My new CMS

[TodVader]

Hi. Over the past year, I have developed a PHP/MySQL CMS for eBay affiliates called "The Niche Toolset". It has a blog, a forum, regular pages and of course, eBay items with your EPN id.

I'd like to know what you guys think of the website:
http://www.nichetoolset.com

I havn't promoted my product much yet and can still change some things. Also, I'm not very good in english. If anyone sees any major language flaws, please tell me.

Thanks for your honest reviews

I can't wait to see how this will go!

 

[miles01110]

Sorry but I will be brutally honest; this webpage looks like it's a forgotten relic of 2000. If it is "new" then the presentation should look "new" as well. Some screen shots of the various features would allow potential customers to see what they're getting into before dropping $40 on it.

I would think about re-doing your entire front page.

 

[0488568]

Why reevent the wheel when there are so many CMS for php available. I've got 2 websites based of Joomla with my own modifications. It wanst easy getting to know joomla but it a nice framework but the documentation is missing stuff. Any who check them out http://www.elpp.es and http://www.elpsoe.es

 

[TodVader]

Why reevent the wheel when there are so many CMS for php available. I've got 2 websites based of Joomla with my own modifications. It wanst easy getting to know joomla but it a nice framework but the documentation is missing stuff. Any who check them out http://www.elpp.es and http://www.elpsoe.es

Because none of them do what mine does? Bans does but I hate bans. The main (and probably only) selling part is the EPN integration.

 

[TodVader]

Sorry but I will be brutally honest; this webpage looks like it's a forgotten relic of 2000. If it is "new" then the presentation should look "new" as well. Some screen shots of the various features would allow potential customers to see what they're getting into before dropping $40 on it.

I would think about re-doing your entire front page.

Thanks for your honesty. Images on the homepage are something I planned to do. Except the non images, what don't you like?

 

[miles01110]

Here's a quick list of things I don't particularly like:

-The title font. The graphic is ok, I might have gone with a deeper blue instead of the more "aqua" gradient you have there, and I don't really like the rounded arch of the banner. But the main thing is the font. Aqua backgrounds are hard to use for banners because colors don't stand out against it very well without being offensive (i.e. neon pink would stand out, but would be horrible.)

-The black borders around everything are ugly.

-Login/Register seems out of place. I can't really put my finger on why; maybe because it clashes with the rounded banner. Consider moving it elsewhere...

-At first glance I don't really notice the navigation bar because the links are too close together, are the same font as the content text, and are black like the border. Make the nav bar taller and less crowded. It should look more like the nav links that pop up when you go to "Features."

-When you click a link in the nav bar, consider highlighting which page you're on. Kind of like tabs (so you know which tab you're on) but without actually making tab graphics. Does this make sense?

-"Policy" at the bottom is crowded into that little section, and it's ambiguous what "policy" is. Sales policy? Privacy policy? Make it easy to understand what that is. Also consider moving it to the main nav bar, because privacy policies are a big thing these days.

-If you are having a sale, you want to make the 19.99 price stand out a lot more. make a new graphic along the lines of the one you already have, except use reds instead of blues to emphasize the discount.

-"Welcome to the Niche Toolset" could use a new font (i think it's impact at the moment- definitely get rid of that) that makes the letters appear less "crowded" against one another.

-The font for the main content is a little old, consider using a sans-serif font.

-Make a contact form instead of forcing your users to open their email client. Trust me, it's a lot more convenient for customers.

One positive: The box with a summary of all the features is good. Keep that, but maybe make the "much much more..." a link to the full features page.

 

[TodVader]

Thanks for the input. I will go thru that list and judge what to do today. I appreciate your help.

 

[torndownunit]

On top of miles tips, I'd also recommend trying to space things a little better. Everything is way to crowded together. It makes it very confusing to read. I'd try to separate the sections a little better. Maybe make the layout more fluid or wider? That is my biggest issue when reading the page, that it appears 'crammed' onto the page.

It's been mentioned but that Impact font is just way to overbearing as well. Not to mention that however it's saved, it's choppy looking as well. And the combination of the Stencil font in the banner, and the Impact font in the header are just a really bad mix. And, neither mix very well with the serif font used for the body text. Ariel or Verdana might be a better choice, which for some reason is used in the "What is the Niche Toolset" box, but not in any other part of the page?

The Login/Register link is also in a bad spot, and almost looks like an afterthought thrown onto the page. The 'policy' link is the same.

I definitely agree with miles that the menu needs some work as well. on top of being crowded, it doesn't stand out at all.

The text for $19.99 is showing on top of your PayPal graphic (in Camino)

As other mentioned, it had a 'dated' look overall. If I was looking at it as a customer, that would not give me much confidence in the product.

 

[Cabbit]

One really easy one is in the "What is The Niche Toolset?" box you have a bunch of - signs. Thats really of as it should be + or √.

 

[TodVader]

My mac is at Applecare right now so I don't have photoshop and my only licence is for os x. I'm downloading the Windows demo right now and will do a major overhaul of the design this afternoon.

Thanks for your help everyone, I know appearence is important and I'm no designer. I will do my best to fix this website and your input is important to me.

 

[Cabbit]

One thing to consider is why would anyone pay $30 for your CMS when they can download drupal or similar that have a large support community.
In order to distance yourself from them you will need to market how you will support your product, make it that the client is not buying the product but the support package over a year that can be renewed it mite sell better.

 

[TodVader]

One thing to consider is why would anyone pay $30 for your CMS when they can download drupal or similar that have a large support community.
In order to distance yourself from them you will need to market how you will support your product, make it that the client is not buying the product but the support package over a year that can be renewed it mite sell better.

I said it multiple times, the selling point of my CMS is the eBay integration. It's not marketed to the mass public. People who I will market it to want EPN niche websites with a forum & blog. It's been asked many times on forums. I'm not expecting someone who just wants a CMS to buy my product.

 

[Cabbit]

I said it multiple times, the selling point of my CMS is the eBay integration. It's not marketed to the mass public. People who I will market it to want EPN niche websites with a forum & blog. It's been asked many times on forums. I'm not expecting someone who just wants a CMS to buy my product.

My point more relates to your offering free lifetime upgrades and support. So say you get 10 clients that $200 and you have to support them for say 10 years that is a very good deal for the client but you are getting $2 for each year they use your product.

Why not give the client a $20 a year support package that includes updates that means for the same 10 clients your getting $200 a year for 10 years meaning your overall income is $2000 instead of $200 for the 10 year period to cover the support costs.

This will also set you up as more reputable as the clients will see that they are paying for a support contract with you and it is a sustainable business.

From the point of a prospective client i would want to know the business i am dealing with is in it for the long hall, saying that $20 or even $100 gets me lifetime support makes me feel like you are a serious company in it for the long term. This attitude is common with business like customers that want to know that there business tools are in good hands and there willing to pay extra for that.

 

[TodVader]

Thanks for your input about this babyjenniferLB. I will think about what I will do about it.

As far as the website's design, I'm not done but I've fixed lots of things mentionned in this thread. Does it look better? Is it less crowded? I also created a contact form. I've also colored the link of the active page in the menu.