New Hyundai Website

I started work on a new website for my customers called HYUNDAIROCKS .

Check it out and let me know what you think would also help me out with my site. I did put a link to this forum in my Nav Menu. Lots of good info here too!

www.hyundairocks.com

Made some new changes. Hope you all like!

www.hyundairocks.com

Two clicks in, I still don't see anything but fancy flash and hear nothing but crappy techno or whatever. In case you don't know, that one-two punch is the kiss of death.

To have a useful site, You need to be able to present the good stuff on the first click. Check out, for instance, a local Hyundai site for the Dallas-Fort Worth area called DFWHyundais.com. At the opening page, you can see recent posts and announcements, and the good stuff (Forum, Car of the Month, DIYs & Links) is one click in.

The biggest fault most web designers make is to put the latest fancy things they've learned into websites rather than what potential users want. Sound and splash graphics bring no value to a person surfing the web.

Maybe I'll go back and see if the third click is the charm and actually shows me something I might want to see.

I've now resorted to the mute button. Damn, that music gets annoying after a while. I tried clicking on "Cust./Vistor Links" and the first thing I noticed was "Customer Photo's". There should be no apostrophe (') in "Photo's". It should be a simple "s" on the end of "Photo", indicating plural ("Photos"). The vast majority of the time, apostrophes have ONLY two uses: The first is to indicate ownership (as in Tom's ball). The second is in a contraction at the point the letters are missing (as in don't). Neither case applies to Photo's on your site, since "Photo" is an accepted shortened form of photograph.

Next, the statement "I ask that all visitors and customers register in our forum" has two problems. First, it sounds too bossy. It would be better phrased as something like, "We invite visitors to the site to register in our forum" or something like that. It sounds more like the visitor is an honored guest, while your version sounds like a teacher giving directions. The second thing is you refer it it in that sentence as "our forum", but the link (if that is the right one) is called "My Forum". Use consistent wording. Is "My Forum" supposed to be the same as "our forum"? To you it makes sense, but to a new user, it's confusing.

Anything that confuses or delays is another excuse for a surfer to go somewhere else.

I also notice in the menu with My Forum is a link called "User Pic's". There goes that apostrophe again. Lose it.

The forum itself, once a person gets there, looks pretty good. The "Questions about [model name]" prompts are redundant, in my opinion; just name it the Accent forum and be done with it; no further explanation required.

Some of the forums look promising: "Low APR questions" and "Less that [should be 'than'] perfect credit? Heres some tips" are potentially very useful, as long as you answer the questions people ask rather than blow smoke up their butt to get them to come into the showroom.

All in all, though, I think it's not too bad. It's an imaginative use of an internet forum. A couple of bits of advice, though:

1. Learn about the online presence of your product. This (HyundaiForum.com) is probably the least-traveled Hyundai forum I come to; several others are far, far more busy. There are several forums for individual Hyundai models with thousands of members nationwide; if you come to, for instance, one of the Elantra forums and actually learn what people like about the car (and are also familiar with problems that arise and what can be done about them), you will impress potential buyers. The opposite was the case for me when I bought my Elantra and I knew more about its features than the salesmen I spoke with.

2. Provide value... for FREE. Don't be in constant sales mode. The best attitude to assume is to be helpful, and let people tell you when they want to see a car. Instead of being a pushy salesman, be a knowledgable resource that enhances the buying and ownership experience.

3. Provide accessories. I think you are looking to sell cars, but you may find a sweet little business selling Hyundai parts and accessories online to a regional or even national client base. There are a few already, including one or two dealers, but really not all that many, so there is room for more major players. Be "modder" friendly, offering advice about mods that are done to Hyundais (What is the impact on my warranty if I install a new anti-sway bar?) One thing I would have been interested in a few month back was an OEM Fog Light Kit for my Elantra. They don't sell them in the U.S. I don't think, but after I bought aftermarket fogs I found out about a dealer in Canada that sells the kits at a very reasonable price. If you could find a way to sell those you would have a unique niche market all to yourself (provide additional guidance in the form of installation instructions that are better than the Korean-to-English Dictionary version that comes with the kit, and it becomes even more value added for the consumer without a major expense on your part.

4. Introduce them to WebTech. If you don't know this already, Hyundai offers all their technical data to the public for free online (once you register for free). That was a big sales influence for me; I was not familiar with Hyundais, but knowing I could look up technical data (schematics, shop manuals, etc.) online made it easier to get to know my car. You should learn how to find stuff in there yourself so you can assist customers if they need help.

5. Create a local owner's club. Hold meets so they can show off their cars. I mentioned DFWHyundais above. That site started 10 months ago with a half dozen guys in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and now has over 100 members; they've had as many as two dozen cars at their meets. That club is not even sanctioned by a dealer; they just did this on their own. Give people an excuse to be proud to own a Hyundai and your odds of selling more will improve.

Like I said, once I got to the forum I saw stuff I liked (or at least it has potential). Get people to the forums with a minimum number of clicks and they might hang around.

Made those changes you fellows mentioned. Good stuff. I appreciate all your input(s).... Great feedback!

Todd, very good website you have created there. I went all over it and found it easy to use and also I like the song you placed in there...what is it named and who is it by?

WheelBroker1
99'Sonata
04'Sonata