Official Luthiers Forum!

Well...after all these years as a strict amateur hobbyist-philanthropist, I've decided to try to recoup some costs to support the habit! Check it out http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

The transition from a techno-geek to a marketer-promoter for the time being is a strange one but all too necessary, I suppose.

Feel free to offer any suggestions on the website or any other issues.

Thanks for looking.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Nicely done JJ. I love the way the pictures morph!

One thing I didn't see anywhere (but maybe I just missed it in my haste) was what your warranty terms are.

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

you need higher resolution images for sure...

I visited the site twice...the first time when I was trying to 'backspace' in my browser (firefox) it froze and I got an error message of some sort of script running and had to shut down the browser to get out of it...dunno if that is an issue with your site, the server, or on my end..it didn't happen the second time so perhaps you were fiddling with something and I got caught in the middle of it...

My Two Cents. Let me say that overall I think this is a very attractive web site. It makes me think that you are serious and a professional.

Now you ask for feedback, so here it is.

One, on the home page at the top in "Available Guitar Models", I think you should be able to link to a guitar model page - not just change the picture on the home page.

Two, there should be pictures on the "Shop" page. I don't think builders are the only people interested in seeing your "stuff" (with you in the picture).

Three, if the finish on the guitar is the selling point to consumers, then pictures are the selling point on a web site - include a gallery of guitars!

Thanks, Tony

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Tony Flippo

JJ, congrats on taking the plunge.... but then you just took out the fun of building guitars!

Just kiddin'

Personally I think the site passes on the message but could be done a bit more efficiently and better. If you are a Mac user, I can help you create a site but if you use windows, I could help too but takes 3 times the time and time I am very short on...

But I do think you have a nice starting point.

regards,
Peter

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

OK, you asked for it!

No, I just have a couple of things. In addition to what the others have said about pictures (resolution too low, too few of them) I have a some questions about the text.

You state: Donohue guitars are unlike any other you have played

Quite bold! Some people will probably go with statements like this, because well, how can you know? They'll be wondering why should they take you seriously when you don’t do the same for them.

Contact us and experience the difference a hand-crafted guitar can make.

We're really glad you decided to stop in. Hand-crafted guitars have become my passion and I am very excited to have the opportunity to share that with you. The new site is hot off the presses and more content is coming all the time. Please come back often to see what we are up to

Who’s “us” and “we”? No sense in trying to make it sound like more than a one man operation (unless it is?). Anyways, stick with either "I" or "we"...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Very professional looking JJ. I love the color scheme and the rotating pictures. I think you could use a gallery section to show off your work at a higher resolution. Put pics in the shop section, and when you click on a style option it shows a small picture of that style, but I think it should take you directly to that style page. I know that you can get there by clicking on the red word under that picture but that seems to be an unnecessary step. But those are quibbling points. The major work of getting a serious and professional look to the webpage is done very well.

Arnt - in business, one of the cardinal rules is never refer to yourself....always use 'us'. That's probably why he did that. Public perception studies and survey's have both shown that when the notion of singularity, in private enterprise, arises, the willingness to do business is diminished.

JJ I haven't had a chance to look at it but I have found that most times designers fail in one area...the inherent relationship between good design and intuitive 'surfing'. Too early and on my way out right now to really look but I will.

Chris

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

I never thought of it that way chris, but now that you say it, it makes sense...

the plural (in the case of a business) implies that there is more than one, which implies there is enough 'demand' to warrant 'another' (or 2)....implying demand suggests that there is popularity...etc...

Hi JJ,

All looks good on a MAC with Safari browser. I do agree about using higher resolution photos. Overall impression is very nice and professional looking, easy to navigate.

Good Luck!

Glenn

Thanks, guys...I REALLY appreciate your honest opinions and feedback so far. Some of your suggestions are already in the works but there are additionally some items that have not yet been considered. Obviously it's a work in progress but your initial impressions will help greatly. I will be sending this link to the web designer so that we both can make good use of the feedback.

Adding pictorial content (gallery) will be an ongoing process. My initial concern was to make sure that I could introduce me personally as well as my work to players who know absolutely nothing about me. I realize that selling myself and my competence is the initial impression that will want to make them look further. For me, it's difficult to do this. I hope it has the right touch of confidence, competence and humility. I think Arnt touched on something that we may have missed.

Thanks...and keep your suggestions coming.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Hi JJ --

I think your site, for the most part is very well done, especially the written aspect of it, which to my mind is where most the work lies. Your descriptions and explanations are very thoughtfully worded, free of typographical errors (very important), and contain useful information without being extraneous. I was wanting one of your guitars by the time I'd gotten through your site!

I think the layout of the site is clean and logical, though the color palette feels a bit too sterile for such an organic pursuit. This is probably due in large part to limitations in your design software, but personally, I'm drawn to luthier sites that seem to have fewer hard, rectilinear edges, and instead have a more "natural" feel with fluid transitions. Flash technology is conducive to this.

And as others have mentioned, you definitely need more images, and details, at higher resolution. One other minor nit is that there should be links to each of your models from within a model's own page, so one doesn't have to navigate back to the home page to look at another model.

All in all a great start, and a site I've already added to my "luthier sites" folder for inspiration when I finally feel ready to take that plunge. Well done!

Ken

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Also...if you have comments but don't want to make them public...PLEASE PM me. I really want to hear it all! Thanks...JJ

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

JJ, I too like the rotating photos. Like others have said, you need more of them at higher resolutions. I also agree with Arnt about not using "us" if there is no "us". I think most players will see that as just marketing, but in selling custom guitars it is often the maker (or the name) that people buy as much as it is the guitars. To think that someone else might be doing some (or most) of the building devalues the guitar. I also agree with not overstating the quality of your instruments. Overall a nice professional start.

For me the hardest part about website development was making changes as my building progressed. You want to make sure that that aspect is easy to do and fits your advertising budget.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Nice job. I agree with the points posted above about a greater emphasis on photos. In cases such as this, where personal attention and communication is key to the experience, I think referring to yourself in the singular is preferable. Even if you have employees and/or apprentices it would be effective to describe your role in the process. That's just my opinion, of course. As far as that goes, in the section where you describe your necks, I would use embed over imbed. Again, that's just me.

Nice website.

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George :-)

You have a really good start JJ! So far so good!

The only thing I might add, considering the things already said, is that too much text can make a site boring. No one likes to read long paragraphs when on a new site. Brevity is your friend. Keep paragraphs short and informative. Let the pictures do the talking.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I just wanted to say, "Kudos," JJ.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Good point, Waddy...I can get a bit wordy at times. In particular, I believe the shop section is too textual right now. I'm hoping that the addition of representative pics of equipment, jigs and fixtures, etc. will break up the monotony for those more visually oriented. Also, the "News" section is something I'm hoping will draw repeated interest and hits as I add current building content and pics. Short and sweet comments coupled with pics will hopefully keep the site fresh. Now if I can only get more shop time in place of website work...

Finally, there's a real important element that I want to be able to capture and that's feedback from players. We are primarily builders and are drawn to certain items that may or may not be the same for most players/customers. For those folks it's of primary importance to make sure that their concerns and needs are met. And it those instances, I feel that I need to make sure that they trust in me personally first before they will ever even consider spending their hard-earned money on a custom guitar. So while my first plan to get my builder-friends feedback is happening right now, I'm also interested in knowing what you guys might suggest and what has worked in reaching the player and potential customer for website feedback.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Looks good JJ!! As others have already said, you need more high quality pics to show off your areas. As you say, "my shop is my favorite spot", so let it be everybody else's as well!

Anyway, one technical issue, Lutz Spruce is Picea lutzi, or Picea x lutzi (as it is a hybrid form). I just label it the former myself. It is a Sitka hybrid that can include Sitka, White AND Engelmann. Having said that, Engelmann is almost always absent from the blend in wood that is large enough for guitars (Engelmann is a high elevation spruce and is not large near Sitka populations), so for practical purposes Lutz (pronounced 'lootz', like boots) as used in guitar making, is a hybrid between Sitka (Picea sitchensis) and White Spruce (Picea glauca). I know you won't want all of this on your website but you will want to be able to speak to it if asked.

Good luck
Shane

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Canada

JJ, congratulations on being a luthier with a website that represents the current state of technology and design for the web. That alone makes you seem top notch. Make it more sensory rich and you'll have a complete winner and the possibly best on the net for this purpose.

Remember, the text is secondary to visitors. We want to use your website, and if we're visiting something for guitars, that means we want to watch and listen before we read.

Looking more, I think the darker olive needs to go and the lighter tan section needs to take it's place. Visually and informationally, that section is more important. The model info can be in it's own drop down.

I see your thumbnails added to the shop page. My first reaction was to click, and I wanted them to open up into nice large (700 px+) images via lightbox or something.

Good job JJ, I like what you have done with it and am sure you will tweak it into it final shape over the next little while. The guys are right about more and higher resolution pictures. Showing some of your earlier guitars in a photo page might add a little to the site.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Hi JJ, finally had a chance to view your new site.
I like it mucho. I believe some very good points have been made.
Let me add this--that you work on your photos. Distracting backgrounds do just that, they distract. You need shots with a uniform, uncluttered background. If possible, all the same in every shot. I was a little surprised to see that on the models section your thumbnails opened up different guitar pics. (Different from the thumbnails.)
All that said, I very much realize the effort (and expense) that can go into photographing these instruments. Like me, you might find yourself facing a scarcity of photos.

The bits of text I found readable, interesting and enjoyable. Learned some things I never knew about you, and you come across as someone who thinks a lot about what you do.
But perhaps Waddy's advice is right on target--condense where you can. Maybe you could stand to have a "philosophy" page, where your thoughts on building can be clearly stated, and people know what to expect when they click on that tab.

Great start, amigo. May the site bring you much well-deserved recognition.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Looks great to me, bro! There's a bit of everything for everyone. There's nice pictures and you can even read a bit more, if you're so inclined!

I haven't tried loading it from home, but it seems that it would load quickly enough for dial-up users. I know that you high-speed fiends find this hard to believe, and it's very true that high speed internet is easier to obtain, but still, about half of surfers are on dial-up. It would be wise not to alienate them with super flash heavy sites that take ages to load.

All in all, I like it a lot JJ, and I'll wish you the very best! I'll take mine in flashy red!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I have one more for you JJ. Engelmann Spruce is spelled like in this sentence. And the scientific name is Picea engelmannii.

Hope that helps buddy!

Shane

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Canada