I'm Joining The Fray! Here's My Website!
Business By littlelucy30 Updated 8 Feb 2010 , 8:51pm by littlelucy30
www.cakesbykristina.com
I don't have a lot of pics up yet. I'm working on that. Please critique page setup and the information I'm supplying and grammar/spelling of course. Thanks!
I like the colors alot but the yellow panel with Home,About us etc is very difficult to see.You can't see the white letters very well...I like the drop down menus for each request.I think your cupcakes and cookies are priced a little low at $1.00 each and $15.00 a dozen but you know your market area best..I would at least charge $2.00 each for cupcakes and alot more per dozen for cookies....They are alot of work!! The major cupcake companies charge $3-$4.00 each.Don't under estimate what your time is worth...Great site!!
I agree about the yellow panel- it's hard to read. I would suggest changing the font color to black.
On your price info page: It may be personal preference, but I'm a fan of one item/info per line (or bulleted) as opposed to sentence style. As a customer, it's easier to read and to find the information I'm looking for.
Everything sounds yummy! Maybe when the ICES convention is in town next year I'll have to come look you up! 
The first thing I notice is that Vista Print template that is REALLY over used. It makes your website look like every other website. The other thing I notice is that there is no MARKETING on your page. I don't see one single reason that I should order from you instead of going to Whole Foods and getting cake.
I may change the color scheme and see if that helps the banner become easier to read. I don't like it either that you can barely see the headings.
I thought a lot about going with VistaPrint and now I wish I had gone somewhere else because I do see that template alot.
Once I really get started, I will most likely change my pricing, basically I just entered those prices to have something to put on there.
Snarky, do you have any recommendations as far as marketing? I'm not really sure what I should do.
Thanks for all of your input!
"PLease fill out the form below to be added to our customer list".
Why would I want to be added to you list? Do you send a newsletter? Will I get coupons? Special discounts? Answer the question "What's in it for me?" to get folks to sign up. As it is now, I wouldn't sign up for fear of just getting junk emails from you. Convince me WHY it's good for me to sign up.
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I wouldn't put the order form on the front page. Can you set that up on it's own page? Folks haven't really had a chance to browse the site to send an inquiry in, if they just hit the front page.
Also, is this form really sufficient for you to do a quote? I dont' know if you charge extra for "every little thing" or not, but cake civilians will not know how to detail out what they want in a cake so you can quote it, if that's how you price. If they form wont' give you want you need to do the quote, then I'd rather you delete the form rather than have one that's insufficient for what you need.
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Pricing page indicates "specialty" flavors are extra, but your order form or list of flavors doesn't tell the customer which ones are "specialty". Agree that a list or bulleted is easier for the customer to read.
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Contact Us info that is on the "about us" page should be (or should also be) on the "contact us" page .... info like address, phone, email. If I want to contact a business, I go to the "contact us" page and not the "about us" page to find that info.
Looks good! I like the color scheme and your cake graphic. I too have been trying to get a site set up. It's overwhelming to someone who's not totally computer literate.
I agree with the others on the white text in the header being hard to see. One suggestion I have is to add some photos to the home page. And maybe when you get more photos added put them in Galleries by category. When I go to cake websites the first thing I want to see is pictures of cakes. If I don't like the pictures I move on to the next site.
Here's a link to one of my favorite sites I visit regularly just to look at her incredible cakes.
http://www.pinkcakebox.com
Ok, i don't think that actually went in as a link. You may have to copy the address and paste to address bar. Sorry!
You guys are so helpful! I've made some changes from your advice and corrected "filed". D'oh! 
Unfortunately I can't change the colors in the banner without getting the Advanced Editing package which is $20. I'm thinking about doing that though because it is so darn hard to see the headings.
I had hoped to add some more pics over the weekend but some doofus tried to break into my kitchen over the weekend. I spent most of the day Friday cleaning up broken glass and talking to the police. Luckily, nothing was stolen, we think the alarm scared them off. I'm waiting for the windows to be repaired and then hightail it back over there and get some practice in. I also have 3 orders due in the next 2 weeks so I need to get busy!
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