Website Critique - Rock Shelley

Hi Everyone,

I would like to share my website with everyone to get some opinions. It is www.rockshelley.com

It is hosted by Weebly and I have the free hosting right now because almost all of my sales are made at craft shows and I can't justify the cost of an eCommerce site without a little bit more online success elsewhere. A Few of my items are for sale on a different site which I link to from my site.

I am currently making some changes to it to improve the gallery sections with a focus on SEO so that my images actually show up when people search for keywords like "handmade jewelry edmonton". I have had some success with SEO; I got one of my pages to show up on the third page of google search when people search handmade jewelry edmonton and quite a few of my images are at the top of the page in the image section for those keywords as well. I have a few more things to implement to improve my searchability even more. I have also been gradually replacing my images with higher quality images because the pictures that I was taking when I first started were pretty terrible.

However all the SEO success in the world won't do anything for me if my site is not up to par. So if anyone could share an honest critique with me it would be really helpful. Don't be afraid to say something if you hate it too...I can take it :D

Rock Shelley
www.rockshelley.com

Yes, I agree with your comments. Jewellery on a web site, however beautiful, can only be as good as the photographs depicting it.
I think improving the images, so that folks can clearly see what they are invited to buy, should be addressed urgently. Dennis.

Hi Shelley, Your site is easy to navigate which is great.

Since you seem to be producing handmade jewelry with an artistic spin I would recommend getting a picture of yourself up there somewhere. People like to know who's making their artisan creations.

As Dennis mentioned I think the area on your site that could use the most immediate attention are the images of your work. For example, there is a marked difference between these two images which is only highlighted since they are both on the same background and right next to each other on your site.

http://www.rockshelley.com/uploads/3...15587_orig.jpg
http://www.rockshelley.com/uploads/3...90279_orig.jpg

Cheers, Audrey

I agree that images are the most important thing. I've spent all day on just one image and I'm still not happy with it - grrrr! Luckily I'm going on a jewellery photography course with Notonthehighstreet in a few weeks time, so I hope to get a lot of tips.

Audrey - You are absolutely right about the kind of jewelry I am making so I am glad that my vision was clear. I like the idea of having a picture of myself up there too so I think I will get that done.

I definitely agree about the image quality on my site...especially the difference between those 2 images that you linked. The older images also leave a lot to be desired unfortunately. Thank you for pointing it out. Those images were actually taken on my cell phone in a cheap light box during different times of the day. I have not yet invested in a better quality camera so I have to make do with what I have. I have been considering getting a new camera for a while...does anyone have any suggestions on one that would work well for taking these kinds of pictures but is still reasonably priced? Or maybe an affordable light box that would help me get consistent results? I think that most members on this forum are not in Canada so things that would be available here as well would be best.

Also, besides replacing my images with higher quality images, what do you think of the hallmark on them? Do you think that the way they are presented is appealing and user friendly or when you visit a website do you prefer to see them set up differently?

Thanks for all your help so far!

Rock Shelley
www.rockshelley.com

Lovely site with clear navigation.
From an SEO point of view, try to be more specific in your page names an definitely address naming your pictures.
Google cannot understand this kind of thing at all & will not rank it (these are the names of the first few images on your homepage):

http://www.rockshelley.com/uploads/3...23/8296762.jpg
http://www.rockshelley.com/uploads/3...23/3032508.jpg
http://www.rockshelley.com/uploads/3...23/9303970.jpg

http://www.rockshelley.com/rings.html is very general. Maybe tailor the name to your target audience more instead of just calling the page "rings"?