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Website review

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  • 05-04-2020 8:32pm
    #1
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    Can you please have a look at my site please?
    Anything obvious jump out at you?
    Is it fast enough to load?

    Thanks

    jamesbillingsfurniture.com


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    #2
    M.T.D
    Registered Users Posts: 396 ✭✭M.T.D


    Fully loaded time on test servers over 10 seconds way too slow.
    This is more to do with your content and site setup rather than your server. Although a fast server is important delivering the content that will display quickly is often more important.

    one image is 1.7Mb image and takes 5 seconds to display
    Total page size over 3 Mb
    A lot of the javascript nearly 1/2 Mb is parsing during page load
    Time to first byte over 1.5 secs
    Several scripts are running that don't need to be running on the home page.
    My internet connection is slow to-night so home page page never fully loaded, before the browser got fed up, but I did get an annoying subscription popup

    There are lots of tutorials online on how to reduce page load time. Doing it yourself expect to take at least an hour on the home page the inner pages will take less as some of the work will already be done.
    All the links on the page are not https so you don't get a secure padlock

    BTW I like the furniture.


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    #3
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    There are over 100 calls to scripts and stylesheets which needs to be addressed with more than caching imo.

    SEO work doesn't appear to be evident. This not something that should be tagged on later imo: alt, headings, keywording, content and ~100 other things.

    Contact page email not linked. Phone numbers not linked.

    Popup is too early in the process and there is no indication of what you get eg. archive or how often.


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    #4
    Graham
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 17,642 Mod ✭✭✭✭Graham


    Site looks ok and products look good but, a site that size with so few products should be loading in 2s not 10.

    Fix the 404 errors caused by missing .js files.
    Optimise the images.
    Combine and minify the JS (maybe exclude the cart scripts from this step)
    Combine and minify the CSS
    Ditch the Facebook stuff if you're not using it.
    Implement caching (use something WP Rocket as this can also combine/minify JS and CSS)
    Use a CDN for JS/CSS/Images (CDN Sun is pretty good for low traffic sites as you pay per GB rather than per month)

    Test the speed using GT Metrix after implementing each step above.

    When that's done, then look at the SEO stuff.


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    #5
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    Thanks so much all for taking the time!

    It's very much a work in progress. I'm doing most of it myself, but I'm a carpenter!

    I am using plugins to do a lot and code snippets.

    I will disable that pop-up. They can be annoying.

    I am with hosting Ireland and they recommended upgrading to a Wordpress hosting package. Something about a LiteSpeed server?

    Seo is something I don't fully understand and I know I need to work on.


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    #6
    M.T.D
    Registered Users Posts: 396 ✭✭M.T.D


    Is there a reason you are doing the site yourself?
    If it were a hobby site or for your own entertainment then great carry on.
    If it is a commercial site to enhance your business i.e. display and sell products your time might be better spent creating more bespoke furniture.
    I could get a couple of planks fasten them together, nail a post to each corner and have something that would be recognised as a table, but would I want it in my dining room, would anyone want to buy it, could I use it as a demo model for future work, unlikely.

    A table produced by you now is probably a lot different to the ones you first made, some of the differences would be obvious but some would be more subtle, refinements gained with years of experience working with wood.

    Believe it or not creating websites is similar, it is easy enough to knock up a basic site, but to produce a site that is a polished selling machine takes skills that have to be developed.

    As stated in another thread, correcting the content, getting rid of unnecessary code (plugins), compressing content before delivery, using caching properly will give a much higher gain than just swapping to litespeed, and to get a fast site you will still need to do all the items already mentioned no matter what server set up you use.


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    #7
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    Thanks for that.

    I'm doing it myself for budget reasons. also I need to be able to add products and update them myself.
    But I know what you mean.
    My initial thought was to build it and then have someone optimise and improve it.

    So far since the input I've disabled the popup and fixed the https issue.

    A lot more work to do..


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    #8
    Axwell
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,461 Mod ✭✭✭✭Axwell


    Most of the stuff is covered already above but few other things to check on...

    The white text on the hero image at the top of the homepage - too small and too hard to read..bump up the font size and also consider making the overlay on the image slightly darker, see if the larger text improves it enough first.

    No need to duplicate the logo here either really, it's already in the top left. This is prime real estate on the website and you are wasting it just filling it with the logo and small text. Consider putting more text here and create your UVP. What you make, why you make it, who you make it for. That section of the website is the first thing someone is going to see - you need to grab their attention there and then so they navigate the rest of the website. More text and keep the button as a call to action. Ditch the social icons here..someone just got to your homepage, why are you trying to send them away from it to your social media. Keep that to the footer and contact page - also make them open in a new window, not leave your website.

    Body font looks a bit small - should be ideally 16px

    No consistency across buttons to view shop/enter store - use the same wording and colour across these buttons.

    We Accept - missing image here.

    Contact info in most places not linked and in footer where it is, not set to your own email.

    Contact page - the banner logo at the top, not needed and its overlapping the nav menu. Put in a map if you have a showroom or just add some text about contacting you and office hours or something standard like that if you are looking for something additional to the form.


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    #9
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    Thanks for this!

    I was thinking that about the social icons alright. They are now gone.
    Buttons are now all the same.
    Not sure what happened to the We Accept image, it was fine earlier.
    Fixed my email link.
    Removed the contact page logo and tried to add maps. Dont think its working tho.


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    #10
    Axwell
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,461 Mod ✭✭✭✭Axwell


    Your map is working - maybe just zoom it out a little.

    Put some text at the top of the contact page - even just a heading, something to lead into the form rather than it just floating there. Make the form narrower - split the content into 2 columns and put the contact info and hours and info in the right column and the form on the left and then the map underneath like you have it.

    Bespoke page - have the gallery and then have the store button underneath it.
    Content - then call to action, not the other way around..the page has a purpose..let them view it then direct them towards something else. Fix the button also.

    Reorganise the menu in your footer to match the main navigation, remove wishlist if it serves no purpose.


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    #11
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    Been looking at cloudflare for cdn.
    Does anyone recommend using it?


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    #12
    gary550
    Registered Users Posts: 638 ✭✭✭gary550


    jamesbil wrote: »
    Been looking at cloudflare for cdn.
    Does anyone recommend using it?

    Nice furniture!

    Will echo everyone else's sentiments, it just took too long to load. Got a 503 error the first time.

    Cloudflare is ok, I have never really had a problem with them other than some caching issues which were my fault.

    For wordpress I have found the combination of cloudflare, WP rocket & a good host (I use cloudways) really helps with loading times on properly optimised websites. Some great info in the replies above re optimising your site.


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    #13
    Graham
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 17,642 Mod ✭✭✭✭Graham


    Ideally Cloudflare (or any other CDN) should be used after you've addressed the underlying issues. Not to mask them.


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    #14
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    Thanks everyone for your advice here and on my other post.

    I've done a fair bit of tweaking, re-tweaking, un-tweaking and then tweaking again!

    Hosting is now a wordpress package with hosting Ireland as my standard one was about to run out anyway.
    Cloudflare is set up for cdn.
    Had issues with ssl, but I think its all fixed now.

    Would you mind reviewing it again to see how I've done?
    https://jamesbillingsfurniture.com/

    Thanks
    James


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    #15
    M.T.D
    Registered Users Posts: 396 ✭✭M.T.D


    Loads a lot quicker now.

    This image still loads on home page
    https://themify.me/demo/themes/ultra-ecommerce/files/2016/10/become-subscriber.jpg

    The urls in the shop section could possibly be more consistent.
    All the categories
    jamesbillingsfurniture.com/store/
    Individual category
    jamesbillingsfurniture.com/product-category/audio/
    Single product
    jamesbillingsfurniture.com/shop/cork-and-leather-custom-made-portable-bluetooth-speaker/


    Also no need to have the product url the same as the product title "and" etc. should be removed.


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    #16
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    M.T.D wrote: »
    Loads a lot quicker now.

    This image still loads on home page
    https://themify.me/demo/themes/ultra-ecommerce/files/2016/10/become-subscriber.jpg

    The urls in the shop section could possibly be more consistent.
    All the categories
    jamesbillingsfurniture.com/store/
    Individual category
    jamesbillingsfurniture.com/product-category/audio/
    Single product
    jamesbillingsfurniture.com/shop/cork-and-leather-custom-made-portable-bluetooth-speaker/


    Also no need to have the product url the same as the product title "and" etc. should be removed.

    Thanks.
    I cant for the life of me see where that image is on the home page.


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    #17
    M.T.D
    Registered Users Posts: 396 ✭✭M.T.D


    Look at the source code . It is in the first line.


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    #18
    Axwell
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,461 Mod ✭✭✭✭Axwell


    Down towards the bottom of the homepage where the 'We Accept' section is the card's image that was there is missing.

    Also look at changing the background images used there, either dont have a background image at all or replace them with something local on your own website, at the minute both are being pulled from themify which is adding a little to your loading time.

    These are the ones currently being called.

    https://themify.me/demo/themes/ultra-ecommerce/files/2016/10/card.png
    https://themify.me/demo/themes/ultra-ecommerce/files/2016/10/mail.png


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    #19
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    Axwell wrote: »
    Down towards the bottom of the homepage where the 'We Accept' section is the card's image that was there is missing.

    Also look at changing the background images used there, either dont have a background image at all or replace them with something local on your own website, at the minute both are being pulled from themify which is adding a little to your loading time.

    These are the ones currently being called.

    https://themify.me/demo/themes/ultra-ecommerce/files/2016/10/card.png
    https://themify.me/demo/themes/ultra-ecommerce/files/2016/10/mail.png

    Thanks, I will try and change them. The cards image under "we Accept" loads for me.


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    #20
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    Ok, found them and how to edit them, but for some reason when I click save it doesn't seem to,


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    #21
    Axwell
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,461 Mod ✭✭✭✭Axwell


    Are you using caching? Clear your cache after making the changes.


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    #22
    wba88
    Registered Users Posts: 2,197 ✭✭✭wba88


    Hey James,

    Just took a quick look at your site and your images are still a bit large and are slowing down the loading of your site so I've taken the liberty of optimising them for you and uploaded them here

    Your site is approx 4MB and these 5 images are 2.5MB of that, my optimised versions are a total of 0.46MB. Swapping them out should significantly increase load time.

    If you aren't confident swapping them out PM me and I can do it for you


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    #23
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    wba88 wrote: »
    Hey James,

    Just took a quick look at your site and your images are still a bit large and are slowing down the loading of your site so I've taken the liberty of optimising them for you and uploaded them here

    Your site is approx 4MB and these 5 images are 2.5MB of that, my optimised versions are a total of 0.46MB. Swapping them out should significantly increase load time.

    If you aren't confident swapping them out PM me and I can do it for you

    That's a great help thanks so much! I had tried a few online image compressors but couldn't get them any smaller. What do you use?
    I think I have it done. How does it look now?


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    #24
    wba88
    Registered Users Posts: 2,197 ✭✭✭wba88


    jamesbil wrote: »
    That's a great help thanks so much! I had tried a few online image compressors but couldn't get them any smaller. What do you use?
    I think I have it done. How does it look now?

    Only the top image is showing for me but the others are loading in the background


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    #25
    wba88
    Registered Users Posts: 2,197 ✭✭✭wba88


    jamesbil wrote: »
    That's a great help thanks so much! I had tried a few online image compressors but couldn't get them any smaller. What do you use?
    I think I have it done. How does it look now?

    All working for me now and brought the load time (without cache) down from 6.3 seconds to 3.2 seconds

    I use https://squoosh.app/ to optimise images and change the resolution. You had images that were about 3x bigger than they'd ever be shown to a user so scaling them down helps a lot


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    #26
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    wba88 wrote: »
    All working for me now and brought the load time (without cache) down from 6.3 seconds to 3.2 seconds

    I use https://squoosh.app/ to optimise images and change the resolution. You had images that were about 3x bigger than they'd ever be shown to a user so scaling them down helps a lot

    Thanks so much!
    Anything else jump out at you? I've been working on the single product page a bit, trying to make it clean and simple and so that the customer doesn't have to scroll much.


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    #27
    wba88
    Registered Users Posts: 2,197 ✭✭✭wba88


    No problem. Few things I'd recommend;

    Homepage
    • Navigation Bar (Home/Shop/Gallery etc) text colour is white, hard to read, use a dark colour instead
    • "Bespoke Furniture & Crafts" & "Made in Ireland" - needs to grab the attention more, it's the most informative text there, bigger font size, experiment with bold text
    • 3 images in the middle of the page are ruined because the text is centered covering the focus of the image -> move the text, maybe 2/3rds down the y axis
    • 3 images - upon hovering the background colour showing behind the text is not good looking
    • The "Bespoke Furniture" & "Creating your imagination" text blocks are lost in the page, increase the font size, darken the grey text

    Product Page - Nice and clean
    • Description text is grey, harder to read, doesn't jump out. Change it to dark grey or black
    • Description text - each line is its own paragraph with margin bottom 20px - too much space in-between each line

    Have a look at other sites -no matter what they sell- to get ideas of how to make things stand out and attract the user's attention

    Hope that helps


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    #28
    jamesbil
    Registered Users Posts: 661 ✭✭✭jamesbil


    wba88 wrote: »
    No problem. Few things I'd recommend;

    Homepage
    • Navigation Bar (Home/Shop/Gallery etc) text colour is white, hard to read, use a dark colour instead Done
    • "Bespoke Furniture & Crafts" & "Made in Ireland" - needs to grab the attention more, it's the most informative text there, bigger font size, experiment with bold text Done
    • 3 images in the middle of the page are ruined because the text is centered covering the focus of the image -> move the text, maybe 2/3rds down the y axis Done
    • 3 images - upon hovering the background colour showing behind the text is not good looking
    • The "Bespoke Furniture" & "Creating your imagination" text blocks are lost in the page, increase the font size, darken the grey text Done

    Product Page - Nice and clean
    • Description text is grey, harder to read, doesn't jump out. Change it to dark grey or black Done
    • Description text - each line is its own paragraph with margin bottom 20px - too much space in-between each line Working on it

    Have a look at other sites -no matter what they sell- to get ideas of how to make things stand out and attract the user's attention

    Hope that helps

    Its a great help thanks
    I think I will change the homepage a bit, maybe some showcase products below the main image


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