Hi everyone,

Last year I've redesigned my website (http://www.worldwar-two.net/) and since then I've been analyzing the results.

The number of visits and page views increased 25% and the bounce rate decreased about 10% since then.

However, in terms of revenues I cannot say that the things improved that much...on contrary unfortunately (~50% drop)!

I would really appreciate if you guys can give me some tips on what and how to improve the things over my website.

Thanks very much!

João Ramos

 

Hey João

 

I think you might want to have a bolder main section of articles - despite the subject matter, nothing is grabbing my attention as 'read me'. I don't mean that in a sense that it's not interesting content, it's more a case of having to look for it. you might want to redefine your layout - perhaps have latest articles on one side as a sidebar, the store and statistics below it. Just a suggestion as it would be a lot of work.

Edited July 8, 201313 yr by 4li4s
dead link!

I use adblock in chrome that perfectly removed all ads from your site. Perhaps more of your visitors have the same habits.

The only ad I see is the Amazon store but that's not catching my attention due to the formatting is quite similar to the rest of the site.

This might be the reason the loss of revenue.

Check how many firefox and chrome users visiting your site. I think those guys tend to remove ads more than IE users.

Edited May 15, 201313 yr by manngo

One of the main problems may be that your font size (13px) is too small. People have high resolution monitors now and are used to reading text at about 16px. When I zoom in to read the text teh images are fuzzy. I would also suggest avoiding images for text as you can now add all sorts of typefaces with @font-face and the Google webfonts API among others.

 

Good luck. The content does look interesting.

One of the main problems may be that your font size (13px) is too small. People have high resolution monitors now and are used to reading text at about 16px. When I zoom in to read the text teh images are fuzzy. I would also suggest avoiding images for text as you can now add all sorts of typefaces with @font-face and the Google webfonts API among others.

 

Good luck. The content does look interesting.

Thanks mantis for your feedback! I'll try to review the font sizes as well as replacing the image labels by real letters with a font from google API.

 

 

I use adblock in chrome that perfectly removed all ads from your site. Perhaps more of your visitors have the same habits.

The only ad I see is the Amazon store but that's not catching my attention due to the formatting is quite similar to the rest of the site.

This might be the reason the loss of revenue.

Check how many firefox and chrome users visiting your site. I think those guys tend to remove ads more than IE users.

Thanks manngo for your feedback! Well, what you are saying about the ad block may be true but I cannot do anything regarding that.

However, for the Amazon store, do you have any suggestion to highlight that section better?

 

Hey João

 

I think you might want to have a bolder main section of articles - despite the subject matter, nothing is grabbing my attention as 'read me'. I don't mean that in a sense that it's not interesting content, it's more a case of having to look for it. you might want to redefine your layout - perhaps have latest articles on one side as a sidebar, the store and statistics below it. Just a suggestion as it would be a lot of work.

Thanks 4Ii4s for your feedback! Highlight, highlight and highlight. That's what I have to focus on...highlight the content of the website. I've to do a face-lift to the website on that, giving more focus on the popular articles, new articles, other section articles.

 

If you guys have any suggestion on how to accomplish the stated face-lift (ad position, sections organization, ...), I'm all ears.

 

Thanks!

Edited July 8, 201313 yr by 4li4s

I would add something like a picturesque collage on the header, some compilation consisting of of old photos, museum artifacts etc

I would add something like a picturesque collage on the header, some compilation consisting of of old photos, museum artifacts etc

 

I agree - this would be great. The joy of the subject matter is the style isn't going to change, so you don't have to do a completely unrecognisable facelift. However, if you're going to be redoing the structure, I highly recommend you make it responsive. The latter can be a bit tricky when compiling images such as how Lev suggested, but if you perserve with it (posting questions here along the way, of course) it will really be worth it

 

Just one thing on layout - I'd have your main content to the left with only one sidebar. You don't need to be too elaborate with your layout as your target audience will vary drastically - keep it simple, structure wise.

I would add something like a picturesque collage on the header, some compilation consisting of of old photos, museum artifacts etc

Thanks Lev! It would be amazing if I had expertise in Photoshop or even an idea for that.

 

I agree - this would be great. The joy of the subject matter is the style isn't going to change, so you don't have to do a completely unrecognisable facelift. However, if you're going to be redoing the structure, I highly recommend you make it responsive. The latter can be a bit tricky when compiling images such as how Lev suggested, but if you perserve with it (posting questions here along the way, of course) it will really be worth it

 

Just one thing on layout - I'd have your main content to the left with only one sidebar. You don't need to be too elaborate with your layout as your target audience will vary drastically - keep it simple, structure wise.

Isn't a migration for a responsive structure complex to do? That probably depends on what I have already...

Regarding the sidebar...your suggestion is to put the present sidebar (the one on the right) on the left instead?

 

Also, what do you think of changing the website to fit the content 100% instead of the 970px?

 

Thanks

Thanks Lev! It would be amazing if I had expertise in Photoshop or even an idea for that.

 

Isn't a migration for a responsive structure complex to do? That probably depends on what I have already...

Regarding the sidebar...your suggestion is to put the present sidebar (the one on the right) on the left instead?

 

Also, what do you think of changing the website to fit the content 100% instead of the 970px?

 

Thanks

 

With regards to the sidebar, I would put in on the right - your main content on the left. That's my preference and I'm only basing that on how the western reader naturally reads from left to right. Of course it wouldn't hurt having the sidear on the left instead - it's entirely up to you Take into account screen readers and how they read left to right as well by default, it might save you more work - I don't know.

 

I started a thread about screen width a few weeks or so ago. I tend to experiment based on the project. I'm currently working at max widths and use percentages in between. For body text I'm currently favouring between 48 - 62ems. It currently helps with my text layout. One of my 'on the back burner' projects uses solely percentages. For large screens such as HD, I split the text into columns to help with readability but the project is a bit ambitious at the moment so won't suggest that route

I like the collage idea. You could perhaps just scan a bunch of memorabilia and crop to fit? Or maybe you have a friend who is good at Photoshop?

 

Responsive isn't as complex as it sounds and there are loads of good tutorials to get you started (try any of the envato tuts plus sites.) I usually start with a width of 80% and make sure my text doesn't exceed a readable length. Modular layouts work well for responsive design.

I also like the idea of pictures as a header background. Would look cool to have old pictures there just like thrown on a table randomly.

You may use this tool that is free and much less complex as photoshop. However it does a lot, much more than you need:

http://pixlr.com/editor/

 

About the amazon thing:

I don't like ads flashing all around the content, it makes my eyes yo-yo. That's why I use adblock.

So a few ideas for the amazon shop:

1. First, if this is an ad why is it not blocked by chrome adblock? Maybe you can get the other ads showing as well. As far as I know these are blocked based on the domain, since they load from external domains. Could you cache them and serve from your own server? I'm just brainstorming here.
2. Images could be bigger, maybe show less items. It's scrolling anyway.
3. All images have only 1 line description, always the same: Amazon.com. This is useless, could you use the space to increase image size?
4. Items showing: It wanted to sell me toys. A german soldier LEGIO figure. This raises a few questions:
   Who are your targeted visitors? 10 year old kids or WW2 fun grandpas and fathers?
   Should you try to rater sell them serious WW2 books or serious real-looking models instead of lego figures?
   ​I'm not a WW2 fun but would have check on the ad for a WW2 model fighter that actually can really fly with a remote control.
5. If you don't know who visits your site make a pop-up survey with some free giveaways by a draw.
6. What about ebay? Don't they sell some old WW2 equipment there? Would be your visitors interested? Do collectors visit your site?

I've just realized I was wrong on 2 points.

1. The Amazon list is not scrolling. I think it would be better to show 4 different items in that area in every 10 seconds.
2. I got that sometimes toys are shown sometimes books, DVDs etc. Can you mix them? Books and DVDs are so small images that I can't read the title even.

With regards to the sidebar, I would put in on the right - your main content on the left. That's my preference and I'm only basing that on how the western reader naturally reads from left to right. Of course it wouldn't hurt having the sidear on the left instead - it's entirely up to you Take into account screen readers and how they read left to right as well by default, it might save you more work - I don't know.

 

I started a thread about screen width a few weeks or so ago. I tend to experiment based on the project. I'm currently working at max widths and use percentages in between. For body text I'm currently favouring between 48 - 62ems. It currently helps with my text layout. One of my 'on the back burner' projects uses solely percentages. For large screens such as HD, I split the text into columns to help with readability but the project is a bit ambitious at the moment so won't suggest that route

I also agree with you. I'll keep the sidebar on the right but I need to review the way the articles are being highlighted (latest news, most popular, ...).

Regarding the width, I'll keep also the 970px width, otherwise, I would be changing a lot the things and that's not what I want.

 

I like the collage idea. You could perhaps just scan a bunch of memorabilia and crop to fit? Or maybe you have a friend who is good at Photoshop?

 

Responsive isn't as complex as it sounds and there are loads of good tutorials to get you started (try any of the envato tuts plus sites.) I usually start with a width of 80% and make sure my text doesn't exceed a readable length. Modular layouts work well for responsive design.

I'll think about that image collage on the header idea. It sounds nice!

Concerning the responsive webdesign...that depends on the time as I don't believe that would bring more visitors or even more revenues. Or probably, I'm not thinking it well. eheh

 

 

I also like the idea of pictures as a header background. Would look cool to have old pictures there just like thrown on a table randomly.

You may use this tool that is free and much less complex as photoshop. However it does a lot, much more than you need:

http://pixlr.com/editor/

 

About the amazon thing:

I don't like ads flashing all around the content, it makes my eyes yo-yo. That's why I use adblock.

So a few ideas for the amazon shop:

1. First, if this is an ad why is it not blocked by chrome adblock? Maybe you can get the other ads showing as well. As far as I know these are blocked based on the domain, since they load from external domains. Could you cache them and serve from your own server? I'm just brainstorming here.
2. Images could be bigger, maybe show less items. It's scrolling anyway.
3. All images have only 1 line description, always the same: Amazon.com. This is useless, could you use the space to increase image size?
4. Items showing: It wanted to sell me toys. A german soldier LEGIO figure. This raises a few questions:

   Who are your targeted visitors? 10 year old kids or WW2 fun grandpas and fathers?

   Should you try to rater sell them serious WW2 books or serious real-looking models instead of lego figures?

   ​I'm not a WW2 fun but would have check on the ad for a WW2 model fighter that actually can really fly with a remote control.

5. If you don't know who visits your site make a pop-up survey with some free giveaways by a draw.
6. What about ebay? Don't they sell some old WW2 equipment there? Would be your visitors interested? Do collectors visit your site?

 

.....

 

I've just realized I was wrong on 2 points.

1. The Amazon list is not scrolling. I think it would be better to show 4 different items in that area in every 10 seconds.
2. I got that sometimes toys are shown sometimes books, DVDs etc. Can you mix them? Books and DVDs are so small images that I can't read the title even.

 

That image editor looks interesting but I think I prefer photoshop (even if I'm not a pro lol).

Regarding amazon...actually my revenues come mostly due to non-related products due to the search engine indexing of store product pages.

However, the ideas about the Amazon product suggestions I've on the right upper corner are most welcome and I'll review also that part. I have no idea what is the criteria for the adblock chrome plugin to hide ads...but the Amazon product suggestions are made by me and probably it's not identified as ad.

After your eBay reference, I've signup to their partner program so I can include them within the website with product related suggestions. It's a real GOOD idea!

 

Thanks!

 

Concerning the responsive webdesign...that depends on the time as I don't believe that would bring more visitors or even more revenues.

 

It might be in your interest as the amount of people who access on their mobile will find it difficult to read if they're pinching at the screen to read an article. I remember reading numerous articles that Google favour responsive sites in their searches (you're better off asking an SEO person though).

 

I treat responsive design as typography - it's a necessity rather than a gimmick. But that's my opinion

 

Good luck with eBay - nice source of revenue!

Sorry I repeat what is already been said.

 

I agree that there are some good things I have noticed and some areas for improvement.

 

Some good things which I like (my personal opinion):

Like the navigation - its got a good construction and is recognizable from the rest of the layout

I like the way the initial layout is set up - the feel of what I would say is a mission file creates a good feel for the site.

 

Some areas which could be improved (my personal opinion):

 

You have alot of ad choices obstructing your layout, if you could structure this slightly better so its visible but not in the way of your content, also some of the advertisements are no relevant to your content, I am not sure if you can change this but if you could then you may want to look into that.

 

I think you need the font to be slightly bigger as I was having trouble reading some of the content.

 

I think also for the store you may want to create a separate section and make the images larger and also add more details of the products.

 

These are just a few suggestions.

 

In relation to making the site responsive, there are ways of making it responsive from a current site, but you may want to make alterations and then once you have the changes then you can concentrate on making it responsive.

It might be in your interest as the amount of people who access on their mobile will find it difficult to read if they're pinching at the screen to read an article. I remember reading numerous articles that Google favour responsive sites in their searches (you're better off asking an SEO person though).

 

I treat responsive design as typography - it's a necessity rather than a gimmick. But that's my opinion

 

Good luck with eBay - nice source of revenue!

Agree with you but for this case the number of people accessing through mobiles is almost none.

For eBay...I'm still waiting for the approval.

 

Sorry I repeat what is already been said.

 

I agree that there are some good things I have noticed and some areas for improvement.

 

Some good things which I like (my personal opinion):

Like the navigation - its got a good construction and is recognizable from the rest of the layout

I like the way the initial layout is set up - the feel of what I would say is a mission file creates a good feel for the site.

 

Some areas which could be improved (my personal opinion):

 

You have alot of ad choices obstructing your layout, if you could structure this slightly better so its visible but not in the way of your content, also some of the advertisements are no relevant to your content, I am not sure if you can change this but if you could then you may want to look into that.

 

I think you need the font to be slightly bigger as I was having trouble reading some of the content.

 

I think also for the store you may want to create a separate section and make the images larger and also add more details of the products.

 

These are just a few suggestions.

 

In relation to making the site responsive, there are ways of making it responsive from a current site, but you may want to make alterations and then once you have the changes then you can concentrate on making it responsive.

Thanks for your feedback. The fact that the ads are not relevant it's not controlled by me...it's adsense that does that management. Regarding the ad placement...do you have any suggestions?

You are saying that the store should have a separate section but that section already exists http://worldwar-two.net/store/ with more details about the products.

 

 

Regarding the font size...I agree with you all that the font size might be small but when looking to other websites with nice ranking the font size is similar.

Regarding the font size...I agree with you all that the font size

might be small but when looking to other websites with nice ranking the

font size is similar.

Its not just the font size that needs to be considered. Its also the the white space and line height. Look at Amazon for instance. It has a small font size (13px) but it uses the whole screen and there is plenty of space for your eyes to rest. When you don't have as much information as Amazon you can allow yourself a higher font-size. A line-height of about 1.5em is good.

Its not just the font size that needs to be considered. Its also the the white space and line height. Look at Amazon for instance. It has a small font size (13px) but it uses the whole screen and there is plenty of space for your eyes to rest. When you don't have as much information as Amazon you can allow yourself a higher font-size. A line-height of about 1.5em is good.

Thanks! I'll review that for sure.

well, it still have a flavour of 199x websites. you can do some small adjustments to refresh the design a little. Things like:

- remove the black strokes from the buttons

- remove the shadows and glows

- maybe try a white background

 

See how it looks like.

 

Good luck!