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New shop - How’s my theme looking?


mysolarstore

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Hi everyone.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by... I've just started to modify my own theme starting off with nothing more than the default theme and making all the changes in css.. I've not finished yet as I've spent most of my time on the home page..

What do you guys think of it in general? Obviously the store is not finished and I've not uploaded many products, but I'll get there in the end...

The link is www.mysolarstore.co.uk and I'll be selling solar powered products.. Bookmark the page if you're looking for solar products in the future :)

Thanks,

Carl

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Carl,

In general, I think your site looks excellent for what you currently have done. Here are some comments for you to consider:

1. The site immediately pops with topic appropriate colors (at least in my opinion). I really like the greens you have used and I think you logo is great. It is simple, clean, and stylish.

2. It doesn't look bad, but I think you can improve your "Add to Cart" and "View" buttons by changing their color. You might consider something that would stand out and encourage a buying decision, such as green. You could possibly use one of the green colors you are using in the Cart Block, or some variant of that. Remember, green means "go" or encourages affirmative action to most people. I think it was very wise for PrestaShop to have green as the standard for their Add to Cart buttons.

3. I would suggest either modifying the colors of your Cart Block or modifying the "Checkout" button color. They are too close in color. I just don't think there is enough contrast between the lighter color surrounding the "Checkout" button and the standard green color of the button itself.

4. I really like what you've done with the advertising block. It is sharp. I'm assuming you set it up as an affiliate link?

5. I'm not sure that the Tags block really adds value to the customer experience. You may consider moving it below the Pay Pal Block.

6. I'm just thinking out loud on this comment, but you might consider moving the search bar in the upper right of the home page into your green navigation bar just below your logo. It seems somewhat out of place way up there.

That's all I can come up with for now. I hope that helps and if you have a minute and wouldn't mind helping me, I'm working on creating a training product for PrestaShop and could use your input. I have a survey you can take at the following address: http://www.prestatraining.com/question1.html.'>http://www.prestatraining.com/question1.html. Also, please check out my main site at http://www.prestatraining.com/ and let me know what you think.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing your next improvements.

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Hi Curt,

Thanks for the awesome reply; you've had a proper good look around which I highly appreciate... I guess the green is quite a happy colour, and fits in well with the solar / eco message, so I'm glad you liked that choice...

I think I agree with your comment on the 'Add to Cart' buttons; I think I'll go with the green idea to follow on with the rest of the theme... I will probably use dark green for one, and light green for the other; I just have to decide which way around they should go...

The 'Checkout' button is just one of those parts that I've not got around to yet. I will probably go with the light grey type of button similar to the search button.

The ad block is just an affiliate link like you say; it's there in the hope that just a few people will sign up for hosting, although I'm not sure the people using my shop will be in the market for web hosting.. It's a bit of trial and error really; we'll see how it does when the shop is publicised.. Again, I just tried to keep it in the similar colours to the rest of the site so that it fits in...

I'm kind of with you on the tag block thing; I almost took it out completely, but noticed that quite a few sites seem to have them at the momentm, so I assume people use them.. I think moving them is probably the best option like you say...

I'm totaly with you on the last point!! In my photoshop mock up that I created, the search bar is in the navigation bar on the right hand side. My main problem at the moment is I just can't get it in there.. The search bar is in the Header Hook (or Top of Page, I can't remember), and the nav bar is hard coded into the header.tpl file. I can create my own hook, but at the moment I don't have the knowledge =to be able to create a module to go in the hook.. Once I figure that out, I'm pretty sure the search bar will be moved..

By the way, I actually did your survey yesterday.. Being in the UK, we're just ahead of your time so I beat you to it :P. I'd say focus on training for 1.4. It'll be out soon I guess and I know I could use some help on it...

Finally, thanks again for taking the time to actually critique the site.. So many times people just write 1 liners like 'Looking great' or 'I really like it' without saying why. I'm not here to boost my ego, and those comments are not helpful, whereas you went into great depth and were honest. Sometime you can get so wrapped up in your own site you don't see things that are so obvious; an outside opinion is exactly what I was after :o)

I will continue to adjust the site, and I'm hoping to have it ready for public launch by the end of the month!!

Carl

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Hi Curt,

Thanks for the awesome reply; you've had a proper good look around which I highly appreciate... I guess the green is quite a happy colour, and fits in well with the solar / eco message, so I'm glad you liked that choice...

I think I agree with your comment on the 'Add to Cart' buttons; I think I'll go with the green idea to follow on with the rest of the theme... I will probably use dark green for one, and light green for the other; I just have to decide which way around they should go...

The 'Checkout' button is just one of those parts that I've not got around to yet. I will probably go with the light grey type of button similar to the search button.

The ad block is just an affiliate link like you say; it's there in the hope that just a few people will sign up for hosting, although I'm not sure the people using my shop will be in the market for web hosting.. It's a bit of trial and error really; we'll see how it does when the shop is publicised.. Again, I just tried to keep it in the similar colours to the rest of the site so that it fits in...

I'm kind of with you on the tag block thing; I almost took it out completely, but noticed that quite a few sites seem to have them at the momentm, so I assume people use them.. I think moving them is probably the best option like you say...

I'm totaly with you on the last point!! In my photoshop mock up that I created, the search bar is in the navigation bar on the right hand side. My main problem at the moment is I just can't get it in there.. The search bar is in the Header Hook (or Top of Page, I can't remember), and the nav bar is hard coded into the header.tpl file. I can create my own hook, but at the moment I don't have the knowledge =to be able to create a module to go in the hook.. Once I figure that out, I'm pretty sure the search bar will be moved..

By the way, I actually did your survey yesterday.. Being in the UK, we're just ahead of your time so I beat you to it :P. I'd say focus on training for 1.4. It'll be out soon I guess and I know I could use some help on it...

Finally, thanks again for taking the time to actually critique the site.. So many times people just write 1 liners like 'Looking great' or 'I really like it' without saying why. I'm not here to boost my ego, and those comments are not helpful, whereas you went into great depth and were honest. Sometime you can get so wrapped up in your own site you don't see things that are so obvious; an outside opinion is exactly what I was after :o)

I will continue to adjust the site, and I'm hoping to have it ready for public launch by the end of the month!!

Carl


Carl,

Once again good job. I have a few more things after reading your response.

Regarding your advertising, I think it is a good idea. You will want to be sure, though, that your advertising is relevant to your customers and doesn't take away from your primary message. It's OK to get started with something (web hosting) as practice, but start looking in your industry for things you can advertise that have affiliate programs. You could look for what I call hard products, which could be solar panels, batteries, solar toys, etc. Or, you could look on sites like ClickBank for what I call soft products to see if they have any relevant e-books or training systems.

I think you should strive to get paid for everything of value you do for your customer. Thus, eventually, get rid of the web hosting ad and find something more relevant to your topic.

With respect to the moving the Search Block to the Nav Bar, I wish you luck and I think it will really help. I wish I was a programmer and could provide some assistance. If you come up with a solution, I would love to hear about it.

On the "Add to Cart" and "View" buttons, I would use the lighter green as the "Add to Cart" button color and the darker green ad the "View" button color. The lighter green is more inviting and the "Add to Cart" button is more important so they should be together.

Thanks for filling out the Survey. I did get your comments but I didn't see them before I left the previous post. I can't tell you how helpful that information is. Lastly, I am very happy to help and provide a thorough critique. You have done a fantastic job and it was fun to give you my thoughts.
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Hi Curt,

I agree on the advertising, hence I was a little unsure I should advertise web hosting at first.. It fits in with the eco theme, but I will look for some actual products to advertise there eventually.. I am only just getting started with this really, so it will take me a bit of time to build up a good network but I'll continue trying..

I must have read your mind on the Add to Cart and View buttons; that is exactly what I did this morning!!

No worries on the survey; like yourself I am always happy to help if I feel the person is worthy of my time.. I think you are adding value to the Prestashop community, so I am more than happy to give my opinions.

www.mysolarstore.co.uk

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