Berry’s Bug Blaster Web Evaluation
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WEB/236 Web Design I
University of Phoenix
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Insert date due

Berry’s Bug Blaster Web Evaluation
The website which was developed for Berry’s Bug Blaster’s is intended to be an informative site for the company’s pest control services. The site contains the up-to-date contact information and features all of the current advertised specials and promotions. Also included is a detailed list of the pests the company handles as well as the current methods used in all services. The intended audience is directed at customers who are currently dealing with pests, or have dealt with pest control problems in the past. Berry’s attempts to attract customers who are in need of their specialty services by offering promotional pricing and a detailed step by step process in which they will make all potential customers place of residence pest free. [Is this regional?]
Berry’s Bug Blasters’ website has several goals: 1. Bring in new customers by having a web presence when pest control companies are searched using search engines 2. Be easily found when previous customers need assistance with a new issue 3. Inform customers of available services 4. Provide customers with contact and address information as well as a way to contact the company directly through the website.
[Goals End here .. the following items are evaluation points. This belongs in strengths and weaknesses] 5. The current layout uses a semi-dark background that is somewhat stale for the eyes of the site visitor. The top of the site uses a purple coloring that does not blend well with the other colors of brown that is used for the main background of the site. The graphics used within the header are too unprofessional and need revision. Butterflies and the starburst graphics do not have anything to do with pest control. Butterflies are not considered pests yet the starburst is somewhat relevant to the “Blaster” of the company name. 6. The shade of brown used is a generic color and can be changed to apply more appeal to the overall content. The suggestion of a white background would be more beneficial to make other aspects of the site more appealing and eye catching. However, the new site will try to maintain a similar theme of colors. [This conflicts with the statement under Strengths and Weaknesses which begins with “Some positive aspects of the site include the color scheme …] 7. Using white as a font color for the “We blast ‘em good ‘n dead” as the company slogan is unprofessional following with the trend of appealing to a younger audience. The use of a bold black color for the font in larger font size such as a pica of 16 or 18 is more suitable. This is also true with the company phone number that is currently in white color using the same font and concept. 8. The idea of using columns to show the pests and the service and delivery methods should be segregated to their own pages to allow for greater detail. Both new pages will follow with the suggested background and page layout of color/font schemes to make it more uniform and appealing. [This is a recommendation, not an evaluation comment] 9. The company name should be in a bold font with larger pica, possibly a 20 or 22 point to display the name more professionally. Having a contact link for emails would be another positive move as well as listing the physical address, and phone number near the company name in a smaller pica font (14 or 16) and the same font style. [Recommendation] 10. The homepage should flow from top to bottom causing the customer’s eyes to read information that is interesting resulting in the continuation onto the other pages of the website. Using the “MONTHLY SPECIAL 10% OFF FIRST MONTHS SERVICE” should be in a black bold font instead of the white color. Maybe using graphics of a starburst similar to the one on the page to emphasize the special. This could simply be used to gain an immediate interest in the current special or offer. [Recommendation] [No positive statements about the site are mentioned here. If you were providing this to the owner, who may have created the site himself or who has an employee who created the site, it is more business savvy to state weaknesses softly while highlight positive points]
Strengths and Weaknesses
Berry’s existing website contains some positive aspects, but still has many weaknesses that need to be addressed. Some positive aspects of the site include the color scheme, which is not too overwhelming or hard on the eyes. The background colors are lighter in shade, and this makes the darker text easier to read, but they are also dark enough that white text can also be easily read. The fonts are large and basic which is good because some fonts and scripts can be difficult to read, and this may turn visitors away from the site. Although this site is only one page, it is fairly clear what type of business this is, and there is a contact number for customers to call for inquiries.
There are several weaknesses as well. There is little actual information about the company. For example, how long have they been in business or where they are currently located? Some other information could be added to educate visitors about the different types of pests and how to control them. The site should be a learning experience to visitors as well as to inform them about how Berry’s can help them. The site is also very basic and plain with no interactivity at all. The site could make better use of the blank space to add some graphics, media, or other content. The pictures should not be in great detail to avoid some users from having an issue visiting the site. Because of the services BBB supplies, the use of a butterfly image at the top of the page may turn visitors off because most people do not view butterflies as annoying pests that need extermination. Also, for any company that has a web site, there should be some way for visitors to contact them through the website, like a form to fill out or an e-mail contact. All that the existing site offers is a phone number.

Site Layout
Another is the sites slogan “We blast’em good’n dead!” It may sound good from a personal standpoint, but not on a professional level. This is something that will be fixed but not be altered too much as to lose the feel that the business is trying to achieve. The section on the website “Pests We Deal With” could use more attention by adding links to each pest to provide the customers some insight with what they are dealing with and how they can affect ones home if not taken care of. The website could also use tabs that will keep the site organized without having to cram too much on one page. The following are some examples of some tabs that could be added, * Home * About the Bugs * About Us * List of Chemicals * Contact Us
The audience will be using the site to get information on the business and what the business is all about. The site may also be an excellent source of information and a place where potential clients can share information amongst themselves. This may include detailed information of each bug Berry’s regularly deals with along with how they can affect their homes if not taken care of. Now we must also consider the audience will also be looking to find recovery information about what to do if damage has already occurred. In many situations individuals dealing with major pest issues may not know until it is too late to take preemptive action. In order to ensure all of Berry’s potential customers are able to obtain the right information we will give them the ability to do the following, * Schedule appointments * Obtain address and phone number information * See current list of chemicals * See information on each bug the business exterminates * See monthly services plans * See how the operation takes place
When evaluating particular aspects such as the site navigation, performance, marketing, e-commerce, and potential online community it is obvious that there much room for improvement. Although the site in a whole is geared towards supplying information there are certain things that can be done to give an overall feel of completion.
One of the main issues is that the site itself is based on a home page that would almost resemble more of a flier then a website. Navigational properties are nonexistent simply due to the lack of the overall content. As we have discussed, integrating separate areas or pages in order to give greater detail to both the client services as well as the pests would give potential users the ability to gather information independently. Educating potential clients is very important simply because it will immediately minimize incoming phone inquiries. Considering that the site itself is supplying only a phone number it may reduce curiosity calls to the call center and increase efficiency.
As we mentioned above the site is only supplying a phone number. This must be corrected for a number of reasons. In a lot of circumstances potential customers may not have the time or the means to make a general call. ? [Good point, are you only including a Contact form?] Segregating the businesses contact information to an individual page will allow the integration of a detailed contact form. This will not only allow users to conduct a simple Q & A but will also allow the company to register potential clients for further marketing purposes. By using a simple form SQL sheet once a customer fills out the mandatory fields it will be entered into the host database. This is a successfully proven method for companies to gather consumer data on a voluntary basis. If this is implemented it will be necessary to include a disclaimer regarding the warehousing of information.
The technical aspects of the site must be considered in order to maintain a certain level of performance. Because of the simplicity of the site, performance should not be an issue. Because the site will be edited there are several rules we must follow in order to ensure a fast browsing experience. First we need to look at the layout and how it will be written. Because this is an HTML site we may consider applying style sheets to enhance performance for the future possibility of integrating an e-commerce portion to the site. Secondly, we must consider the types of media that will be placed in various locations of the site. Using simple formats that are highly supported as well as common will ensure consumers will have little trouble accessing images, video, and documents.
Marketing
Marketing is the main purpose for the sites development. Yet it is lacking many things that could help drive business. One thing to consider is the implementation of a current newsletter that will give consistent updates to ongoing specials or new promotions. Because we have considered using a simple SQL database to store consumer data via the contact form, initializing additional queries will not be difficult. Placing a simple “Sign Up Today” box containing a one line email form will allow the site to have more than one potential way to collect data. Although it adds additional maintenance to produce a monthly 1-page newsletter, the ongoing reward of returning clients is priceless.
Because Berry’s Bug Blasters supplies a service rather than a physical product, we must consider the potential need for e-commerce capabilities. [If regional, is e-Commerce necessary?] Minimizing a type of complex backhaul to a simple cart will enable sales through online services such as PayPal without having to use PHP based script. Utilizing various modules will give us plug and play capabilities with almost no development time. Because these are one stop solutions, it opens up several different avenues. Integrating a pay module for clients would allow for future invoicing and even the possibility for customers to order services through the site itself. Business customers are whom we are heavily considering while making these choices. If a business operator who needs regular pest maintenance could receive an electronic notification such as an emailed invoice, they could simply pay online. This is just one of the many possible benefits to implementing a simple e-commerce solution. [I am not sure I see this as reasonable given that some people will want diagnosis of the problem and an estimate of cost – requiring someone to come out and view the damage.]
We must ask ourselves what the importance would be to have an online community such as forums or a designated Q & A area for BBB’s clients. In our opinion it is very important to designate an area where clients can communicate. There are several reasons we feel this way. For example, customers who may be dealing with very specific issues such as termites may be able to share recovery information regarding damage to their homes or businesses. Not only does the forum allow them to speak amongst themselves, but it also enables admins to provide quality information and suggestions on what they can do to help solve problems. In many circumstances you will find people searching the web for generic information. Because of the way search engines find content, the more information in one place the greater the chance certain portions of the site may populate the higher end of the organic listing areas within the search engine itself. Although this may need consistent administration due to spam, there are simple open source applications that can assist. Forums also have the ability to enable privacy allocations. A user can be prompted to sign up in order to view content. This in return is simply one more additional way to collect consumer data for future marketing purposes. As we can see the benefits definitely outweigh the investment.
There are several positive and negatives to several of these considerations. The navigational aspects need to be mapped correctly with the intent to create a seamless experience. Creating an easy to use environment will keep users coming back to inquire about future promotions or to simply look for general information regarding a problem they may personally be dealing with. This obviously would mean that the forums itself would need to be linked within almost every portion of the site to allow users easy access. The only possible negative is poor planning.
Another thing to consider is the time and or resources that will need to be involved to administrate the other potential areas of the site including the online community, e-commerce, SQL Database, and the marketing tools such as the monthly newsletter. During the continual development we apply a cost benefit analysis to determine which portions if not all will be implemented. We believe that because of the immediate client base, Berry’s Bug Blasters has the potential to grow into a well-developed online resource for potential clients as well as creating a new resource of revenue. Websites are a direct reflection of our business, no different than an office or personal appearance. Currently we do not feel that the website that has been created for Berry’s Bug Blasters shows the professionalism or the great services they offer. Altering the site and implementing these portions will create a new professional web entity that will have an unlimited growth potential.

[The analysis is thorough, but not identifying the target audience reasonably led to suggestions for change that are not realistic for some local/regional companies. Typically pest removal companies are not national, or even statewide. The goals/evaluations/recommendations points at the beginning should have been broken into respective categories. Of these, only the goals are appropriate for introductory comments. … Still overall a nice job]