Detailing Website Criticism

I've actually done a one stage on a guy's Tundra that found me through this detailing forum and was only 20 minutes from me. Not many Maryland folks on this forum local to where I'm at unfortunately. Also fixed that formatting issue and put some testimonials on the home page. One is my wife, f it lol.

 

Unfortunately I do not. No details can be "purchased" via the web platform currently. More of a "here's what I offer and pricing, shoot me a message and let's schedule you." I want to incorporate something along these lines that autogenerates invoices and quotes with a checkout option. The logistical issue is my schedule being full-time and on-call the other half of the time. My availability shifts quite frequently throughout the month depending on what caseload we are handling at work and sometimes we have to travel out of state to go pick people up (that don't want to be picked up lol). So developing a cart options that coincides with a schedule that's very fluid is a nightmare for me to figure out how to get it to work. In the process though!

 

I'd move the testimonials and reviews to another page, maybe have them toss in a before/after shot of their vehicle with each. Personally, I'm sick of seeing testimonials and reviews for a service, so much of it is lies and bullshit now days. At least a before/after pic with each would add some cred to the review.

 

One thing I found a little confusing....your most basic (wash and wax)package had its own pricing sheet, where the AIO/single stage correction/multi stage correction shared one between them. Even though there are commonalities between them, maybe separate them somehow so that each is unique.

Truthfully, the price differences between some of the size categories seemed a little small.....and I say that because I get some fairly large SUVs to do now and again, and those things just absolutely wear my old a$$ out. I'm sure your pricing matches your market well, so more of an observation than a criticism. The level of work you turn out is a bargain at your price points.....I'm sure your customers understand that when they see the finished product.

I appreciate that your house is lived in, and your garage gets used.....I'm in the same boat. Take your pics with the best backdrop possible. In the Honda Accord pic, your stepladder is in the background. In the Range Rover pic, the stuff on the shelves behind it is probably not as neat as it could be. I'm trying not to seem like a
d-bag here, but, honestly, your work is top shelf, and deserves to be shown that way.

 

Yeah it still needs work menu wise so I appreciate that. And my pricing is extremely competitive but I will scale it as I grow in notoriety. A dude somewhat local to me has his cheapest coating package at $1400 for a small compact....and I've seen his work and it angers me lol.

The picture thing has always irked me. I recently bought a 10x10 pop up tent for the beach with white canvas walls all the way around I was thinking of using that with 3 walls up and good lighting to start doing "staged" photos. So the background is all white and I can get good lighting to highlight the work.

Unfortunately I use my garage for everything lol. Welding, building my track car, hoarding junk I'll probably never use again but must have because hoarder. I think my tent idea will create a better aesthetic. More time consuming but the photos should sell me better. I have a SUV coming tomorrow for a simple one stage/interior so it'll be the first I test it on.

 

I'm also fairly proficient in Gimp photo editing. I may take my photos and play around with transposing an unedited cropped photo of the vehicle onto a basic backdrop photo. See how cheesy it looks and make a decision. I don't like the idea of it honestly but my detail photos have always bothered me somewhat. I can take some pretty gnarly shots too with my Nikon (my opinion at least, may be biased lol).

 

I know nothing about detailing.
I know nothing about web page design.
I have read lots of websites.
First, it is appalling there are no Tundra pics. (sorry I had to add that and wish you could do some work on my Tundras)
Second, seriously, in my opinion there is information overload. I would keep it simple and reduce the amount of content - short, simple, sweet. Your goal is to interest people in service and prove to them that you know what you are doing. Sexy enough to get a call or information request without opening the kimono and showing them everything - that comes later. Provide minimum general ranges of pricing and make them contact you to get the detailed pricing. Peak their interest and then the folks who are serious will contact you.
Third, in looking at the pictures you need the service information to stand out - red or yellow to make it pop - and the vehicle information to be a much much smaller font (I find the vehicle information interesting because I like vehicles but it is not information that gets business).
Fourth, finally, nothing is better than word of mouth advertising from clients due to excellent service at a competitive price. I would rely more on word of mouth advertising than a webpage. Thanks Joe for letting me detail your vehicle may I give you a few of my cards for you to give to your friends who will see your vehicle and want to get theirs done too?

 

@French Avocado I think I've only done two Tundras so far hah. Not popular around here.

And yeah I can be wordy. There's a lot of misconception in detailing that needs to be explained. One of the first things I learned is managing a client's expectations. Nothing worse than a wax job and the client gets the car and asks "why are these scratches still there?"

I agree I need to dumb down some of the lengthy verbiage. I'll work on a better color scheme for the slideshow.

And to your website as advertisement point, I made the website over a year ago initially then never touched it. It was a basic setup that just got my info out there. I barely get any leads from the website, they're all from my Instagram and Facebook page where I have almost 1k followers total combined. That's where the business is at. No one looks at websites anymore. I just have it as another tool for those that do search Google. If you Google my business, typically the IG or FB is the first lead. Those are just blasted with pics of my jobs, time lapse videos of details, and short blurbs advertising the package that vehicle got. It's just scrolling FB or IG pics nowadays for the most part. I just figured it was time to update the website after a year. Probably won't touch it for another year after I get it fixed up lol.

 

@briarpatch Welp the 10x10 idea wouldn't have worked for this 4Runner. But I'm going to move my trailer for the future and these are the style shots and the location I think I'm going to take all my photography at from now on.

Little more "artsy" but I think it presents well. Nikon D5100 on a Nikkor 50mm f/4 and 620 iso. Very little editing on these photos. Just some shadow reduction to reduce dark spots in some areas.

All 10 I just posted from the last job.

 

Poor render from a computer screen pic but developing a new logo. Making them from scratch is a lot more difficult in Gimp than I expected. Going to scale down Detailing and Four One O' is going to be wrapped by the same color scheme and the colors made fluid. Going to use the font from my original logo if I can find the download again to import it.

 

Few hours worth of work because Gimp is so damn confusing.

 

It’s way more likely that an unhappy customer will leave a review than a happy one in most cases. It’s something I’ve found myself falling in the habit of before.
There’s an old saying in business that a happy customer will tell a couple of people. An unhappy one tell everyone.

Haven’t had a chance to look the site over yet, but I will.

 

Yup that's the unfortunate part lol. I dropped the 4Runner off to the client and the owner was extremely satisfied. Asked them to leave a review so I can get that boosted up....that was a few days ago and crickets lol.

 

That looks awesome. As for the site, agree with @French Avocado. I was a bit overwhelmed going into it. But it is a complicated business, so it makes sense. My detailers site is even more complicated.

 

Cleaned up some edges on this one.



Then made a more abstract, simple one using similar features. Thoughts?

 

I like the numbers over them being spelled out. New logo ftw

 

I agree with @Pudge

 

I do as well, but since the business name is Four One O' under the LLC and webpage/social media, some folks may see it and try to look up 410 Detailing. If you do that, someone out in Washington State made a business 2 months ago called 410 Detailing (not even your zip code bro whattt? Lol). So now I'm finding it could lead to confusion. I may try and combine elements of the blue/green one into the simplistic design. Something similar to this poor drawing lol.

Edit: Four One O' will be larger with the O probably being the rear tire and Detailing be smaller and farther forward.

 

Okay....now I'm being a d-bag...is that supposed to look like the Ravens logo?

 

Haha I didn't mean to but I can see the resemblance. I just dig the modern sleek car lol.

 

I didn't have a problem with either the mobile or desktop. And I suffer from connectile dysfunction. Personally I like the technical explanations and FAQs, I know some people don't. Maybe slow the slideshow down a bit, I was having a hard time reading the words and studying the pictures.
Now that I realize you're in Annapolis, I'll consider bringing my truck up when it gets back from the body shop to renew the ceramic coating. I like Annapolis and my wife hasn't been there.

 

Thank ya! I realize the fade transition has cut into the photo time delay that it is displayed so ill have to alter it.

 

What jumped out at me under the "What we Offer" section was the cars. Just way too much glare/reflection on the cars. I know part of that is a result of your efforts, but some of them had reflection from windows, etc. Very distracting to me. Not sure the answer beyond more professional pictures with proper lighting.

 

5th pic in is a Tesla P100D. Fast as hell....

 

Asked a bunch of people and most people liked the "410" greyscale logo. Ended up meeting both worlds in the middle with a little color and spelling out the business name instead of using numbers. Gonna clean up the edges and pixelation but this is what I decided on as a blend.