I cant really fault this website. Its got everything. Couple of tips maybe? How about adding an online brochure for download, with an order form? Or Offering a mailed brochure so people can share it with their friends who havent got access to a PC and create mail order? Also the links, to other baby related clothing, are you associated with them>?...you could be driving custom away from your site to theirs!!

http://www.londonlifeclinic.co.uk

Loved the 'Feed Me' with the baby bird!
Not too sure of the Home Page, took ages to load, perhaps it should load gradually?

Mel and Emma,

First off, your site is great fun - bright and smily - which is as it should be for your line of retail product.

My biggest issue with it really is that it's built using Flash. Flash sites work really well for companies like BMW or Heinz - where the object of the site is more to do with branding and image and very little to do with directly selling products. If you made a list of what you would consider to be the top 10 most successful retail websites in this country....I'd hazard a guess that you wouldn't find any of them using Flash. They will all follow a very different pattern - getting straight to the point on the front page and making sure that there are plenty of product images right from the start and plenty of opportunities from page 1 for the visitor to buy. They will tend to look much simpler and cleaner, less 'clever' if you like...but they are fine-tuned for their one single goal - selling the product via the internet.

The other disadvantages of using Flash are

1. it is nigh on impossible to get decent search engine ratings with a Flash-only site - unless you are paying to have a separate, parallel set of content developed that is tuned for the search engines.
2. it is usually quite hard to change it quickly - if for example you change your contact details or add some new products or product categories - how easy is it to do this - do you have to go back to your developer (and keep aying repeat fees)?
3. it is quite unfriendly for anyone who is visually impaired or who is relying on a sight reader to use the internet.

So that's my views on Flash-based retail sites....it looks great but if you ever have a redesign - consider a non-Flash site next time - I'm certain the online sales from a non-Flash site would prove me right.

And finally, some minor typos and stuff......

In the questions section, specifically under 'how is my little blue dog item packaged?'

there is a type in the second paragraph - you're should be your

Another typo on the page about looking after garments - it's should be its (without the apostrophe)

In the shop section, the navigation is a bit difficult. I put something in my cart, and then tried to use the home button and the other buttons at the bottom - and these didn't work. I moved back into the shop and could then go to the home page. If I do go to the home page and then back into the shop a second time, I can't get back to the basket unless I go into a specific category.



I hope it's useful feedback. Best of luck with the new venture.


Annette
http://www.gardenopoly.co.uk
http://www.picnicworld.co.uk
http://www.papernation.co.uk

Loved the front page, but couldn't get on to any of the other pages.
Good luck
Alison

Lovely site and design. I really like the home page design but it annoyed me when I clicked on something and had to wait for the bird to fly off before I went through! I also agree with some of the other comments that perhaps your main shop page should be the home page, with the art work worked around that to reduce the number of clicks needed.

I didn't like having to say no to a gift box - should this not default to no (or yes?).

The site was really clear and easy to use.

Is there any way you can show the quality of the t-shirt material? I sell a number of brands of baby giftwear and there is a huge difference in quality.

Good luck

Laura
www.playtoyshops.com

The home page is great - unique and appealing. I love the logo and the icons, however, it took at least 3 clicks before you actually see the product. I think if I was shopping I would get put off by drawings, and may give up early on.

I also agree with some of the other comments re testimonials and happy kids. Something to show mum they are making the right decision.

Edited by author 21-04-2005 05:15 PM
Lovely looking site.
I will be
repeating some other comments I guess, but here is my view.
1. Home page: Is it really necessary? Perhaps you could go straight to the shop rather than looking at a pretty picture and then clicking through to where you actually want to go. Perhaps a dual role home page as someone has suggested would be the answer.
2. Images: Photos yes, drawings no. also you cannot zoom in on the drawings so you cannot see what the design looks like.
3. I agree with the points made about Flash. An element of flash can look nice, but I think it would be an idea to have an HTML version of the site, or a mixture of the two, particularly as many people are still on dial up.
The rest I like a lot..... Good luck
Steve.

Hi,

I can only agree with most of thew other comments on this noticeboard. Your site looks lovely - great use of colour and the right kind of visual style for your product - it makes it look very appealing!

I can only recommend a few things: correct the typos, provide an html version of the site for those who don't have broadband, correct the alignment issue (it jumps from left aligned to centre aligned sometimes, add some real-life shots of kids wearing the outfits, add the testimonials and make all the links have the change of colour when you hover over them - it's a little inconsistent at the moment that's all.

I hope this helps! :-)

http://www.carnihan.co.uk (web designer)

First impression - excellent. I had quite a few comments to make, however having read the other critique's comments I feel they have stolen my thunder.

The most important issue i believe is to show more happy smiley kids wearing your gear and instead of having to click on the diagram to show the picture it should change automatically every few seconds.

best of luck - Barry

Thanks for all the fantastic suggestions so far. There is some really useful stuff here. Brickies are great!!!!

Apologies if the site is running a little slow. The 600 hits ( WOW!) we have had today has certainly highlighted a bandwidth problem!

Keep em comming

Emmaxxxx

Edited by author 21-04-2005 06:58 PM
Hi,

Visually I think your site is very good. My only critism is that you have used Flash to create it, this pretty much rules out any chance of getting indexed on the search engines. If you are looking to generate traffic from search engines then I would suggest you create a mirror site that is built on HTML.

The other advantage of using html is that you can dynamically add pages for new products as your business grows. I imagine this is quite fiddly in Flash.

I don't mean to harp on about Flash as it is a great tool for building presentations. But it is a non starter for the search engines, which will be where most of your potential customers will be looking.

I hope you find this useful...

Company Formation Wizard

Hi,

A charming site - well done. I thought I was going to be the first to comment on the site's search engine situation but I see that Glenn pipped me. Being built in Flash, the site has a zero Google Page Rank and I couldn't identify any backward links.

The alternative to creating an html 'mirror' is to research keywords and create optimised html pages that will link to the site. You might be able to offer useful information about baby care etc - remember, the net is for information - give and thou shalt receive.

Have you thought about an affiliate scheme?

Good luck,

Paul http://www.incisecomms.co.uk

Wish my kids were under two again!

I thought the site was original and tempting but whilst I liked the concept of the home page I thought it was slightly confusing to navigate. I clicked on info first expecting background on Little Blue Dog and instead got frequently asked questions.

When I visited the shop I had to use the navigation arrows to see all the designs and consequently missed the invitation to click on the drawing for a photo. Hence I didn't immediately find the prices. I agree with the comments about having a baby model the clothes, there seems little point in having a photo which is a replica of the drawing. I would have been tempted enough to buy by the illustrations but I would have liked some washing/care symbols (my kids are not so old that I can't remember the mess their bodysuits got in!)

These are small points intended to help you make a success of what seems to me a very promising business. Good luck.
Glenda Shawley
www.thetrainingpack.co.uk

I thought the homepage was lovely but was a bit disappointed when I reached the shop that the products didn't seem as bright and colourful as the homepage image I was expecting. Also, I was surprised by how small a range of designs there were for each product type, but I guess that will expand with time.
Overall, I thought it was cute though.

I can't even view the site. Is there a quicktime video or something on the index page? I get a quicktime icon in the middle of the screen at that's it. It might be a querk of my PC setup (I'm not a novice, been an IT professional including the internet space for 20yrs+) but this might limit your sites exposure.

Hi,
I really like both the idea and the home page.

My sister's 3rd child is due in 2 weeks and your site gave me some ideas for gifts....but I wasn't tempted to buy from your site, so sorry.

I am a bloke and the stuff was categorised by design, not age.
Also I did not understand the benefit of the propostion...100% cotton, washable, well received. I felt only the people who had your product would understand.

I really hope this helps. I will bookmark your site!