Ivertise Flash Site

[ivertise]

Creating Spice is the flash website of Ivertise Marketing and Web Technologies using the kiteflyer theme to highlight the childlike and playful approach of most business minded and entrepreneurial in spirit toward their dreams, visions, and possibilities. Hope it inspires. Enjoy!

creatingspice.com

[fisicx]

FAIL!

I see the message:

Window too small, maximize window or click for full screen.

At which point you lost my interest. If you can't build an accessible site then you have already lost a high percentage of your potential visitors.

However in the interests of providing a balanced review I continued.

And waited, and waited, and waited. Where is the navigation? Where is the blurb? All I can see is a cartoon of a girl with a kite. Aha, I have to click on her dress. OK, now I see a picture of another little girl holding a kite. What do I have to do next?

I eventually found the navigation down the bottom of the screen and checked: It took 4 clicks to even see what it is you do.

I'm not against flash, it has tremendous possibilities and I'm sure your site will win lots of awards but as a showcase for your services it fails on so many levels.

Sorry about this, the site does look very good but is so inaccessible and unusable that I can't see how it is going to remain viable.

[josha]

I also get a 'window too small message' and spent a while trying to get it work, I quite liked it when it did though, nice concept.

I like to have a choice though - this is a fantastic demonstration of what you can do but maybe it should be linked from a more conventional site, or give an option on loading the page. Maybe the link in the bottom right could be used for this.

I'm very boring I know....sorry, but like I say - I do like the concept!

Cheers

Josh.

[dependx]

Looks like the shape of future internet marketing to be sure. Blasting with unbelievable imagination and design brilliance; but I think you'll find the small glitches that hold you back today.

[ivertise]

EWD,

Thank you for your insight and concern. We do have our target audience in mind and seem to be communicating with them with great success. We've been getting a lot of quality inquiries from the business community we've been trying to reach. I've learned the importance of focused marketing and just making your website speak to your particular segment rather than blasting away to everyone and anyone. Like they say, it seem easier to please those who matter most than try to please everyone. The exploration is part of the user experience as we are trying to highlight a character in those who have a passion in business development. We feel that to move forward we must shy away a little from the conventional do's and don'ts. To make a difference, we have to break out of a mold. I'm happy to say that it has been working out pretty well.

[ivertise]

Josh,

Not at all. I appreciate the feedback. The concept is the vehicle of the message. Thank you.

[ivertise]

Dependx,

Thank you for the kind words. It seem to make more sense to go back to basics where concept and content should be driving the communication. Sometimes all these technicalities and ornamentations can greatly muddle the intention that is why professionals in the industry are now advocating such improvements in Web2.0. We're all looking forward and aiming for a part of that movement. I sure would love to exchange ideas with you with regards to developments on the new approaches of internet marketing.

[fisicx]

Fair enough. Since the website is targetted as a specific sector (as is successful) then that's OK. But I would argue that your prospective clients need to be made aware that the 100% flash strategy only works for a very small niche, it is no good for mainstrean websites. For example, there are almost no successful e-commerce sites built in flash. It;'s very difficult to blog or run a CMS in flash. Flash is poorly supported on mobile devices.

If you are targetting a niche market then good but they do need to realize that it will reduce their search engine and social networking visibility to almost zero.

[fisicx]

The other key issue that determines the longevity of a website is it's usability. The stunning interface you have created works really well the first time you visit the site. After that it has no value. Potential customers will want to return and see the actual content. I want to see before and after comparisons of work you have done. See working demos of sites you have created, Print off the 'spiced up' page...

The actual websites you show aren't actually that special - they look very nice but I could probably find a bunch of templates just like them. What exactly is your USP?

As I said, the site is very clever but it's not intuitive. The casual visitor is not going to hang around to work out what they need to do when there are thousands of other websites that offer the same service you do. Is there a 'real' website where we can see your portfolio?

[ivertise]

EWD,

I kind of agree with you on the point that it works best on the first visit. That is exactly what happens. Clients do start getting in touch right there and then on the first visit. Specially those who are seeking high level flash development services. The site simply shows that we can handle the requirements. The only time I think that they needed to visit the site the second time around is to show it to someone else who they think might be interested.

If you are interested with our USP and with our company website, please visit ivertise.com. The site is built with the framework of Ruby On Rails with simple Ajax enhancements. Our marketing concept and campaign message seem very clear to those who do take action to inquire. As a web developer yourself, I'm certain you also made sure your website is creating the intended impact with your target audience. I will check again on your website and your portfolio to see if I can understand more on what you mean by 'special'. Maybe our community can also look into both of our company websites and maybe learn from your insights as well.

Sadly, as far as I am concerned, I have no intention of having our prospects 'hang around' our website. It doesn't make sense to me. Our call for action is to try get them to get in touch with us immediately, so we could speak to them about the requirements personally, and start off the relationship. For us, it's always about the client and their needs. We avoid, as much as we could, in using the company website as an opportunity to bathe in the limelight and wade in the attention. As long as we seem credible enough for the task by the prospect, we don't need to hard sell ourselves, we roll our sleeves and are just excited to get the work done.

The world is one huge market. We are content with our piece of the pie. I just thought that maybe by example, we might be able to inspire others to throw out the old and get into the new. The Internet and the way it is being used have progressed greatly over the past few years. There are disciplines that no longer hold true these days. Perhaps the interests we are getting are those who care enough to prepare for the future and what Web 2.0 may bring. And perhaps it is the type of market segment we are interested in working with also. Again, I thank you for your insight and concern.