Question

Topic: Website Critique

Website Review: Raindrain.co.za

Posted by Anonymous on 10/22/2004 at 5:33 AM ET 500 Points
Site location: [inactive link removed]

Raindrain is an innovative solution to neatly removing storm-water collected in gutters and downpipes away from buildings.

My brother, who runs a professional web development studio, based in South Africa, has developed a website for this company.

We would be very interested in your critical feedback to the site.

The site is aimed at both the general public and dealers (which was an interesting challenge) as the implied threat of dis-intermediation had to be balanced against the possibility of getting individual orders.

There is a very sophisticated data-base driven dealer management module, which can only be accessed using a user name and password.

To access this area, use:
User-name - 'demo'
Password - 'demo'

Look forward to your feedback.
Michele




[Moderator: Inactive link removed from post. 2/14/2011]
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Carl Crawford on 10/22/2004 at 6:20 AM Accepted
    hi Michele;

    Another kick ass site, well done.

    I like the little flash bit on the side.

    The colours are good, i felt like buying some "industrial strength plastic " piping for my flat.

    there are a few minor changes i would like to see,

    first on the home page you have a link called "please click here" this is a big no no. I mean think about people who have to use screen readers to read the page. (if you had been in my web design class you would have automatically failed because of it)

    I also took the liberty of running your site through https://validator.w3.org/ and found a few errors.

    I also took the liberty of running it though "bobby". It fared very well with only one alteration needed to get it to conform to level 1 of the standard.

    I am not sure about South Africa but I know that in New Zealand ALL sites must be level one booby compliant by January 2005 (that is why my site is taking sooooooo dam long to complete; I cant seen to get it to conform to level 1).

    [inactive link removed]

    have a nice day

    Carl Crawford


    [Moderator: Inactive link removed from post. 2/17/2011]
  • Posted by Blaine Wilkerson on 10/22/2004 at 9:10 AM Member
    Well, the site is cool, but the logo colors don't really represent "rain" or "water"..we have talked about this before, but perhaps the owner made an executive decision.

    also, from the dealer area, when trying to view the different colors of drains, the pictures were black with just a hint of something in there.

    Overall, pretty cool. Nice work.

    One more thing:

    I noticed there is not an option for bulk orders. It appears you have to purchase one by one. Most dealers are going to purchase several cases. Leaving the prices out will create an email/inquiry nightmare.

    If you would like any more opions, please click here. LOL
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 10/22/2004 at 1:43 PM Member
    I agree with the comment above about saying where you will deliver to. Same holds for the dealer sign up - where are you looking for dealers at (just South Africa, other countries, whole world).

    It would also be useful for people looking for your product if you could have a list on your web site of your dealers. I realize you may not have many/any yet, so this might be an area of growth for the future. Oh, cross link with your dealers (you link to their site, and ask them to link to your site) if possible, which would help your PageRank on search engines.
  • Posted by SRyan ;] on 10/22/2004 at 4:37 PM Accepted
    Hi, Michele --

    I agree with Jen on the navigation droplets. My first reaction was, Ugh, those are too big and distracting. Make them half the size so they really look like bullets. That side of the page doesn't need to take up so much space, and it's probably one of the reason the home page looks so cramped.

    I'm using Firefox as my browser, and I couldn't see the animation -- just an empty space with an Apple QuickTime logo staring at me from its center. So... I relented and viewed the site with Internet Explorer.

    Does your brother or his client really HAVE to have the animation on this page? I think the product functionality can be conveyed equally well with a still illustration. (And the weirdly popping raindrops look kinda cheesy to me. Sorry!)

    Underneath the illustration, I would get rid of the Benefits clickalong. Move those to the product "feature+benefits" page. Speaking of which...

    The text spacing is too crowded on the f+b and installation pages. Increase the cell padding, for starters, and the line height for the text. Also, I'd swap the dotted line borders for a 2-point line in the same pale blue as the table heading.

    Now, back to the home page... There's got to be a way to make it less crowded! Maybe this:

    Completely remove the two paragraphs for "Become a distributor" and "Buy online." Rename the Registration link to "Become a distributor." Expand the name of the Buy link to "No local dealer? Buy online." I'd also expand the name of the Products link to "Product info."

    Actually, I'd arrange the links in that nav column like this:

    • Product info
    • Become a distributor
    • No local dealer? Buy online!

    Then I might move the Home, About, and Contact links to lie horizontally across the very top right section of the page, maybe using a small font in the white space above the curve.

    Enough feedback so far? ;]

    If I have time later, I'll log into the dealer side and take a look. Dassit fernow!

    - Shelley
  • Posted by SRyan ;] on 10/22/2004 at 4:41 PM Member
    ps. Basic contact information needs to be on EVERY page, at the very top or in the footer.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 10/26/2004 at 11:12 PM Accepted
    Michele

    I tried to buy online and found the process didn't really let me buy. I saw no price, but ordered 10 units anyway, and got a message saying thanks for the order, we'll contact you...

    SO I haven't ordered, really, have I? I might have requested some units, but nothing is finalised.

    I think it would be better if the process actually finalised the sale so the next step was to establish the delivery address and logistics info.

    Plus, people need to know the prices so they can figure out the costs.

    The product is a bit mysterious. It's a grid and some pipe, right? Does Rain Drain supply the pipe or does the purchaser have to get it from somewhere else? If so, where?

    Where does the pipe go to? In other words, what is considered a suitable point of discharge?

    Is it legal to install this kind of product without using a licensed plumber/drainer? It would not be legal here (Victoria, Australia) because a registered tradesperson would be needed to issue a compliance certificate.

    Over here we have to drain guttering into a storm water drain pipe which goes into the grey water drainage system.

    Although now that we have a large proportion of vehicles using unleaded fuel (mandatory for new vehicles since 1986) it is no longer illegal to collect and store rainwater, and a number of interception, diversion and storage products are in the marketplace. In fact the government provides an incentive in the form of a small subsidy for the purchase and installation of water and energy saving devices, e.g. grey water recycling tanks, solar panels, etc.

    Hence the importance of Marcus's point above... Has Rain Drain considered broadening the product line? Or is rainwater fairly abundant in that marketplace?

    Hope these points and questions for consideration are helpful.

    Cheers

    Chris

  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 10/27/2004 at 3:10 AM Accepted
    Some areas that may be useful:
    - larger photos of the products. Maybe photos showing the products installed.
    - more details on the products. I don't recall seeing specifications, such as dimensions, certifications (would need CE to sell in Europe, UL to sell in USA, etc.), strength (what happens if they are walked on), that they are UV stable, etc.
    - the installation instructions are just a few lines. Perhaps more detail showing a picture for each step along with the text?
    - maybe create a data sheet and put the PDF online?
  • Posted by Blaine Wilkerson on 10/27/2004 at 11:38 AM Accepted
    well, I guess I should mention the price rather than the quantity. It appears as though it doesn't matter if you buy one or one million, the price is the same.

    I like the home page except for the noted changes above (smaller bullets, smaller rain drops, etc.

    Also, what is the purpose of the product? Asthetics? Leaf catcher? Or both?

    A lot of homes here in the US have the gutter downpipes connected directly to the underground drain...with built in filter screens all over. However, I believe it could be marketed in the US as an asthetic piece. Landscaping, guttering, and concrete contracters would be of special interest, but the price is almost prohibitive. A piece of plastic like that could be made here in Oklahoma for about $3.00 or less.

    Anyway, good luck. Let me know if you need help contacting US contracters..I have a complete list.
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