Thoughts on my Website?

[Tired]

I like the idea of the light filter, but it barely seems to do anything. Also, frankly, these photos don't tell me what this coral will look like in person under any lighting- I know cranking up the color is a thing commonly done for online sales, but c'mon. You can't tell me this https://reefstable.com/store/silver-thunder-maze-goniastrea looks like that to the naked eye.

Aside from that, I do quite like the site. It's easy enough to navigate, and I appreciate that there's a little bit of description on the coral pages, instead of just the name.

 

[jda]

If you want me to even consider buying from you, I need to see about a 14k spectrum photo that is real and not edited. Blue is fine too with actual lights and not filters. The blue photos should not show unnatural color sand, frag racks, etc. Adam at Battlecorals does this the best.

The same photo with different slider settings in Lightroom (or whatever) will turn me away from any site.

 

[jabberwock]

When I click the X in the upper right corner of the "This site uses cookies" banner, it does not close it, in makes the site scroll.

 

[Jmp998]

I like the mechanics of how you have added pictures with different color temperatures-but I would agree that actual pictures taken under different lighting would be more helpful than ones that are just manipulated. Unfortunately this is probably a lot more work.

I agree the photos look a little overcooked overall. This is a really hard balance for any online vendor-if your corals do not appear to 'pop' as much as your competitor's then you lose sales, but if they 'pop' too much people think they are photoshopped (whether that is the case or not). I don't have any suggestion for this unfortunately, it is challenging to capture a colorful coral in a static image that will be viewed on multiple different computer platforms, monitors, etc.


I do applaud you for the effort you are making though.

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

I would change the wysiwyg heading to ” wysiwyg / colonies

I like to look for larger frags / colonies and I wouldn’t have known these are in your wysiwyg section

Site looks great !

Thanks for the suggestion. That's a good idea!

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

I like the idea of the light filter, but it barely seems to do anything. Also, frankly, these photos don't tell me what this coral will look like in person under any lighting- I know cranking up the color is a thing commonly done for online sales, but c'mon. You can't tell me this https://reefstable.com/store/silver-thunder-maze-goniastrea looks like that to the naked eye.

Aside from that, I do quite like the site. It's easy enough to navigate, and I appreciate that there's a little bit of description on the coral pages, instead of just the name.

I'll be honest, it's actually pretty close! I do my best to keep the colors true to reality. Keep in mind that the photos are under Orphek OR3 Blue Plus bars. They do bring the color out. But I do my best to make photos accurate. Otherwise nobody wins in the end.

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

When I click the X in the upper right corner of the "This site uses cookies" banner, it does not close it, in makes the site scroll.

Good to know! I'll take a look at this one! Thanks for letting me know.

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

I like the mechanics of how you have added pictures with different color temperatures-but I would agree that actual pictures taken under different lighting would be more helpful than ones that are just manipulated. Unfortunately this is probably a lot more work.

I agree the photos look a little overcooked overall. This is a really hard balance for any online vendor-if your corals do not appear to 'pop' as much as your competitor's then you lose sales, but if they 'pop' too much people think they are photoshopped (whether that is the case or not). I don't have any suggestion for this unfortunately, it is challenging to capture a colorful coral in a static image that will be viewed on multiple different computer platforms, monitors, etc.


I do applaud you for the effort you are making though.

Thank you! The photos are as close to real colors as I can. But part of the trouble is I run Orphek OR3 bars, which are VERY blue. They make the color pop! But most people think they're fake because of it.

I do intend to do the 2 different photos when time permits.

 

[Katrina71]

I'm impressed that you'd ask for a reef forum to pick apart your site. I like your option to see your coral under different lighting, but agree that it should be true to real reef lights instead of a filter.

 

[Tired]

You might consider photographing the corals under slightly whiter lights, if you can, then. Maybe even point a flashlight at them to try and add some white. I tend to avoid sites where I look at the photos and think "ah, well, that frag plug isn't the color anything is, that's clearly edited", and I know I'm not the only one.

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

I'm impressed that you'd ask for a reef forum to pick apart your site. I like your option to see your coral under different lighting, but agree that it should be true to real reef lights instead of a filter.

I know it's a bit of a bold/brave move, but hey, that's how you grow! I can't make it perfect for every opinion, but I don't take the suggestions personal.

I'm big on continuous feedback. But the reality is that I can't do every suggestion. Good to hear the general thoughts.

I agree with the real photos. I do have plans to change them to real photos. The filter is kind of a middle step. Taking new photos of every coral will take a few months to be totally honest. I put a lot of care into the photos so they're not just "click-and-go". But I do plan to take this suggestion!

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

You might consider photographing the corals under slightly whiter lights, if you can, then. Maybe even point a flashlight at them to try and add some white. I tend to avoid sites where I look at the photos and think "ah, well, that frag plug isn't the color anything is, that's clearly edited", and I know I'm not the only one.

I totally understand. My current plan is to do a Blue, A White Light Photo, and Mixed (Both on) photo. Trying to get the full range of lighting. Hopefully that would do the trick for most!

 

[VintageReefer]

Do blue light photo with a physical orange lens filter. That seems to be the standard by many vendors and I do the same thing for my reef photos and find it represents the coral colors true to life

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

Do blue light photo with a physical orange lens filter. That seems to be the standard by many vendors and I do the same thing for my reef photos and find it represents the coral colors true to life

That's exactly what I do.
Orphek OR3 Blue Bar for light and the Orphek Orange Filter
I use them with a Nikon Camera with a macro lens.

The only color touching I do is if the coral don't look true to real life. Too much or too little saturation.

 

[wdotero]

I frequently browse a number of websites making plans for future purchases. My tank is only six months old so I have just a few corals so far. Today I came across your website. In fact, I came to the R2R website to see if there were reviews of your corals!
As a future customer, I can say I really liked your website.

 

[JayM]

I personally like the upfront shipping. Nothing is more irritating than having to search for the cost, or fill out all of your info only to find out shipping is crazy high.

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

I frequently browse a number of websites making plans for future purchases. My tank is only six months old so I have just a few corals so far. Today I came across your website. In fact, I came to the R2R website to see if there were reviews of your corals!
As a future customer, I can say I really liked your website.

Great to hear! Thank you!

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

I personally like the upfront shipping. Nothing is more irritating than having to search for the cost, or fill out all of your info only to find out shipping is crazy high.

That's something that annoyed me as well with some sites, so I wanted to make sure I addressed it up front.

 

[wdotero]

I have a request, when you have time.

I have a favorite gardening website (Almost Eden) that has a "notify me" system for items that are out of stock. You have to log in to the website, then when you click "notify me" you will get an email when an item is back in stock.

On your website, I clicked "show out of stock" and saw quite a few things I'd be interested in ordering in the future!!

 

[ReefStable Verified Sponsor]

I have a request, when you have time.

I have a favorite gardening website (Almost Eden) that has a "notify me" system for items that are out of stock. You have to log in to the website, then when you click "notify me" you will get an email when an item is back in stock.

On your website, I clicked "show out of stock" and saw quite a few things I'd be interested in ordering in the future!!

I thought about adding that. It would be quite a bit of work, but I am thinking about adding it. You're the first to ask though.

PM me which items you're looking at and I'll see if I'll have any soon.