New Website.

Hey guys this is my first post. I am looking for critques and reviews for my shops new website. Any constructive advice is welcomed.
I have been making blades for about 2 years and do both forging and stock removal. If you have a second, please drop on by and thanks.

http://www.newedgeforge.org

Kent Hammer
 
First of all Welcome to KD! Before I say anything, I want to explain the difference between "look at my website", and "critiques" Just looking means I try to highlight all that is good, and be as nice as possible. "Critique" means the gloves come off, and I point out everything that I feel needs improvement. With that in mind, which way should I look at your site?
 
First off, this is meant as positive, constructive criticism. Nothing about this is meant to be offensive. I am new at this too and at this stage, every step is from scratch and so is a BIG step.

You have multiple misspelled words and some of your grammar needs work. Filet is a kind of steak, fillet is a kind of knife. It may help you to have someone proof read your blog and knife descriptions.

I think you would also be well served by having comments on some of your knives. The things that jump out at me are the fronts of your scales need to be shaped. I suggest you look closely at how some of the long time makers shape their scales and design their knives. You should also look into some YouTube videos on hand sanded finishes. That was something that Mr Caffrey and others told me I really needed to work on. That has made a difference in my work for sure (in my eyes anyway).

Ben
 
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Photo Quality! Generally, people do not read anything on a website. When it pops up, they look, and if something doesn't grab their attention, they quickly move on. You basically have two choices when it comes to quality knife photography..... 1. Pay the shipping to and from, and have a professional photograph knives for you. 2. Learn to do it yourself. Either way, quality photos are a must.

The graphics currently in place look pixilated/blurry.... very much as if they were resized from an image that was too low in resolution.

As Ben pointed out, there are many spelling and grammar errors on the site. Use a spellchecker (many also check grammar). I suspect there is a spellchecker built into whatever you're using for build your website.

Again, a quality feel and look are essential. You have to think from a standpoint of someone who has not idea who you are..... you want to grab their attention, draw them in, and present yourself as a professional.
 
Photo Quality! Generally, people do not read anything on a website. When it pops up, they look, and if something doesn't grab their attention, they quickly move on. You basically have two choices when it comes to quality knife photography..... 1. Pay the shipping to and from, and have a professional photograph knives for you. 2. Learn to do it yourself. Either way, quality photos are a must.

The graphics currently in place look pixilated/blurry.... very much as if they were resized from an image that was too low in resolution.

As Ben pointed out, there are many spelling and grammar errors on the site. Use a spellchecker (many also check grammar). I suspect there is a spellchecker built into whatever you're using for build your website.

Again, a quality feel and look are essential. You have to think from a standpoint of someone who has not idea who you are..... you want to grab their attention, draw them in, and present yourself as a professional.

Thank you for the feedback and I will work on those suggestions made. I appreciate you both taking the time to view and give me your thoughts.

I will take all the advice I can get. My grammer does need improvement.

I am trying to get used to cropping and using a camera better. That way I can give off a better look to the photos. I have a decent nixon camera I am using. Taking pictures is not my strong area unfortunately.

I appreciate the help fella's

Kent H.
 
Hey Kent, on another note, are you local to suburban Detroit?

I notice the phone number at the bottom has the same area code as me.
 
That is cool man. I have a small shop I run out of my garage, just went as a part-time maker and seeing how things go. Definitely new territory for me as far as selling knives. I have been making knives for about 2 years. I do forging mostly in the winter time, and stock removal in the summer time due to weather conditions.
 
Try using good natural light to photograph your knife. I have had good sucess in my Etsy shop using natural light and burlap, stone or twine in my backdrop. I am not photographing knives but it does help with getting good pictures of my other forgings.
 
There's no doubt that photographing knives is difficult. So many reflections, at different angles. I took me a few years to figure out how to achieve what I call "presentable" photos of knives. For me a lighting tent and the correct temp of lighting are essential. I would venture to say that I generally take 3-5 photos of one knife before I get one I'm happy with
 
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