Revisitng the website!

[Metal Arcs]

So I have decided it is time to spruce up the site and give it a makeover. I am going with a CMS site as it makes updating a world easier! If anyone feels they have had success with their site in any particular way, please throw your two cents in! I'd appreciate it. I hate many things about my current site http://www.metalarcs.com, so I am open for any criticisms or what-have-yous that would be constructive while pondering my 2.0 site.

Some ideas I am toying with are:

• potentially leaving pricing off the site - reason being, once people see a price it can immediately negate a reason to get in touch. On certain pages of my site I see alot of traffic but no follow through. I believe they see the price and it becomes a yay or nay situation. i am always negotiable, maybe i need to have that added? i am wondering if i should go with a "request a quote". But i kind of get annoyed when i see those, maybe a price range would be better?
• including an upload your art option - I think this may make people get in touch, out of sheer curiosity which will give me the opportunity to make a pitch/quote
• Making my credit cards accepted way more prominent! Cuz who in America doesnt feel like credit cards are free money nowadays...
• including a referral discount and quantity discounts.
• updating the site with the last 20 things i've made, hence the switch to a content management driven site! haha

Any ideas from my friends and peers would be greatly appreciated!

[Garysbiz]

Very good ideas, I like the idea of a price range. I have been contemplating some of the same as I build mine. Thank you

[tnbndr]

As a site browser/potential customer, if I don't see a price I usually leave the site. Unless it is something that I cannot find elsewhere.
I don't like the idea of a price range either, why not just set the price at the lowest you can sell for and still profit. If you give a price range of between $10.00 and $35.00, who is going to pay $35.00??
If you are giving quotes for custom work you definitely need to allow people to upload several formats to you so you can see what they want and quote it properly.

[Metal Arcs]

If you give a price range of between $10.00 and $35.00, who is going to pay $35.00??

It's not about trying to get them to want to pay the high price, it's more about letting them know what can be the low price. In your example, I would hope the consumer would say, "10 bucks, that's reasonable, let me get in touch to get specifics" This would help when you have a design that can be made out 1/16" material (inside wall art) vs the same design out of 3/8" material (outside, left to rust art). A difference of $50 in one sample pricing i just did. Its about having and relaying the amount of variables possible. All of our designs are scalable and can be suited for different applications. indoor/outdoor, plain steel/aluminum, paint finishes, etc... Maybe I should go with the dropdowns, or even try and build a "you specify the size" of the piece and then use dropdowns or tick boxes for additional options.....now that is ambitious...

As for upload feature, definitely need an "all formats accepted", anti-virus here i come!

[jmsrbrt]

I don't put pricing on my website because something 1/16th is going to be cheaper than 1/4; something 6 inches across is going to be cheaper than 96 inches; and there will be a price difference if I paint it, don't paint it, rust it, or powder coat. I post a picture of an item and if you contact me, we talk thickness, size, any extras and shipping. Quotes are always FREE.

I get a lot if inquiries asking "how much is Item #4 on page 12?" One of my first answers is "how big or small do you want it?" Numerous people think something only comes in one size.

[Gamelord]

I think pricing is a must. If I don't see a price on a site for whatever I am looking for, I just simply click off and move to another. You have to remember that many people will be browsing your site after hours, where they can not call in and get a quote or discuss what they want. You will not get potential customers by leaving the price out - and you will irritate possible customers who are actually serious about purchasing. Instead, they will go to another site that does have some kind of pricing on it and do their business there.

Here is what I would do....

I would set a price on the item and make that item something that they can actually purchase! Who knows, you may end up selling a bunch of stuff right off your site. Maybe even put in some attributes that has different sizes for different pricing, each can be purchased with a couple clicks. Say small 4" costs X.xx, medium 10" costs X.xx and large 16" costs XX.xx.

In the description of the item, I would clearly list out the sizes and material used. I would also put in a detailed information section that lists that you can build custom to any desired size and out of any material requested and the price can be adjusted. For custom orders, contact you. Most people have some kind of common sense and would know that if a 2' x 2' piece costs $45.00 that a 4' x 4' piece would probably be around $90.00. They can use your pricing to estimate what their custom project will cost, if it falls into the price range that they are willing to do, they will call and you can get your order. Be sure to list that bulk discounts are also available.

Just my two cents.....hope it helps.

[Dennis]

I think pricing is a must. If I don't see a price on a site for whatever I am looking for, I just simply click off and move to another. You have to remember that many people will be browsing your site after hours, where they can not call in and get a quote or discuss what they want. You will not get potential customers by leaving the price out - and you will irritate possible customers who are actually serious about purchasing. Instead, they will go to another site that does have some kind of pricing on it and do their business there.

Here is what I would do....

I would set a price on the item and make that item something that they can actually purchase! Who knows, you may end up selling a bunch of stuff right off your site. Maybe even put in some attributes that has different sizes for different pricing, each can be purchased with a couple clicks. Say small 4" costs X.xx, medium 10" costs X.xx and large 16" costs XX.xx.

In the description of the item, I would clearly list out the sizes and material used. I would also put in a detailed information section that lists that you can build custom to any desired size and out of any material requested and the price can be adjusted. For custom orders, contact you. Most people have some kind of common sense and would know that if a 2' x 2' piece costs $45.00 that a 4' x 4' piece would probably be around $90.00. They can use your pricing to estimate what their custom project will cost, if it falls into the price range that they are willing to do, they will call and you can get your order. Be sure to list that bulk discounts are also available.

Just my two cents.....hope it helps.

What he said...

[AnotherDano]

Most people have some kind of common sense and would know that if a 2' x 2' piece costs $45.00 that a 4' x 4' piece would probably be around $90.00.

Just my two cents.....hope it helps.

You get a penny back in change, Gamelord.

If a 2x2' piece is $45.00, a 2x4 piece would be $90.00
A 4x4' piece would be $180.00.

I try to cut little 'shiny things' from any 'scrap' areas when possible and give the primary customer as much of a break as I can. The little pieces do well on a market display table. Much better than $.07/pound at the scrap yard.

[beefy]

Seems there's a heap of variables and often you have to chat with the customer which takes up your time.

I've seen some websites where the viewer fills in the blank or more likely clicks on a selection of options, then the price is updated. Could something like this be used to advantage for you guys. You enter in all the variables, work out a cost for any combination then it's available to the potential customer to click away at their hearts content. Size, thickness, colour, painted, bare, powdercoated, steel, stainless, etc. This functionality may even keep the viewer at your site longer and won't Google give you more points (search engine rankings) when customers hang about at your site longer.

Would such a system free you of the time spent on the phone yakking away giving prices for all the variables. I also think many potential customers are intimidated about calling to ask a range of pricing options, and would prefer the "non-commital" environment of getting a lot of the answers from a website.

Please fire away also why this could be a bad idea, I'm just grabbing ideas off the top of my head.

While on that subject does anyone know any software that does this type of website.

Keith.