Thread: whodaddy

Hello, this is whodaddy, I was just putting together a website. it is www.whodaddy.net. I need some input on the looks and functionality of this site , so i can maybe improve it before I get serious about advertising it. I'm new and this is my first site I ever built. It's not quite finished yet either, but your input would be appreciated.

Hello, Eugene!

How's the weather in Texas?
Good to see your site is beginning to take shape....it shows a lot of thought and work already. There is a lot more that needs to be done, however, if you want to to truly shine like the Texas Star!

First thing I'd do.....I think the VodaHost affiliate banner really needs to go at the bottom of your page (if you stick with this banner), or at the very least, to a side margin using a different size and/or color.....it is just to incongruent and color-distracting used as it presents now.

If the basics of layout and construct are cleaned up a bit, I believe a tighter theme and flow will emerge, and then we can concentrate on the technical merit, right?

Is that better,? I think you were right it was a little too much at the top

Yes...much better.
Now you can begin to re-think the page top, and your devices to act as your Header (as it appears that is your intention).

Don't you think it might look a bit cleaner if you "reverse order" them, and maybe make the backgrounds on your marquee's more complimentary to your site (and thereby add a "scheme" or identifiable construct)?
Maybe by changing the green to a color more like this, and reducing the "stack"/odd size of the marquee (size it appropriately)?
I think you get the idea....work on things for a while, and we'll all check in on how you are doing!

Hi whodaddy,
The scrolling marquee is moving way too fast and the colors make this unreadable. I am not too fond of the large 'Welcome...' marquee either, but that is just personal opinion.

Your site width is large which means a lot of folks will have to scroll to the right to be able to see your whole site. This turns off a lot of people. Best practice is to keep your width between 800 and 1000 pixels.

A lot of your pictures look like they were sized after you inserted them into BV. Try bringing them back to their original size, they will look so much nicer. If you do need them resized, do so before inserting them.

Definitely listen to what Vasili has to say, the man knows what he is talking about!

You have a very interesting site and I think it will do very well.

Site is looking good. Interesting and easy to follow, nice.
Ditto what Dori said about the marquee - I can't read the blue thing at all - too fast and too dark.
Also ditto the picture resize thing - they look misshapen, like they were shaped after placed, and smushed. If you MUST change their size after you ahve placed them, use only the handle on the bottom right - all others will distort the image..
Good job so far, alittle tweaking and you're there!

thanks for the input, I have made a few adjustments to the scrolling marquee. and adjusted the pictures again, let me know if the marquee is readable now. I have to go to work right now but I will check the forum when I get back .

Much better now that you have slowed things down, you changed the color too.........right? Looks much better.

I have not had time to go thru the entire thing, but this is what I thought so far... hope this isn't too technical, but sometimes technical is important ... especially when you are selling to a certain market!
At the beginning I thought the first paragraph kept changing from one space after the punctuation mark, to 2 times, and that did not look professional. It could use a couple of commas in the 2nd paragraph. Then it got to be too much words that it perhaps could use some tables, different font, or colors. The paragraph by your pic, on the home page, last word: Now is underlined and I wanted to click it !!!!
You could put a link there if you wanted to have another page... perhaps to buy it right there...with a little explanation and a price?!!! I think you would have a lot of sales! Instead, I had to get bored and scan for a price... got bored and you lost me... potential customer!!! I think you can keep the information there... just make the buying more up front! If there is anything to buy!!! I want to know the price!!! I hope there weren't too many run on sentences in there... sorry.
http://www.loveitshop.com

Ok... skimmed it again and I am impressed by all the information you can give me... but I am sticking to the idea that clicking that Now would open brief explanation of book, price, and HUGE buy now button!!! You will be selling them like hot cakes!!! Fix punctuation!!! Goodluck!
http://www.loveitshop.com

hello everyone, ok, Iv'e done a little remodeling, I've kind of run out of ideas. but I think everything seems to be functioning. I'm trying to come up with something to keep prospective customers interested. adwords is running my ad but I don't seem to get any buyers. what can I do to get people more interested?

First things first: make your website as Perfect as possible, as tightly SEO-prepared as imaginable......and as cleanly presentable and compellingly navigable as should be.

Once your "foundation" is flawless, then you can expect to see the results from your careful planning and design implementation. Then, if you are able, you will have the luxury of devising a similarly cohesive marketing and promotional plan to buttress your earlier efforts!

*Remember, all true web design and SE functionality (ranking, positioning, caching, etc.) is rooted on precise implementation of the elements in a very unforgiving way: the Perfect Page Model is the means for the SE's to sort through the chaff of millions of websites, for it is their job to present results to client searches, and they must determine which sites are the most reliable resources for that data first based on the formula of construct --- if a site can't get the "basics" right, what are the chances they will have the data that is as reliable as required?
Yes, Content is still King in many ways, but the foundations of sites is considered the easiest of elements to excel at, and is thus the most challenging to us "people" as we strive to think as computers do, tending to the minutia that is so critical! It is only then the "uniqueness" of our content and "relevancy" gets noticed.

Every step counts incredibly more than first glance.....there is no such thing as "baby steps." When you complete your initial "tasks" your stride will open up, and you will have not only the viable reason but the confidence and pride necessary to actively promote your website (opportunity) just like any other business requires.....and there are countless ways to do that, right?

"Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan"

As always... very well put Vasili!

Thanks..........can you believe I did all that in under 1000 words? Finally????

LOL
"Im learning!"

Vasili,

Very good indeed. I keep soap boxing that BASIC SEO and BASIC structure and CLEAN navigation soapbox.. across two forums! Your style is a little more elequoent! I just get a baseball bat and say PAY ATTENTION DAMMIT!

:)
Karen

Hey Guyz,

I've heard of the Perfect Page Model and clean structure etc, but ... dare I ask ... WHAT is it and HOW does one implement it into one's site?? I'd love to do it but don't know how??

And i'm sure there are a lot of ppl out there who would like to know too!

So would anyone like to illuminate those of us struggling in the dark... LOL. Is there a site to go to for more on this?

Also, while I'm at it - any opinions on how important a Site Map is for seo? In a complicated site I would think some ppl would appreciate it for navigability, but comments pse? And the best way to make one, esp. if U R a non-techie?

Thanks in advance,

Will

< sorry, Will....working on a laptop now with poor connection: lost a lengthy reply 3x....do an Advanced Search on "Perfect Page" and "Vasili" to find more explanation, if neded: it IS pretty well explained above, though >

Hey Vasili,

tks for the reply... sorry you lost all that data THREE times... this used to happen to me in composing emails - a YOOJ pain!! But thanks for trying to explain in a detailed way :-

I searched under Perfect Page, and Vasili, but couldnt find anything... when you say formula, is this a general term or something fairly specific? I have tried to make my website clean and clear - but does it conform to a 'formula' - so to speak? (that said, I know that the links OFF OF my main page need a bit of work - working on that and being advised by Bethers & Moto!!)

Sorry - I read and re-read the Perfect Page post but can't get any specifics. Maybe in due time when you again feel like it, you could post once more on it? As I say, i'm sure it's something of high interest to the Net community! :-

Cheers for now

Will

WhoDaddy. Yup basic american style sales site. I've just been through quite a few myself and seems like this type of sites are pushy big time. They are slim and long. Naturally copying them isn't neccessary but one thing is fairly common there that they all have white background. That's easy to change and test how it looks - change back if it doesn't work. That color surely fits better for selling books... Also you could really PUSH out some messages. You want a view what I mean. Check this...http://www.imsuccessguide.com/
as a sample.

Vasili is fun guy. I have to check half of his comments from dictionary. And he does give grief - at least to me, but it surely is good to listen what he and others got say, because at the end of the you can gain a lot. But hey, see if my opinion values around here:)

Will ... in regards to site maps there are several automatic generators out there and several posts in the forum about site maps, and they are important ... here is a link to an online generator, http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ but there are many more.

Simply LadyEye will try to put into basic words what Vasili is implying .. and please note, this is only my opinion ..

Along with the various search engine tips you can learn from reading Bethers seo guide, it is important for each one of your pages to be unique in it's content and reflect what that page is about. This is what is important to search engines, that you have the information about dogs, when someone is searching for dogs. And go beyond that, maybe it's dog bones, etc., so these are the "key words" that you want search engines to recognize.

The perfect page represents navigation to and from all of your pages in the easiest manner. Remember, you are building your site and know what and where things are. The rest of us don't. So make it clear, visible, easy to navigate, quick loading pages, pages that all have the same elements, examples - headers, navigation bar, footers, the look of your header, logo, is what you want people to remember, so use it, use it on all pages ... have your navigation easy enough so that if the viewer wanted to go back to a page and re-read something they read, they would know where to find it ... give your page a title that reflects it's content, not all viewers come to your site from that main page, they stumble across a page perhaps by searching for an image, or a word that you have on one of your pages, and so on.

Optimize your images, alt text your images, imply what your image is about in your alt text, many people search by images, pictures, etc.

Plan your work and work your plan - design a sketch of what you want viewers to see on your site, keep the pages within the recommended page size '800 width and long and lengthy pages are not popular either, keep those to '1000 or '1200 ... keep the same physical template or frame on all pages ....

if you have too much information for one page, make two, don't cram, jam or make it too long, make two pages instead, a long page doesn't keep my interest, whereas I would read three pages instead ...

Encrypt your email, or use Navels abvfp2 form, this reduces the spam you will receive.

I always like to know where the location is of the site I am viewing, I often cannot find this, this is a pp of mine ... tell them where you are located ....

While all flashy things that are available to put on a website are no doubt cool, many do not like them ... I do, but have learned, you really can't have them, and if you do, only one, and it should be tasteful ...

Have your site appealing to the eye, one that suggests to the viewer that they want to stay here, browse through your site, it is easy, wow look what I learned, they mark you in their favorites, they send the link to their friends .... and then there is more on having your link on other reputable sites that will also gain you higher rankings ... so much more to learn and put into this myself ...

Hope this helps. And again, this is only my opinion of what Vasili is saying ... And I am sure I have missed some things that others will come and touch base on!!

Hey LadyEye,

Tks for your detailed post! I think it HAS made things clearer... it backs up what I've been picking up from ppl like Bethers and Moto ... etc ... maybe the bottom line is to imagine yourself as a VISITOR ... is the info clear; helpful; do they know where to go next? ... does it have links to OTHER pages IN certain of the drilled down pages ... is it primarily a resource and helpful to PEOPLE and not just for SEARCH ENGINES...? That sort of thing is what I get you're saying ... sound about right?

Y'see, my site is one of those direct selling pages, so it IS long, but I think there is justification for length with these types of sites ... BUT as I'm adding articles to my Resources link, at the bottom of the home page, I'm finding that my stuff is being picked up and accessed by people, ie even tho I am primarily adding content to help my rankings, I am AT THE SAME TIME helping people out with genuine INFO, on various topics of interest to the health, diet, weightloss, nutrition, and even bodybuilding communities :-

So yeah, thanks! It IS clearer. Now I just gotta DO the various bits and pieces, also get the template right! (Moto talks about how to do this, and I will sooner rather than later get to it!!)

Appreciate it. Up the Canuks, ey? LOL :-

cheers,

Will
PS oh, a note on being bookmarked - app. this doesnt work so well coz most ppl dont go back to their bookmarks much at all and dont have them organised... but the sending on of a link to a friend - that is gt - and as you said, the biggest thing is a ONE WAY BACKLINK - ie someone found your stuff so valuable they mention it on another site - if this is a 'heavyweight' site then that is gold!!

LadyEye has made a significant dent in detailing some of the pieces to the "Perfect Page" model that is so important to website design considerations and SE interaction.

However....it is so much more than "represent[ing] navigation to and from all of your pages in the easiest manner" and truly the "Perfect Page Model" can be seen as a real "formula" of construct.

From the time you put the very first object on your BV page, add an image, paste in text, and change the colors of your lines and backgrounds, you have begun to create a "form of construct" and it becomes the base upon which everthing is built and compared to. The smallest of details are important, as it truly is written in "code" even though it appears to us as shapes, lines and all, and, accordingly it needs all be formatted uniformly to create the "universiality" of construct: things need to be aligned precisely, "color-matched" appropritately, "mirrored" from page to page (which is the exact reason BV has the Clone and Copy/Paste features for exact *******tion and positioning), etc.
Remember! This is just the base page construct, but each element must also be implemented "perfectly" (or as perfect as you are capable, which is the "measureable" perfection that the SE's see), and this all begins to form the basis of your "Perfect Page."

UPON this base, this foundation of page perfection, you need to complete the picture by adding (or 'filling in') the other elements of proper website construct: everything from Meta, KeyWord entries, image titles, Content, navigation technologies, links or other dynamic influences (and the percentage of contribution = balanced techniques), media features....it all too, must be completed with precision and attention to detail in the "perfection mode" to add to the overall Perfect Page model. This all begins to establish a "formula" of construct, an equation of elements to measure and recognize, to compare with a 'zero-tolerance' ranking algorithm SE's use to apply to sort between the sites.

The uniformity and precision established by the Construct and the technologies (between the static coded elements and the navigation, for instance) is the beginning of overall site Relevancy: is the marraige effective, well balanced, and compliant with the "Rules"?

You create significant influence on true Relevancy by adding the unique parts that are not static, pre-formulated, or universal (unlike the rules of coding and technological implementations), which is simplistically referred to as Content but which also must comply with the Perfect Page model......as mentioned above: your composed text needs be cleanly tied to your key words, and must be deep enough in context (compositional style) to be validated by the SE's as true content (not just a list of words or ill-structured sentences to grab their attention), which then is the "crowning touch" of Relevancy construct.....the last piece in the equation of the "formula" of Perfect Page!

Do you see it clearer now?

The Perfect Page is built in 3 parts (parts of the "formula"): Foundation (shapes, images, objects, colors, etc.) + Technology (navigation, tools, dynamics like forums, titles and tags, etc.) + Content (textually composed material, images and titles, reciprocol links, etc.) = Relevancy
** How "Perfect" is your site?? Based on that result, how "relevant" is your site to the resourcefulness value to the SE's as they "rank" it to produce results for client Search querries?

Every aspect must be addressed and implemented with precision, striving to attain "Perfection" overall. Thus, the Perfect Page Model!

>> Did you know that real SEO includes actually going into each page's code to "clean up" all the sloppy or loose lines that detract from the expected "perfection" modelling? SEO is such a broad term that most only think about key words, Meta tags and the like, but it is truly a "science" into itself.....thus the compelling focus for all of us to focus on the Perfect Pages process as we work. We can make our sites "SEO-prepared," but should not expect to be able to completely "optimize" our sites unless we have advanced skills.

This is what is driving the SE's currently, and is the surest means to "winnow the chaff" amongst the millions of websites out there, and has been confirmed to be the basis for future morphs of the same processing.

We are fortunate to have a tool that does most of the work for us (Blue Voda) and utilizes CSS in addition to HTML, simplifying our focus and attention to merely "coloring within the lines" and "stacking our papers straight" don't you think?

Originally Posted by Cornuto

Vasili is fun guy. I have to check half of his comments from dictionary. And he does give grief - at least to me, but it surely is good to listen what he and others got say

Don't think for a moment you are being picked on....you are not, really! In your thread there were so many posts by your peers that repeated the same thing that I finally felt compelled to jump in to tell you flat out how it was....(I call it the way I see it, that's all).
Every post and suggestion offered is to help broaden your perspective, to encourage you to progress. We all genuinely care, and like any other big family, sometimes you have to raise your voice to be heard across the dinner table!

And on we go!

Hey Will ... yw ... glad to see it made things clearer for some ... I know "simple terms" is always the best when folks are trying to learn ... I'm not into extended vocabularly to assist people looking for help and knowledge ... that's just me I guess ...

And your page Will ... well it should be lean and slender right ... lol ... that is what you are going for!! And by the way, I see you have your ebook cover you were wanting ... Good for you!! Great job!!

Vasili ... perhaps you didn't read all, but I really didn't imply, that the "perfect page" was merely navigation ... if you continued to read through my post, I touched base on all things, in simple terms. And in so far as seo, I directed viewers to Bethers seo tips, as this is an excellent starting base again written for all to understand.

No big!

This was just an unexpected "opportunity" to plaster up some little nuggets of useful information prior to fading away from VodaTalk, as you know.......hopefully set the record straight-er before the poorer idea sets in stone and becomes irretractable and no one realizes the bigger idea is missing.....

lol .....

Everything you say is true and excellent advice, that goes without question ... it's just if people have to use a dictionary to understand what is written, whether it is here on this forum, or on your own website, then that's bad, right?

So really aren't we building for the customers, and isn't that what the "perfect page" is all about, I'd think I'd rather call it ... "Knowing and Building for the Customers" ....

You know your stuff Vasili, no question there, just need to take some polish off of it ... lol

((((((((hugs)))))))))) Have a safe trip!!!!!

Could not agree more LE. Yeah that's the ticket POLISH, a little too BRIGHT. Vasili is slick but too much slick makes things harder to grasp. Pun intended. Vasili, don't mean to try to take away from your abilities in any way, you give a lot of help here. Just my thoughts.

Whatever.
"A rose by any other name...."

Well, let me just WEIGH IN to this discussion (LOL) and say thanks for all the info and help ... esp. Lady & Vasili ... MUCH clearer ... bottom line I say again as I see it is to bear your customer in mind FIRST AND FOREMOST ... I almost fell into the trap of "more = better" ... well, it does WHEN the site is perfect, or as perfect as one can get it...

so thanks for all the help! (and yeah, Lady - thanks - my site is TRIM and SLENDER now! LOL) Tks - I am happy it's looking a lot better and the pics and eBook cover adding a lot too!! :-

One thing tho ... how can we FULLY optimise our sites, if we dont have advanced SEO skills? That sort of thing is best left to a professional, but if you're trying to do it yourself, how good can you really make it?

anyway, onward and upward :-

Cheers

Will

Hey there
NIce changes since the last time I looked but one thing - there is an image on your front page that isn't working. It is to the right of "'no thank you rich jerk"