Hello One and All!

I (finally) finished my new updated website. I am by no means a web designer, but I feel it's decent enough to publish. I would, however, LOVE to have some feedback from you all in regards to your

opinions of the layout, phrasiology, etc. The two videos in the media section kinda suck as one has terrible audio, and the other is long and kinda bleh. It's a live video from a show I did for

Christmas Village in Philly. It was 30 degrees and raining c.c Anywho, until I get a better camera, it'll have to suffice. That being said, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks so much!

www.BerstekerMagic.com

I'm no web designer either, but it looks pretty good to me. Things are clear and to the point. Important stuff first seen right at the top, very nice design, easy to navigate. Good job I say!

Wow, I'm late on getting back to this one! Sorry about that ^_^ Been much too busy performing and trying to get work to spend much time on the Café. I missed it, though! lol

Thank you, Belanos, for your critique! I feel like it's missing something, or maybe several things. Videos could be much better (need to find a videographer that won't flake out on me like the last two have T~T) and it needs to be updated to match my current look. I feel it lacks in ability to close the sale on its own, as well. Really need to save and hire a pro :/ Easier said than done, however.

Well, open to honest critique from anyone and everyone! Thank you all so much for taking the time to do so!

Did you do the copy writing yourself?

I did. I know it needs a LOT of work. :/

I think it looks pretty good. I like the fact that you've made it easy for people to figure out how to contact you. The phone number is prominent, and the "Contact" page includes several ways to get in touch with you. I'm not sure about "Get a free quote." Does anybody charge for a quote? You might be better without this.

On the testimonial page, you might think about giving the most prominent play to the kinds of gigs you are seeking. Right now there are just a few corporate gigs, and there seem to be just as many birthday parties.

On the video page, you might put the link to your YouTube channel at the bottom of the page, so that we've had a chance to see the featured videos before we get to the link for"more." Otherwise you're asking us to watch "more" before we've seen any.

"Information" is misspelled at the bottom left of the "About" page (the GoFundMe bit).

Clicking the logo in the top-left corner should take the user to your home page. That's a pretty widespread convention.

Overall, this is a great-looking website!

Wow! Thanks for all of the pointers! Sometimes, ya just need a fresh set of eyes, eh?

I went ahead and adjusted the website as you recommended, Doug, and fixed the spelling error. The Youtube channel is sorely lacking in content, but that's an issue for another thread, I suppose. I'm working on that now, tbh. I altered the "Get a FREE quote" to "Request A Quote" instead. Seems to make more sense.

As for Testimonials, I removed some outdated and irrelevant ones, and am digging through my client footage for good quotes I can add in there, instead. Thought about opening that part of the website up to an open guestbook with a social media plugin, but then I figured it might do more harm than good...


I appreciate all the nice words, fellas, but don't hold back! I encourage brutal honesty! I know it can be better, and I feel like the copy isn't "selling" the show well enough. Tom, did you dislike the copy? You never said.

Thanks again! I appreciate all of your help more than you know! Been kinda "stuck" and decided it was time to turn to my colleagues! I am many things, but a web designer is not one of them :/

I cannot find the free pop corn.You gotta have pop corn.

Lol I will keep that in mind going forward, Glenn, thank you!

Josh, some friendly criticism: the video page needs work, in my opinion.

Speaking strictly, as a potential customer, the videos need re-shooting/re-editing. They may even be hurting you rather than helping.

The top one on the left has you in a very noisy environment, which overshadows any magic with sponge balls you may be doing. You're fading into the background of general clutter and chaos.

The one on the right takes two minutes before anything magical happens in the rope routine; and then the audience response is very weak.

The one on the bottom left is way too long to sit through, the volume is low, and it looks like people are randomly setting up.

I don't think any of these show you off to your best advantage. You don't have to show the whole development of an effect; just magical moments, your personality at its most sparkling, and the delighted responses of your customers.

Looks good overall however I am not a fan of the moving back ground. It can be a bit distracting.

@landmark : Thank you for your criticism. I agree completely. I had left the site without a video page for some time for that reason, then someone told me "Hey, something's better than nothing. I would click off your site if I saw you didn't even HAVE a Video page!" ...So I added whatever video I could get.

I -AM- trying to produce a GOOD video, with focus on the moments more than just entire routines/acts because it IS too much. Sadly, each videographer, be it friend or professional, I find seems not to work out .... or I'm being too picky.

I have a plethora of footage from my work at the boardwalk busking the last few summers, as well as some footage from performing at festivals during the holidays. However, I felt like that large amount of footage works against itself because it's too much of the -same- background/setting, which might give a client the impression that I don't perform elsewhere. The truth is the nice gigs indoors that I DO get don't want me filming, or to be honest it just sometimes slips my mind to ask because I'm so wrapped up in the process of getting the booking and keeping a roof over my head! (I know, better planning would help alleviate this issue I'm sure. Workin' on that too)

The Spongeball video, for example, was at a VERY nice event, in a beautiful venue, and I was -promised- by a friend and businessman that the guy filming was top notch with the best equipment....that was the best footage. It wasnt even great, and the audio is terrible ;-;

The footage of the Christmas Village festival ended up sucking because ... it was raining...the entire .. show... ON my audience (and presumably the camera too). The cameraperson in question was an audience member, since I couldn't get anyone else to commit, and hadn't the money to get someone to come out and film it. Sadly, it ends up being shaky, etc. My fault for doing it that way, though, not theirs. The rain didn't help the audience's energy much, either.

In any case, that all being said, I'm just going to make the Videos page invisible for now, as I believe, also, it may be doing more harm than good. Working with another videographer this week to try and get him to follow me to a corporate strolling booking. Here's hoping! (I think what I need more than anything is an editor! O_O)

I appreciate all of the feedback! The journey from nothing to successful is a long and tedious one, and I will -never- ignore advice! I need all the help I can get, to be sure!

Thanks again! You're all super wonderful!

@Glenn...there will be more popcorn! (I DO need a freebie/"Sign up and get this pdf free" thinger, I believe. I'll get started on putting one of those together too! Thanks!)

Wishing you much success, Glenn.