Your Ideal website for dealers?

Hey Gang,

I have a quick question for you. I designed and maintain the www.sportauto.cc website. I know it isn't the flashiest thing around, but I keep getting bombarded with letters like this:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To whom it may concern:

I was surfing the internet and I came across your website. In short you sell top tier automobiles but your website does a poor job of representing your company.

I would like to give your website a complete overhaul. A new website will save you:

1) Money. In the long run the site will draw a greater interest then using other media fields

2) Time. A flashier web site shows the methodology that you have built as a "customer first" approach.

3) Customer loss: In an age where people are looking for the "next" best thing the buyer you sell to does NOT want to see an aged site that looks amateurish. They want the latest fashions, trends and want to buy from someone that is a step above the rest.

If you are interested I can show you a sample of what your site could possibly look like. You will immediately see the advantages."



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Do you as Ferrari owners and buyers want the latest and greatest flashy intro websites? I mean this is something I can do, but I always thought that the simpler the better. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

Steve

www.sportauto.cc

PS

I didn't post this as an advertising ploy. I want to know what real and honest opinions are from real Ferrari owners/enthusiasts,and Ferrari Chat is the place to find them.

 

First, I think your site looks just fine. Second, if I'm shopping, it's the car I'm interested in, not how "flashy" the site is.

 

Thanks Bob,

That is what my first thought was...but I guess after you get a few of these you start to wonder.

thanks again

Steve

 

I also think your site is better than average. What i look for, somewhat in this order:

Ease of navigation; i can get to the section i want quickly, without the thing jamming or putting me through unnecessary torture, whether it's a pop-up or a request for my data. On that score, your site is easy.

Multiple pictures, from many angles, showing the attributes of the particular car, its strengths and weaknesses, ie if it's an old unrestored car which needs interior work, i'd rather see that in clear photos, than none at all.

Informative Descriptions: I get turned off by sales puffery and blather; just the facts, interesting history or options, and other salient details for an educated buyer; i don't need basic facts on the model unless its so obscure that you wouldn't have known what it was, either.

Decent grammar: I know you guys are in the auto sales business, not the literary trade, but typos, bad syntax and other grammatical atrocities are a distraction, and unless you convince me that you are such a toothless ignoramus that you are going to basically let me steal the car, you could take a little time to draft and proofread the text.

I like Autosport Designs site which is even less "fancy" than yours, simply because while it is barebones, it is full of pictures and usually has informative, fairly detailed but readable descriptions that are not to over the top.

 

save your money - your site looks fine. But don't worry - for just a 1/2 a gadzillion dollars I'll ignore them for you Think of the time you'd save for customer service!

My preference for a website is;
1. simple and easy to navigate
2. with real information on the cars in question.
3. Posting asking price is a big time saver, thank you.
I always skip elaborate flash intro's, a waste of time. If we wanted that I'd be playing one of the F1 or GT games. It's about the product, trust, and service - not about the glitz on the brochure.

 

Thanks for all the info guys...that helps me stay concentrated on what is important.

In the future I will take the time to make sure I don't misspell anything as well...I am notorious for that as well


Ciao'

Steve

 

Steve, I like your site as is. No need to change it, It's already very good in my opinion.

 

Only thing I don't like about your site is that I can't afford the TdF blue 550 Maranello on offer...

Have seen your site before and it is just fine as is - plenty of pictures and fairly easy to get around.

Cheers
Kevin

 

Bottom line is that perhaps you should respond to the people writing to you, with an offer that you'll help redesign THEIR site.

 

To tell you the truth I love the Sport Auto site for it's simplicity and ease of searching. The quantity of pictures is great and the layout is fantastic. Many dealerships go too over the top and it is something I don't like to visit.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it."

You're doing a great job, don't worry about it.

 

While the site works for what it is, I can make some suggestions that you can do yourself instead of paying someone else to do.
- many different fonts = very unprofessional. start by dropping comic sans serif (in your menu system). it is just bad, unless you have a lycos or geocities site.
- drop the top banner. it moves in and out, slightly animated and slightly distracting. while it isn't totally out of place, it doesn't have much of a purpose on the site. and that said, if it doesn't need to be animated, don't try to make it animated. this goes for flash or even flashy sites as well. 'welcome to...', might as well skip that. Just say "Sport Auto, An Exclusive Authorized Lamborghini Dealership" (or dealer?) drop the "!" as well. No need.
- get a sportauto.cc email account, but better yet, don't put it on the website for spammers to scrape away. Having just a pointer to your aol.com/forwarding email from .cc account to aol.com account would be fine, so long as the customer sees a bit more tie in with the site account.
- drop the background in the center. looks like out of focus granit and with black text, it can be difficult to read on some screens (LCDs/notebooks)
- menu - try to keep it in the exact same spot on every screen, even moving it an inch or even a few pixels can be distracting. the user will need to relearn or at least research for the menu in each page.
- inventory page - looks good. but.. only one problem, when I click on an item, it takes over the page and I have no choice but to hit the back button to go back to the inventory. keep the menu, even on these pages. figure out a way to do it - and hopefully eliminating the frames while you are at it. Frames work well for this type of layout, but... not always necessary. You *could* just make the piece of inventory open up in a new window instead of taking over the current browser session.

This is just a brief of what I see on the site. I hope you take these points constructively. And if you need suggestions/tips/or any other help, drop me a note. While I don't have time to rework things these days, I can help out on issues and any discussion you would like to have about the site.

 

Steve...

Letters like that from web designers are to be expected... www.sportauto.us is a great site and there's nothing wrong with it... If there's anything wrong with your site, it's that it doesn't list the current owner of 131319, which you had in stock, not too long ago...

In all seriousness, your site is great; don't listen to those solicitors...



(By the way... The two thumbnail pictures of the titanium/bordeaux 550 Maranello (s/n 118275) on the Ferrari inventory page are not hyperlinked - though the title, "2000 Ferrari 550 Maranello" is... )

 

I can't see your website pages on one full page at a time clearly. I have the scroll bars on the top & bottom of your pages. This makes it difficult to see b/c I have to scroll from side to side.

 

Fred, what's the resolution size of your screen...?

 

I don't know. (800 x 600 is one of the settings.....is that the res. size?)

When I go to that site, I see the center (which has the tabs to scroll from side to side) and it has brown edges on either side.

 

It is very important to have proper descriptions of cars. Not just "loaded" or leather/radio/etc.

Rather state which factory options it does or does not have. For example, when looking at an SL500, I do not need to know that it has leather and a nav! I want to know if it has Pantronic/distronic/etc.

If I am looking at a 550, I want to know if it has FHP, CF interior, daytona shelf, etc and etc.

Also, list some form of asking price.

 

Thanks for all the input...I am going to use it...I'll keep you updated!

Steve

 

Brilliant site. I wish some of our European retailers could do as well. Superb selection of photographs.

I would alter the gold/black stripes to a single dark metallic blue, but that's just how it hits me. No need for the spots on the white background either.
Also awkward to scroll from side to side to see the specs.

Wish I lived just up the street !!

Ian.

 

I personally hate those introductions and sound clips.

I always skip through them and find it quite annoying that my computer is being "taken over" by the web site!

 

I like the site and have it bookmarked and browse the inventory weekly to see if there is anything there I am interested in biting on.

The only suggestion I would have is to give more information about the particular vehicle. Such as, dates of last services...not just 30K service done (was it 10yrs ago or yesterday). And a better description of the condition of the vehicle such as the leather and dash etc.

Nice site I wouldn't change the layout or "flashiness" of it at all!! Just more info.

Brian

 

Well, my friend. I have to say that this is the hottest dealer site I have ran into. I am thinking of buying a Mini Cooper for an everyday driver. When I saw their site, its so much fun that I am set on getting one. YOu have to try to build the robot and build the Cooper S. There are some really kick ass stuff on the site to add to the car. Even if you don't model your site after it, its still fun to play with.

 

Steve, I think the people sending those emails are just looking for some clients, by making you think your site is sub-par.

I think the site is great (as is the dealership), especially for what you are doing.

 

Steve:
I get quite the same for my site www.4Ferrari.com . Besides that I have them hosted by my sub site which makes it impossible for some users with harsch firewalls to view, it is also a simple site that gives more information than flashy nick nack.

We are in the biz to sell cars, not websites is what I tell myself. It has to be clearn and look somewhat professional. Your site qualifies. I'd say you are doing an excellent job.

The 2005 resolution will be to get to have this site hosted all by itself for Morzilla and other browsers can access it like Explorer does.

My worry is that if you let them design it they will want your password for your site and that poses a problem to me.

 

Thanks again everyone...This means a lot to me and I will take each reply and apply it to our site. You have no idea how much this has helped. Please stop by the next time you are in the area and introduce yourselves. We love talking with fellow Fchatters


Best Regards

Steve

 

Hey Steve,
I have always really liked your website,

I love the way you do the two thumbnails, with ext. and inter.


I called you a few weeks ago on the 308 QV you guys have

My favorite Dealership website, handsdown is Naples Motorsports.

The always have the best photos, they make me drool everytime.....
http://www.naplesmotorsports.com/94_red_348.htm


John