what do you guys think of my website?

Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
65
as above Ive recently set up my website and im looking for feedback on the job Ive done on it,Ive asked friends so far but ..well i would like a strangers honest opinion good or bad, this isnt a sales pitch because quite frankly im expecting my first child any day now and were totally snowed under:D
please let me know if this is contravening any rules and ill edit as necessary, thanks for your help guys.
website is
conlonknives.com
 
I dont have any for sale right now but i have pictures of those i made so far,im just starting off so this can easily be remedied,thanks for your feedback
Tony
 
On the custom page you may want to list some parameters of the steels you tend to use, handle materials, and knife types. Could save you and the potential customer from spending a lot of time on a project which you don't/can't do, ie; they want a 14in Japanese style damascus blade.

Do the knives come with sheaths? If so, options there? If not, you may want to recommend someone to do the work which you know will do well.
 
I liked the website, but in the "About" section you talk about yourself in the 3rd person, as if someone else is talking about you. I think it's more personal if you talk about yourself in 1st person. Also, do you speak Gaelic by chance?
 
Ill get that amended,its a good point ! I ever thought of it like that, I can make sheaths myself ,a local saddler here is also able to make them upon request
 
I hope you don't get offended by some of this stuff. I remember making a website, and this is the kind of stuff I was hoping friends would point out, so that's the only reason I'm pointing it out. Overall, I think your site is great. I think with more sellable content, more pictures, and a few corrections, it will be awesome. I hope this helps.

Most of this is ULTRA picky grammatical stuff, and may only catch my eye because I'm American. Due to our difference in nationality, and the variations of our dialects, your wording may be, in fact, better than what I suggest for your customers. Some things just sound weird to me.

Let's get the "bad" stuff done first.

Cons:
-On the opening page, one of the rotating pictures (the one of the knife) says, "Knives for Sale - We have a selection of knives for sale." I would change the bottom line to "Click here to see knives currently for sale" or something similar. The existing wording sounds quite redundant.
-The sentence at the bottom of the first page, "Tony Conlon is a cutler . . . . ." I would remove "on sale" from the end of that sentence. Again, to me that is redundant.
-The next line, I would change to "Custom knives are available upon request" or similar.
-Be consistent with punctuation. On the Killary Steak Knife page, for example, most lines have the first word capitalized, one doesn't. One line has a period, the rest don't. I know this is SUPER picky, but your website is what many of your customers will associate you with. It may be their ONLY contact with you, and the only way they can judge you. If it's full of typos and such, people might get the idea that you aren't smart, or that you aren't meticulous, bad traits for a knife maker. If you're going to use punctuation or capitalization, use it. If not, don't. Don't mix and match.
-Under your menu, you have "Custom Knife". I think "Custom Knives" sounds better. Again, picky.
-Several random grammatical mistakes throughout. I saw things like using then instead of than, commas instead of a period, minor stuff like that.

Pros:
-Nice format
-Intuitive to navigate
-Good pictures
-Nice colors, font, size, readability, etc.
-The way the pictures can be clicked to zoom is nice, and the scrolling function works well.

Ideas:
-On the "About the knives" page, some pictures of stuff would add to that page greatly. Maybe a picture of the different grinds under the "Grinds" section, or some pictures of your heat treating furnace under that section.
-Maybe a picture of you on the "About" page, IF you don't mind putting yourself out there like that. I would like to see who's making my knife.
-Just more pictures in general. Pictures draw people in. I would try to have pictures on every page.
-Videos! This is the video age. Make videos, put them on YouTube. It will draw people to your site and vice versa. Use pictures and videos to show people why your knives are worth what you charge. Show them the work that goes into them.

Despite the size of the lists, the pros are much greater than the cons. There is much more to like than dislike. I really like it. I think you did a great job.
 
I liked the website, but in the "About" section you talk about yourself in the 3rd person, as if someone else is talking about you. I think it's more personal if you talk about yourself in 1st person. Also, do you speak Gaelic by chance?
I didn't personally make the website and wondered about this myself, ill get to it asap also, I speak Gaelic but I wouldn't be fluent,its dying out here which is such a shame in our own country!
 
That is a really nice, well laid out web site.

In literally 10 seconds I had a knife of interest displayed and was reading the details.

Just for your info, I opened the site, and then out of curiosity I clicked on the "gears" icon overlaid on the beautiful image of the building on the right frame.

The only thing I personally would do, just my preference, would be on the knife details page, I would just leave all the images normal and not require a rollover to highlight the image to view them - but otherwise - it's a beauty!

best

mqqn
 
That's exactly what I need to know everything you've mentioned can easily be fixed though im never one for taking pictures of myself unless im with my dog lol
my heavily pregnant wife made the website so ill tentatively approach the subject of her helping me edit the site! im fine with technical information and actually making things but computer based shenanigans wouldn't be my thing thanks for taking the time to help out its much appreciated!
 
That is a really nice, well laid out web site.

In literally 10 seconds I had a knife of interest displayed and was reading the details.

Just for your info, I opened the site, and then out of curiosity I clicked on the "gears" icon overlaid on the beautiful image of the building on the right frame.

The only thing I personally would do, just my preference, would be on the knife details page, I would just leave all the images normal and not require a rollover to highlight the image to view them - but otherwise - it's a beauty!

best

mqqn
Thanks for the feedback ill pass the information to my wife as she set up the site,I appreciate your help
Tony
 
My opinion, very nice, I like it a lot. Changes, Since you only have two slides on the home page slide show, I would extent the period of time they are on the page almost double what they are and slow down the transition if possible. Not much, 100 to a couple hundred milliseconds, and get rid of the gear icon and just leave the text. If anything swap it out if you have your own logo.
 
Also any feedback on the knives themselves God or bad also appreciated by the way.
I had more pictures of knives to choose from but they all sold and I've only the two I have for sale on here until I make some more knives, I'm currently making a folder,a backpocket knife in the bose pattern from 154cm for myself as a treat 🙂
 
as above Ive recently set up my website and im looking for feedback on the job Ive done on it,Ive asked friends so far but ..well i would like a strangers honest opinion good or bad, this isnt a sales pitch because quite frankly im expecting my first child any day now and were totally snowed under:D
please let me know if this is contravening any rules and ill edit as necessary, thanks for your help guys.
website is
conlonknives.com

not bad from someone from the west. 200 euros is expensive for a steak knife, D2 or not. you don't list any dimensions, so I don't know if steak knife is three inches or six inches. I like the way the site looks and flows. Nice pictures of where you live. my father was born in Cork.
scott
 
Last edited:
Maybe they're expensive but Ireland is an island and a lot of goods must be imported, average monthly rent here is over 1000 euro in a lot of places, knife making it quite rare here, so you either make your own tools or import them, duty on us imported goods is about 23% including postage, , I paid 500 euro for grinding belts last week, it's sucks to do anything different in Ireland, but I love living here so that's my lot! In any case the steak knives are sold so it appears the website hasn't reflected that point, the steak knives were quite large and 1/8 thick and the Customer's were quite pleased , perhaps I spend too long making my knives, I certainly can't compete with the low price makers here charge, I can't see how they can do it honestly, my knives don't have a sell by date so I'm not worried, I'm a collector first and foremost🙂
Cork is a beautiful county and I love going there on holidays when I can, I've worked abroad for a long time so I appreciate my country's beauty and history, seriously its well worth the visit!
Thanks for your time and feedback
Tony
 
I think its a good beginnings. Maybe display more pictures of your work.
Btw, I think that opening picture of your workshop building is awesome !:foot:
 
I like how easy the site is to use. Lots of folks make some sort of a gallery page to fill out their website with photos of items that are no longer available and give folks an idea of what you're capable of as well as show possibilities for what they could order custom.
 
I like how easy the site is to use. Lots of folks make some sort of a gallery page to fill out their website with photos of items that are no longer available and give folks an idea of what you're capable of as well as show possibilities for what they could order custom.

This is the one comment I would throw in right now--I like your website layout and functionality, but it is very light on pics IMO.

Good luck to you and blessings on your new baby!
 
Back
Top