decimal points on the fee schedule still do not line up. Now you have a problem with the font sizes in your prices being different sizes.

Reply by Kydocrunner on 2/2/06 12:50pm
Msg #93393

Thanks Carolyn, Can you tell Im new to the whole website thing? LOL

Reply by CarolynCO on 2/2/06 2:09pm
Msg #93428

Cheryl,
Doing desktop publishing, also, my eyes see things other people wouldn't care about or even notice.

Reply by Shane_OH on 2/2/06 1:03pm
Msg #93399

Without looking at it....

The link alone scares me away....

Get your own domain name, its a much more professional appearance.

Reply by Kydocrunner on 2/2/06 1:14pm
Msg #93403

Re: Without looking at it....

lol thanks shane Im on that!

Reply by Julie/MI on 2/2/06 2:36pm
Msg #93441

I agree, need a name change

My own website is under construction and while you want your site to be memorable, don't do it in an "exotic" way. If you love your parrots, maybe you could add a parrot photo somewhere or make it a logo on your site and business cards.

Personally, I get turned off with too much personal information, but if you keep you exotic bird rescue stuff, add a memorable photo there, but not in your domain name. You never know, some scheduler may think the bird will make a mess of the docs, if you know what I mean! ;)

As the other said, the phone number thing drove my batty.

Hopefully this weekend I will finish mine, it's only taken me 5 years!

Reply by Kydocrunner on 2/2/06 3:06pm
Msg #93458

Re: I agree, need a name change

Thanks Julie, I am buying a new domain name( different from the actual email address as I have too many clients who have the exoticbird address to change it now) which will point to the site so exoticbird wont show up in a search.

Reply by MichiganAl on 2/2/06 3:50pm
Msg #93476

As a former web designer, here are my tips:


Under "my business philosophy" and "shipping and handling," make the type size the same as the rest of the page.
On the fees page, make the columns uniform.
Get rid of the counter, it serves your visitors no purpose.
Get ride of the weather, it has nothing to do with a notary page.
Get a domain name that sounds like a signing agent business.
Get rid of the phone number following around my cursor on the fees page. It's cute for about 5 seconds, then I just want to swat it away like a fly.

All pretty minor changes. Overall, it's one of the nicer homemade sites I've seen. It's clean and uncluttered, organized, easy to navigate, nice color scheme, professionally written. A very good job.

My bill is in the mail.

Reply by Kydocrunner on 2/2/06 4:06pm
Msg #93491

Re: As a former web designer, here are my tips:

Wow Thanks MichiganAl! This draft only took 4 days LOL. 4 more making corrections and I should have it made. Thanks again, Cheryl

Reply by TLR_KY on 2/2/06 5:36pm
Msg #93532

Welcome neighbor

Hello Cheryl. I guess we are neighbors. It is a welcome relief to have someone in your area and if we can ever help please let me know. I have had quit a few calls for signings in your area and we have not been able to service them so I hope if you would like I'll pass your name along. As for the web site I thought it looked great just in the fact that you have one. I have been working on one for about 3 months now and still don't have one. I'm not an expert on web design so I will just agree with the others on the minor details and semetrics issue. Let me know if I can ever assist with anything.

Tracy