Part time consulting

justus1

Hello all, I was hoping that I could get some advice. I am thinking about starting a part time business centering around information security consulting. I have set up a website, and have a newsletter, and I would like some input and constructive crtiticism on the site and the feasibility of the part time business. Thank you.

Netstudent

What is the URL?

justus1

Sorry, the url is www.computercrutch.com. The link is also located in my profile. Thanks.

Netstudent

well I'm not am expert in webdesign but I will give you some opinions.

The little picture on the homepage that takes you to the webmail system looks a little unprofessional. It kinda looks like a cartoon avatar or something. You have two home buttons that take you back to the home page while both are visible all the time. Seems a little redundant, but I like the orange home button better than the main menu home button. The menu buttons seem a little big. Maybe you could make each "button" a little smaller so that the menu was 1 single row instead of having "about" and "privacy policy" below all by themselves. Then you have this long 2nd row with nothing there. That row kinda looks like a gaping hole like something should be there. One more thing, the word "Computer Crutch" on the homepage is bold and underlined and it looks kinda basic and rudimentary. Maybe you could make that a litte more flashy like maybe it wasn't just done in WORD or something. Again, i'm not a graphic artist or a web designer so this is just constructive criticism like you asked.

What I do like though is the grid and global backround. That is pretty cool and kinda innovative looking. One thing you might add later down ther road is a section that describes the projects you have done and any reputable companies you have done work for. Like a little personal portfolio section. All in all it looks pretty good for an up and coming little business.

dynamik

I've done web design for over a decade, and here are my thoughts:

It looks really dated. This was the first thing that came to mind. It looks like sites that were out there 6-8 years ago.

Your roll-over images aren't preloaded, so it takes a second for them to show up the first time you hover over one of your buttons. There is actually no need to use images for this. It increases your load time, and since you're using a standard font with the same background in each one, you could accomplish the same thing by using css changing the background image on hover.

You have a bunch of weird urls. Such as the extra "." after ".com" and before the "/", such as http://www.computercrutch.com./page2.html and your links to your images, such as: http://computercrutch.com///computer.jpg (also, downsize this image in an image-editor, such as Photoshop, and it won't look all aliased like it does on the front page. Always display images at their actual size. Browser image scaling sucks). Also, come up with meaningful page names, and not just page2, page3, etc. This looks more professional and will actual have them rank better in search engines.

Use external javascript (there's really no need for this on your site, use css :hover for images) and css files, so you only have to update them once instead of having to update them on every page. That's the beauty of css. You can change the look of an entire site by modifying a few parameters in one file.

Information Security Consulting is hard to read with the white line through it.

I'd reword the copy to be more professional if you're targeting businesses. I think it's fine if you're targeting home users, but things like "good guys" and "bad guys" seem to make it more casual. I'd consider hiring a copy-writer or finding a friend that can really make it pop. Especially on the main page. That's your big first impression.

The orange accent link at the top isn't bad design-wise, but it's redundant since you already have a home button. It might be useful if was something special such as a client login section, but it's just unnecessary clutter at this point.

I'd make a separate "contact" page. I know you have your email on the front, but it's a common practice, and people may not think to return to the home page for your contact information, and may not think to use "free quote" for other communication. You could also move the yahoo group signup to that page since it looks a bit tacky on the main page.

You may want to consider another contact form as well. You're going to start getting a boatload of spam if you just throw your email address out there like that.

Put a portfolio or some other section up detailing your past projects. This would be the first thing I'd look at if I was considering your services for a business.

Maybe have separate sections for "business services" and "home services"

Try and make the top navigation one line or add the additional categories and make it fit evenly in two or try listing them vertically in a side bar.

I'd save the top image as a .jpg instead of a .gif. Gifs are limited to 256 colors, which is why it looks like it's poor quality.

Make more meaningful page titles and meta description for better search engine results.

I know all that sounds harsh, but I wanted to give you some serious feedback, so you can make it better. I'm not just being a jerk Please, above all, do not get discouraged. Web design is an absolute pain. I'm quite experienced, and I still learn new things on a daily basis. If you're a beginner, you really did an excellent job. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions , and I'll help you as much as I can.

garv221

Form an LLC, get professional business cards and ditch the Google Ad Sense. Also, when selecting a link on your page, another page should show up within my browser. It makes it very easy on the user. Your page should be at the highest quality as you are in computers. Keep up the good work and good luck.

sprkymrk

I have to agree with the other's comments so far. It's a good start, but for the reasons mentioned by the others you may not be able to attract the business class client, just a few home users (and you know how little they want to pay for services).

I would like to add one comment, and this was my very first impression based on your home page where you state:

Founded by Justus Tibbetts

Using his extensive experience in information systems, systems administration, and information security, Justus can provide you with the correct approach to fix all of your information security needs.

justus@computercrutch.com

All these things (and your "About" page) just scream out "I am a one man shop, not a small business or company". If that's the impression you want to give, then that's fine. But if you want to attract bigger businesses then I would replace or remove the references above. For instance, create an email address of "customerservice@computercrutch.com" or something similar. You can leave the "Founded by" if you want, but it sounds a little cheesy. I would only recommend a "Founded by" statement if the individual is famous or if there is an intersting history or fact that goes along with it, like "Founded by former NASA engineers" or something. Change the "Using his extensive experience... Justus can " to something like "Using our extensive experience in.... we will...."

On the "About" page, I would say something along the lines of "About our Founder" or "About our President and CEO, Justus". Leave off the BrainBench and CompTIA stuff, and just replace it with something like:

Background

Justus has an extensive background in Information Technology, Telecommunications and System Security, including ten years with the Department of Defense. Among other responsibilities, he was also a certified Navy Network Security and Vulnerability Technician. Justus also holds the prestigious Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, which is the premier security certification in the industry.

Good luck!

justus1

Wow, that is some really great input everyone. It looks like aI have some work to do, but I really appreciate all of your help. Thanks again!!!

sprkymrk

justus1 wrote:

Wow, that is some really great input everyone. It looks like aI have some work to do, but I really appreciate all of your help. Thanks again!!!

Yup, if you want opinions and criticism, this is the right place to ask!

I am reminded the quote:

"Every great picture, before it can be hung in a hall of fame, it has to go through the hall of critics."

Good luck!

Pash

Always the best thing to remember when designing a website is to pretend you are your target audience, how does it look to you when you load the pages and look at the content?

Thats a very hard thing to do, so by getting some good crits from above your on your way to a successful site

rossonieri#1

sprkymrk wrote:

Yup, if you want opinions and criticism, this is the right place to ask!

I am reminded the quote:

"Every great picture, before it can be hung in a hall of fame, it has to go through the hall of critics."

Good luck!

well - let me also want you guys - beloved TE members opinion about my one-man-show web-design for my company. Note : i'm trying very hard to create it - but i'm just not really good at it.

NRD Networks

sorry for my bad english.

cheers

dynamik

rossonieri#1 wrote:

well - let me also want you guys - beloved TE members opinion about my one-man-show web-design for my company. Note : i'm trying very hard to create it - but i'm just not really good at it.

NRD Networks

sorry for my bad english.

cheers

There's no need to apologize for your English. Yours is better than most who live here.

It's a nice clean start.

Remove the background image from the body tag and put it in the css definition like this:

body
{
background-image: url("clipart/backgrounds/sidebar/grayWhiteBlueLines.gif");
background-repeat: repeat-y;
}

This will just repeat your background image vertically. It looks a bit tacky to have it repeat endlessly horizontally (I have a huge display though, so it probably won't be noticeable for most people)

I like how the text/logo overlaps the light blue. It breaks the design up a bit. The gray font is just slightly hard to read over the blue. Trying lightening the blue and/or darkening the font just a bit. The text should never extend over into the darker gray, that is hard to read. Set your table/div width to prevent that from happening (and make the white area wider if you need to)

There's no reason for your top navigational links to be images. Just use text. Make them a different color, such as the darker blue/green color you have on the far left. Just do something to differentiate them from the text.

Fill in the light blue color behind the left of the logo or use .gifs/.pngs ability to use transparency, so you don't have that white box behind it.

The counter looks a bit tacky. I don't think people really care about how many views your site has (it's not an ebay auction ), and you can always just look at your logs for your information.

Maybe add a horizontal rule <hr> between the navigation and the text and the text and the copyright. You can adjust size, spacing, color, etc. with css.

I just glanced at the copy, but it looks like it is well-written.

Stotic

rossonieri#1 wrote:

sprkymrk wrote:

Yup, if you want opinions and criticism, this is the right place to ask!

I am reminded the quote:

"Every great picture, before it can be hung in a hall of fame, it has to go through the hall of critics."

Good luck!

well - let me also want you guys - beloved TE members opinion about my one-man-show web-design for my company. Note : i'm trying very hard to create it - but i'm just not really good at it.

NRD Networks

sorry for my bad english.

cheers

Under Career, you are seeking an Account Executive and under its requirements you list:

Female, between 24 to max. 30 years of age.

Is that legal? Are you looking for an employee or a girlfriend?

sprkymrk

I like the overall look and design, but it doesn't display the greatest on my computer. All the text and information is on the left with a lot of empty background on the right.

I understand English is not your first language, so please have someone proof read your text, I noticed several grammatical errors.

Also, I mean no offence whatsoever by this, but if you are trying to reach an English\Western audience you might want to leave off the Happy Idul Fitri day. I am not personally offended in any way by this, but the current state of world affairs may cause many non-Muslims to be nervous or turned off by it.

I wish you good luck!

Pash

Guys,

Id also recommend putting your code through http://validator.w3.org/ as good practice. If you have already, fantastic, if not, I highly recommend it. Also, have you checked your site in different browsers? A few years ago I made the mistake of only checking my designs in IE, guess what happened when I checked them out in firefox Remember the percentage of browser users isnt as clear as it used to be 8-10 years ago, we have a mass spread now and it's worth checking into.

Btw I applaud your choice to come here for critique rather than going to various design forums/websites, they only like flash and pretty graphics and deffinately arent your target audience.

Keep up the good work fellas,

Cheers,

rossonieri#1

WOW - thank you very much for the input guys
those help me very much.

@ justus1 :
- i'm sorry i hijacked your thread you dont mind do you?

@ dynamik :
- thanks for the design overview
- definitely transparent picture - horizontal rules - use text instead of pics - and color/text combination (that is what i thought - but that was also my big problem because i'm just not good at it).

@ Stotic :
- nice question : the purpose is only for easier marketing education/training and their mobility to customers (young - energetic).

@ sprkymrk :
- thanks for the input and the support also.
- ya - that grammatical errors - should fix that out
- i design those pages for 800x600 view - because many audience here dont have resolution or cant read at 1024x768 with 15" monitor - and i think of single view instead of sliding the mouse to right/left.
- ya - i should move that greeting into news section.

@ pash :
- nice link - i'll try that.
- thanks for the support.

any opinion still welcome - thanks again guys.

cheers.

Joshua Feinberg

If you're ever considering going full-time into IT security consulting, the best way to test it out... to figure out whether you actually LIKE self-employment... is to try it out part-time, while you still have the safety-net of a full-time job.

A lot of moonlighters in your situation completely underestimate that there a basically 3 parts to every dollar earned:

1/3 goes to pay the technical person (yourself)
1/3 goes to marketing/sales to get the clients (you'd wear this hat initially too)
1/3 goes to overhead, taxes, and admin expenses (you'd wear this hat also)

In other words, doing the technical parts of IT security consulting is only about 1/3 of the business.

Rather than obsessing about perfecting your Web site, I'd strongly recommend that you talk to some REAL prospects in your local area to find out what they like and dislike about how they currently get their IT support.

A relatively simply way to do this...
Get business cards and go to a couple of business networking events. (chamber of commerce, user groups, reseller events, etc.) Obviously with moonlighting, you'll want to look primarily for networking events that are in the evening.

Online marketing and Web sites can become pretty time-intensive and pretty capital intensive (PPC advertising) and often put you into competitive bidding situations that can really kill your profit margins. Phone book leads also often have the same price-shopping problem/mentality.

You'll also need to decide on a target market.

Home users/micro small business (SOHOs) will be WAY too small to afford most of your recommendations. You'll spend too much time recruiting them to ever break even, given their one-shot-deal nature. And you won't ever have enough recurring revenue to make the leap with confidence to full-time IT consulting.

We usually recommend companies with 10-100 employees as the "sweet spot"... for just big enough to have a LOT of IT problems, but not typically large enough for in-house IT.

Above that size (100-500 employees for example), you'll likely encounter full-time IT managers who just typically outsource to deeply niched specialists, rather than outsourcing "everything"... which would be fine. BUT since most of them work day-hours, they usually want someone who's available for consulting during the day (not a moonlighter).

For a good warm-up on the basics of starting a profitable IT consulting business, you should go over some of the proven tips and excerpts on our Web site (see below). By registering, you'll also get invited to an upcoming computer consulting Webinar.

Best wishes,