Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

A few quick impressions:

1) The enlarged image of your jewelry isn't of higher resolution. This is especially obvious with the chains - the image is grainy.

2) The text that's on your home page is hard to read and a bit too SEO loaded.

3) It's not clear that you need your left column (Shopping Cart / Categories / etc.) at all. It's valuable screen real estate that can be better used for showing the jewellery.

4) Get rid of the clicking sound (or allow visitors to turn it off) when mousing over the images.

5) Give someone a reason to buy something from your site NOW. Is there a special sale of the day item?

Some thoughts off the top of my head...

Write product descriptions that capture the reader's imagination/fancy. (Like the old J.Peterman catalogs.)

I'm a fan of suggestive selling. Tell me what the product would look good with.

Add some shopping by occasion (i.e. Father's Day, Graduation, Back To School, Birthday, Special Lady, Special Guy, etc.).

Set my expectations about Shipping.

Reassure me about your Satisfaction/Return Policy, secure checkout, etc.

Hope that's helpful.
-Roland

Where is the heart in "jewelery with a heart"? I immediately wanted an explanation for the tagline, thinking that the marketing should tie into it somehow. The jewelery itself goes beyond heart-shaped designs and nothing about the service or offering seems to capture the tagline. There is so much opportunity there to be different from the average jewelry store. You could make a donation to a cause with purchase, you could package gift boxes with a love poem, you could offer the meaning behind the gemstones, or you could simply capture a more heart-felt approach in the customer service policies and about us positioning.

The check out process seemed easy enough, though I was lost for a moment looking for the cart after choosing an item. It didn't stand out for me on the left column.

The site map adds nothing of value to me. I think it could be space dedicated to something that develops the brand better or provides another way to search (such as some of the above suggestions).

One of my favorite sterling silver jewelry sites offers a "look book" where you can see some of the pieces paired up on models to create different moods or styles. It would be nice somewhere on the site to see some pieces on an actual person. It gives a better idea of the scale and what goes together.

Basically it is a nice, simple store. I just can't feel an attachment to the brand.

The header is too simple for my taste. If I am looking for silver I expect something fancier.

When you go to the product, says click to enlarge, but the larger image is too small. When buying jewellery you want to see the details.