Website with blog templates - feedback

[Flayy]

Hi,

Please can I have a feedback (criticism) on how to improve my new website http://changeyourblog.com ?

It is a website offering blog templates (if you have time, I would love to hear a feedback on them, too) for sale in .psd format.

 

[-Ryan-]

I really hate being critical about sites posted here, but I have to say this is one of the worst e-commerce sites I have ever seen. It needs a complete rethink, and complete restructuring and rebuilding from the ground up. Here are several reasons why;

• You are showcasing your website. Having a dodgy looking website will not help sales. It just looks quite unprofessional - particularly the (joke?) part where you have 'almost 5' templates.
• Selling PSDs is a no-go. Anyone who would know what to do with a PSD to turn it into a site would be able to make it themself. You need to be providing the files to install to a blog such as WordPress if you're going this route.
• The extremely low quality header image at the top with a possibly stock logo looks horrendous.
• The method of having templates sent to you also seems fairly suspect. Most free icon sets I have seen are usually CC licensed, and so even though they're 'free' to use, one can't simply package them up for profit.
• Oh god, it gets worse. Did you steal these themes from WooThemes or just your content?

I can't even look anymore. It really is awful. You need to completely rethink this. You've actually got a fairly good domain name, but this is not the way to monetise it. Your whole website looks sleazy and copying parts of it from WooThemes fills me with no confidence that you're anything other than a scammer.

 

[Flayy]

wow, that was a little brutal, but thanks for it .

Firstly, I didn't steal anything, all templates are made by me. The site is just inspired by woothemes and similiar sites, but whole content (templates) are mine.

"Selling PSDs is a no-go." I disagree, it works (for example) on themeforest.com, but it would be much better, when it is already in Wordpress.

It was my school project, I spent on it really a lot of time and I just didn't have any more for coding it to Wordpress.

(sorry for my english)

 

[-Ryan-]

I'm sorry for being so harsh about your site, but I really do mean everything that I said. The idea itself is not a bad one - just the execution. In saying that, you did steal content from WooThemes - you even left their name in your terms and conditions.
Also, selling PSD files is not a viable business decision. If you don't believe me, look at how few sales even the most sold PSD is on ThemeForest. 269 sales, at 10 dollars each equals $2690. Minus 90 percent as your site says and you're left with $269. From your most successful theme. Only 30 of their themes have more than 100 sales. Compare that to those sold for WordPress or proper site templates with 1000s of sales for many of them. So yes, while ThemeForest do it, I think it's a push to suggest that it 'works' for them.
For a school project it genuinely looks pretty good, but that doesn't take away from what I suggested earlier. You need to really work on this and assess whether the concept can work if you don't want to take my suggestions. Otherwise you'll just be wasting your time. I don't know whether you made the themes on the site, but if you didn't, you're looking at just getting a few cents per sale?

 

[Flayy]

Thanks again for your comment, I really appreciate it.
About Terms & Conditions (which is the only thing that isn't mine) - I am not a lawyer so I was looking for similiar sites how should T&C look and I copy some parts, but I hire a lawyer and I already have "correct" T&C on my harddisk. I will update it tomorrow.

You are right, if the templates were coded for Wordpress, it will be much better but I just don't have a time for it right now. I'm not expecting earning millions USD, I will be totally satisfied with 30$ per month. As I said, it is just a school project, not my main income.

All 4 themes are made by me.

I will think about your suggestions, thanks again .

(sorry for my english)

 

[Consultant]

Horrible conditions include: "the Customer must NOT be a VAT-payer"

Thanks again for your comment, I really appreciate it.
About Terms & Conditions (which is the only thing that isn't mine) - I am not a lawyer so I was looking for similiar sites how should T&C look and I copy some parts, but I hire a lawyer and I already have "correct" T&C on my harddisk. I will update it tomorrow.

You are right, if the templates were coded for Wordpress, it will be much better but I just don't have a time for it right now. I'm not expecting earning millions USD, I will be totally satisfied with 30$ per month. As I said, it is just a school project, not my main income.

All 4 themes are made by me.

I will think about your suggestions, thanks again .

(sorry for my english)

Surely you "hired" a lawyer for a "school" project.

Please. Your lies are just going to get worst.

 

[ezekielrage_99]

Sorry to say this but it feels very rushed and very unprofessional, refinements like proper quotes (ala "Lorem Ipsum"), grammar, spelling, some horrendous legals that have been pointed out already doesn't really help your business case of the site...

It looks like a "blackhat" site sorry to say.

Only use free icon sets and always send us a link where you found them.

This is a very grey area, using free icons them crediting them elsewhere can create issues (out of experience) and could lead to a world of hurt.

Also when checking the themes it really does feel like I've seen them before elsewhere. I am unsure where to actually give advice because it seems as though it's trying to being something I'm not sure what... Is it a business or student project?

Out of experience, PSD are pretty useless without the well coded theme behind it. Most designers I know create the PSD themselves then find a good quality Wordpress theme then cut up their work not the otherway around.

Although this isn't really what you're doing I'd recommend checking NCD Themes it might give you an idea of the "premium" theme idea you're trying to head down...

I can see what you're trying to do, it's not a bad idea it just needs a serious amount of fine tuning from your end to create a product that a client would be happy to pay for.

 

[Flayy]

Horrible conditions include: "the Customer must NOT be a VAT-payer"

Surely you "hired" a lawyer for a "school" project.

Please. Your lies are just going to get worst.

It is because if some VAT-payer will buy a template, I have to (because of laws of my country) became a VAT-payer.

And yes, I hired a lawyer. Cheap lawyer, ofcourse. Why is it so weird?

--

"Is it a business or student project?"

Something between.

--

"Also when checking the themes it really does feel like I've seen them before elsewhere."

I don't know if you are trying to say that I stole them, but again, they are mine. You could saw them maybe on deviantart, or one of them (Blog on the Wall) was showcased in some webdesign magazines.

--

I really appreciat your comments. I'm glad to know, that almost everything about main site is bad and I will think about rethink, redesign it.

--

Terms & Conditions had been updated.

 

[ezekielrage_99]

"Is it a business or student project?"

Something between.

Now there in lies the issue, the model that you've chosen is neither commercial or pseudo-project in nature. Now as a consumer if you can't tell me it's either a business or not how can it be sold as a brand? It muddies the water as a business because it can't be explain as what it is from a consumer POV. If it were me I'd either make it a business OR student project NOT both.

"Also when checking the themes it really does feel like I've seen them before elsewhere."

I don't know if you are trying to say that I stole them, but again, they are mine. You could saw them maybe on deviantart, or one of them (Blog on the Wall) was showcased in some webdesign magazines.

I am not implying anything here, the designs just feel as though I've seen them before... Like a WooThemes or Template Monster thing.

I really appreciat your comments. I'm glad to know, that almost everything about main site is bad and I will think about rethink, redesign it.

It's not that the site is bad the strategy and tactic behind it is poor at best. IMHO it's a mixture of rushing into create "something" along with a bit of Cargo Culting I've seen it many a time.

If it were myself in your position:
1) Research and put together a strategy of what you want to achieve. SMART goals are a very good place to start.
2) Plan and refine.
3) Create what your brand is, what does it do that makes it special?
4) Learn about the industry and get together a decent network.
5) Start promoting what your trying to do.
6) Then roll it out

What I feel you've done is woken up one morning and decided to put together a web site with a few designs, so started on step 5 without considering 1 to 4. Your site has very good SEO value but the product itself has absolutely a snowball in hell's chance of becoming a monetised in its current state.