# CustomCO2.com



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

^ This a joint venture between the two of us. We are still trying to figure what directions to take with the site and some feedback would be awesome. 

Anything about the appearance or particular items you'd like to be able to find there would be great.


----------



## mscichlid (Jul 14, 2008)

Great idea. I like the simplicity and color choices. Will you have prices and a cart for the ready to ship? Congratulations and good luck on your venture.


----------



## VeeSe (Apr 16, 2011)

At first glance of the homepage, it looks well done and like a site that I would buy from (without knowing that it was you guys). However, once I click through to some of the subpages (equipment, pictures, etc), it does start to look very plain and basic, like it was rushed and not too much effort was put in. That being said, I know it's just started and a work in progress. I think it's a great start, and as you continue to jazz up the site, add pictures to the "Equipment" section, work on the font/coloring and add more information to the subpages, it should continue to look good. One suggestion that I would look into would be some kind of banner at the top in the current spot of the plain title "Custom CO2 Regulators". Anyways, I didn't spend that much time looking at it, but I like it and it looks awesome. If the venture goes well, I may even buy from you guys when you get it going! Thumbs up from me.


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

nice and simple. almost too simple, looks almost like a blog not a store. 

also, and about us section would be awesome. a cart and a price list and/or items you can buy.


----------



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

mscichlid said:


> Great idea. I like the simplicity and color choices. Will you have prices and a cart for the ready to ship? Congratulations and good luck on your venture.


Yes, there and click on it and pay button. maknwar sold the regulator there yestday and we haven't added any more yet. That's why you can't see it.


VeeSe said:


> At first glance of the homepage, it looks well done and like a site that I would buy from (without knowing that it was you guys). However, once I click through to some of the subpages (equipment, pictures, etc), it does start to look very plain and basic, like it was rushed and not too much effort was put in. That being said, I know it's just started and a work in progress. I think it's a great start, and as you continue to jazz up the site, add pictures to the "Equipment" section, work on the font/coloring and add more information to the subpages, it should continue to look good. One suggestion that I would look into would be some kind of banner at the top in the current spot of the plain title "Custom CO2 Regulators". Anyways, I didn't spend that much time looking at it, but I like it and it looks awesome. If the venture goes well, I may even buy from you guys when you get it going! Thumbs up from me.


We are currently in the process of photographing a bunch of parts. So far we've just used what we had on hand as far as photos go. 



orchidman said:


> nice and simple. almost too simple, looks almost like a blog not a store.
> 
> also, and about us section would be awesome. a cart and a price list and/or items you can buy.


This is exactly what we needed guys. Thank you, and keep it coming.


----------



## eser21 (Apr 19, 2011)

looks nice and the regs look professional and shiny! what guys dont want to buy shiny things!!
something to consider later... rather than a testimonial style page an 'our customers tanks'..??
when i want to spend money on something new to try an achieve an 'idea' if there are inspirational pictures i will convince myself i need to spend more than i planned.
just a thought?


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

awesome comments everyone. Keep them coming.


----------



## Booger (May 17, 2004)

Couple things:

1) Create a need. These things look dangerous, complex, and intimidating. In the simplest terms possible, what is CO2 injection and why do I need it?

2) Make a value proposition. Why should I buy it from you? What differentiates you from all the competition that is cheaper and more readily available in most cases?


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

Booger said:


> Couple things:
> 
> 1) Create a need. These things look dangerous, complex, and intimidating. In the simplest terms possible, what is CO2 injection and why do I need it?
> 
> 2) Make a value proposition. Why should I buy it from you? What differentiates you from all the competition that is cheaper and more readily available in most cases?



Definitely. I will work on that.


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

thats a good one booger.


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i think you should give me a free sample :flick: :bounce: JK


----------



## Booger (May 17, 2004)

orchidman said:


> i think you should give me a free sample :flick: :bounce: JK


I asked for a free sample and look what showed up! My lucky day.


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

lucky man!


----------



## AtlPlants (May 19, 2011)

Overall, I think it looks good. The following are the things that I noticed that could use improvement:

*Home page:
*"If your looking..." should be "If you're looking..."
However, this sentence turns me off, because perhaps I'm not looking for the BEST possible regulator, so perhaps I haven't come to the right place. I'd suggest something more like, "We take pride in assembling the highest quality regulators at the lowest possible cost." You would then be saying the same thing, but without sounding like your market is such a niche.

Also, in the very last sentence, "Ordering" page should be a link. Anywhere that you refer to another page, you should make the reference a link to it.

*Equipment page*:
This would sound better if you said something like, "For your custom built regulator, you can select from the following component manufacturers."

*Gallery page:
*I suggest pictures that do not show a backdrop of someone's house. You could throw together a simple "photo booth" made of a large cardboard box lined with a neutral fabric to get much more professional looking photos.

*Ordering page:
**Payments* - I suggest turning the payments description into a sentence since your other bullets are in sentence format. For example, "We accept Paypal, money orders, and cashier's checks."

Also, you're missing the apostrophe in "cashier's."

*Shipping* - The first sentence doesn't make sense to me. Grammatically, you would at least need to put "is" after "size," but even then, I still don't know what the sentence means.

*Build time* - This section is too ambiguous, and leaves me thinking "I have no idea how long it takes these people to build my regulator." If possible, give some sort of estimate, and if saying that the customer needs to contact you for an estimate, make it sound fancy like "an estimate of how long we'll need to custom fabricate your quality regulator."

Also, for some reason (and this may be specific to my browser) the word "contact" in the second sentence is wrapping lines between "con" and "tact."


----------



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

AtlPlants said:


> *Gallery page:
> *I suggest pictures that do not show a backdrop of someone's house. You could throw together a simple "photo booth" made of a large cardboard box lined with a neutral fabric to get much more professional looking photos.


I tried getting a better pic. Will something like this work or do I really need lots more light and a real backdrop? (Arrr... I think I may have answered my own question)

-Regulator shot









-Close up of a post body








Great stuff everyone! We have our cut out for us


----------



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

My impression is that it seems a bit unprofessional and unrefined, so hopefully you'll keep going with development in general and bring up the level of quality and reliability that you want to convey to clients.

- yes, more professional looking photos is a much
- improve copy throughout the site
- your ordering procedure is pretty rough. customers expect a formal shopping cart with a proper checkout
- information such as shipping, etc. should be crystal clear and avoid ambiguity


----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

Main problem with your pics(the last one) is that half of it is out of focus. More light, back up. You could get a cheap studio light/and a backdrop from ebay for about 80 bucks or less. You don't need strobes and all that. 

I'm horrible at taking pics of my products, but that is why I don't have pics of each of them on the site. 

It looks very much like a standard one off site. If that is the most of your ability, I suggest a simpler, white design. That is the way I went, and it helps clean it up. Colored backgrounds are great for blogs and personal sights, but they load slower and looks less "refined".


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

Dave-H said:


> My impression is that it seems a bit unprofessional and unrefined, so hopefully you'll keep going with development in general and bring up the level of quality and reliability that you want to convey to clients.
> 
> - yes, more professional looking photos is a much
> - improve copy throughout the site
> ...



I understand what you are saying about the shopping cart, and the checkout procedure. I guess the site is more of a contact us then we can build you what you want rather than, this is what we have. Prebuilt regulators would have a paypal checkout, which is rather simple once you push the button. It would have shipping included in the price so what you see is what you get.


----------



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

OverStocked said:


> Colored backgrounds are great for blogs and personal sights, but they load slower and looks less "refined".


A colored background may increase load time nominally during the first page visit, but that is probably not a relevant factor in the performance of your site. 

A white background is generally considered a good choice for larger retailers who want a clean background and need to cram as much content as possible onto the page without busying it up. The load time isn't really a factor in that choice, although technically it would save a tiny amount of data on the user's very first visit.

A professional looking site that has all of the information that a 'real' business should have is much more important than the nuances of your design, really. Good product photos are important, but more important is projecting an image that makes people trust and want to buy from you.

Things like the 'about us' page build confidence, and it's ok to describe yourself as a tiny business, a one-man show, etc. Your goal is simply to give SOME personality to the business so that it doesn't seem like some sketchy, anonymous site that may disappear tomorrow.

Things like the 'webhosting by iPage' reduce confidence. It's harder to trust a business that won't invest a few bucks into hosting that doesn't put an ad on the bottom of the page. It's also hard to be confident about ordering when there is no shopping cart and the ordering page doesn't tell you much.

My advice would be for you to really review some small businesses that are retailing on the internet and see if you can copy the consistent 'best practices' that you'll see all over the place. 

Another factor that makes people less confident to buy is the templated site that you are using. I can tell by looking at it that it was generated by a dropndrop type builder, which isn't surprising since I've been in the WWW industry for 15 years. However, members of the general public are quickly developing an eye for these things so you want to be careful about not looking like a freebie-brochure site. That exact same template that you are using is in use by tens of thousands of sites around the web, which doesn't help you much.

Another thing you can do to help send the right image is to have informative content/articles about your products and the topic of CO2 in general. This is also great for SEO, but mainly it reminds people that you are experts in that field. If I am going to buy from you, I want to see that you have expertise but instead I can't find any information about who you are or why I should trust you.

A very cheap way to get a shopping cart going is to move into wordpress. wordpress is incredibly popular and free except for the hosting. You can find free templates all over the place and with some help could rebuild the site complete with a shopping cart and a template that may not be unique, but is rare. The problem with wordpress for retail is that if you are successful, you'll usually outgrow wordpress within a few years but that's not a bad problem to have.


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

OverStocked said:


> Main problem with your pics(the last one) is that half of it is out of focus. More light, back up. You could get a cheap studio light/and a backdrop from ebay for about 80 bucks or less. You don't need strobes and all that.
> 
> I'm horrible at taking pics of my products, but that is why I don't have pics of each of them on the site.
> 
> It looks very much like a standard one off site. If that is the most of your ability, I suggest a simpler, white design. That is the way I went, and it helps clean it up. Colored backgrounds are great for blogs and personal sights, but they load slower and looks less "refined".



Im getting the idea the site needs a new background, better graphics. That will be first on my list.


----------



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

OverStocked said:


> Main problem with your pics(the last one) is that half of it is out of focus. More light, back up. You could get a cheap studio light/and a backdrop from ebay for about 80 bucks or less. You don't need strobes and all that.


*oldpunk runs to the store!!


----------



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

maknwar said:


> Im getting the idea the site needs a new background, better graphics. That will be first on my list.


I'd put that last on the list. Graphic design and photos are important, but not as important as having a clear, coherent sales offering that makes sense to customers. Don't worry too much about pretty pictures - some really ugly websites can sell very well if they are properly written and organized.



maknwar said:


> I understand what you are saying about the shopping cart, and the checkout procedure. I guess the site is more of a contact us then we can build you what you want rather than, this is what we have. Prebuilt regulators would have a paypal checkout, which is rather simple once you push the button. It would have shipping included in the price so what you see is what you get.


So, you need to explain that in clear, friendly language. When people go to a website that is selling things, they expect a shopping cart.

If you are focusing on custom builds, then you should at least have some kind of a 'get a quote' type interface to help customers know what to do. 

Also, you are making an assumption that is questionable: you are assuming that customers will, in fact, 'contact you so that you can build what you want'. 

That is like saying to customers, "We make regulators. If you want to know what we have or if we have what you want, you will have to email us and ask us. If you want to know any prices, you will have to ask us and wait for us to respond. Oh yea, and you have no idea who we are or why we think we can do this"

If you are going to take that approach, you should really modify the site massively so that:

1) there is a CLEAR explanation of the process, including the timing , etc.
2) there are pricing examples and recommended setups
3) there is information about WHY someone should bother buying from you rather than at GLA, where everything is crystal clear
4) you should make a much bigger deal about the 'custom' part to avoid the 'where's the shopping cart' questions


----------



## larams67 (Jan 24, 2006)

For your photos you could use anything white for a background. IMO products look best with plain white. Poster board would work good...

For light maybe try setting up with light from a window hitting your product at an angle and then some more poster board on the other side to bounce the light back. To get that really white background shine a light on the BG poster board directly behind your product from off camera.

If you tinker with those basics you can get a pretty good product shot without a bunch of equipment.


----------



## mscichlid (Jul 14, 2008)

Look at a couple of sites that sell products and look at what they have in common that makes them successful. For example' GLA is plain and simple and elegant. It's to the point and takes you where you need to go.

Don't use fonts that are in the family of 'comic sans', script or handwriting. Use one font family (or two) and use their family styles for contrast; bold, light, medium, heavy, condensed, etc.

It's a lot to take in, but it's the face of your company.


----------



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

I sure do LOVE forums. You guys are a tremendous help.

I played around with a white background a little. I think it still needs more light but I'm on the right track. Compared to the other photos, I think this is a real improvement:










I've got to take so many pics...


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

Dave-H said:


> I'd put that last on the list. Graphic design and photos are important, but not as important as having a clear, coherent sales offering that makes sense to customers. Don't worry too much about pretty pictures - some really ugly websites can sell very well if they are properly written and organized.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So ive been thinking about this for a while because your absolutely right. If i was going shopping for a regulator, i want to see some prices. At least a ballpark range. Contacting someone, waiting, then replying back, waiting.......



How about this. A picture showing the components of the build, and a general price of what it would cost?

Would you want to see that on the first page? I think once we get that cleared up, the rest should fall easily into place.


----------



## robbowal (Mar 27, 2011)

maknwar said:


> So ive been thinking about this for a while because your absolutely right. If i was going shopping for a regulator, i want to see some prices. At least a ballpark range. Contacting someone, waiting, then replying back, waiting.......
> 
> 
> 
> ...


*
*

My self I would like to see a basic set up for each regulator body with a basic price for that base set up. and then an option under each to customise/upgrade/configure. 
That way the thrifty spender can get a base model they want and the pro can customise to their hearts content.
oh yes and international shipping 
but I think we (in the UK will need adaptors) as there is a thread size difference


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

So your saying that you would want to see the regulator built, then have the parts used listed? Then give an estimate for upgrading to stainless, or any other option available? ( dual needle valve, upgraded needle valve, etc)


----------



## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

How does this look oldpunk78?


----------



## robbowal (Mar 27, 2011)

maknwar said:


> So your saying that you would want to see the regulator built, then have the parts used listed? Then give an estimate for upgrading to stainless, or any other option available? ( dual needle valve, upgraded needle valve, etc)


Yep pretty much that is it.
As I said a basic regulator built with the lowest cost in mind for each individual regulator body (that way it can be customised/upgraded by the customer by replacing parts with better quality needle valves or SS or dual outlet) that way you have a starting price point for each regulator body type and they can be built on from there. 
So first you chose the body type with base fittings and then as you upgrade parts the basket price changes accordingly 
because every body will always look for the cheapest option first and then upgrade from there.
It is always nice to see a basket price change when you swap out one thing for another (have a look at the apple site and custom configure a computer from there to get the general idea of what I am talking about.) that way you know how much it will be instantly and buyers are more likely to buy when they don't have to work out the differences themselves.


----------



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I think you need to organize the product offering in a way that makes sense for both you and your customer, so think hard about what you are able to offer and what people will want.

Regardless of how you do it, you need to be very clear about what people can expect. I don't think it's necessary to have a full blown shopping cart that lets people part out a system. Instead, you could just have a few basic systems that you offer, then put a bunch of information about modifications that you could make, upgrades, etc. with details about cost, etc. 

The key is to set customer expectations, then meet those expectations.


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

Thanks Dave.


----------



## sajata (Aug 21, 2009)

Josh,

You need to make the backgrounds of the photo's solid color, white or light gray. Frame it like a Picture; however, on the gallery pages use thumb nails that when clicked through take you to a larger picture with a short description and a price. if you don't offer "stock" setups at a MSLP then you need to call them previous builds with approximate price. If you do offer "Stock" setups I would give each setup a name so that is is easy for a customer to communicate to you which setup on the web page they are looking at. 

On your home page you need to explain to people why they need to order form you what makes you different from all of the other places on the web to order CO2 stuff. You do not have brand recognition so you need to build it with your stated disorientation. 

Price is Key to on-line sales with buyers ability to surf the web looking for better deals you need to make sure that price is available to the buyer. it does not have to be exact but an indication of what people should expect to pay for the pictured item.

I would stick to Paypal. anything else puts you liable for protecting your clients personal data. with paypal you have zero risk. both physical or electronic.

on the equipment page you should put some detail about each item and list what you believe are the reasons you offer that item.

the Good, Better, Best marketing model works very will in the consumer market place, and offering the a Good model may not be in your market segment so you may just want the better, and best products. 

what you are selling is engineering expertise and service. These are the only places you can innovate. you are not an OEM just an integrator. Why are you better at engineering, why is your service/support is better. 

in the end give people a choice and tell them why buying from you is in their best interest. 


Good Luck...


----------



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

sajata said:


> Josh,
> 
> You need to make the backgrounds of the photo's solid color, white or light gray. Frame it like a Picture; however, on the gallery pages use thumb nails that when clicked through take you to a larger picture with a short description and a price. if you don't offer "stock" setups at a MSLP then you need to call them previous builds with approximate price. If you do offer "Stock" setups I would give each setup a name so that is is easy for a customer to communicate to you which setup on the web page they are looking at.
> 
> ...


I think you might be confusing the word 'branding' with having good sales copy. No branding effort is really needed here, just better sales info on the website. I don't think this consumer market will really view them as an integrator rather than an OEM as much as they'll see them as a retailer with product expertise.

It would be helpful, though, to determine exactly who who you are marketing to before you develop your sales copy. Who is your customer?? What are they looking for?


----------



## larams67 (Jan 24, 2006)

tuffgong said:


> How does this look oldpunk78?



Your getting close. Even the back light up and you've got it.


----------



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I would really urge you to put the photo quality on the back burner and figure out your sales message and strategy for the site.


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

Dave, ive got some work to do on it. I dont really have a good camera to take pics so thats going to be oldpunks department. Ive been unable to work on the site this week but now i know what to put on it. Thanks for your help.


----------



## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Dave-H said:


> I would really urge you to put the photo quality on the back burner and figure out your sales message and strategy for the site.


Very good point Dave. Don't worry, we know where the priorities lie. 

Oddly enough, we (probably mostly 'I') hadn't really considered a whole sales strategy before starting this thread. Good thing we did, huh? 

We can build regs and source parts like champs but when it comes to putting thoughts down on a page it's a little harder. After doing a lot of thinking and even more paying attention to what the market really needs that the whole custom part of the site will probably take the back burner for a while. 

Don't misunderstand me though. I am totally committed to being able to build people exactly what they want. That's one of the main reasons there will not be a build your own reg section. I don't want folks buying things they might not need or don't fully understand. For me, that kind of build takes one on one interaction with a customer. 

The main thing we are working on first it to try and come up units that either match or exceed the competitions quality with a lower price. This is not that easy and there's a bunch of work ahead of us. 

One of the main things I've learned here on the forum is that price often wins. I've also noticed that a lot of people don't really have a good idea of what makes a regulator "a good one". That can really hurt when we're offering high end regulators. 

-Josh


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

I have updated the front page. Check it out and see if you would buy from us if say you used google and had no idea who we were. Im going to work on a format that allows us to Put regs on it, then list upgrades. Do i need a page explaining the upgrades?


----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

I think one of the things you guys need to do on top of the "custom" setups is to offer a few standard setups using off the shelf setups. I know, you're trying to target a special niche, but i think in the end it will be better for you guys. 

A few of the standard regs with a few pre setup options that can just be click and bought. 

My 2 cents.


----------



## sevenyearnight (May 1, 2011)

This is coming from a low techy, I'm actually so intimidated by the complexities of these CO2 units, that I'm often finding myself afraid to ask questions lest my ignorance provoke pretentious, condescending responses. There is nothing on the site that led me to believe professional courtesy would not be the case, but as far as customer questions, I would hope it would be helpful, polite, and but overly complicated right at first. I hope this makes sense. A lot of people I think steer clear because it seems overly complicated
Also at some point in time have pictures of the units set up to the awesome lush aquariums would be a good way to enchant and inspire people.
The intro was sincere with a high relatability factor, I can see that many people would be inclined to trust your work.
Also I think this was kind of mentioned, but if you had units listed and what type of tank set ups it would best suit.


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

sevenyearnight said:


> This is coming from a low techy, I'm actually so intimidated by the complexities of these CO2 units, that I'm often finding myself afraid to ask questions lest my ignorance provoke pretentious, condescending responses. There is nothing on the site that led me to believe professional courtesy would not be the case, but as far as customer questions, I would hope it would be helpful, polite, and but overly complicated right at first. I hope this makes sense. A lot of people I think steer clear because it seems overly complicated
> Also at some point in time have pictures of the units set up to the awesome lush aquariums would be a good way to enchant and inspire people.
> The intro was sincere with a high reliability factor, I can see that many people would b1 inclined to trust your work.
> Also I think this was kind of mentioned, but if you had units listed and what type of tank set ups it would best suit.


How could we make it simpler, more info on the FAQ page?


----------



## maknwar (Aug 10, 2008)

OverStocked said:


> I think one of the things you guys need to do on top of the "custom" setups is to offer a few standard setups using off the shelf setups. I know, you're trying to target a special niche, but i think in the end it will be better for you guys.
> 
> A few of the standard regs with a few pre setup options that can just be click and bought.
> 
> My 2 cents.


Like azoo and Milwaukee?


----------



## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

OverStocked said:


> I think one of the things you guys need to do on top of the "custom" setups is to offer a few standard setups using off the shelf setups. I know, you're trying to target a special niche, but i think in the end it will be better for you guys.
> 
> A few of the standard regs with a few pre setup options that can just be click and bought.
> 
> My 2 cents.


I agree with this, and I would take the note a step further and ask you, 'who are your customers? are you sure that they only want custom setups? why?'

In other words, I would try to create in writing a clear profile of your target customer. Who they are, what they want, what drives them, what information they want/have, what will make them trust you, etc. Once you understand the customer you are trying to reach, this gets easier.

For example, I myself ordered a setup from GLA. I didn't really want or need a custom setup, because my customer profile is that of a customer who is willing to pay a little extra to make sure that I have a good system, isn't interested in DIY, and want to have support post-purchase. GLA does a great job servicing a customer like me and I chose from their pre-configured setups. A 'custom' setup would not be of interest to me, but the offer of ongoing support from GLA got me to buy.

So, I would ask you: what drives someone to buy a custom CO2 setup? It seems to me that the GLA approach to selling CO2 setups is well designed to attract people who don't want custom/DIY, they want trust, service and support. 

Once you are clear on who your customers are, it's much easier to decide what to show/offer them.


----------



## sevenyearnight (May 1, 2011)

Ok, I had a couple auto correct swypos, I meant to say relatable, not reliable, and be, not b1 lol.
An extended FAQ page would be a great idea indeed. Include stuff fretting wives and husbands would ask, like, "Are these tanks and stuff going to blow up the house?"


----------



## sevenyearnight (May 1, 2011)

I like shiny things, I expect new things, that I spent some money on to be shiny, I expect used things that I spent little money on not to be shiny. I would be delighted to get a used shiny thing, disappointed if a new thing was not shiny. I'd wonder, "Did I just spend new price on used thing?" I'd wonder this with a frown.


----------

