Feedback Requested- http://www.momadvice.com

[Anonymous]

I am requesting some feedback for our site http://www.momadvice.com

It is still a work in progress and we are looking to add more information and freebies to it for our members, but the basic concept is what we have up.

Please be gentle- this is my baby right now :)

Amy
http://www.momadvice.com
"Being a mom is more than a title..."

[Lori]

Hi Amy,

I am requesting some feedback for our site http://www.momadvice.com

It is still a work in progress and we are looking to add more information and freebies to it for our members, but the basic concept is what we have up.

Please be gentle- this is my baby right now :)

Amy
http://www.momadvice.com
"Being a mom is more than a title..."

It is such a soothing site to visit. You have really helpful content presented in an organized and original way.

You've done some nice psychological marketing with your positive tagline, 'Insight to Empower' and your opening content speaking to the frustrations many women share.

Good job -- I think it's going to do really well!

:dance:

Lori

[Shelly]

I love the use of colors together with the font and style! The illustrations are such an nice, refreshing switch from photos, not to mention add the right tough for the content!
Very nice :lol: You should be proud of your baby!
Shelly

[Debbi]

I like it, very calming, which moms need from time to time.

The only thought that came to my mind was that it might be a little bit too 'slick'...wait, let me finish :D

What I mean is that when I happened upon your site, I immediately thought of the telecom industry...some moms might not know what to do with the site. Maybe introducing some items that are a little more homey, if that's the right word. Not being critical, I understand how attached we become to our sites :)

Best of luck,

Debbi

[Anonymous]

I don't know how I could make it less slick, I guess. My husband is a professional web designer so we wanted to make a website that would be easy to navigate and not be overloaded with advertisements. Many mom sites (not to be mean) don't have a very professional look to them and they are difficult to find content.

Do you have any suggestions for making it more homey?

Thanks,

Amy
http://www.momadvice.com
Being a mom is more than a title...

[Debbi]

Let me start by saying, again, that it is a very pretty site. It is visually appealing, but it doesn't 'feel' like a work at home mother's site. It has the look that many sites have nowadays. Very busy, content heavy...it reminds me of elance.com

Professional looking is important, I agree, however, the site has to feel approachable and make a person want to stay, too. I would remove the latest post column, and work images into the text areas. I would move away from the 3 column format to a format with a sidebar for links, and a a text area, like the layout with your content pages. It's the index page that, to me, is not very inviting, compared to the rest of your site.

Also, I hope you weren't referring to freelancemom.com as being an 'unprofessional' looking site, as it is the most easily navigated, easy to read site I have encountered in the WAHM area. It may not be slick, but it has a loyal following of moms who adore it.

Best,

Debbi

[Lori]

Let me start by saying, again, that it is a very pretty site. It is visually appealing, but it doesn't 'feel' like a work at home mother's site. It has the look that many sites have nowadays. Very busy, content heavy...it reminds me of elance.com



Actually, that's what I like about the design myself. The fact that it doesn't feel like a typical WAHM site. Some of those sites are so advertising heavy, and if there is valuable content, it really is difficult to find.

I think this site will appeal to a different audience of people. It looks like you're doing pretty well. The last time I looked it was over 60 forum members...

You must be doing something right. :yup:

Lori

[Anonymous]

Of course I wasn't referring to this site or any other site in particular, I was making a general comment about many mom sites that are out there or those trying to market to those who are wanting to save money.

We added the latest posts more recently because another site that I admire used that and it seemed to draw more people to the forum. The intent of the forum is to get people to interact and many times people don't ever visit a forum because they don't realize that there is anything on there they might find interesting. By incorporating this into our homepage, it has drawn more people to join in the discussion and the forum which makes me think that jumping from two members to over sixty in the course of a couple of months and have people coming back to the forum makes it a hot spot on our site.

The site is not a work-at-home moms site- it is a mom's site that has a work-at-home section- it is not a work-at-home mom site though. The site was designed to offer to mom's content on things that interest them (a work-at-home section is one of these features). It is supposed to offer to moms ways to organize, budget, cooking and recipe tips, and stay sane when you are a very busy mom.

I like slick looking sites- I like a site that isn't bombarding me with advertisements and that is easy to navigate while providing useful information. I have even made it a requirement that no one can advertise on our forum (not a choice that everyone makes) because I want moms to feel comfortable sharing on the forum without feeling like they are being sold something. The only place there is advertising is in our shop/work-at-home opportunities section which one has to go to in order to view. We also created a place where article requests could be made and I try to take the time with the content to provide everything a reader could want out of an article. So far our most successful article to date is the one requested by a reader which encourages me that the approach I am taking to the articles is the right one. We have received a lot of positive feedback because we proved in-depth articles. It takes me a few weeks to put an article together, but it is worth the time when I know I am providing something that is valuable to the reader.

Thank you for the positive feedback, Lori!

Amy

[Debbi]

That's great that you're getting so much positive feedback. Hurrah! And I see you've found the great google advertising opportunity. Best of luck with that, too.

Best,

Debbi

[redheadskater]

Amy -

Congrats on a really sharp looking site! :hurrah:

The color scheme is well suited to your intended audience. Good logo and tag line.

I only have two suggestions:
Change the color of the active links. The blue is so standard and it clashes a bit with your softer colors. Yes, you do want the links to be more noticeable than the other text, but you don't want it to shout out to the viewer.

In the middle column there is a link for 'find work at home opportunities'. It seems out of place there. Perhaps it would be better off under the 'moms network' section?

Great job on this site!
Lisa

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the constructive feedback and suggestions. We took what you said into consideration and have unveiled a brand new design that I am really proud of. Since it's such a big change, I'd love to hear what you all think now that it's done!

Amy

[redheadskater]

Thank you all for the constructive feedback and suggestions. We took what you said into consideration and have unveiled a brand new design that I am really proud of. Since it's such a big change, I'd love to hear what you all think now that it's done!

Amy

Kudos to you, Amy!! Your hard work has really paid off and the site looks absolutely terrific!

:clap: