You gave great advice to nannynick now could you please help me?

[OFSTEDoutstanding]

Hi I have posted on here before that I run a mobile creche for weddings etc and asked if anyone would be interested in helping out occasionnally if bookings required it. The response was excellent and very encoraging. What I would really appreciate is if you could have a look at my website and let me know if it is ok and if anything could be changed etc. I have read the thread from nannynick and you were all so helpful to him so would be great if you could help me too please look here

Is your banner missing from the home page?

It was but not now. Not sure what happened there really but I have just reloaded it and it has come back on! Thanks for pointing it out

First thoughts

• the rotating bullet points are intensely distracting and annoying I'd lose them.
• the background pattern is pretty distracting (and is actually making my eyes go funny)
• the white margin around top and bottom banners is a bit odd and unnecessary - either widen it out or maybe make the background white as well so it's simpler?
• centred text and left justified text... centred text generally looks a bit tacky anyway, tbh, so I would left justify - also, is it a heading or a message? It looks like it should be a heading but goes on for ages. Can you condense it to a short sentence which covers what you are actually selling? "Mobile Creche with OFSTED registered (nanny)?" or something like that?

Message deleted

• blue banner is restful and a nice theme BUT ... not something I would associate with childcare?

- body font should probably be black rather than coloured as it is easier to read and visually sends the message that this is the important stuff.

I agree about the rotating bullet points.

Also, perhaps you don't want the info on here, but I like to read 'About' people. Nick's brochure covers it on his site.

• on some pages you have underlined headings. Underlining generally means link and they're not linked. Also on other pages your headings AREN'T underlined or even look the same. Try and keep a consistent theme throughout the site.

• on the contact us page, the different lines of the address look like they don't belong to the previous one. Change your line spacing to:

Alternatively write to:

Funtime Event Creche,
6 Springvale,
Gayton,
Kings Lynn,
Norfolk
PE32 1QY

or call 01553 636185.

• again, on the links page you have underlined company names, but they're not all links. Remove underlines from unlinked items (and to be honest, it's a bit odd listing business without a website link on a "links" page).

• on "our services" put a line space between the text and the photograph.

This bit is probably being overly picky, but you know you have the title of the page within the banner? I don't really see it there as that's the BANNER (which I've been trained by other sites to "know" it doesn't change). At the same time you have a natural header area on each page with that little greyed out graduated line and aren't using it. I'd move the title of each page there tbh.

Sorry, I've come up with loads. It's actually not a bad site and the things I've come up with are of the fairly minor "polishing" variety

Oh - something else... make it clearer that the things that "drop down" when you go into "our services" are actually sub menus. It's not totally obvious in the left hand navigation bar.

Thanks so much rubberduck for all your comments. I am going to give it a try to change most of the things mentioned over the weekend but my problem is I know nothing about computers so basically this was a website in a box type thing bought online with templates to follow so I don't know how much can be changed with such little know how

Change what you can in dribs and drabs - I learned a lot through using someone else's design on my site and then tweaking it myself Have you got someone techy nearby you could "borrow" for an afternoon?

It would be good to have a list of possible uses for your services.

1. To look after guests children during a wedding.

2. Look after your children in a hotel whilst you go out

3. Office parties

So people have a better idea of what you can do or what you have done previously.

Ooo good idea BE (lol, damn caught... I was meant to be going to bed, wasn't I? Haven't made it yet ... obviously...)

What about testimonials as well?

How about actually saying that for the babysitting in the hotels that it is a listerning service or that you stay in the room with the children. (I personally wouldnt use a listerning service ).

If you need any help in Reading...

what a fantastic idea. I want to organise an event so I can use you! the website looks very attractive. two things - on the "our services" page "nanny for a day" links to the wrong text.another thing - I'm not sure how others might feel - but for m it's almost a bit too corporate - the "about us" page is almost impersonal - I can see you're trying to tread a narrow line between being personal and looking professional, but in the case of childcare, and in the context of what looks like a very professional service, I think you could be a bit more personal on that page. "our partnership" does sound odd. how about "Funtime Event Creche was founded by...." and mention what other staff you use.

Oh, I get to pick at someone else's site now... what fun - Ofstedoutstanding, getting people to pick holes in your site will really help you, my site has improved loads over the past few days.

My First Impressions

• I immediately spotted that you didn't have a Favourite Icon. Mind you, I'm a bit techy so tend to spot that sort of thing.

• I don't like those diamonds. Being animated they do draw attention to themselves, which is good in one way, though bad in that the landing page may not be read. As you know from my thread, my pages used to be very long, they are now much shorter - so with luck people actually read the content.

• Banner, quite like the sky, don't like the font. Does the banner signify anything - outdoor maybe?

• The heading is far too wordy. Cut it down to just "Funtime Event Crèche" and incorporate rest in body-text of page.

• Like the ball pool picture, but it seems to be to be a little on the big side.

• I hate visitor counter's. Use Google Analytics.

The grey borders are annoying

Ditto the animated diamonds, as others have said.

You don't specify what areas you cover?