Building a machining website

[precisionworks]

About six months ago a website seemed like a good idea & a friend said he would set it up. We got the logo hammered out, bought the domain name & I got so busy that the project went to the bottom of the pile. About a month ago I contacted my friend & found out he no longer offers this service so I looked for other web developers. Found one person (great graphics artist) but his estimate was a little over $1000

Contacted another friend who put the site together in in its current form. Took about a week of back & forth to get it close & another week to tweak a few things. And the cost was a lot less. For what I do (which is primarily mechanical/electrical) the site is a good intro into services that my shop provides. It saves a ton of time by have all my contact info & PayPal button in one place.

Was it a lot of work ... yes. Is it worth the effort - that depends on what you want a website to do for you. Please take a look and make any suggestions that could improve it. PrecisionWorks website.

 

[MattE]

Nice website


If your clientele are mostly industrial companies I would add some references, large jobs, unique jobs completed etc. Your gallery has some pictures but a more detailed portfolio will tell more about you and your accomplishments.

If your are serving mostly consumers I would add references and then some customer testimonials.

Just my 2 cents

Matt

 

[Th232]

I remember like you laughed at my question about cheap machining, did not provide any hints how to change design to lower cost just criticized. You quoted work for my part for 10h. For you information; I had it made by student (read – maybe skilled but inexperienced machinist), it took him 2h per part. Where did you get 10h; I still wonder? I'm glad I'm not one of you customers.

Out of curiosity I just went through your old thread. Was the 2 hrs per part your original design with two O-ring grooves and a threaded section, or was it the simplified version you posted here or here?

 

[gadget_lover]

Yeah, Arek kind of has a point there Barry. Good web designers are charging for their time and creativity too.

I'd make a couple of suggestions;

1) The main page requires javascript. With JS turned off you just get a page of pictures. It would be better if the web server provided a clean page for those not using JS.

2) Much of it sounds like it's appealing to consumers, and not businesses. Businesses like things like lists of capabilities, certifications and such. Individuals like examples of what you have done.

3) The .co domain is Columbia, though they have marketed it to outsiders. I do not usually trust domains that are registered outside the US but claiming to be US. You will lose some customers when people who go to precisionworks.coM.

Other than that... not bad.

Daniel

 

[precisionworks]

If your clientele are mostly industrial companies I would add some references, large jobs, unique jobs completed etc. Your gallery has some pictures but a more detailed portfolio will tell more about you and your accomplishments.

If your are serving mostly consumers I would add references and then some customer testimonials.

Thanks Matt. My customer mix includes both & it is a challenge to provide enough info for each segment without pushing the other away. The site would be easier to tune if the customer base was only one or the other. Most of the shop income is from the industrial side & much of the day to day work is individual & consumer.

1) The main page requires javascript. With JS turned off you just get a page of pictures. It would be better if the web server provided a clean page for those not using JS.

2) Much of it sounds like it's appealing to consumers, and not businesses. Businesses like things like lists of capabilities, certifications and such. Individuals like examples of what you have done.

3) The .co domain is Columbia, though they have marketed it to outsiders. I do not usually trust domains that are registered outside the US but claiming to be US. You will lose some customers when people who go to precisionworks.coM.

I appreciate all the suggestions Daniel.

On 1, I do realize that java is required to run the slideshow on the front page. My developer prefers WordPress & the WP slideshow uses java ... and I wanted a slideshow on the front page.

Re: 2, (appealing to consumers, and not businesses. Businesses like things like lists of capabilities, certifications and such) that is valuable specific advice & I'll work on that.

Re: the .co domain name ... I totally agree. I want to type .com whenever going to my own website & it's what most people do every time they type a url. It was recommended by the person who did the logo but something else will be chosen if it can be changed later. As you know there are a limited number of .com domains that are still available & that makes me wonder what the next best domain name will be.

arek98, I really appreciate your comments :nana:

I looked over that thread again & would quote it today the same as then. Today's quote would be more as my current shop rate is higher but the time estimate of 10 hours would not change. Post #6 in that thread (from wquiles) stated My own estimate would put the custom heatsink at about $600 each & Will has a vast amount of experience with the M@g platform. When DDD time is calculated (design, dimension, draw to scale) at $150/hour & machining time is figured at $75/hour it adds up fast. I'm happy to hear that you got the parts made at a price that worked for you.

 

[Mattaus]

I'll gladly provide my 2c.

1) gadget_lover's point about the .co address is spot on IMHO. There is an easy way to get a .com address (more on that later).

2) Maybe it's because I'm young (26 - it's young to me!) and one of these "style over substance" type of people, but the site feels dated even though it's brand new.

3) The pages don't feel like they flow very well. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make my point properly, but when I read the stuff under the Mechanical section for example, it feels like I'm reading a story. Is that the goal, or are you trying to sell services in the mechanical field? I'm not saying the examples are bad - just that it doesn't fit in with your typical business site structure. Not that there is much of a 'typical' business site lol.

4) arek98 doesn't have a clue. $1000 for website design IS a lot - but only because self built websites are a piece of cake these days. I built this site for my girlfriend's massage business using wordpress in under a day. Sure it's not finished and the completed URL is cr*p, but I can change that URL to touchofessence-dot-com for around $17 a year (might even be one flat fee I'm not sure). I'm not drumming up business for her either seen as the cost of the flight down under might not be worth your troubles haha!

5) Hopefully I don't get in trouble for this, but if you want a website created, and want to get it cheap try freelancer.com. You basically put up a project, set your type, your budget, how you select a winner and post it. People then 'bid' by creating your website. You pick the one you like and the winner gets paid. There are TONNES of examples there.

Just for sh*ts and giggles I might try and rework your site in wordpress to show you what's possible.

All of the above been said, the site as it stands is fine. If it does what you want then that's all that is needed. If you're happy with it I wouldn't change a thing. I'm only nit picking because as an Engineer nothing is ever finished in my eyes!!!

Cheers,

- Matt

EDIT: I'm mucking around in wordpress right now and precisionworks.com is available for $40 a year through them.

 

[precisionworks]

Great advice Matt :thumbsup:

I agree that the pages don't flow well. I'm open to suggestions & will pay you for your time if you want to work on them.

How can I buy the .com for $40/year? I'll do this right now. If you'd rather email than post here that's fine.

 

[Mattaus]

Emailed!

EDIT: if you do visit my PWI mock-up site please ignore everything. I pretty much put it up just to grab the temporary name. I'll work on it more tomorrow and on Friday. We have our Australia Day public holiday here on Thursday and much like 90% of our population I'll be nursing a hangover on Friday ;-)

Cheers.

 

[precisionworks]

put it up just to grab the temporary name.

THANKS!!!

I'm checking with my developer on the .com & how to transfer the .co from my account at GoDaddy.

 

[gadget_lover]

On 1, I do realize that java is required to run the slideshow on the front page. My developer prefers WordPress & the WP slideshow uses java ... and I wanted a slideshow on the front page.

Try the site with javascript turned off. If you do, you will find you get all the pictures, one after another and the small navigation bar gets missed since it is wedged between the large logo and the bunch of pictures. That looks very amateurish ( to me ).

Since the only value of the JS is the slide show, you could easily pick one picture to display when the viewer is not able use non-javascript. That one photo would be representative and could link to a page that has the rest.

While I'm on my favorite subject of pictures... many of the pictures are appropriately sized, but some are 500K. Your slideshow eats up bandwidth. If you are charged for your bandwidth, then that's a no-no. If your customer is using a dialup, a mobile device or is otherwise bandwidth restricted, then that's a hassle for them too.

Last but not least, "A picture is worth a thousand words. Without words to put them in context, pictures tend to say what the viewer wants them to say." I always add enough text too make sure my picture is saying what I want the viewer to hear.

Daniel

 

[precisionworks]

If your customer is using a dial up, a mobile device or is otherwise bandwidth restricted, then that's a hassle for them too.

I posted this question on a forum that has mostly dial up members & all said it loaded quickly ... as it does on my none too fast 3G Android. Does it work better for some viewers than others? I know more about brain surgery than websites

 

[BVH]

Just a small contribution at this point. If the slide show remains, for me the pics cycle too fast. I'd like to see each displayed about 1.5 times the current period. And this is probably not too helpful but I like to see a "full page" on someones' site. I'd like to see content down the left and maybe right sides and something below the pics. On my display, it's a fairly empty page.

 

[precisionworks]

for me the pics cycle too fast. I'd like to see each displayed about 1.5 times the current period.

Done deal, let me know how it looks now.

I'd like to see content down the left and maybe right sides and something below the pics.

The template (theme) doesn't allow any side content. At first there was a bottom bar with both Contact & PayPal buttons but it seemed like lots of people never found Contact in that location - so it's on top now.

 

[PEU]

Here are my suggestions Barry:

1- Precision works logo lacks contrast, if you want your name to be remembered it should be far more easy to read than its current form.
2- preciosonworks.com is taken so .com is ruled out
3- if you want to register any domain, its wise to reserve it before posting about it, internet is full of domain squatters
4- shop for godaddy coupons, last time I registered I looked at the coupon sites and in less than 10 minutes I managed to renew for 5 years with a discount of about 50%
5- I prefer sites that describe activities to have an "executive brief" of what do you do or who you are at the front page, pictures are OK but words too, I would put the about page as the front page.
6- I made many websites for my activities, www.syil.com.ar is the last one, made it in a couple of days using web studio 5.0, I like it so far, clean and informative IMHO this is to give you an idea of what I like to see in a website.
7- you say "we" across the site and also say that you cannot answer mails if doing a weld job, this is inconsistent, if you are a one man operation, nothing wrong with that, you should be clear about it. If this is the case your current customers already know it, and new ones will find out sooner than later.

Having a website is an excelent idea, but don't expect to nail it at the first attempt, you know, as with any activity, it takes more than one try to get it right


Pablo

 

[precisionworks]

Pablo,

Thanks for such a thorough review

I'm OK with PrecisionWorks.co since my company name has been Precision Works for ten years. If someone doesn't click on the site because of the .co there's not a lot I can do. Looking at dozens of domain names (and almost buying three or four) tells me that what I have is as good as the domain name is going to get.

That's a great idea of putting the "About" page first & making the slide show somewhere else.

The word we is used as repeatedly using the word I is something that bothers me (& perhaps no one else). I do hire contract help as needed so any larger job is a "we" or "us" project even though I'm the sole proprietor of the business. But I agree that it should be more clear that we means me.

TO EVERYONE: this is really helpful & I do appreciate all of you taking the time to look at my site & post your suggestions.

 

[BVH]

Barry, pic timing is perfect for my tastes!

Precisionworks.com...It looks like you are already doing this but just in-case, Get that baby! If not, what about .net? I got [email protected] way back in 95' and somehow, let it lapse. It took $300 in about 98' to get it back.

 

[KC2IXE]

1)No text - Pictures are nice, but really, you MUST MUST think about search engine optimization, which means TEXT, and NOT in Flash
2)Make SURE you test the site on IE 7+, Firefox 2+, Chrome, Safari - and with Safari, make SURE you test on the iPad and iPhone (remember, NO flash on the iPhone)
3)You MAY want to think about jQuery and HTML5, BUT HTML5 is NOT fully out there, and in particular, older browsers just don't support it - you may want to do some jQuery, and tailor the site to the browser (this is the part that makes 'real' web site developemnt EXPENSIVE - How do I make the site look GOOD on say IE7 (forget supporting IE6) Firefox 2, and the same time an iPad)

 

[precisionworks]

1)No text - Pictures are nice, but really, you MUST MUST think about search engine optimization, which means TEXT, and NOT in Flash

I'm working on content right now & there should be much more in the near future.

2)Make SURE you test the site on IE 7+, Firefox 2+, Chrome, Safari

We tested it on Chrome and Firefox in Windows and Linux. I tested with IE7. Also tested on iPhone and iPad2 and Android.

3)You MAY want to think about jQuery and HTML5, BUT HTML5 is NOT fully out there, and in particular, older browsers just don't support it - you may want to do some jQuery, and tailor the site to the browser

Here's what my developer said: We have no Flash, it's really old tech. HTML5 can do everything Flash does and more. jQuery is what powers the image slideshow and gallery popup window.

 

[PEU]

The site works fine with Opera 11.61 also

 

[precisionworks]

Pablo,

Your site is very clean I'm in the process of writing additional narrative to better describe my services & hope to have this done within a week or so.

This project has taken on a life of its own ... almost like having another mouth to feed .