Guitar Websites

[Jonathan Razo]

I just launched my website this past week, razoguitar.com. (Note- mine is not completely done). But I wanted to reach out to the guitar community to see how exactly I can enhance my website to cater to you, the public. I want feedback as to what you like seeing when you go to a builders/factories websites? what you really dont care for? and what you think might be a cool idea that you havent seen on another guitar site? I just want to make it as user friendly as possible, without leaving out much information, but at the same time unique somehow, dont know how that will be possible .

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated, and will help me identify how to better serve you!

Thanks,

Jonathan

[LeftArm]

Lovely guitars but too rich for me I'm afraid

As far as the web site goes I love the pictures but would like to see what options have been chosen. Which tone woods, construction details and the rest of the specifications and how much the pictured guitar would cost.

Also a bit about each tone wood. Where are they sourced? what sound qualities do they have?

If you have guitars in stock ready built a description and price for these would be good.
I know nothing about custom guitars I'm afraid.

[aerohead]

Wow lovely guitars! Sound clips or video clips like Musicvilla has would be nice. I wish you much success. Thanks for elevating the GAS to a new level!

[HeimBrent]

First of all; it looks really good. The website is fancy enough to stand out, but it's still simple to understand. And don't even get me started on the guitars you're building. If I only had that kind of money to spend on one... But there are a couple of things I would have fixed/added to make it "perfect".

This is splitting hairs, and I know it, but my first thought was "isn't there a few words missing here?" I'm talking about the first text that pops up when you visit the site.

"Thank you for visiting Razo Guitars. These are very exciting times here at the shop, and look forward to sharing the upcoming projects with you all. Please take a moment to browse the website and share us with your friends, also don't forget to like us on Facebook and Twitter."

Shouldn't it for instance be "...and I/we look forward to sharing..." and "...and share it with your friends. Don't forget to like us..."?

As I said, I'm splitting hairs here, but the devil's in the details.

Other than that, the only thing I would like to see is some text next to the pictures when I open them. Just some info about what I'm looking at(the guitars) or why I should care about it(the tone woods). For instance, next to the guitars in the gallery you could write which options where chosen, and next to the pictures of the tone woods you could explain the characteristics of it.

Other than that, it looks great to me.

Edit: ONE more minor thing. I can't for the life of me figure out where you're located. US, sure, but that doesn't narrow it down that much. I would like to see that baked into the "about"-section one way or another.

[LEARNINGAGAIN]

Best of luck. I would like to see a little more about your background and experience---really matters to many. Also your guitar(s)--the reader has no idea as to what you offer--models, descriptions, sizes, etc. Tremendously helpful.

[RiloKiley]

It's a nice website and a great start. Sound or video clips are hugely important. You've built relatively few guitars (I'm assuming), so probably some of your customers will be buying from you without having played or heard your guitars before, hence the importance of soundclips.

In terms of "contact me", I have nothing against the online form, but I would put in an e-mail address there, or at least a phone number for those who aren't big on e-mails or writing.

Also, probably important that you discuss what models you make, their dimensions and so forth. You have the pricelist up, which is good, but I couldn't find a mention of your models, do they all cost the same (Is a parlor the same price as a jumbo?) etc.

Overall, very good start, both with guitars and your website

[devellis]

Looks to me like you've got a great business going and that you're making wonderful guitars. I really like the photography on the website and navigation is easy. The perforated braces look very cool and the idea makes sense to my non-expert way of thinking. The suggestions that others have made are helpful and worth your consideration. But overall, it's a great site featuring a beautiful product. I wish you success.

[racman]

It looks great. The only aspect I always like to see is more detail about yourself. The "About" page is really about your interaction etc, but I think it would great to have a brief Bio of you and perhaps your build philosophy etc...or maybe I missed it.

[Sage97]

Looking great! Nice guitars and fantastic tonewoods!

[drcmusic7]

Jonathan,

The site looks great! I did have problems loading it on my iPad. The cover page was shifted to the left and your name and custom guitars were cut in half.

Very clean and well designed site though!

Kindly,
Danny

[jaymarsch]

Jonathan,

Very nice website. I absolutely love your design aesthetic and look forward to the opportunity of playing your guitars soon. Will you be at Healdsburg this year? I hope so.

Best,
Jayne

[JoeCharter]

Very nice website and pictures.

Great idea to post quality pictures of your stash of woods. I'm sure that will help you in selling more instruments.

The only thing missing in my view is a description of the various models -- but I see that you're currently working on that.

Otherwise, it's unfortunate that www.razoguitars.com is already taken (by a not so great website I must say). For a professional site, I would also suggest having someone qualified review the text as there are a few typos.

Nice going!

[Peacepipe]

I like the overall design choices for the website, but would like to see you go into more depth in the "about" section. You talk about your basic aims as a builder, but I learned nothing about you beyond your aims. How much experience do you have building? Do you have any formal education or training as a luthier or are you self taught? If I were a potential buyer that kind of information would be important to me.

Also under "contact" you should provide a phone number for potential customers to reach you that way. If speaking with you through a simple phone call is unavailable, I would dismiss the prospect of you building a custom guitar on that basis alone. Being able to have an actual dialogue in real time with the person building my guitar would be a necessary condition for me, and I doubt I am alone in that.

It needs a little refinement, but overall I really like the design of your website. The layout was intuitive, so it seemed easy enough to navigate. You are building some very aesthetically pleasing guitars by the way. One other thing I will say as your continue building, is keeping an up to date website is really important. For example Olson's website is completely outdated in terms of the models offered. I'm quite confident Olson is no longer willing to build a 12 string guitar, yet it is still listed as an option on his website. Outdated information is useless information.

Having said all that you seem to be building some nice guitars, and I wish you the very best.

[mikealpine]

Quick response, but reiteration of other posts:
Sound clips an video
Models and spec

[GGinMP]

Originally Posted by LEARNINGAGAIN

Best of luck. I would like to see a little more about your background and experience---really matters to many. Also your guitar(s)--the reader has no idea as to what you offer--models, descriptions, sizes, etc. Tremendously helpful.

I also like to see model details. If you make OM-size, what are the specs. Sure, a custom may be able to deviate, but there's normally a baseline of what YOU think works best.