What Turns Me Away
from a Jewelry Website

© by Candy Loya; all rights reserved

Yes, I have a jewelry website myself. Yes, my pictures stink, but if you knew how many times I took them to get them to look that bad, you would fall off your seat. But this article isn't about the pictures. This isn't about the prices. This isn't even about the jewelry - this is about that proverbial First Impression.

We all go browsing other jewelry websites to get ideas of what to do and what not to do. How many times have you stopped on a site and just thought, "Yikes!" and left right away?

Admit it, you've done it. And not once did we ever email that person to tell them why their site turned us away to help them out. I think we assume that maybe it is just our personal taste, and perhaps other people might think it's great.

Reality check - it doesn't work that way. Chances are if we are turned off, so are lots of other potential customers - for the same reason.

So here is my

This is meant to help fellow jewelry artists to understand that First Impressions count. And here are some First Impressions you don't want to make:

1. MUSIC or any sound whatsoever! OMiGosh - I am sitting in my home office in the wee hours of the night listening to serene music and I click on a site that moos at me or plays some cheesy music that sounds as if it was created by pushing the buttons on a touch tone phone. If I can't find the button on THEIR site to turn it off, I leave immediately.

   If you want to use music to set the tone for your site, make it OPTIONAL. Have a button that the person can click on to hear music. Just make sure the music isn't computerized tones. No one really wants to hear that.

   And remember that many people secretly shop online from work. A sudden blare of sound or music from their cubicle can alert the entire office and embarass your customer - who will probably never return to your jewelry website.

   Also, the addition of sound can make your webpages load more slowly.

2. PINK and CUTE. If I go to a site that has a light pink background, hot pink fonts, and clip-art everywhere, I can't stand it for some reason. I feel like I am shopping for Barbie Dolls or Strawberry Patch Kids. It doesn't feel professional to me. It is cute - maybe for a small child, but not for an adult. I leave.

3. SLOW loading pictures and pages. I run my internet on a high speed cable. When a page is slow to load, I know it isn't on my end. If the page takes more than 5 seconds to load - I'm outta there!

   The main reason for a slow-loading jewelry website page is oversize photos.

   This is a simple fix. Use JPEG (.jpg) format for your photos, at 72 or 96 resolution, and resize your photos BEFORE you put them in your site, to be no more than 4x4".

   Don't use a photo with a high resolution and/or more than 4" and resize it ON your website - it may LOOK smaller, but in reality it is still a high resolution and large size photo running on the page.

   If a picture is in bitmap (.bmp) or GIF (.gif) format, go into your photo editing software and do a SAVE AS. You will see a drop down box with options. Resize and adjust resolution and size for optimum website speed and then Save the photo file As a .jpg

4. BLACK backgrounds with white or colored fonts. Black is sleek, I'll give you that, but it is really hard to read text against a black background unless it is huge! If it's a site that has a nice collage of jewelry, I will try to adjust the font setting on my computer to see it larger or highlight the text to read it. If it isn't worthy, I leave. If I am tired - I leave.

5. WORDS everywhere! A picture is worth a thousand words - but you don't need a thousand words to sell a picture!! If I go to a site that doesn't have a featured piece of jewelry or photos of their designs on the home page, and there are just tons of words - I leave!

   Keep in mind that if people want to know about you, they will click on an "About Us" or "About Me" page. You don't have to put that text on the home page.

   If they want to know about the quality of your materials, etc., that is what an "FAQ" or "About My Jewelry" page is for.

   People love to look at PICTURES when shopping. That's what your home page should feature. If they like a picture, THEN they read about the item. Use a catchphrase on your home page to let people know in a few words what you and your jewelry website are all about.

   Example: "Handcrafted jewelry from recycled products by Julie"

   Right there you know what is being sold.

   What it is made of.

   Who made it.

   The rest of the home page should be interesting pictures of Julie's designs.

   Julie doesn't have to go into detail up front as to why she recycles, because by leaving it short the consumer will want to go farther into her website to find out more. Hopefully Julie placed an "About My Jewelry" section for people to read about it there.

Something to know about fonts:

You may have a million fonts on your computer and they may look wonderful when you load your page. But keep in mind that not everybody uses a browser that allows for that font to be recognized. They will see it in abstract.

Always stick to the basics with your website. Simple is better. Crazy fonts for logos are fine, but when it comes to product descriptions and any other written material, use Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, or Tahoma. Those fonts are currently recognized by all browsers. Also - don't make fonts too small. Make size 10 the smallest you use.

In summary - keep your jewelry website clean and simple!

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