Input for a web site [Archive]

biggerbud

25th February 2008, 14:58

I might be about to build a website for a dealership/bike shop and thought why not ask those that use bike websites what they like or dislike on a shops site.

Kiwi biker has the community thing pretty well sussed I think.

I'm keeping an open mind at the moment although I am definitly a bit of a geek in that I like wizzy bits like flash - audio - video etc.

If you know of a shop that has a bling site now, give the URL so we can see it and even make comments on it. Tell us why you like it.

The idea is to develop the best dealership site around, for you, the biker, the viewer.

The days of keeping things small for dial up users is just about over I think, so be bold with your suggestions or ideas.

Do you like music or audio on a site?
Would you watch video online?
Would you buy online and if so, what things would you buy.
Clothing - parts - accessories - consumables - bikes ?
Do you like to know a bit about the staff - photo etc?
What sort of information would be useful to you?

Basically, what's your idea for the perfect bike shop site.

It would be awsome to get your input.

I can't say what dealership/location etc at the moment but it is for a
shop that has a genuine desire to be the best and give you what you want.

Disco Dan

25th February 2008, 15:03

Hi resolution pictures of bikes for sale with either spec sheets (pdf) or link to manufactures website of specs.

Videos? May as well wait until you get to the shop!

Personalized maybe? ie - most people are either sports bikes or cruisers, so according to what sort of bikes the person clicks on, next time the feature bike on the front page could be made from that preference?

I cant stand audio on websites - im usually listening to my own music while browsing.

Not a huge fan of buying online, but prefer to be able to research the product within the one site in detail before heading to the shop.

Clothing for example, would be good to have pictures front/back on actual people, maybe even the ability to click on different jackets/pants and see them together on a sprite or model.

Consumables - maybe have a place to click on my particular model bike and given a list of spark plugs, oils filters etc with pricing. Could then generate a number/code that I can take to the shop and they then bring my chosen selection to the counter?

...you wizz on the web huh? Would love to hear some feedback on mine (very very early stages!) be gentle!! LINK (http://homepages.xnet.co.nz/~dsoutham/Daniel_Southam/Welcome.html)

Horse

25th February 2008, 15:09

Motorbike equivalent of www.ascent.co.nz. Nice clean layout, great search/filter function. Did I mention nice clean uncluttered layout?

A m/c store won't have quite as many inventory items, and certainly there's an expectation that product images will feature a bit more (on Ascent I'm not really worried about the picture of yet another 250GB seagate HD).

bungbung

25th February 2008, 15:11

None of this POA bollox.
No audio, a pet hate is music playing unasked.
Accessories, it's nice to know what is stocked also if it is actually in stock.

TerminalAddict

25th February 2008, 15:14

Do you like music or audio on a site?
Would you watch video online?
Would you buy online and if so, what things would you buy.
Clothing - parts - accessories - consumables - bikes ?
Do you like to know a bit about the staff - photo etc?
What sort of information would be useful to you?

NO MUSIC OR AUDIO !!!! (yes I am yelling :) )
video I suppose, can't see much need on a bike store tho'
Yes I would buy online, everything except bikes
Don't care about the staff
Information:
Updated daily (or more)
have every product possible online .. I want to be able to find a pin lock visor insert for a shoei multitech . .for example
no shit javascript menus like cycletreads.co.nz
a true representation of stock levels.
Be honest. If they are in stock, or do I have to wait?

I can help, if you're looking for help.

Horse is correct .. ascent is nice

sinned

25th February 2008, 15:18

This might seem a bit negative. You might like building a site with wizzy bits but most site visitors don't like it.

My list of what I don't like and I have personally experienced NZ bike shops that are guilty of these things:

Don't list email addresses or email forms unless the shop is resourced to clear them and respond asap.
Don't provide a list of items for sale unless it is kept up to date with what is in stock.
Don't build them a website unless they have a budget to maintain it.

End of my bleat

I might be about to build a website for a dealership/bike shop and thought why not ask those that use bike websites what they like or dislike on a shops site.

I'm keeping an open mind at the moment although I am definitly a bit of a geek in that I like wizzy bits like flash - audio - video etc.

If you know of a shop that has a bling site now, give the URL so we can see it and even make comments on it. Tell us why you like it.

The idea is to develop the best dealership site around, for you, the biker, the viewer.

Basically, what's your idea for the perfect bike shop site.

It would be awsome to get your input.

The perfect bike shop site should be better than or mirror the in-shop experience and provide it to me quickly and easily.
BTW - there is no such thing as a perfect site.

rainman

25th February 2008, 18:13

NO MUSIC OR AUDIO !!!! (yes I am yelling :) )

Amen, brother!

Good advice in this thread so I won't repeat it needlessly. The point about the email addresses needing to be responded to is absolutely critical. There are businesses I no longer deal with, partially because they couldn't be arsed answering emails.

Dargor

25th February 2008, 18:36

Dont use flash.
Keep it tidy. Clutter = bad.

madbikeboy

25th February 2008, 18:48

Look at the Apple website for an example of a clean, well thought out transactional website.

Good information, linked to a decent shopping cart - backed up by decent service.

The web is not an information only site - businesses often think of websites as glorified brochures - web2.0 is more interactive, online chat with people, reviews, video, solid content.

Stay away from tacky shite like music and pop ups.

Good websites:
www.torpedo7.com
www.apple.com

Think of the website as the research bit of the buying experience, make sure that the instore experience links in correctly - for example, make sure that you capture information to reduce barriers to get that person instore - if you're offering a demo ride, allow people to book the ride on line. Don't get over the top with data collection - there's a balance between information and nosey.

IMHO, I think that this country is in the dark ages for web work - check out websites like www.excellsports.com or www.gap.com for clean, well thought out web prescence.

Umm, I do this stuff for a living...

RantyDave

25th February 2008, 19:53

Basically, what's your idea for the perfect bike shop site.
It needs to list bikes for sale. You should have access to *lots* of medium resolution (1024x) pictures of the bikes in question - I'd say 20 or so. Feel free to do a thumbnail+lightbox pattern. In particular the shop should go to great lengths to point out the faults in the bike, and include pictures of those where they are visible. Include an email link to whoever is the salesman in charge of the bike, teach the bastards how to use email. Basically you want to consider that someone is basing their decision on whether or not they ride/fly half the length of the country to see a bike on the quality of the information shown on the site. You're also trying to get leads mmmmkay?

If the shop has demonstrators in store, make a point of it.

A simple list of consumables, one click at most from the homepage if not at the bottom of the homepage itself. So we're talking about answering: How much is four litres of sportsbike oil? What will a new Pilot Power 180 rear cost? how much is fitting?

Similarly some simple stats on servicing: Can I get a WOF done today? If not, when? How much is it?

Do they have a dyno? Show it off. Put up graphs, particularly before/after tuning graphs.

Finally set up a really simple mailing list for people interested in specials, end of year runouts etc. This is cheap and simple (use some other provider, don't try to hack it together yourself) and is a really good way of producing leads.

Leads=sales. Sales=happy client.

Dave

RantyDave

25th February 2008, 19:59

Would love to hear some feedback on mine (very very early stages!) be gentle!! LINK (http://homepages.xnet.co.nz/~dsoutham/Daniel_Southam/Welcome.html)
Remove the google ads. You won't make any money from them and they're hideous.

pzkpfw

25th February 2008, 20:02

Make sure all parts are cataloged in the database by the makes/models of bikes that they "fit" and allow searching by them.

I hate going to sites looking for stuff and only being given a choice of searching by the make of the accessory. How am I supposed to know that Hitsu-mitsu Ltd. makes an XYZ for my bike?

I know my own bike, and that's what I'm searching for bits for.

Get the models right too... it's a nightmare looking for Z750S bits, for example, as most sites lump them in with the Z750's.

And everything above. No audio, no videos (unless they are optional things a person can go to if they want) and for me, no flash.

Clear pictures, clear text, good prices and an easy way to order. That's all you need.

Cheers,

McDuck

25th February 2008, 20:25

A link to a high res pic. Not all of us have brawd band. Or the cap to be alowed to dwonload 2 million high res pics.

ceebie13

25th February 2008, 21:00

Make it elegant, stylish, uncluttered, easy to read and easy to navigate. Work on the basis that less is more from the design point of view or to put it another way, use space don't fill it. Don't use hundreds of different fonts. Use a grid template for your page layouts if necessary but use it creatively.

Agree - no audio, video and annoying ads.

See...not a word about pictures of motorbikes and associated stuff. If the design is good then the content will fall into place.

Cheers and good luck. Look forward to seeing it.

Big Dave

25th February 2008, 21:24

I like Ranty Daves suggestions

I also enjoy an entertainment component - I really like music and sound effects and bright graphics. User choosen - not autoplay.
I like embedded video and animations a lot too.

These should be separate from the commerce.

Big Dave

25th February 2008, 21:48

Remove the google ads. You won't make any money from them and they're hideous.

I like them on an entertainment site. You get the occasional interesting item.
Mine buy a cheap round of drinks per month.

Selling someone elses product on your commercial enterprise seems a bit weird.

Winter

25th February 2008, 22:23

another vote here for
No music,
no flash.

EnzoYug

25th February 2008, 22:33

Make sure you can order bikes / equipment by both type, style, genre etc...

AND by brand. Nothing worse than digging through twenty pages of 'sports bikes' just to find the website doesn't have a single Suzuki listed etc...

Also lots of hi-res photos. I believe that having shiploads of big photos is the best way to go, after all we want to see it. Nothing will give a biker what he want's except having the bike in front of him, second best is showing him the bike.

As for details - as full a description as possible. As much info as possible. Less than 1% of enquires / interested peoples will actually email for more info - IMHO.

Romeo

26th February 2008, 05:15

I majored in E-commerce apparently, but all I'll say is keep it simple, clean and professional. The more expensive the kit you're selling, the more documentation, pictures and physical presence you'll need.

You have to give people ALL the information they need so they can compare your products to someone elses. This includes your own company, paint a pretty picture for them.

People are reluctant to buy online if there's no evidence of accessible post-purchase support. Stress the return policy stuff, even if it's self evident based on the consumer guarantees act. Get a store, even if it's your garage, listing a physical address will add peace of mind = more sales.

I honestly believe that QuasiMoto (http://www.quasimoto.co.nz/)'s done extremely well with the above facets. Though I think his gear speaks for itself in many cases - viral marketing ftw!

pritch

26th February 2008, 07:40

Out here in the rural rump broadband is a bit dodgy so I'm still on dial-up.

If I have to wait for Flash to do its thing before I can access the site, I'll go somewhere else.

TerminalAddict

26th February 2008, 08:29

Remove the google ads. You won't make any money from them and they're hideous.
I make $140 every 3 months on my google ads

clint640

26th February 2008, 09:30

The days of keeping things small for dial up users is just about over I think, so be bold with your suggestions or ideas.

So you really want to tell near 50% of potential customers to bugger off then?

Whizzy bits are all good but keep them strictly optional, Have a simple list of the bikes on the floor available within 1 click, then the ability to go from that to a bunch of hi res pics & even video. Trev Cowcocky down in Waikikamukau isn't going to be driving past your front window every day, & he can't get broadband, but he does have a big wad of cash to spend on a bike, why make it hard for him?

I'd certainly buy consumables, parts & accessories off the web, not so much clothing or bikes, I like to try them on. The Munn (http://65.57.254.60/munnracing/) racing site is pretty good example of an easy to use parts setup, being able to pick stuff out of a virtual parts book like that is the ultimate I reckon.

Cheers
Clint

TerminalAddict

26th February 2008, 09:33

So you really want to tell near 50% of potential customers to bugger off then?

90% of statistics number are made up :nya:

The Pastor

26th February 2008, 09:45

You want to make it super easy to see whats in store. If the store has it, it should be on the website. Every little thing. and weather its in stock or not.

Kiss it

Keep it simple stupid or (as I prefer) keep it stupididly simple.

No flash. No music, no video. Visitors want to buy bike/bike stuff not look at some flash crap.

Tank

26th February 2008, 09:51

...you wizz on the web huh? Would love to hear some feedback on mine (very very early stages!) be gentle!! LINK (http://homepages.xnet.co.nz/~dsoutham/Daniel_Southam/Welcome.html)

Umm last time I saw your bike it looked a little more banged up than whats on the link - you sure thats your bike?

clint640

26th February 2008, 10:06

90% of statistics number are made up :nya:

Maybe so, but not by me :Pokey:

Statistics NZ's latest freely available ISP survey indicates that 51% of NZ internet connections are on Dialup. That info is near a year old now & no doubt broadband use has increased, but there's still a lot of people on dialup.

Cheers
Clint