[hands made for wood]

This summer I will be out teaching back yard Bible clubs for kids across Saskatchewan and Alberta. Which means I'll be putting woodworking to the side until I'm back at the end of August.

However, I am pleased to say I finally finished designing the website for my company; "Hands Made For Wood"! I have big plans for the fall to get my business on its feet and look forward to see how the Lord provides for my everyday needs.

Here is the link to my website! www.handsmadeforwood.com

I would be so appreciative if you would check it out and let me know what you think of it!

Thanks for taking the time,
Levi

 

[AJH]

I thought your site looked nice,I like the colors,your logo with the hand plane.i also thought it was clear what you could offer to customer.The only thing that buged me was the banner that was moving while I was scrolling.It may be because I am viewing on a ipad.Good luck with your plans.I will now pray for your success. AJ

 

[tc65]

I think the website generally looks good.

A problem I see is how you are referring to yourself (are others helping you??). You have headings for About Us, Our Work, My Blog, Contact Me. That is confusing - is it only you (my and me) or are others working with you (us and our)? You switch between singular and plural throughout the page(s) - it needs to be uniform depending on the circumstances.

You also need to be consistent in how you refer to yourself - most of the time you use first person references (I) but in the About Us section you all of a sudden switch to the third person in how you describe yourself. Switch that section to first person - e.g. "I was born and raised............" rather than "Levi Durston was born and raised........."

Consider simplifying the "homepage" by having only a single page length rather than having so much to look at by scrolling down. Have your main banner/images and the links at the top and nothing else on the page. Your links would then point to other pages. It may be just me, but I hate scrolling down so much to read things, it can get confusing.

When the page loads on my computer, I can't see all of your "Title Page". The image is about 1/3 missing as well as the quote underneath. Change the layout a little so everything with the blue background is visible at once when the page loads. You could shrink the link bar at the top so that everything would show on one page.

You've got a really good start on the page, and these are just some minor changes that I think will make it better.

Good Luck

 

[hands made for wood]

I think the website generally looks good.

A problem I see is how you are referring to yourself (are others helping you??). You have headings for About Us, Our Work, My Blog, Contact Me. That is confusing - is it only you (my and me) or are others working with you (us and our)? You switch between singular and plural throughout the page(s) - it needs to be uniform depending on the circumstances.

You also need to be consistent in how you refer to yourself - most of the time you use first person references (I) but in the About Us section you all of a sudden switch to the third person in how you describe yourself. Switch that section to first person - e.g. "I was born and raised............" rather than "Levi Durston was born and raised........."

Consider simplifying the "homepage" by having only a single page length rather than having so much to look at by scrolling down. Have your main banner/images and the links at the top and nothing else on the page. Your links would then point to other pages. It may be just me, but I hate scrolling down so much to read things, it can get confusing.

When the page loads on my computer, I can't see all of your "Title Page". The image is about 1/3 missing as well as the quote underneath. Change the layout a little so everything with the blue background is visible at once when the page loads. You could shrink the link bar at the top so that everything would show on one page.

You've got a really good start on the page, and these are just some minor changes that I think will make it better.

Good Luck

Thanks for the tips! I agree with you on the is it just me or is there more than one person here... That is something I was keeping an eye out to watch and I see now, some slipped the eye! As of now, it is just myself. However, I had heard a while ago, that even if that's the case, it is more professional to refer to your business as "more than one" Does that make sense?

I also understand your opinion on the scrolling. Yet that is why the top menu sticks with the window, allowing you to choose any part of the site and have it automatically scroll to that page. Then once on the page, there is a tab - "Top" which you can click to scroll automatically to the top of the page.

Your comment made me double check my wording, which I appreciate! I will get that fixed up

Thanks guys!

 

[hands made for wood]

I think the website generally looks good.

A problem I see is how you are referring to yourself (are others helping you??). You have headings for About Us, Our Work, My Blog, Contact Me. That is confusing - is it only you (my and me) or are others working with you (us and our)? You switch between singular and plural throughout the page(s) - it needs to be uniform depending on the circumstances.

You also need to be consistent in how you refer to yourself - most of the time you use first person references (I) but in the About Us section you all of a sudden switch to the third person in how you describe yourself. Switch that section to first person - e.g. "I was born and raised............" rather than "Levi Durston was born and raised........."

Consider simplifying the "homepage" by having only a single page length rather than having so much to look at by scrolling down. Have your main banner/images and the links at the top and nothing else on the page. Your links would then point to other pages. It may be just me, but I hate scrolling down so much to read things, it can get confusing.

When the page loads on my computer, I can't see all of your "Title Page". The image is about 1/3 missing as well as the quote underneath. Change the layout a little so everything with the blue background is visible at once when the page loads. You could shrink the link bar at the top so that everything would show on one page.

You've got a really good start on the page, and these are just some minor changes that I think will make it better.

Good Luck

Alright, I think I fixed the whole.. me, I, our, we... etc. I switched it all to I.

 

[tc65]

Edit: Disregard most of this - you are a lot faster at the keyboard than I am - you made changes while I was still typing a response

Thanks for the tips! I agree with you on the is it just me or is there more than one person here... That is something I was keeping an eye out to watch and I see now, some slipped the eye! As of now, it is just myself. However, I had heard a while ago, that even if that's the case, it is more professional to refer to your business as "more than one" Does that make sense?

It does make sense, but if you decide to go the "plural" route, it should be consistent throughout (About Us and Contact Us).

IMO, I think I would make it singular and sell yourself, your talents and skills. You certainly have a body of work that sells itself and I don't think you need to pretend to be "more than one". Even if you do use some extra help now and then, it is you and your abilities the client is hiring.

There are many examples of pages by individual craftsmen/artists that are entirely singular and yours would fit very well in the same genre.



I also understand your opinion on the scrolling. Yet that is why the top menu sticks with the window, allowing you to choose any part of the site and have it automatically scroll to that page. Then once on the page, there is a tab - "Top" which you can click to scroll automatically to the top of the page.

It's just a personal preference for me on page length and scrolling. No right or wrong, choose what works for you.

 

[against_the_grain]

Nice looking site for sure. I don't see a problem with the scrolling and the links at the top to jump to those sections. I believe with all the different devices people are browsing with , its probably not a bad idea to have it that way.

Great job and good luck !

 

[Phaedrus]

On the whole I believe that the site appears clean, professional, and aesthetically consistent. The changes in wording that you have already made were important--good job being on top of that! It looks like you're using Wordpress as your content manager. I'm a fan of the flexibility they offer, plus they have a pretty great smart phone app that allows you to edit and update easily. It is what I use for my site and I'm totally pleased with it. Have you added Google Analytics to your site? It is a free Google tool that tracks page hits for your site, traffic sources, geographical locations of visitors, time on pages, and all sorts of other statistics. For a Wordpress site, you'll need to install a 3rd party add in for this.

Here are a couple of other thoughts:

- I am somewhat confused by the main page (actually top of page, I suppose). "Custom Woodworks" is very big--bigger than anything else. I recognize that "Hands Made For Wood" is what you have gone by in the past, but I wouldn't necessarily know this from the way it is currently laid out. You've got a solid logo for your business name and I like that it stays anchored with the navigation, but I feel like it plays second fiddle to the "Custom Woodworks" text.

- What will the "Blog" section do when there are multiple posts? Will they all stack up chronologically and make for a really, really long page or will it show the 1-2 most recent?


FYI - Site looks good on my phone, too. (Chrome ver 27.0.1453.90 on Android OS 4.1.2):thumbsup:

 

[hands made for wood]

I really do appreciate all the food for thought you've given me! I will make sure to install Google analytics!

I also agree with you on the logo playing second fiddle... I've been giving that some thought on my options with the logo. I will keep you posted on what I decide!

Thanks again!!
Levi

 

[firemedic]

I think it looks nice. I think you did right by playing on your age and the boy-wonder aspect.

Where is that quote at the top from?

 

[hands made for wood]

I think it looks nice. I think you did right by playing on your age and the boy-wonder aspect.

Where is that quote at the top from?

You know a good quote when you see it! Haha I believe that was your own wise words. I hope you don't mind me using it. I avoided using your name or any reference. Unless with your permission you would want
you as the reference.. Let me know!

 

[firemedic]

You know a good quote when you see it! Haha I believe that was your own wise words. I hope you don't mind me using it. I avoided using your name or any reference. Unless with your permission you would want
you as the reference.. Let me know!

:laughing: I wasn't sure but had my suspicions.

:thumbsup: don't need to put me as a reference. :no:

Here's another quote you can use:
"I've seen his work and it's good... damn good!"

 

[DST]

Sounds like you are heading to where I grew up.

Where are you groom and what parts of Sask and Alberta will you be summering in?

 

[hands made for wood]

Sounds like you are heading to where I grew up.

Where are you groom and what parts of Sask and Alberta will you be summering in?

I'm from Regina, SK, and will be near red deer in Alberta and all over Saskatchewan. Where did you grow up?

 

[DST]

That's hilarious. I grew up near this little town called Craven. Perhaps you've heard of it.
Spent nine years of school in Regina.
My immediate family mostly lives in the Red Deer area now. Still have a lot of family in and around both provinces. Would sure enjoy hearing from you now and then thru the summer as you travel. We may cross paths

 

[Kenbo]

The site looks great Levi. Looks like you are well on your way to a wicked adventure in the world of professional woodworking. Good luck my friend. I hope everything works out for you the way you hope that it will.
:thumbsup:

 

[Itchytoe]

I noticed there's not a section where I can order things. Are you planning on making several items then selling what you've made (like bookshelves, end tables, etc), or only making what people ask for by contacting you?

As far as the site itself goes, I like it. You certainly seem to be doing well.