Can I get some feedback from you awesome people? =)
Hey all!
I’m interested in getting some feedback on the new website. If you could take a few minutes and browse the site and give me some feedback, it would be very much appreciated!
Is the layout simple enough?
Is it easy to find what you’re looking for?
What type of tea would you like to see more of?
A few parts of the site I’m most interested in getting feedback on:
The Tea Wizard
Pages like pure black teas – what do you think about having the products categorized the way they are?
^I’m purposefully only putting a single link on this post so you can better let me know how navigation is.
Also, due to quite a few customer requests, we have new packaging! The new packages are airtight and light resistant and still maintain the same handmade and personalized feel by being labeled with stamps and handwritten steeping directions.
Any feedback is very appreciated! Thanks so much!
Best Regards,
Brenden
www.WhisperingPinesTea.com
Hey there! I personally find that the layout is definitely simple enough and I found it very easy to navigate to find the teas I would be most interested in. I really like how you have your tea types listed on the right with the option to look at blends or pure teas.
I find the Tea Wizard to be a neat way to help those who aren’t too sure what they’d want to purchase. Being someone fairly new to tea, it’s probably something I would use if it were offered by a company I hadn’t tried before.
Fantastic! :) Glad to hear that you like it!
Is there anything you saw that you think can be improved upon?
I do agree with Short Sorceress in that the Tea Wizard was difficult to find. I almost gave up trying to find it, but luckily I gave myself a few more seconds and there it was!
I also find that the large rotating pictures on the main page take away from your company’s name. The pictures are just go big and overpowering in comparison to the small, generic font of your title.
Is the layout simple enough? Is it easy to find what you’re looking for? Yes, I love the changes to the site. You’ve managed to really improve it without making it difficult to find what I’m looking for. I would like to see more consistency in the photographs (I’m a photographer so I tend to get nit-picky about that.)
What type of tea would you like to see more of? Rooibos and Herbal Blends
The Tea Wizard Such a neat idea, but I had to go hunting for it. Why not display it more prominently?
Pages like pure black teas – what do you think about having the products categorized the way they are? I like having the blends and pure teas in separate categories, it makes it easier to find what I’m looking for.
I’m really glad to hear you’ve listened to customer responses about packaging. The only complaint I had about my last order was that it wasn’t in airtight packaging and I had to put it in tins once it arrived.
I don’t know what the site was like before but here are some impressions from a new user:
-Consistency in pictures would be nice, at least on the front page where I see four blends highlighted. It would help balance the page and just makes sense to me to have them all the same – IE close-up or in a bowl or steeped or whatever.
-Links are good, seems clear. On this computer at least I keep accidentally getting drop-down menus when I drag my mouse from one side of the page to the next. It got a little distracting. I think more than anything they take too long to disappear once the mouse is gone as I had 2 or 3 menus visible at once accidentally. Maybe change from a gradual appear/disappear to instant? Maybe it’s just me! :)
-Took me a few seconds to find the tea wizard option and only clicked it because you asked about it, otherwise I likely wouldn’t have clicked explore. Maybe make it a link on it’s own? I do like the wizard itself though. Everyone needs a little help sometimes. I recommend highlighting this feature with it’s own front page link or banner.
-I like the separation of blends from pure teas for those that like just one or the other, but could you also make the main heading have a list of all teas? For example, if I could click on BLACK TEAS and then see all of them without categories, but still go to pure or blends to see them separate.
Was poking around more but work is too crazy. Hope this makes sense!
Thanks for the feedback!
I agree about the consistency in pictures. Some day soon I’m going to re-photograph all of the teas. For now though, it’s difficult. Since all of my teas are blended upon order, I’d have to blend an ounce of all of my teas to re-photograph, and that can get pricey!
I’ve not heard of anyone having trouble with the drop down, but I’ll look into that for sure!
The Tea Wizard is going to be listed on the front page as a banner and probably on the sidebar as well. A few people have recommended that :)
I’ll think about the merging of all tea onto a single page (one for white, one for green, etc) but I don’t think I’ll be doing that. I would have to add an entirely new dropdown menu and I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about the separation of the pure tea and blends.
Thanks so much for the feedback! :)
Taking a peek on another computer with another few minutes – your Canadian shipping is actually really reasonable. From the looks of I’d say you take a loss on shipping to us Canucks but it does put you on my list of possible vendors to try out! I applaud your effort to include us. Makes me feel special. :)
I definitely take a loss shipping to Canada but I love Canada and don’t want to leave you guys without my nature-inspired teas! After all, my teas are inspired by Northern Michigan…riiiiight under you! :)
I really like the site lay out, and that apple oolong on the front page combined with being Michigan based totally got you put into my ‘when I’m not broke’ bookmark folder. I was just up by Traverse City and I fell in love with the energy upstate. I need that back in my soul, and teas a good way to make it happen.
Thanks, Jenny!
Sadly, I’m not Michigan based…yet. I grew up there and leaving was the worst idea I’ve ever had, so I started a tea company and made teas based off of Michigan memories to get me by until I move back (eeek! Next June! :D)
Since you have seen the wonders of northern Michigan, I’d like to recommend a few teas for you to try next time you’re not broke. I think you’ll appreciate these teas. Read the descriptions :)
http://whisperingpinestea.com/applecinnamonoolong.html
http://whisperingpinestea.com/sleepingbear.html
http://whisperingpinestea.com/manisteemoonrise.html
http://whisperingpinestea.com/riverrain.html
http://whisperingpinestea.com/northwinds.html
You should also read this: http://whisperingpinestea.com/whyus.html
Michigan rocks :)
I’m actually from just north of Detroit, so Up North was a whole new world for me. I love me some oolong tea so that might be the first thing I buy. North winds also sounds lovely. I might get some of each. I love that you’re so inspired by the state, and I love the way you filter that inspiration (not just because it makes awesome tea either). I’m a fan of art in all its forms, and what your doing is definitly that.
:) I’ve actually been complimented on my “unusual art form” quite frequently as of recent and it’s been really motivating! Thanks, Jenny! You should also check out the masala chai section if you like chai. We make a realllly good chai! :)
As a brand new user:
- I tried left clicking on one of the links along the side to open it in a new window, and was asked for a password. No idea what link it was now, as I’ve tried to re-create the error and it’s just… gone.
- Loved the drop down at the top when looking at what I’d put into my shopping cart.
- Also took me a bit to find the wizard, however I did enjoy using it. I’d have missed it if folks hadn’t mentioned it.
- Site is easy to navigate, and I loved being able to focus on blends of the various kinds of teas I enjoy.
- Went to pay for my purchase, however I wanted to edit the amounts – and was taken instead to PayPal. Clicked on the back button, and my shopping cart was emptied.
- Adding two items to my shopping cart in different windows only adds one of the two items.
- Ah, I found the link that requires a password: Make Your Own Mate.
- Wow, shipping to Canada was amazingly inexpensive. Thank you!
Hey Bonnie! Thanks for your order!
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- Also took me a bit to find the wizard, however I did enjoy using it. I’d have missed it if folks hadn’t mentioned it.
Glad you enjoyed using it! Do you think that I should have it listed at the top of the site like the other dropdowns?
- Site is easy to navigate, and I loved being able to focus on blends of the various kinds of teas I enjoy.
Great! :)
- Went to pay for my purchase, however I wanted to edit the amounts – and was taken instead to PayPal. Clicked on the back button, and my shopping cart was emptied.
Hmm, very interesting. Usually the cart is saved for 1000 hours. Do you have cookies turned on?
- Adding two items to my shopping cart in different windows only adds one of the two items.
Yes, the shopping doesn’t work very well when using multiple tabs or windows. You should be able to refresh different windows and it should sync the products between them. Perhaps this is connected to the emptied shopping cart problem. I’ll look into figuring that out as well!
- Ah, I found the link that requires a password: Make Your Own Mate.
Hmm, that definitely shouldn’t be password protected. Were you eventually able to get to that page?
- Wow, shipping to Canada was amazingly inexpensive. Thank you!
Canada should be able to enjoy my teas too! :) I hate when companies charge too much shipping! Only costs $8 to ship 8 ounces to Canada so there’s no reason to charge $15+, right? :)
Wizard: Do you think that I should have it listed at the top of the site like the other dropdowns?
… Yes.
Shopping Cart: Usually the cart is saved for 1000 hours. Do you have cookies turned on?
… I do.
Make Your Own Mate: Hmm, that definitely shouldn’t be password protected. Were you eventually able to get to that page?
… No. I just looked elsewhere. Each time I tried clicking on it, I was asked to log in with a pop-up.
Hmm, interesting. I’ll be looking into the maté page and the disappearing cart! :)
Thanks so much for finding these errors! :)
The maté page has been fixed! Now onto fixing the disappearing cart issue.
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