could you guys take a look and give me some honest feedback

[NMDemDist2]

please?? I think my online store is almost ready........( i still need to upload some products but the bones are there)

www.lottalatte.com

thanks in advance!

[mtnester]

1. Under Coffee Beans, Medium icon, there is a typo

OUr

Oh GOD you have flowering teas! How wonderful! Do you know how much I have to pay, and how far I have to drive...never mind..I know I am paying for "ambiance"

The descriptions are very very nice.

I will peruse in more detail this evening, but it is a lovely site!

Is this what you have been working your tookas off on?

[NMDemDist2]

2. LOL yup! and thanks, I knew that typo was there and keep forgetting

to fix it

edit to add, OK that's fixed and PS--the shopping cart is fully functional

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Dassa nice site!

Is that the lastest Magic? I've never seen that control panel before.

[NMDemDist2]

4. no it's the "Quick Shopping Cart" I got with GoDaddy hosting.

now I just have to give google or yahoo a couple $1000 to get to the top of the searches

[NMDemDist2]

34. arghhhh! I answered the wrong question there, and no not the "latest"

but one back from it I'd guess

it's a really nice little unit I am impressed how far they've come since I got mine!

[mtnester]

5. I have to ask one question (HAH..for now anyway)..

Will you be carrying any Fair Trade and/or Bird Safe and/or organic coffees?

I try to buy these when I can (I KNOW they cost me more...I KNOW...)

[NMDemDist2]

6. I will have both fair trade and organics soon

if you give me an idea of your coffee preferences (blends, roast etc) I can PM you a list of what's available

[mtnester]

13. I do not have a real preference...but I do tend to like coffees with

a sweeter finish.

The Americas areas coffees are fine...Peru, Columbia, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica...etc. I am currently enjoying the dickens out of a Peru La Floridia...which is a Fair Trade/Bird Friendly coffee. I gotta tell you, I don't see the big to-do over Jamaican and Kona (at least not to justify the outrageous pricing on it)

I will drink about anything straight except super dark roast...IMO that is for espresso and for my local coffee shop with all the right gadgets to make for me

I have your market page as a shortcut on my desktop, and will be slowly perusing in the next hour or so.

Again, wonderful site!

[NMDemDist2]

14. as for Jamacian and Kona I agree with you but since they are

by definition rare (very little growing space above 3500 feet on either island) the cost is justified I suppose

I do like the Kona Blend we have. It's about 10% Kona and it adds a nice under current

I'll get back with you Monday if that's ok......

[mtnester]

15. You get back with me whenever you are ready!

Busy bee! Take care of your business first...hubby stard his own business in September and we KNOW how tough things are starting out...and BUSY!

[vademocrat]

7. Congratulations - nice site! Here's a few things I spotted -

You asked, here you go - I've done editing/proofreading in my life so some things just jump out at me --

Home page:

"...assuring you receive your coffee at its optimum," Receive is misspelled. Also, I would add either freshness or flavor after optimum -

Under "coffee beans"

Are you planning to give more detailed descriptions of the different blends? I'm a coffee bean lover and love to know what types of beans make up the different blends...in fact, a good description can convince me to try something.

Under "coffee beans - medium"

the description "our popular blends" - I'd either say "most" if that's what they are or leave the word out. Are the other blends unpopular?

Under "coffee accessories"
No prices listed. Is it "if you have to ask you can't afford it?" Probably so in my case!

All the buttons I used work -

If this is helpful, let me know & I'll look through the tea section sometime this weekend. I've got some stuff to do so didn't have time to review the tea section.

I'm happy to see it finally online - do you have a bricks & mortar site or is your "boutique micro-roasting facility" in your garage??

[NMDemDist2]

8. thanks vadem! the prices should show up as you click each unit

on it's own page

the others are great suggestions and I'll work on em Monday (I'm worn out this week and still have two political functions to attend this weekend)

it was INCREDIBLY helpful!!

[vademocrat]

11. It did - I'm looking at the LaPavoni Burr Grinder -

There's a "?" in the pound capacity - probably waiting on info?

Sounds like you deserve a weekend off!

[NMDemDist2]

12. yes I noticed that when I looked at it too... hmmmm

anyway the prices are all listed below the description where you add them to the shopping cart. I should add the prices to all the descriptions too I suppose

that's a great suggestion, thanks!

[wildeyed]

23. I think your point about descriptions is right.

Often times it is a well written description that finally causes me to purchase. On the other hand, if the description is too long, I tend to click "back" before I finish reading. It si a balancing act, I guess. A good, but not too long description.

[vademocrat]

25. It's definitely a balancing act -

but I'm hesitant to buy a blend without at least knowing what it's a blend of - some of the flowery descriptions I've seen are a bit much (I'm thinking of the Gevalia catalogs of years ago - they described each cup as if it were wine)

[politicat]

9. The velvet tea box description has some typos.

Numi's most elegant tea chest is velvet lined and has a mahogany finish. For tea service at home, it is the final touch to an exquisite meal. Eight different varieties (56 teabags total) can be viewed through a glass window in the clear-topped chest; or if you prefer the wooden-topped velvet chest for a more traditional look. Included in Velvet Tea Chest: * Morning Rise: Breakfast Blend of Black Teas * Aged Earl Grey: Italian Bergamot Black Tea * Berry Black: Fruitea Darjeeling Black Tea * Temple of Heaven: Gunpowder Green Tea * Monkey King: Jasmine Green Tea * Moonlight Spice: Orange Spice White Tea * Sweet Meadows: Chamomile Lemon Myrtle * Simply Mint: Moroccan Herbal Teasan

Eight different varieties (56 teabags total) can be viewed through the glass topped chest; wood topped chests are also available for a more traditional appearance.

The last word in Simply Mint: Moroccan Herbal Teasan - shouldn't that be Tisane?

[NMDemDist2]

10. yes it should, thanks!

could you tell I had tea on the brain? LOL

[vademocrat]

26. I wondered what teasan was - now I've learned a new word!

Made a note of it to ask about it...

[Wordie]

16. It's a cool site, AZ!

What fun!

I did notice a few things:

On the "options" page, which I guess is where you actually order the coffee, there's something that might be confusing to a customer. It looks like it says, "3 pounds - free shipping (this in a drop down box that only has that one option) - $8.50. It may be that's one of the areas that has a little work remaining to be done, but I think a customer might think that means $8.50 for THREE pounds, when I am pretty sure you must mean $8.50 PER pound (and if you do mean $8.50 for three pounds, you can sign me up right now! LOL). I notice that same thing occurs under your "Featured Item" box too, so you might want to check all the prices and add the "per pound" just so people won't be disappointed to find they only got one pound, or to be charged $25.50 (3X $8.50), when they were expecting an amazing low-price deal of only $8.50 for three pounds.

And, on the banner at the top where you have the phone numbers, is one of those a FAX number by any chance? It's often the case that the second number is for a FAX, so I just wanted to point that out in case that's what your second number is also. If so, you might want to put that on there.

Under "Numi's Teas" you say, "You can choose from bags, sachets or flowering tea bins." Wouldn't it be better to say, "bins of flowering tea"? (My first thought was that it must be a planter of some sort too.)

Under "Harney's Teas" there was a capitalization typo: the sentence that begins with "An affordable line..."


It's a cute site, AZ...I bet you'll have a lot of fun with it! And I love the name, "LottaLatte." It's memorable and cute. Good job!

Maybe a selling point on that flowering tea would be how unusual it is and how that might make it a great gift.

[NMDemDist2]

17. thanks wordie! this is why I love DUers

you guys have such great eyes and suggestions.

I'll end up printing this thread out Monday and going through it point by point

[vademocrat]

27. Definitely agree that the pricing option is confusing -

I'm trying to go through each suggestion already here so I don't duplicate any -

You've got enough work to do without wondering if you've already made a change or if you already got a suggestion & decided to keep what you had!

[spindrifter]

18. What a great idea!

Az, I would just offer a suggestion--you might think about using a background and lettering that has more earthy tones, rather than the pink. I find the pink more in keeping with a soda shop, and not as attractive to the male audience. If you chose some great browns/taupes/greens it would be a subtle push for your coffee and tea products.

[Lugnut]

19. Very nice!

I still need to browse the site but I found this on the home page opposite the Accessories link.

"Welcome to Lotta Latte, feel free to browse our store for the finest in fresh air roasted coffees and gourment teas, gift sets and equipment to make tasty beverages at home."

Back to browsing.

[anitar1]

20. Very best of luck with your store. I really like the

whole idea , and know you will do well.

[catnhatnh]

21. Main tea page...

Harney & Sons....2nd sentence not capitalized-nice looking site and it's a riot for a guy with my grammer and spelling abilities to be proofreading...hell-I'll need spell check on this....

[NMDemDist2]

22. LOL thanks for looking! with the help here, when I go in Monday I can

(hopefully) catch most of them.......

[vademocrat]

29. Here's a few more things I found -

Teas -> Harney's teas: varieties is misspelled

Teas -> Numi's teas -> flowering teas: "call us for detail" - add "s" to detail. Add period for consistency.

Teas -> Numi's teas -> Numi's boxed teabags: the close paragraph ) after 6 dropped a line

Teas -> Numi's teas -> Bamboo box sets -> Mini box set: add period after "light birch finish" for consistency.

Teas -> Numi's teas -> Bamboo box sets -> Velvet tea chest: "...glass window in the clear-topped chest;..." - I'd rewrite the sentence for clarity: "...or, if you prefer a more traditional look, the wooden-topped velvet chest."

Also, where is the choice made between the clear-topped chest or the wooden-topped velvet chest? I didn't see an option when I placed it in the cart & I didn't see a wooden-topped velvet chest for sale elsewhere on the site. There is a wooden-topped chest but it doesn't specify "velvet".

Accessories -> coffee accessories: "Inventory changes often so check back often." I'd change one of the "oftens". Maybe "Inventory changes on a regular basis, so check back often."

Accessories -> tea accessories -> chinese red clay teapot: infuser is misspelled. (BTW, this is a BEAUTIFUL teapot!)

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions or want me to look at anything else - I love doing this kind of stuff!

I know where I'm shopping for my sisters-in-law next holiday season - you have a wonderful tea/accessories selection!

[wildeyed]

24. Nice, AZDem!

You just made the change I was going to suggest, keeping the menu options to the left or top of the page on all pages, so I guess great minds think alike!

Some of the type seems a little small. If it is hard to read, then I don't.

I would try to keep the graphic styles consistent through out the site. You have the snappy retro coffee cup with eyes, a nice photo of a clear teapot (which doesn't really read tea to me, I would use a more archetypal tea image), the studio shot of the Hall teapots and the Hot Coffee sign. All nice images, but they don't hang together as a unit very well. I would pick your favorite, then match the other images and fonts to the first.

Can you make the background of the images match the site background color? I always think that give a site a more professional, seamless look.

How are you marketing the site? There are "keyword" services that analyze your site and then make suggestions to help you get good search engine position.

Good luck! Keep us updated on your progress.

[vademocrat]

28. I agree on the type size - I like the font but it is a bit small for

my middle-aged eyes...

[NMDemDist2]

30. whew, thanks everyone! spell check is my friend

esp since I'm doing it in a spreadsheet I really should take advantage of the handy spell check and will before I upload any more.

I have changed the shopping area to reflect the feedback you were so kind to give, still haven't dealt with the front page.....

onward and upward.........

[wryter2000]

31. Nice site

Really easy to navigate. I have one suggestion. When you get to the point of showing several individual items, I think it would be helpful to show the price.

https://www.shop.lottalatte.com/categoryNavigationDocum... For example, here. There's plenty of room to show the prices. That would help me to decide which ones I wanted to look at.

[NMDemDist2]

33. once again a great suggestion! thanks. I need to add them to the

description :sigh:



edit to add check it out now, that looks great and it's a wonderful addition and helps make the site more "user friendly"

[wryter2000]

35. That looks great

I hope you make a bazillion bucks.

[NMDemDist2]

36. arghhh! now I am dealing with click throughs and froogles and meta tags

:dizzy: :information-overload:

[vademocrat]

32. Wow - you've been working hard!

The site is really coming together - Looking good!

[Tab]

37. Just took a quick look

thought the coffee blends could use more descriptive text

and I'd take the "last updated" off of the main page. First of all, it's incorrect - since you've updated it since - and if you don't update the page, it gives the site a feeling of "staleness" ("sheesh - this site hasn't been updated for months!"). If you need to know the date it was changed, you can right click for page info. Instead, I'd put the current day/date on the page, which makes it feel current.

I'd also suggest starting a mailing list - or at least ask people if they'd like to join the list and have a place where they can enter their email address so you can give them a newsletter, or tell them about new items, etc. Even if you don't have a maillist yet, just collect the emails of people interested, and then you'll have them later when you want them. It makes the site seem more active, and when you are ready to do a mailing, you'll know who does (or does not) want to be contacted. That might also be an additional option when ordering but I don't think ordering should be a requirement to join the maillist.

[NMDemDist2]

38. great suggestions all Tab and the products pages get updated most

every day LOL. I'll take the date off the front page

and I'll add some verbiage to get people to sign up (it's an option at the top of all the shop pages but i'll hit it harder on the entrance page. I'm in the process of writing some articles on coffee and tea and they'll be on the front pages too.

i've been so busy getting the product pages straightened out the front page hasn't gotten much attention and probably won't until I finish the articles (next week I hope)

thanks again, all great ideas!