Low Cost Live Chat Software

[joe.pistell]

Here's how 'ol man, Uncle Joe sees it...

The Home page is the curtain before the show.
Shoppers want the curtain to open to see the show. Oh sure, if your curtain is dirty and torn, the audience's expectations drop, but, if the show is HOT, the dirty curtain is long forgotten. If your home page is a toilet, then improving it will reduce your bounce rate, but, a Home Page can't sell a car.

just my $0.02

 

[joe.pistell]

For example, my homepage ( UsedCarKing - Used Cars & Trucks | Syracuse, Utica, Rochester | Central New York ) is wayyy to cluttered, too busy. I'm finally working my way thru the site and a homepage makeover is coming soon.

Helpful makeover tools FYI:
Crazy Egg – visualize your visitors (see what shoppers like)
http://www.feng-gui.com/default.aspx (compare it to the AI's prediction and use AI to test mockups)

 

[JohnScott]

Take a few minutes and study the most awesome Home page ever made.

It has no equal. None. It has the highest user loyalty rate and is the home page of the most powerful income generating web site ever made.

Thats not because of its format, I dont get your point.
Most people who do use google as a home page use igoogle and customize it so that it shows email, news feeds, web sites, and has apps like calendars on it.

So showing googles default search page, and saying that is the design of the worlds homepage doesnt jibe.

You say study it, do you think your page resembles or follows the format of googles default search page?

Just curious.


I posted this while you were writing the above post.

 

[JohnScott]

Here's how 'ol man, Uncle Joe sees it...

The Home page is the curtain before the show.
Shoppers want the curtain to open to see the show. Oh sure, if your curtain is dirty and torn, the audience's expectations drop, but, if the show is HOT, the dirty curtain is long forgotten. If your home page is a toilet, then improving it will reduce your bounce rate, but, a Home Page can't sell a car.

just my $0.02

Of course it cant sell a car, a lot of it depends on the clientele, a person purchasing a F150 is going to have different taste than a woman looking for an audi or bmw.

What I see are a lot of dealership chains/groups that have the same format for all their brands, from kias to Porsche, and thats just wrong.

 

[joe.pistell]

...What I see are a lot of dealership chains/groups that have the same format for all their brands, from kias to Porsche, and thats just wrong.

johnScott,

From a consumers point of view, I just don't see the problem. Plz post some examples.

 

[JohnScott]

johnScott,

From a consumers point of view, I just don't see the problem. Plz post some examples.

Mercedes
Miami Mercedes-Benz Dealers - Maroone - New & Used Mercedes-Benz Cars & SUVs - Miami, Florida Dealerships


Maybach
Buena Park Maybach Dealers - Power Auto Group - New & Used Maybach Cars & Concept - Buena Park, California Dealerships

Hyundai
Visit Champion Hyundai of Corpus Christi in Texas for deals on new and used cars.

I picked autonation on purpose, because I didnt want to post sites from people on this forum.

Why does it matter? Why are the service departments, or sales floors of a BMW dealer and the same groups Ford dealership night and day when you compare them?

 

[joe.pistell]

Oh!

You're saying is why does the Maybach and Hyundai stores have the same look when the sales floors look so different???

No? Yes?

 

[JohnScott]

Oh!

You're saying is why does the Maybach and Hyundai stores have the same look when the sales floors look so different???

No? Yes?

Yes, Im saying that you should think about your target audience for your web page storefront as much as you do for your brick. If your Kia website and your Maybach website look the same, then well, I just dont know what to say really.

Especially considering the web page doesnt cost you that much more, except maybe in time, effort or bandwidth.

 

[Matt DoCampo]

Yes, Im saying that you should think about your target audience for your web page storefront as much as you do for your brick. If your Kia website and your Maybach website look the same, then well, I just dont know what to say really.

Especially considering the web page doesnt cost you that much more, except maybe in time, effort or bandwidth.

Our websites are consistent throughout the group. They are a little more specific to the respective brand than AutoNation websites (i.e. colors match the manufacturer, larger vehicle images on homepage, etc.).

I pay more attention to the inventory layout pages beause that's where the magic happens. I've seen so many dealerships with incredible homepage layouts but a visitor can't find their way to the inventory in less than 2 clicks. Kinda like having a new image facade with a dumpy showroom.

 

[JohnScott]

Our websites are consistent throughout the group. They are a little more specific to the respective brand than AutoNation websites (i.e. colors match the manufacturer, larger vehicle images on homepage, etc.).

I pay more attention to the inventory layout pages beause that's where the magic happens. I've seen so many dealerships with incredible homepage layouts but a visitor can't find their way to the inventory in less than 2 clicks. Kinda like having a new image facade with a dumpy showroom.

I agree, and understand what you're saying from a branding point of view.

I suppose what Im talking about is probably more aimed at the higher end clientele, they do care about things that most people really dont care about. There are people out there who will actually buy from a certain dealer just to have that dealerships name on the car.

I just think that if you have a luxury brand its worth the effort to give the page a little more snob appeal.