Website Critique for

Invest Like The Best

I didn't deserve it!

Ardle Culleton, Director of ILTB gave me the following lovely testimonial (and we're not related in any way, despite having the same surname - we've never even met.) "We received a very knowledgeable and informative critique which we implemented immediately as it made sense and will add much value to our website. In addition, it gave us food for thought and her critique also illustrated her immense insight into our business."

But to be honest there were very few items I could fault. This website is a true case study in best practice in my opinion, and is worth looking at from that point of view. I share below what I liked about it.

The Look&Feel really reflects well on the kind of business they're in, which is essential. 

There is changing text at the top (in the man's speech bubble) which highlights different reports and information you can get from ILTB, but yet it isn’t too intrusive and doesn't distract.

If possible I recommend that you use pictures which tell a story, as they’re very powerful subliminally. (I picked this website's image like that - the wind-filled sail has a powerful symbolism.) And I’m updating my website www.fiction-writers-mentor.com  and the new image has a picture of a woman in a beautiful grassy field with a laptop on her lap, typing happily away. Another subliminal story.  

So, the picture of the man punching the air in joy and success is very powerful. Like it! 

The nav bar across the top is excellent – simple, but does what it needs to do. An elegance of sufficiency I think they call it. 

I REALLY like the picture of their founder, and the personal message from him, on the left panel. As I’ve pointed out in the other critiques, people buy from people, and it’s essential to personalise the visitor’s experience, and this does that perfectly.  

And below that they have a testimonial. But not just any testimonial – a testimonial from Eddie Hobbs himself, Ireland's most famous financial guru. Sweet! Great to get it, but even better to use it so intelligently. 

The main panel is just a taster to lead the visitor into the rest of the website, and that’s as it should be. I like the way they show how the stock-market investing is just a simple 1-2-3 process. One of the main questions their target market is bound to have is, Will this be too complicated for me? And they have answered that straight off, and prominently. Absolutely brilliant. 

I also like their opening line, “Since 2005 many hundreds of individuals have benefited financially from having taken our Stock Market Training …” By doing this they're showing their credibility. They have longevity and loads of previous customers, and they're proving it. And they're showing the benefit: ‘have benefited financially’.  

And then they have four simple and easy to follow boxes for each class of possible investor. This is brilliant too – the four different types need to be addressed differently, and they're doing that very cleverly.  

And then the free stuff on the right panel hooks the visitors in, gets them to give you their e-mail, which is what you need so you can contact them again.

There’s a LOT going on on the front page – a full three columns, and those columns divided horizontally into different things too. But it’s handled so well that it really works. The very obvious divisions mean that the visitor doesn’t get confused.  

The 'About Us' button gives good options – the PDF of the stock market is a good idea. I didn’t read it, but I’m sure it’s great. But I also REALLY liked that you also take this opportunity to give a link to the seminar. Clever. 

I also liked the 'Team' page where they had information on the staff. Each person wrote this in the first person, in a professional and yet accessible way. Very well done. The one suggestion I had about this was that they add a link to booking a course here, which they have since done.

They also have breadcrumbing on their site. Breadcrumbing is like the old Hansel and Gretel story, leaving breadcrumbs so you can find your route back. A site with breadcrumbs shows the route the visitor took to get there, so they never get lost. A VERY good idea. 

I did pick up on a few little grammatical issues, but nothing serious. (I've shared those and they're since corrected.) All in all this is an excellent website and well worth studying for some good ideas.

As for the writing itself, it’s perfect. Even with my copywriting hat on I couldn't change anything. They've got exactly the right tone, have lots of benefits and promises in there. Perfect. 

Is your website working as well as this one? If not, I can help.

If you'd like me to critique and improve your own website, with the ultimate aim of making it easier for website visitors to become customers, just click here.

Or, if you'd like a website done from scratch, click here for information on that.