New website, need feedback...

**Addicted2Bling** · 03-14-2012, 04:50 PM

on what I can do to make it better. Tell me if you like it, if you think it sucks, if you think I can improve something. Whatever the reason, I want to hear it

Buff-N-Glo Premium Mobile Detailing

thanks

**cmichael258** · 03-14-2012, 05:25 PM

Nice work...I like the colors.

2 thoughts:
1. I have trouble distinguishing the "B" in Buff n Glow
2. I think "About Us` reads better than "Info"

Good luck; I`m sure you`ll get a lot of help from other forum members.

**rwright** · 03-14-2012, 05:34 PM

I like the color scheme, guess I`m changing mine now. Under "Info - Our Products" you need to correct the spelling of Optimum. I like how clean it is and how easy it is to navigate.

**davidmelis** · 03-14-2012, 06:09 PM

I like your website. Great job! There are too many things to compliment! Here are some changes to make it even better:

1) Where are you - that is what metropolitan area? If I googled Buff n Glow I would be able to call or e-mail but would not know if you were in my city.

2) in the info - change "a lot" for "many." as a matter of fact you would greatly benift by havi g a grammarian edit your copy. Obviously not me, but there are many run-on sentences, etc.

3) Can`t wait for more picks! While the pearl white Caddy looks great! I think your work can be better appreciated on darker color vehicles.

4) The Lamborghini Photo is a little pixely or maybe just the cut-out is ruff. If you send me the photo I would be happy to work some Photoshop magic on it. PM if I can help.

Hope this new website opens new doors for you!

**mrclean81** · 03-14-2012, 07:49 PM

Nice job man. My only suggestion is to show more dark colored vehicles, maybe a side by side swirl removal shot (one thats easy for a client to recognize what it is), and I agree that your location or coverage area needs to be in there.

**Addicted2Bling** · 03-14-2012, 07:50 PM

cmichael258- I think I`m going to have to live with `info` but you are right, I`m just too lazy to go photoshop everything again...

davidmelis- Thanks for the suggestions. I agree with you I should have something for location. I think the lamborgini photo is fine, but if you want to see what you can do to it, then I`ll send it to you.

mrclean- there will be plenty more vehicles soon! Thanks

**Bunky** · 03-14-2012, 08:18 PM

Simple, clean, elegant.

**addysdaddy** · 03-14-2012, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by Addicted2Bling

on what I can do to make it better. Tell me if you like it, if you think it sucks, if you think I can improve something. Whatever the reason, I want to hear it

Buff-N-Glo Premium Mobile Detailing

thanks

OK, I`ll take u @ ur word about wanting constructive criticism. As a professional photographer, I do not like the optical distortion on the vehicles. Be careful of over using that wide angle lens as it typically not flattering to cars or people. Try and shoot either early or late in the day so the lighting is giving you a dramatic effect. Pictures taken at high noon are typically in flat light and lack that something special. Trust me, it`s all about the lighting. Look around and see if there are nay environmental elements that might enhance the shot. White fences, large trees, lakes something that adds a natural beauty to the photo.

Graphically I believe you went over board with the glows which makes the type difficult to read, though I like the idea. IMO it`s about your work and the graphics and "artsie" photos are too much of a distraction. Change your point of view, get low, stand on a ladder or head on p.o.v. with your photography - it`s all good, but try keeping the focal length closer to 35-50mm. And the tilted framing is not my taste as again it`s the first thing you see when looking at the photo and not your detailing prowless. Some tight shots of the paint and other nicely detail surfaces would also help to communicate your services. Don`t forget about interiors. If at all possible, I would really like being about to personally control the speed of the slideshow and to click on a frame and have it enlarge to 100% to see details in the car.

Hope I`ve helped a little and trust me, I know how difficult it is to assemble something like a website. Remember, it`s something that will always remain a work in progress. Best of luck.

**Addicted2Bling** · 03-15-2012, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by addysdaddy

OK, I`ll take u @ ur word about wanting constructive criticism. As a professional photographer, I do not like the optical distortion on the vehicles. Be careful of over using that wide angle lens as it typically not flattering to cars or people. Try and shoot either early or late in the day so the lighting is giving you a dramatic effect. Pictures taken at high noon are typically in flat light and lack that something special. Trust me, it`s all about the lighting. Look around and see if there are nay environmental elements that might enhance the shot. White fences, large trees, lakes something that adds a natural beauty to the photo.

Graphically I believe you went over board with the glows which makes the type difficult to read, though I like the idea. IMO it`s about your work and the graphics and "artsie" photos are too much of a distraction. Change your point of view, get low, stand on a ladder or head on p.o.v. with your photography - it`s all good, but try keeping the focal length closer to 35-50mm. And the tilted framing is not my taste as again it`s the first thing you see when looking at the photo and not your detailing prowless. Some tight shots of the paint and other nicely detail surfaces would also help to communicate your services. Don`t forget about interiors. If at all possible, I would really like being about to personally control the speed of the slideshow and to click on a frame and have it enlarge to 100% to see details in the car.

Hope I`ve helped a little and trust me, I know how difficult it is to assemble something like a website. Remember, it`s something that will always remain a work in progress. Best of luck.

I appreciate the advice, but I had to get something to show my work and those 2 cars and those conditions where the best I had. I thought the tilted framing gave my website a little bit of spunk, but I see what your saying about it being distracting. I was hoping to create a visually good looking website and be professional at the same time, and doing both aint easy. I also believe it`s not about how ones website looks, it`s about the quality of work they put out. Anyway, if you have any photos or a website you`d like to show me I`d be more than happy to look at it. After reading your post I wasn`t sure if you were talking from an opinionated standpoint or a buisiness standpoint...

**addysdaddy** · 03-16-2012, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Addicted2Bling

I appreciate the advice, but I had to get something to show my work and those 2 cars and those conditions where the best I had. I thought the tilted framing gave my website a little bit of spunk, but I see what your saying about it being distracting. I was hoping to create a visually good looking website and be professional at the same time, and doing both aint easy. I also believe it`s not about how ones website looks, it`s about the quality of work they put out. Anyway, if you have any photos or a website you`d like to show me I`d be more than happy to look at it. After reading your post I wasn`t sure if you were talking from an opinionated standpoint or a buisiness standpoint...

Here`s a down & dirty sample I shot of my own car. Zenfolio | Stuart Portrait Photography | Audi A6 I wasn`t trying to showcase the detail work but rather give an overall impression of the vehicle. In terms of "creating" a website, let me suggest finding one of the "pre-pkg" sites that you simple modify to suit your taste & message. I selected the background, stroke color on the pix and the layout. The choices they allow are super basic which works for me because like you, I"m not a web designer so I didn`t want the learning pain associated with getting a really good site up and running. I also agree with your comment about it`s not your website but the quality of the work - but again imo they cannot see the quality. You gotta make that happen somehow in a straight forward fashion.

In terms of my perspective of your website, I`m mostly coming from a photographic place but feel that it does influence the business side of what we all do. K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) and the quality will shine through. If a website is tricked out for no other reason then "because," then that sends a subliminal message that the work isn`t good enough. Though clearly not case here, there is that under tone message which will have exactly the opposite desired effect. Less is definitely more!!!!!!! Leave your audience hanging/begging for more so they have a reason to call you. Hope this helps.

**Addicted2Bling** · 03-16-2012, 01:10 PM

^^Your right, sometimes when I`m shooting photos I have a tendency to get carried away and shoot at different angles and trying to make my photos look good instead of trying to capture my work. So I`m going to redo my portfolio. Your photos looked good, they were a little dark, but I noticed it really made the gloss pop out on the car alot more which could be useful. What kind of lens and camera do you use?

I used the web building software, WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) and that has been the easiest HTML based software I have used. It`s more advanced then the simple pre made website templates. You put the pictures and everything where you want them, and it gives you the HTML code at the end, really helpful, and it gives you an idea of how HTML works.

**addysdaddy** · 03-16-2012, 02:00 PM

Actually it`s your monitor that`s dark, not my photos-lol. In my photographic world, I work in a color corrected & managed workspace, where sophicated software and hardware color correct my monitor, including brightness & contrast. My work space is a PERFECT match to my printer so when I Photoshop an image, I`m working in a WYSIWYG environment. I mention this because I hear comments from clients all the time that the photos aren`t ... when in fact it`s their monitor. They`re stunned when they go to print the image and it looks totally different then their screen. Sounds to me like your monitor needs to be brightened up a bit.

Digital files should NOT be under exposure in fact "expose to the right" should be your watch word. (when looking at the histogram on the back of the camera LCD, the graph should be all the way to the right). I also shoot in RAW which mean I have a lot of latitude when correcting my images-and virtually every picture I take gets "correct" to some degree. I`m willing to bet you strictly shoot Jpegs and at a fairly small size. Like in cars, there is no replacement for displacement. Much better to have a very large original file that you downsize. My originals are around 28mb right out of the box, and that`s before it sees Photoshop.

I used Canon equipment but mostly because I have a large investment in lenses and I`m part of the CPS team, and not because it`s any better then say Nikon or Olympus. My "advantage" is that I have a full frame DSLR with means when I bolt on my 16mm lense, there is no crop factor - which is way cool. But remember, it ain`t the arrow... Any of the today`s camera will do an adequate job for what you need work wise. It`s best to try and use the longer focal lengths to get some compression in the shot, which always looks good. Wide stuff if you`re looking down on the hood but as I said before, be mindful of the distortion. Use your legs and walk back and then zoom in. Give that a try and send me a link - be glad to give you some feedback.

Cheers.