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    New Site based on Shadows Theme: Please Critique

    To All:

    We have just launched our new website on a heavily modified Shadows Theme with custom work from myself and Miva. I would appreciate any thoughts on the site good or bad.

    https://www.themartialartsstore.com

    Thanks in advance for your time.
    Sincerely,

    Stephen M. LaBar, Jr.
    (770) 441-9447
    The Martial Arts Store

    Please Visit Our Site At:
    http://www.themartialartsstore.com

    #2
    Hey in clicking around the links to your other ecommerce sites on your about us aren't rendering properly, looks as if the CSS isn't loading.
    Thanks,

    Rick Wilson
    CEO
    Miva, Inc.
    [email protected]
    https://www.miva.com

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Rick Wilson View Post
      Hey in clicking around the links to your other ecommerce sites on your about us aren't rendering properly, looks as if the CSS isn't loading.
      Rick,

      I have fixed the problem. Thank you sir. How do you like the new site?
      Sincerely,

      Stephen M. LaBar, Jr.
      (770) 441-9447
      The Martial Arts Store

      Please Visit Our Site At:
      http://www.themartialartsstore.com

      Comment


        #4
        Definitely looks better than your previous site. Kudos on that! :)

        That said here's me nitpicking a bit (with a glass of wine mind you):

        Don't like that the header nav links go to black on hover – I prefer white personally:
        tmas-nav-hover-small.jpg (900×143)
        Also the search bar isn't prevalent, I'm not sure how many of your users use search, but considering the size of your catalog it might be important to emphasize it a bit more. SearchSpring can make a considerable difference over Miva's default search. If you're not tracking your search conversions in analytics – you should be. I've noticed my sites that implement it see as much as 30% of their revenue from it, and a big increase in search conversions.

        On mobile, your logo is flush against the search bar, it looks a little strange to me. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the hamburger / cart icons that are coupled with the theme either.


        Your mobile nav is missing some general site links. Adding them might make it easier on your customers (rather than having them search and eventually scroll down to the footer). The mobile nav does not close on background tap... I know that's default functionality in Shadow's, but I've grown accustomed to it on so many other sites, and it's such an easy fix.



        Might consider having some add to cart transitions, as of now the button transitions to grey, but other than that there isn't any indication that something is happening. The wait was a few seconds for me:


        I think OPAY should have the billing address listed as well. I can't believe this isn't there by default. One of my sites was having so many customers complain that their payment wasn't going through, simply because their billing address wasn't correct. After adding the billing address, the calls have stopped almost completely. I noticed that you had some text on OCST asking them to make sure the billing was correct, but still it doesn't hurt.

        This doesn't seem to apply to you... just a note in case anyone at Miva reads this. But, if in the future you add the ability for customers to use gift certificates on the site, and they only apply partial credit, or the credit doesn't cover the entire order, the entire order amount is still displayed beneath the credit card form. We've had multiple customers who would call and ask if they were still going to be charged the entire amount (ridiculous). I know the remaining balance is displayed in the basket summary, but customers won't read it when the total is right in front of them on desktop. Anyway, it's an easy fix.


        Sorry, I know some of this is simply things I find annoying with Shadows. That said, IMO it's the best readytheme thus far, & it's definitely my favorite theme to customize.

        Other notes:
        The site looks good, but I think it could use a bit more personality. I love the logo, but that's the only place I'm getting that vibe. I think the footer especially needs some love. Doesn't hurt to look at some of Miva's featured clients / recent work to get some ideas. Or go further than that – I'm constantly looking at other platforms featured stores for inspiration.

        I'm not sure if you do any email marketing (I'm not seeing any newsletter sign-ups anywhere), but that's potentially a huge source of revenue and it certainly never hurts to add a form to collect email addresses. At the very least it can help with customer retention.

        Hope this helps a bit!
        -Ryan

        Comment


          #5
          slabar Great improvement, I think it's a solid upgrade!
          Thanks,

          Rick Wilson
          CEO
          Miva, Inc.
          [email protected]
          https://www.miva.com

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by RTHOMASDESIGN View Post
            Definitely looks better than your previous site. Kudos on that! :)

            Hope this helps a bit!
            -Ryan
            Ryan,

            Wow, thank you for all of your helpful insight. I will look at implementing several of those changes this weekend.

            Sincerely,

            Stephen M. LaBar, Jr.
            (770) 441-9447
            The Martial Arts Store

            Please Visit Our Site At:
            http://www.themartialartsstore.com

            Comment

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