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Re: Message for Deb - Important !!
From Deb on 14 April '00
replying to Message for Deb - Important !! posted by Nancy

Ciao Nancy...:)
>
>I fixed the problem, please give me your feedback !!
>You can use Netscape Navigator now !!
Thanks for letting me know...I don't know if after reading my suggestions
you mighten wish I'd not been able to access it!

First, let me say I am pleased to see that the Internet is alive and
well and making inroads into the Italian marketplace....you are the
second 'Mediterranean Merchant' to request a critique, the first being
a Greek fellow named Marvin...I will try and give you as much advice
here as possible, keeping in mind there is an obvious language barrier
and my Italian is troppo poco!

The very first correction that must be made is in the sizing of the page
I am on a 17" screen and have to scroll right to see the text, this is
an absolute No No in WEB design...so change the table width...800" is too
big...

The next problem is the background/text color...brown text on a yellow
background is not the cleanest look you could achieve, I am wondering if
it's meant to look like clay and ceramic? If so in my opinion it doesn't work...
try a few different font colors other than brown...

I would also recommend changing the Title of the page...it should either
be the same as your shop:

Ceramica di Nancy

Or if you'd like it in English, which is probably the best idea, then
give up the name Nancy (unless you actually "make" the ceramics
yourself, but I gather from the "Capodimonte" reference you are selling
other people's porcelain).

The reason for this change is two fold...one, you are promoting
"Italian Porcelain/Ceramics on-line and for most people throughout
the world that will have far more drawing power than Nancy's Ceramics
which sounds too obscure...secondly, if you wish to utilize your name
in the Title, than use the Latin version(sounds far more exotic and
enticing than the present title).

As for the text...it needs some work. Do you have anyone who could
help you Anglicize it? If not I'll be happy to, just let me
know and I'll write you directly off board...

Now my particular pet peeve is the price listing...you must immediately
correct the commas to periods as in 150,00 should be 150.00 I realise
in Lire that the comma is utilized as in 150,000 lire....but in dollars
it is a period $150.00 which is I believe what the price is suppose to
be. The dollar signs are not next to the numerals that also needs to be
fixed.

The size of the individual porcelain pieces should be in inches as well
as centimeters(cm). This will raise the hair on the back of a certain
WEBmasters neck...however, I truly believe that as the majority of
the internet's purchasing power still resides in the U.S., you should
appeal to their thought processes and most folks I know wouldn't know
a cm if they tripped over it...:)

So, those are my initial thoughts and suggestions...sounds like an awful
lot of negative feedback, but truly, I am impressed by your site and
your desire to have a WEB presence, which I'm sure will pay off in the
long run...I quite liked the photo's, they are very clear and the resolution
looks great! Which considering what your selling, is more than half the
battle...being able to view the pieces so well on-line is enormously
important and you've succeeded beautifully on that front!

Please don't get discouraged, I am sure once the pages are tweaked, you
will find it was worth all the effort to 'get it right'...and don't forget
the promotion of your site will be just as important a step. Once the site
is ready, check back for help on how to go about marketing/promoting it properly!

Best of luck with your business,

Arrivederci,

Deb

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