Shine Auto Project Website: Need Feedback !
11-14-08, 10:35 AM
#27
Ok, so some car website features that I actually like:
1) WheelDude / Subydude.com's customer gallery. Being able to see pictures of wheels on many different versions of your car really helps. Plus, your customer's are obviously vain (otherwise why would you need a kit)
so having a very public place to show off their new kit would be great and it keeps them involved.
2) Blog. If you have any writers (especially some of the top guys) there who want to share their opinions on the industry, point out some cool cars, show where you think the industry is moving, use it as a soap box to rant, etc. It personalizes the site and gets people to visit even if they aren't buying. Also include stories/pics of "adventures" you guys go on say for parts at SEMA or in Japan, etc.
3) Keep updating the site. Announcements / part releases however small, local event/meet information that you support, even announcing your plans to attend trade shows (give the date and location). Changes keep the site interesting.
4) Get a good photographer and set up a nice photo area. Aspec Products, Parts shop max and Touge factory do this all the time and it separates them from the crowd of shops that all use the same photos directly from the manufacturer. Examples:
http://zilvia.net/f/advertiser-speci...ht-covers.html
http://zilvia.net/f/advertiser-speci...-shop-max.html
http://zilvia.net/f/advertiser-speci...17x9-12-a.html
It all depends on how much time you want to dedicate to a website. As you know people like to call and chat you up. By making the website feel personal (ie customers "know you") you attract loyal and vocal customers.
Thats my two cents for now.
1) WheelDude / Subydude.com's customer gallery. Being able to see pictures of wheels on many different versions of your car really helps. Plus, your customer's are obviously vain (otherwise why would you need a kit)
so having a very public place to show off their new kit would be great and it keeps them involved.2) Blog. If you have any writers (especially some of the top guys) there who want to share their opinions on the industry, point out some cool cars, show where you think the industry is moving, use it as a soap box to rant, etc. It personalizes the site and gets people to visit even if they aren't buying. Also include stories/pics of "adventures" you guys go on say for parts at SEMA or in Japan, etc.
3) Keep updating the site. Announcements / part releases however small, local event/meet information that you support, even announcing your plans to attend trade shows (give the date and location). Changes keep the site interesting.
4) Get a good photographer and set up a nice photo area. Aspec Products, Parts shop max and Touge factory do this all the time and it separates them from the crowd of shops that all use the same photos directly from the manufacturer. Examples:
http://zilvia.net/f/advertiser-speci...ht-covers.html
http://zilvia.net/f/advertiser-speci...-shop-max.html
http://zilvia.net/f/advertiser-speci...17x9-12-a.html
It all depends on how much time you want to dedicate to a website. As you know people like to call and chat you up. By making the website feel personal (ie customers "know you") you attract loyal and vocal customers.
Thats my two cents for now.
Last edited by burtoncr; 11-14-08 at 10:43 AM.
11-16-08, 09:30 PM
#28
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Alright guys. I'm posting this on the Rx7club first as you guys have always given us the best feedback by far than any other car forum.
Our main concern at the moment is the format or template for our product page. We would love to hear some ideas. Shopping for aero parts is a unique experience and over the years we have picked up a few key things we think enthusiasts are looking for to ease the buying experience.
I know you guys know we've been working on our website for AWHILE now. Part of the reason being is that the forums has been pretty effective. Another reason is because we are trying to differentiate ourselves from other aero kit companies. I can confidently say that no company in this particular business/industry should underestimate the importance of interaction and feedback. It will be difficult to transfer all the valuable information discussed in a thread on a forum to a website. That is why we would like to hear some ideas and hopefully build a website worth visiting. Most websites are simply product pictures + price + shopping cart.... done deal. However, I know that customers are often still left feeling unsure about a product because a company can easily portray a product anyway they wish. It's the feedback from customers I believe instills confidence in a purchase simply because this industry has an overwhelming amount of "bad" products.
http://shineautoproject.com/sportcomp/rx7fd.html
Ignore prices and pictures for now. This has primarily been all experimental just to get things going.
There are a few questions we have.
1. How important is a shopping cart? Should paypal payment option be incorporated? How likely are you to order through a shopping cart without actually having to speak with someone first? I know some of you just love to call me.
The reason I ask is because we want to know how important it actually is to speak with someone before making such an order. Car parts are fairly high priced items and I would think that speaking with a person before a purchase would instill confidence. Do you feel fixing up your car should be something more personable or would you rather not speak with anyone at all and order your product the quickest way possible? Speaking with a person has been invaluable to our company as well as we can listen to our customers and find out what they "need." This is important because the products we produce have been primarily based on needs.
This is a very important topic. There's a saying .... "the least customer service oriented a company is, the better the customer service the company has." Sounds silly, but I will explain the meaning. It is basically saying if a company can build an ordering process where all or most information they will need to know (such as building an informative website) is already provided to them before even speaking to a person, the company becomes very automated and efficient and that itself good customer service. For example, instead of having a person explain to you over the phone on how to install a product, all detailed information and sources are readily available so the customer would not even need to ask the question. Although I do answer these type of questions over the phone, I do feel that the forums have been a valuable source site for information and I can already get a sense that the customer knows what to do.
2. Any ideas on how we can form an interaction or get feedback from customers through the website to gauge their "needs," so we can have an ongoing continuance of product development?
I'm afraid that if the site becomes too automated (shopping cart) we become too disconnected from our customers.
3. People are unique and their cars are unique. Not everyone is running the same combination. There's alot of mixing and matching going on. How important is it to see mixing and matching displays on a website? Should that be strictly left for forum entertainment? Should their be a section for customers to display their setups? If so, how can we incorporate that section into our website without confusing the customer?
Over the years I have learned that...
1. Aero kit fitment is #1 priority
2. Quality of the material used
Having said that I believe it is important to display product pictures and fitment pictures. How important are "before paint" pictures? How important are "after paint" pictures. There's always a tendency for a body shop to do minor shaving and adding to make good fitment better. I think the main concern most people have is that a body kit actually "fits" where a shop doesn't have to spend ours cutting, chopping, re-fiberglassing, and shaping just to make it fit decently. My take is if a shop is gonna go through all of that, he better be aiming for a "perfect" fit, not just a decent fit.
How important is it for customers to display their fitment pics? Before and After paint?
All in all, we might not be the biggest aero kit company in the industry, but we've been able to differentiate ourselves to be more detail oriented and styling oriented than our bigger competitors, which has allowed us to service a smaller niche market to stay afloat. If we were not going to extra mile relative to our competitors, we wouldn't be able to survive and we feel it is important that our smaller niche base recognizes this competitive advantage.
Ken
Our main concern at the moment is the format or template for our product page. We would love to hear some ideas. Shopping for aero parts is a unique experience and over the years we have picked up a few key things we think enthusiasts are looking for to ease the buying experience.
I know you guys know we've been working on our website for AWHILE now. Part of the reason being is that the forums has been pretty effective. Another reason is because we are trying to differentiate ourselves from other aero kit companies. I can confidently say that no company in this particular business/industry should underestimate the importance of interaction and feedback. It will be difficult to transfer all the valuable information discussed in a thread on a forum to a website. That is why we would like to hear some ideas and hopefully build a website worth visiting. Most websites are simply product pictures + price + shopping cart.... done deal. However, I know that customers are often still left feeling unsure about a product because a company can easily portray a product anyway they wish. It's the feedback from customers I believe instills confidence in a purchase simply because this industry has an overwhelming amount of "bad" products.
http://shineautoproject.com/sportcomp/rx7fd.html
Ignore prices and pictures for now. This has primarily been all experimental just to get things going.
There are a few questions we have.
1. How important is a shopping cart? Should paypal payment option be incorporated? How likely are you to order through a shopping cart without actually having to speak with someone first? I know some of you just love to call me
. The reason I ask is because we want to know how important it actually is to speak with someone before making such an order. Car parts are fairly high priced items and I would think that speaking with a person before a purchase would instill confidence. Do you feel fixing up your car should be something more personable or would you rather not speak with anyone at all and order your product the quickest way possible? Speaking with a person has been invaluable to our company as well as we can listen to our customers and find out what they "need." This is important because the products we produce have been primarily based on needs.
This is a very important topic. There's a saying .... "the least customer service oriented a company is, the better the customer service the company has." Sounds silly, but I will explain the meaning. It is basically saying if a company can build an ordering process where all or most information they will need to know (such as building an informative website) is already provided to them before even speaking to a person, the company becomes very automated and efficient and that itself good customer service. For example, instead of having a person explain to you over the phone on how to install a product, all detailed information and sources are readily available so the customer would not even need to ask the question. Although I do answer these type of questions over the phone, I do feel that the forums have been a valuable source site for information and I can already get a sense that the customer knows what to do.
2. Any ideas on how we can form an interaction or get feedback from customers through the website to gauge their "needs," so we can have an ongoing continuance of product development?
I'm afraid that if the site becomes too automated (shopping cart) we become too disconnected from our customers.
3. People are unique and their cars are unique. Not everyone is running the same combination. There's alot of mixing and matching going on. How important is it to see mixing and matching displays on a website? Should that be strictly left for forum entertainment? Should their be a section for customers to display their setups? If so, how can we incorporate that section into our website without confusing the customer?
Over the years I have learned that...
1. Aero kit fitment is #1 priority
2. Quality of the material used
Having said that I believe it is important to display product pictures and fitment pictures. How important are "before paint" pictures? How important are "after paint" pictures. There's always a tendency for a body shop to do minor shaving and adding to make good fitment better. I think the main concern most people have is that a body kit actually "fits" where a shop doesn't have to spend ours cutting, chopping, re-fiberglassing, and shaping just to make it fit decently. My take is if a shop is gonna go through all of that, he better be aiming for a "perfect" fit, not just a decent fit.
How important is it for customers to display their fitment pics? Before and After paint?
All in all, we might not be the biggest aero kit company in the industry, but we've been able to differentiate ourselves to be more detail oriented and styling oriented than our bigger competitors, which has allowed us to service a smaller niche market to stay afloat. If we were not going to extra mile relative to our competitors, we wouldn't be able to survive and we feel it is important that our smaller niche base recognizes this competitive advantage.
Ken
so i decided to get my moneyback. and get a wing somewhere else..
cmon i got volk gt-us in a month. thats 4 rims and you cant get a one wing?
11-17-08, 02:22 AM
#29
I remember years back i ordered a wangan wing.. and you fellas gave me the big run around about shippment of 2 months... i waited 2 months and told me that i had to wait another month.
so i decided to get my moneyback. and get a wing somewhere else..
cmon i got volk gt-us in a month. thats 4 rims and you cant get a one wing?
so i decided to get my moneyback. and get a wing somewhere else..
cmon i got volk gt-us in a month. thats 4 rims and you cant get a one wing?
11-17-08, 02:32 AM
#30
Fway-ming dwagen
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I dont do web design... But i am a PhotoRetoucher (AKA photoshop)..
Im new around here but i see u guys are always helping out the forums,
So i dont mind helping you guys if you need something done in Photoshop.
PM me if u want
- Dennis
Im new around here but i see u guys are always helping out the forums,
So i dont mind helping you guys if you need something done in Photoshop.
PM me if u want
- Dennis
11-17-08, 01:30 PM
#31
I remember years back i ordered a wangan wing.. and you fellas gave me the big run around about shippment of 2 months... i waited 2 months and told me that i had to wait another month.
so i decided to get my moneyback. and get a wing somewhere else..
cmon i got volk gt-us in a month. thats 4 rims and you cant get a one wing?
so i decided to get my moneyback. and get a wing somewhere else..
cmon i got volk gt-us in a month. thats 4 rims and you cant get a one wing?
Check yourself before you make false statements. Like I said... I am willing to put money down that you have the wrong company. Show me proof that payment was made to our company for a wangan wing and returned and I will paypal you $200.
11-18-08, 11:36 AM
#33
Passenger
Posts: n/a
OK with my web developer hat on seeing as that's what I do so maybe slightly techy but your web guy will understand....if he doesn't sack him/her.
1. Don't use a Transitional Doctype, use a Strict one
2. There's lots of invalid markup in there causing errors left, right and centre
3. Obviously done in Dreamweaver
4. Using tables for layout is very bad
5. Inline CSS is very bad
6. Some links are using javascript to do things rather than adding extra functionality....anyone with it turned off won't be coming back to your site.
7. Personally, fixed width sites look better centred in the browser window rather than hard left.
At work I built most of the HTML (the bits that validate and work properly) for http://www.learndirect.co.uk/ in my spare time I work on http://www.corporation.org.uk/ and http://www.lovetoclimb.co.uk/ both have CMSes which output crappy HTML that I have no control over. But look at the source and it gives you an idea of what should be there.....PM me if you want a hand with anything.
1. Don't use a Transitional Doctype, use a Strict one
2. There's lots of invalid markup in there causing errors left, right and centre
3. Obviously done in Dreamweaver
4. Using tables for layout is very bad
5. Inline CSS is very bad
6. Some links are using javascript to do things rather than adding extra functionality....anyone with it turned off won't be coming back to your site.
7. Personally, fixed width sites look better centred in the browser window rather than hard left.
At work I built most of the HTML (the bits that validate and work properly) for http://www.learndirect.co.uk/ in my spare time I work on http://www.corporation.org.uk/ and http://www.lovetoclimb.co.uk/ both have CMSes which output crappy HTML that I have no control over. But look at the source and it gives you an idea of what should be there.....PM me if you want a hand with anything.
11-18-08, 12:43 PM
#34
a forum would be a great idea. and after u click on a product to go to the products specific page it would be great if there was a section where you have pictures that customers have submitted with the parts on their cars. that way the customer can get a look at the possibilities and the quality.
Whenever i have been shopping online for car parts i am always hesitant because most of the websites look cheap, thus making me suspect that the company might not be that reputable. the look is very important. and a biography/history page would be great too because that way the shopper can see the faces of the people that are providing the service and product. it makes the whole experience more pleasurable and personal to know who is helping you and to know that they actually care about customer satisfaction.
and pictures help. have lots and lots of pictures of every product in different ways. such as before and after paint, different angles etc. i hate it when i can only see the manufacturers only picture, it really makes me think twice before ordering. extreme close up pictures showing the texture and minor details would also be good.
and like has been mentioned earlier, making the website fun to navigate would bring people back. a forum would help, customer rides section too, blogs or articles would be very interesting, updates on new and upcoming products, organize meets.
thats all i can think of for now. Keep up the good work!
Whenever i have been shopping online for car parts i am always hesitant because most of the websites look cheap, thus making me suspect that the company might not be that reputable. the look is very important. and a biography/history page would be great too because that way the shopper can see the faces of the people that are providing the service and product. it makes the whole experience more pleasurable and personal to know who is helping you and to know that they actually care about customer satisfaction.
and pictures help. have lots and lots of pictures of every product in different ways. such as before and after paint, different angles etc. i hate it when i can only see the manufacturers only picture, it really makes me think twice before ordering. extreme close up pictures showing the texture and minor details would also be good.
and like has been mentioned earlier, making the website fun to navigate would bring people back. a forum would help, customer rides section too, blogs or articles would be very interesting, updates on new and upcoming products, organize meets.
thats all i can think of for now. Keep up the good work!
02-21-09, 08:08 PM
#37
Smoke moar
I just went to your site today, plus I've seen what you posted prior.
As a webhost/web designer this is what I'd have to say.
1) Don't use flash
2) Code proper site, maybe use a CMS for the simplicity of it all, do you need highly modded site or just a basic one? If basic use some sort of CMS, maybe one that'll easially integrate with VB forum I see you using.
3) Learn how to structure a forum, you have WAY to many forums, if your forum ever became slightly popular it'll fill up the caches, and it's just a general pain in the *** the navigate :P
4) Don't use tables (are you coding this in dreamweaver?) It's not even XHTML which will cause issues with some browsers.
If you ever need any help I'm normally not busy, I don't work free unless theirs some sort of exchange. I'd mainly suggest to switch to some sort of CMS, your current layout is decent just needs to be recoded to valid xhtml/css instead of old tables n such.
As a webhost/web designer this is what I'd have to say.
1) Don't use flash
2) Code proper site, maybe use a CMS for the simplicity of it all, do you need highly modded site or just a basic one? If basic use some sort of CMS, maybe one that'll easially integrate with VB forum I see you using.
3) Learn how to structure a forum, you have WAY to many forums, if your forum ever became slightly popular it'll fill up the caches, and it's just a general pain in the *** the navigate :P
4) Don't use tables (are you coding this in dreamweaver?) It's not even XHTML which will cause issues with some browsers.
If you ever need any help I'm normally not busy, I don't work free unless theirs some sort of exchange. I'd mainly suggest to switch to some sort of CMS, your current layout is decent just needs to be recoded to valid xhtml/css instead of old tables n such.
02-25-09, 12:15 PM
#39
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Join Date: Sep 2006
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Wow, can't believe I didn't see this before.
Unlike other people said, table style design isn't THAT bad, especially if that design is coming for free. I would center the layout and make the navigation links more centered. I would also add a shopping cart system that would let people order when they don't want to speak to someone. You should have a phone number as well for people wanting to talk. Look at zen cart or oscommerce. You can also look at using a CMS which I'd recommend Joomla and Virtuemart.
I really think you have some good ideas going and the design shouldn't turn many people off. Just make sure all your pics are sized correctly and not streched.
Unlike other people said, table style design isn't THAT bad, especially if that design is coming for free. I would center the layout and make the navigation links more centered. I would also add a shopping cart system that would let people order when they don't want to speak to someone. You should have a phone number as well for people wanting to talk. Look at zen cart or oscommerce. You can also look at using a CMS which I'd recommend Joomla and Virtuemart.
I really think you have some good ideas going and the design shouldn't turn many people off. Just make sure all your pics are sized correctly and not streched.
