Car Wash Sales & Service

POOR DESIGN

http://newengland.server276.com/

Overall Design:

Ranking 3 out of 10

The basic home page is simple with clean colors and easy to read tabs.  There is plenty of white space and the logo is easy to see and has some appeal.  The problem lies in the professionalism of the site.  The pictures are way too small and there really is not much content.  It is basically a quick history of the company and then fill-forms and information on how to reach the company.  It does not serve a purpose for what is being sold unless you are already familiar with the different styles options of car wash equipment.

Navigation:

Ranking 4 out of 10

If the site has a strong point it is probably here.  It is very simple to navigate as there are only three basic tabs on top.  There are also links within the text leading to same forms to fill out.  There are no drop-down menus and the gallery of four washes is far too minimal for a sales and service business such as this.

Functionality:

Ranking 2 out of 10

This is a niche business whose only customers are established new car dealerships.  This site should function as a marketing tool for customers to gather information on the various options of car washes and components.  It should also help the sales team with marketing brochures like cost comparisons, water usage, cost proformas and other applicable information that goes into the decision to invest in machine that can cost over $100,000 to install.  These are professionals looking for a return on their investment while improving customer CSI and unfortunately this existing site gives them nothing to base any educated decision on what is being sold.  The only purpose this site serves at the moment is contact information and an place to conveniently pay an invoice online.

Content Quality:

Ranking 2 out of 10

There is a severe lack of content on this site which falls in line with its lack of functionality.  There is not enough pictures and a lack of information on the main car wash options being sold as well as the components that can be attached.  There is a basic history of the company showing it is established, but the content would make a professional General Manager or Service Director wonder if the company is still in busines.  The logo is fine and it does allow easy and multiple options to reach the company, that said, it would be helpful to list the key employees that a dealership may be needing to reach whether they are looking for sales, service or accounting.

Site Effectiveness:

Ranking 2 out of 10

This site fails in almost every major category to be an effective website.  The only purpose it serves is for a quick and easy way for a business to reach out and make a service call or ask a question without having to deal with a phone call.  That is a preferred method of many professionals today when the situation can be appropriately handled in this manner as it is quicker and leaves a “paper-trail” for reference if needed.  The site is very ineffective and needs to add major content to turn this into a professional looking and functioning site.

EXCELLENT DESIGN

https://www.midwestcarwashsupply.com/

Overall Design:

Ranking 7 out of 10

This website is set up with pleasing colors and easy to read fonts.  It captures the high-tech and colorful “show” that many car washes use to attract customers today.  The use of pictures is great and helps tell the story behind the business and what it does.  If I have one complaint is that many of the pictures and background themes are too large and are drowning out some pertinent information that a user should not have to scroll down or to the side to read.  Other than that, the layout is clear with applicable tabs and drop-down menus. 

Navigation:

Ranking 7 out of 10

Great use of tabs and drop-down menus on the home page.  There is plenty of information on each page and all the links, videos and pages worked seamlessly and were very quick in loading despite being so large.  There are convenient tabs on the home page for links to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.  I am not sure if I like the placement at the top of the page above the logo but it is a nice feature.  Again, I feel the biggest problem is that the largeness of the pictures and themes forces you to scroll up or down to read a simple paragraph and it can be annoying at times.

Functionality:

Ranking 9 out of 10

This site functions mainly as a marketing and informational site so it serves it purpose well.  There is plenty of content that can be accessed easily and quickly.  The site uses plenty of pictures and videos that work seamlessly to add attractiveness and validation to the vast content.  The web designers did a good job of incorporating easy and multiple ways of contacting key employees as well as the many services the company offers.

Content Quality:

Ranking 7 out of 10

This site has great content.  There is plenty of information on each page and plenty more to research with the use of tabs.  There is probably information overload but not to the point of being turned off by it.  There are plenty of high quality pictures and videos available to help endorse and give life to the otherwise informational content.

Site Effectiveness:

Ranking 8 out of 10

This site would be very effective in attracting a potential customer and/or repeat customer looking for a new car wash and/or service on their existing car wash.  Being an accountant I do like the ability for customers to be able to pay their bills easily online, especially with many businesses now using credit cards, e-checks and ach to pay bills as the use of mail and paper checks continue to decline.  Other than some issues with pictures being too large and the themes overlap too much in many places, this site is excellent and fully functions as a professional and attractive site for their specialized clientele to use.