My Webnation Site

[Benny Smyth]

It's up and I'm rather happy with it.

Would love to hear your thoughts on it, especially if you spot any opportunities to add stuff.

Thank you!

[surround sounds]

it looks good, clean and simple.
Like the layout.
It would be interesting to see how it does in google because mine from webnation is a bit hit and miss compared to my other websites

[Crown Jules]

Clean and easy to navigate. Nice one. Should do well.

[Pe7e]

It would be interesting to see how it does in google because mine from webnation is a bit hit and miss compared to my other websites

My site performs well on very specific search terms, but is not so good on more generic terms, unfortunately it's the generic ones that people use the most.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Site is OK, but jeans and a cut off denim jacket doesn't say 'Premier DJ entertainment' to me. It says slightly scruffy bloke sitting on a box.

That was my first impression anyway..

As the site is a template, it's hard to comment really as it look like quite a few others.

Nice simple layout and easy to navigate though.

[funkymook]

Bit too much negative/scaremongering marketing for my liking, you shouldn't really have to point out you're better than the terrible DJ examples you've quoted.

Agree with Darren about the landing page image, it's a good photo, nothing against it at all, but perhaps not as a first impression for your potential wedding clients.

Otherwise nice clean site, easy to navigate and a personable, friendly writing style.

[DazzyD]

After reading Martin's comments, I looked at your site expecting lots of negativity and negative marketing practices but, in all honesty, I couldn't find them. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with pointing out why you're better than the competition - just look at the current advertising of ASDA, Sainsburys, Tesco and ALDI. They all quote their competitors directly and say "We're better than <insert interchangeable competitor name here> because we sell <insert interchangeable product name here> cheaper than they do". Some would say this is negative marketing but these are some of the biggest retailers in the world and they know how to market their brands. We don't sell a product but a service and marketing our brands means telling people why we're better than our competitors and why they should choose us. So, unless you've edited the copy on your site since Martin's comments, I don't think it's too bad in terms of negative marketing. The text is quite upbeat although, I must confess, I'm not 100% certain of the value of writing it in the third person. It kind of makes me think that you're not totally sure about your talents so you're hiding behind a third person rather than shouting about them from the rooftops yourself. I don't know if anyone gets what I'm saying as I'm finding it quite difficult to put in to words but I'd rather see words like "me", "us" or "we". It makes it more personal because, after all, it's you you're selling and it doesn't get more personal than that. By writing your site in the third person it almost feels like you've distanced yourself from your marketing. And I think you've missed an opportunity there. Just my opinion, of course!

As for the picture on your landing page, I agree it's not the best image for a formal wedding or corporate DJ but it is perfectly fine for the other events you mention. You pull off the club DJ image quite well! Maybe the solution would be clearly defined pages for each individual DJ role with even more clearly defined imagery. Just a thought.

All in all, I think it's a decent site. I quite like it. The imagery looks a little staged (are they stock photos? Not the ones with you in, obviously!) but there a lots of smiling faces and people enjoying themselves. And that's what we sell - a good time. So it works for me!

PS. I will mention a little type on the "Mobile Nightclub" page. The word "punch" has an 'n' in it!

[Benny Smyth]

The word "punch" has an 'n' in it!

God bless a fresh pair of eyes!

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am not sure about what negativity has been referred to. The only thing I can think of is what I say on the Mobile Nightclub page, but I really cannot see how that is scaremongering, so if you can point me in the direction of what you're referring to, that would be a great help.

As for the images, they are in fact real pics from real gigs (they're actually from two weddings - the colour pics are Darren Gair's work from this wedding last year, and the wedding itself was featured in Wedding Day Venues Magazine). I often exchange details with photographers on the night, let them know I do a blog and in exchange for a couple of pics of the rig and people dancing, I'll pop their name, website and number on the end of the blog entry to advertise what they do.

[funkymook]

God bless a fresh pair of eyes!

I am not sure about what negativity has been referred to. The only thing I can think of is what I say on the Mobile Nightclub page, but I really cannot see how that is scaremongering, so if you can point me in the direction of what you're referring to, that would be a great help.

'It conjures up memories of when he was a young lad at his cousin's wedding where the DJ rocked up with his bland light show and his speakers that were held together by gaffer tape, shovelling buffet food into his mouth and spending the entire night three sheets to the wind'


'Along with this, there is the nightclub grade sound system that doesn't have that muffled sound that we all dread'

'Thankfully, tacky mobile discos are a thing of the past'

'Why risk your wedding entertainment to just anybody?'


No one want's to book a tacky, muffled disco run by a drunk greedy DJ (and don't assume everybody has experienced that stereotype in the past), so why mention it? Your positive content clearly raises you above that standard by saying what you do rather than saying what you don't do.

Try reading it without those comments and see if you think it comes across better - I think it does.

[DJIanScott]

No one want's to book a tacky, muffled disco run by a drunk greedy DJ (and don't assume everybody has experienced that stereotype in the past), so why mention it? Your positive content clearly raises you above that standard by saying what you do rather than saying what you don't do.

Try reading it without those comments and see if you think it comes across better - I think it does.

In all fairness, Martin critiqued mine in the same way a couple of years back and he was right. I changed a few things and although it is healthy to point out some differences and pitfalls to clients, the whole positivity vibe isn't just a hippy dream, it reads and works better.