im not advertising yet much at all. want to get my site looking good and get a good realistic idea of prices. just got cakeboss software so im getting stuff put in there the last few days.
please take a look at my site and tell me what you think.
im just getting started so im offering to do cost of ingredient and supply cakes so i can get a few good pictures so i can take down the older not so great pictures i have from when i was very first starting. i havent taken pictures of all the cakes i have done. shame on me yes i know. i really need some multi tier cakes.
and fyi im not into doing wedding cakes now one because i dont have that much experience and two i have two small kids home all day with me so i need to be able to stop throught he day to feed them and spend time with them also. I will take up weddings when i get more experience.
www.customcakesbykrista.weebly.com
Your site looks good and is very informative. I think it's great that you have all the info the customer would need to decide whether they want a custom cake from you. The headings/links are easy to find. Here are the things I would suggest you consider editing.
1. Some of the pics have clutter in the background. I would edit those out by maybe cropping the picture.
2. I would leave out the bits about 4 kids. It's not necessary, I say keep things professional.
3. The epistle on why custom cakes are expensive is too long. I suggest you pick out some excerpts that get straight to the point. Customers will not sit and read through pages of why they should pay more. Also it casts a negative light on non-custom/grocery store bakeries. I say keep things positive and focus on why you are great, and not why the 'other' folks are not.
Otherwise, it looks like it would serve its purpose for now.
thanks i will go over those in the morning. do you have any tips on cheap ways to get more pictures. when i dont have many orders yet. i know better pictures would make a world of a difference. i was thinking of making a 2 tier cake and doing a crumb coat then another coat and do some basic piping on it and taking a picture then doing a basic smooth buttercream cake and taking a picture then doing some different color buttercream icing and maybe some fondant details and take pictures then take them off and do another layer of buttercream and cover with fondant and decorate take fondant off and put colored fondant on and decorate all on the same cake that way im not making bunches of cakes but showing my work ability. i know i have ability but those pictures just dont show it. and i dont have much money to spend on making all kinds of cakes. then i though i could take the cake apart once im done getting some pictures and make tons of cake pops to give to the school or church for a bake sale.
ok i edited the pictures and took off the one of the cake i made for my daughter a few years ago that has store bought icing can in the picture. didnt realize that sowed the can there. dont want people to think i use store bought icings cause i spent lots of time learning how to make buttercream. 
i hid that page $25 i just dont see how that possible. i have lost so many orders from these people doing dirt cheap cakes
First, you may want to remove the licensed characters from your site.
Second, it is very hard to read. The blue and italic are hard on the eyes. Also, if you want to go into long prose, it may be better to break it up or put it in a blog. Your information is buried in the lengthy wording. Maybe a FAQ page with your info on it, bullited or indented
It is easy to look up fonts that don't cause eye strain. I'm not mentioning them because you will need to work with what your site allows.
You have no format to using caps to start a word... some names you do and some you don't.
You mention attention to detail and being a perfectionist. This makes it more important to make sure your wording is clear and concise.
It takes awhile to get a site right. I think your cakes look nice but the site is a little juvenile with the bright colors. In my opinion, I would change the colors to more mimic your style. Look to your cakes for inspiration. One of your best cakes on the home page would be nice.
ok thank you also!!! I had it with colors since its mostly little kids bright birthday cakes that I do and not weddings. ive seen decorators that specialize in weddings with white and brown or white and black sites and they are very pretty but look so fancy. what colors are better?? would people think my cakes are going to cost wedding cake prices if i make it more fancy looking? what color would be best. why cant I have licensed characters??? people on here have tons of angry birds, hello kitty, sesame street, lego etc???
and yes i know my spelling and writing is horrible. im a super perfectionist in crafty aspectswith precise measurements and everything being straight and level and such but totaly not in the writing part of life. i need to get a friend to come and look over my spelling and sentence structure. i never do punctuation or caps.
thanks for all the helpful info!!!
I think your idea to use a cake in more ways than one is genius. I like it, and it's better than anything I have come up with. I've been sucking it up and baking mucho cakes for practice.
I think the reason you can't have licensed characters is because you have to pay to get permission to use them. Unless you paid for them already of course.
well that sucks. everyone wants a dora cake, or hellp kitty head, or an elmo or thomas the tank engine. how much do all these people on here pay for the right to make these cakes?? i see tons of them so it cant possibly be that expensive. but i totaly get it. but that sucks cause my best cake is the lego guy cake i get so many rave reviews on him.
Your site looks good and is very informative. I think it's great that you have all the info the customer would need to decide whether they want a custom cake from you. The headings/links are easy to find. Here are the things I would suggest you consider editing.
1. Some of the pics have clutter in the background. I would edit those out by maybe cropping the picture.
2. I would leave out the bits about 4 kids. It's not necessary, I say keep things professional.
3. The epistle on why custom cakes are expensive is too long. I suggest you pick out some excerpts that get straight to the point. Customers will not sit and read through pages of why they should pay more. Also it casts a negative light on non-custom/grocery store bakeries. I say keep things positive and focus on why you are great, and not why the 'other' folks are not.
Otherwise, it looks like it would serve its purpose for now.
I agree, also the next cake that you have a chance to make, maybe use a solid sheet (white, black or whatever best suits the cake) and hang it on the wall and use some lamps, for better lighting, to take the pictures. Your cakes are nice but look very unprofessional (in my opinion). Some of the pictures are blurry and some have dates on them and the stuff in the background take away from the cake.
You will be amazed what a professional looking background will do for a cake!!
Good Luck
now where does that law stop? like if i make a purse that looks like a name brand but not put the logo on it? or if i make a tool cake with a orange drill that looks like a black and decker, could i get in trouble for that? or if i do a cake with a white cat but a purple bow instead of hello kittys pink bow??? where does that law stop at?? dont want to get in trouble.
You could get permission for just your most popular cakes, and asbusiness picks up, you add more. I've heard of cake decorators transferring the task to the customer so that if they want a Dora cake, they get permission so you can use it on their cake. I think Jason Kraft was the one who mentioned it. PM him for details.
yep i just realized all the pictures are blurry once i loaded them all since they have been sitting on my phone. i use my phone since my camera is broke. told hubby today i need him to get my camera fixed so i can take better pictures. he is on that one already.
so i should just go to the dolar store and buy a few cheap solid color sheets and pin them on the wall like sears does when we take our family photos??
You have to have permission for every cake that is trademarked. You are right, many do it, but they and you will find yourself charged fines and legal fees in the future. Some are already getting it. And they can get you on a cached page too, even if you later take it down. Just google to find out the laws and what can happen.
If you make a cake and it resembles the trademark enough that people can tell what it is, you have a trademark infringement.
This is extreme, but if you copy the protected item ten times or more, you could be charged with a federal crime. Again, google it.
I'm no expert on websites but I would say its good start although I would take out the bit about cookie recipes and maybe put something like 'cookies coming soon' or something similar - it sounds a bit more professional I think. I agree with having pictures of the home page too. When I wanted pictures for flyers/website I made a batch of cupcakes and decorated them all differently - some with buttercream with fondant toppers and some with fondant on the top so show a variety of what I could do and it means you get to take your time with taking photos as you're not trying to get them done to deliver them!
My first question would be..... are you a licenced baker ? If not, and I"m thinking "not", then I wouldn't use a web site at all.... someone COULD turn you in, and that would be the end of selling your cakes........ You could use Webshots, or something like that to show them......
Oh i'm completely legal under the Texas cottage food law. I am not allowed to have people buy online with a credit card and I have a notice I have to give to everyone that buys a Cake from me I operate under the cottage food law and my kitchen is not inspected. But I add on there that I was a restaurant manager and hold an active food safety and sanitation certificate. I checked into all those legal aspects. And hubby is working on getting a tax id number
now where does that law stop? like if i make a purse that looks like a name brand but not put the logo on it? or if i make a tool cake with a orange drill that looks like a black and decker, could i get in trouble for that? or if i do a cake with a white cat but a purple bow instead of hello kittys pink bow??? where does that law stop at?? dont want to get in trouble.
The rule of thumb I use is if an average person takes one look at a character and their first thought is the copyrighted name of that character (or name of the manufacturer for the purse example) then you need to get permission from the copyright owner. We require the customer to provide written permission from the copyright owner when they request a copyrighted design, but we make sure to have another option with a more generic design (possibly including licensed cake toppers, which do not violate copyright).
I can guarantee that you will lose some business because of this, since many decorators either don't know or don't care about copyright, but in the long run it's worth it to avoid potential lawsuits which can end up costing thousands of dollars or more.
Regarding your site, I recommend using more concise points instead of paragraphs, and your home page should include the most important information about your business front and center in large print: your phone number, the area you serve, and why people should order from you instead of your competitors.
Oh i'm completely legal under the Texas cottage food law. I am not allowed to have people buy online with a credit card and I have a notice I have to give to everyone that buys a Cake from me I operate under the cottage food law and my kitchen is not inspected. But I add on there that I was a restaurant manager and hold an active food safety and sanitation certificate. I checked into all those legal aspects. And hubby is working on getting a tax id number
Just FYI - - under the Texas Cottage Food Law, your cakes are going to be tax exempt. As long as you don't sell candy, or provide eating utensils or a place for Joe Blow to sit and eat his cupcake, you aren't required to have a tax id.
I have three suggestions.
1) As someone wrote above, there are lots of spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. I would find someone to go through it with you.
2) Being completely self-taught isn't really a selling point for most customers. They don't care how you learned.
3) One of your last threads was that you were having difficulties baking anything from scratch. I would assume from your home page that you were baking entirely from scratch. Just something to be aware of.
The tax ID is for income tax. "Tax exempt" is for sales tax. They still need a tax ID number for bank accounts, etc. The tax exempt issue is not having to collect sales tax.
She is not exempt from income tax.
No, she is not exempt from income tax; however, a tax ID # is not required unless she has employees or has her business set up as a corporation. As a sole proprietor, she can use her social security number and is not required to have a tax id.
yep i just realized all the pictures are blurry once i loaded them all since they have been sitting on my phone. i use my phone since my camera is broke. told hubby today i need him to get my camera fixed so i can take better pictures. he is on that one already.
so i should just go to the dolar store and buy a few cheap solid color sheets and pin them on the wall like sears does when we take our family photos??
Yes, it will look a lot better than having other objects in the background that is distracting and taking away from the over-all look of the cake. Having a solid background or a background that was intentionally picked for the cake, will make the cake the center of attention and bring out the qualities you put into the cake.
For some of your pictures I keep focusing in on the background and I don't see all the details of your cake.
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