Our New Website UPDATED Logo

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Everyone,

First off this is NOT a sales post! We are not open for business until May.

My dad and I are starting a new business and we are looking for feedback on our website. The business name is Badger RentAShed. We specalize in renting and selling storage sheds.

Anyway the website address is www.badgerrentashed.com (http://www.badgerrentashed.com). Please have a look and let me know how we could improve our site.

Mods: If this post is a TOS violation, please let me know. I read the TOS and thought it was okay. I am not trying to sell anything, I just want website feedback and business tips.

[tod evans]

go jeff go :) looks good from here..

[Dennis Peacock]

Jeff,

Congrats.!!!!!
1st thing I noticed? The red background for the menu and business name needs to be something a little more "calm". Try a colored background for the overall page. It should be a "warm" or "cool" color so people will want to "linger and poke around" your web site. Just my 2¢ worth on the subject.

[Art Mulder]

Jeff

1- I used Firefox 1.5 on a Mac to view your website. On my screen, the fonts on the left-hand menu image are quite poor. (ShowcaseSideLogo.gif). They're very jagged, and have pieces missing (eg: the "o" in "Contact Us" is not an unbroken black circle). With a company website you really need to try and view it on every possible browser, to make sure it looks good - and works - for *all* possible customers.

2- I also agree with Dennis about the red background being a bit too warm. Something a bit more neutral, or paler, is gentler on the eyes.

3- I really like the looks of the solar shed. Oh, and I found out quite by accident that if I clicked on a picture it would show me a larger picture. This should possibly be mentioned.

4- the kids playshed. When I click on the pictures, I get small pictures rather than large pictures popping up

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone! I will consider each one :)

Art, Browser testing isn't complete ;( I must need to do some work on firefox! Thanks for the update.

I will work on the red background, it is red because of the red badger state tie in, but I really am not happy with it.

Wording is needed on the showcase pages to click on the thumbnails, thanks for the tip!

I don't have larger pics for the kids playshed :( They are stock pics that the kit manufacturer sent us.

Thanks again everyone! It is a work in progress and you all have given me great tips!

[John Hemenway]

Looks good. Previous comments about text in menus apply. I looked at it (Mac OS 10.4x) in Safari, Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape and Internet Explorer. All had similar problems with the menu text. Are you making them in Photoshop? Turning on 'anti-alias' would help smooth out the text. If you aren't making them as graphics it will be hard to use fonts everyone has and get the look you want.

[Joe Pelonio]

Ditto on the red. Black lettering on red is hard to read, and probably a good percentage of your potential customers are old enough (like me)
to need good contrast. Look at the main screen and start backing up
from the computer and you will see what I mean. Even a really light red (not pink!!) would help.

I'd also get some pics of the other products like the gazebo onto the main page to keep their attention, rather than just the one shed.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Okay I updated the red and the pixalation on the logo.

Please have another look :)

I still don't like the red, looks to rosey to me. If anyone has a suggestion of a light red color, please let me know! :)

Thanks! Jeff

[John Miliunas]

Hey Jeff, haven't looked through the whole thing yet, but you're definitely getting there! :) That said, you know how I am about wording :rolleyes: and, in the text of the solar shed, lose the "her" in the description! Not everyone potting plants is a "her". The text is fine as is if you just eliminate the "her". :) Don't want to alienate the guys out there doing the "green thumb" thing, you know...:D :cool:

[Jeff Sudmeier]

John,

Thanks for the feedback, you are a MUCH better writer than I!! The site is updated.

Everyone, I worked on the logo some more, I really would like to stay with the badger colors. Anyway, I have attached the logo in red/white. What say you? (I will withhold my comments at this time)
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[Art Mulder]

White on Red is better than black. The contrast is good.

The font is still quite jagged.

What about toning down the brightness of the red? How about a burgundy? or a paler red? Or perhaps try using the red more as an accent colour rather than a main colour. (like a horizontal bar under or above the words, or both even.)

[Jeff Sudmeier]

And the side logo:
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[Dennis Peacock]

Looks better....!!!!! The fonts really need to be smoother. Has a general appearance of being "hacked" to put it rather bluntly. I ain't no expert, but I can tell you what I like on web sites and what I don't. Looking better and you are doing a very fine job of putting it together.

What about the "white" backdrop on the page? Can ya tone that down just a bit? Sometimes, a white background or canvas for the entire web page can be quiet over-powering, especially if you are looking at web pages at night and half asleep. ;)

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Dennis, I see the same thing :)

I just don't have the tools or skills to get it better. I will keep working on it, but I have to keep telling myself that this is basically a hobby :)

[Joe Pelonio]

The white lettering on the red is much better (do the same on the clickable icons on the right). With white you can now go with a darker red like cranberry or burgundy. Think about a very light grey background instead of white.

[Vaughn McMillan]

It's getting there, Jeff. I sent you a PM about a few points I might be able to help improve.

- Vaughn

[John Bailey]

Jeff,

It looks good to me the way it is, but, of course, I'm color blind.:D

John (Do you offer franchise opportunities in MI.?)

[David LaRue]

Please don't take this as harsh... I applaud you asking for opinions. But to start a new business you need to make a great 1st impression. You site needs some tweaking to make this important 1st impression.

I'm not a big fan of scrolling frames.
The overall look and feel is a bit dated. Warmer colors would help, as wood more effective navigation with bread crumbs.
I think you need a catcher logo too. One that can stand alone without the "Badger Rent a Shed" being part of the logo.
Not sure why you need the Badger in the name. Are you a University of Wisconsin fan. Do you sell to folks that are not? :confused:
The pictures you are using are probably copyrighted. do you have permission to use them?Also what other advertising are you doing? Who is your target audience. What zone regulations do you expect to run into? What is the minimum time someone can "rent"? Have you factored permits and city hall, subdivisions, and bylaw timing into your costs? How much is the early termination fee? Does the $75 delivery charge apply to site leveling, the floor for shed or securing the gazebos?

[Ernie Nyvall]

Looks good to me Jeff. I found what I needed to know if I were a customer.
Go getem Jeff.

Ernie

[Frank Pellow]

Jeff, I hope you do well with this venture.

Like others, I don't like the red and I don't like the fonts (even after the improvements).


aside: white and red are Canada's colour's so I really do like them -just not when I have to read white on red.
What's with the 'Custom Sheds' choice? When I clicked it, I expected to see something about how you customize sock sheds and the customizing options available (or maybe you even build sheds from scratch without starting with a stock shed). All I see is a picture of another stock shed.

[Jerry Clark]

Jeff I like your site-- suggestion-- the rental and the custom shed pictures could be better, both are taken in the shade. The porch picture shows more landscape than shed. :D Looks like a good idea and I wish you luck in your venture.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Please don't take this as harsh... I applaud you asking for opinions. But to start a new business you need to make a great 1st impression. You site needs some tweaking to make this important 1st impression.

I'm not a big fan of scrolling frames.
The overall look and feel is a bit dated. Warmer colors would help, as wood more effective navigation with bread crumbs.
I think you need a catcher logo too. One that can stand alone without the "Badger Rent a Shed" being part of the logo.
Not sure why you need the Badger in the name. Are you a University of Wisconsin fan. Do you sell to folks that are not? :confused:
The pictures you are using are probably copyrighted. do you have permission to use them?Also what other advertising are you doing? Who is your target audience. What zone regulations do you expect to run into? What is the minimum time someone can "rent"? Have you factored permits and city hall, subdivisions, and bylaw timing into your costs? How much is the early termination fee? Does the $75 delivery charge apply to site leveling, the floor for shed or securing the gazebos?

I'm not going to go into our whole business plan here. Suffice to say that we have drafted our business plan that details our target audience, advertising plan, permits and other restrictions.

[Jarrod Nelson]

If this is your first web-site, I'd say you are doing quite well. But to be 100% honest, it's just not very polished. How much business do you expect to generate from your website? If it is significant, I'd pay a professional to write it for you.

You have obviously put a lot of thought and work into this. The content seems very good. All that would help the professional with his or her work because they now know your needs and wants.

I hope I'm not coming across as being mean, just trying to help a fellow Badger fan. :) Good luck with your business.