NightVisionExperts.com – America’s Night Vision Store

5 thoughts on “NightVisionExperts.com – America’s Night Vision Store”

1. 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see? It all looks very professional. I like how all of the product categories are listed and what each product usually does. The scrolling pictures at the top look great. I think you could do some better advertising of your site through these pictures, but they still are some good pictures.
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing? The thing I always wanna find are FAQs. I know when I buy a product I have some questions, and calling the company before buying their products online is never convenient. It isn’t confusing to find the FAQs. But I think that all of the other tabs up there with all of the other different options of where you can go, is kind of confusing.
   3) We sell very specialized, very expensive products. We strive to present our products in a compelling manner that makes you walk away thinking, “Wow, I gotta’ have that!” Did we do that to you? If not, what were you thinking to yourself when you walked away from the site? Yes, you kind of did. Some of my family is into the kind of stuff that you sell and it would definitely entice people into buying some of your products.
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service (try googling “night vision” or “night vision goggles”). Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why? I found https://www.atncorp.com and I would not buy from them at all. For one, one of your goggles are around 300, when a similar one from them is 2199. That is way over priced. Your thermals are 3000 and theirs are 6100. They are asking way too much for their products. The only difference is that they give you exact specs for their products more then what you do, but that doesn’t make too much of a difference because your prices are way better.
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. I also like the “News” tab. It makes the consumer think “Wow, night vision goggles are up and coming. Maybe I should get some?”

2. 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see?

    The first thing I see is the logo (top left), navigation panel (left side beneath logo), and scrolling pictures on homepage (center, middle).

   My initial impression is that this is a grassroots website done on a limited budget. The layout does not look high-end. The pictures in the homepage scroller are okay, but some of them are not centered. For example, the picture of the target with the butt of a rifle, and scope. Well you only have half a gun here, the target is not even needed in the picture. The rifle should be centered.
   I am not here to critique pictures but I am here to say that if you do not use pictures that look premium, people will not think you have a premium website. You need to project to everyone that you are the expert on night vision and scopes. The only way you can do that via a website is by having a great looking site. If it looks like a homemade site, well then people may not trust buying from you.
    
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?

   Since I am not a night vision goggle expert, I do not have any idea what to search for other than “night vision goggles.”  
   3) We sell very specialized, very expensive products. We strive to present our products in a compelling manner that makes you walk away thinking, “Wow, I gotta’ have that!” Did we do that to you? If not, what were you thinking to yourself when you walked away from the site?

   If you are selling top-notch and expensive products, I have no clue why you do not go ahead and get a better looking site done by a professional. You pay the upfront costs, and then your staff maintains it. Your customers browsing your site need to think they are on the best of the best. You need a better logo too. Your site looks like it is back in the 90’s (see other comments in section 5)
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service (try googling “night vision” or “night vision goggles”). Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why?
   Went to atncorp.com – They seem to have an edge on your website, but they seem to look like a lot of other companies that put way too much information on their homepage in a little font. Nobody is going to read all of that. I think they do a better job of showing night vision and scopes on their homepage. 
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.

   1. Redundancy: There is some redundancy in your navigation buttons. You have small buttons with just text to the immediate left of your scrolling pictures on the homepage, but then you have larger buttons with pictures down below the fold. I find the buttons with the pictures much cooler, and wish you would have these up higher, directly beneath your logo. I feel that they would get more attention and warrant more action (someone to click on them) than your small gray text only buttons.
   2. Out of date: Your horizontal navigation bar at the top is a light green. This probably looks like a night vision sort of color. But the buttons seem very “90’s”. This website gives me the feeling that I am back when the internet was first born. I don’t get the impression that it is up to date and relevant to today’s internet.
   3. No clue navigation: Your horizontal navigation has one titled “Applications.” Now if I were not the kind of person to click on every drop down, I would have no clue what applications means in relation to what you are selling. You have to realize that when people don’t get it right away, they will ignore it and take no action. It needs to be named something else, like: “Night vision variety” or “Categories of night vision”
   4. About us: In the middle of the page, you have a paragraph about yourself. You need a separate page for “About Us.” Extract the selling points from this paragraph. You need selling points on your homepage, because the homepage is like a business card. If it doesn’t selling your brand and products, people will not explore your stock. Selling points include “Largest online selection” “12 years of experience” “Widest assortment of goggles, binoculars, and scopes”

   5. Other: While the night vision iPhone mount sounds cool, the actual product on your homepage just doesn’t look that interesting. You could have a “New Products” button that leads you to the product page, without putting the picture in your homepage scroller. It would look a lot better if you showed a picture of it on an iPhone with a night vision attachment installed.

   Recommendations: If you are doing well selling products online, I suggest a website re-vamp. You need a better looking logo, and to implement the suggestions I have just shared. It is worth it to improve your brand perception if you pay a website pro like $100 to get you a great looking site template. Not sure how much to have one custom built by a pro. Then all you have to do is update the content yourself. The point is: If you want to have the competitive advantage, you need to upgrade your site.

3. 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see?

   My first impression is that this specialized site selling to a specific niche of customers. I didn’t particularly love the layout which felt a little too simplistic and the colors were not too attractive. I did think that the sit was simple to navigate and simple to understand but it lacked ‘pizzaz’ or that ‘wow’ effect.  
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?

   I decided to look for what I knew existed which was just Night Vision Binoculars which were very easily found under the products tab. I saw it right there plainly “Night Vision Binoculars” and I decided on the Night Owl Gen 1+. I saw some of the products overview which was clearly stated on the page after my initial click. There was one thing I’ve always found very helpful whenever I’m choosing a product to purchase which was missing on this site and that is a customer product reviews.  
   3) We sell very specialized, very expensive products. We strive to present our products in a compelling manner that makes you walk away thinking, “Wow, I gotta’ have that!” Did we do that to you? If not, what were you thinking to yourself when you walked away from the site?

   The products themselves are a great selling point, they sound to be state of the art and a must have to anyone inclined but does the page aid that? It does not, it feels a little muted, the page feels uninspired. One thing I mentioned I would recommend again to make the sight highlight just how great it is to buy and get these products from this page and that is customer reviews. I would probably add videos showing the clarity of vision or something along those lines.  
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service (try googling “night vision” or “night vision goggles”). Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why?

   I went to the ATNCorp website and I noticed that your site was much less confusing than theirs which was good. What I did see as a good addition to your site is perhaps adding some tabs or options to the the kind of products to be shown. ATNCorp shows which products work best for camping, or home security and other options which I think can be beneficial.  
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.

   I really do think that adding some options such as camping and home security will help the site as well as adding a section for customer reviews about the products. I think perhaps this is more of a preference but I really think that better colors, videos or other elements such as a live chat will give the site some spunk, give it a ‘wow’ effect that is much needed.  

4. 1. Your URL and intro paragraph quickly communicate that this is a site that sells night-vision products. The home page seems easy to navigate, if a little long and redundant. The slideshow pulls in attention effectively. I get a bit of a DIY/mom-and-pop business feeling from the design, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing; it lends a personal touch in this case.
    
   2. I was surprised to see solar panels listed in your sidebar of products since I don’t normally associate solar panels with night vision. So I decided to have a look at them and see if I could figure out how they were related to your night-vision items. When I clicked on “Solar Panels,” I soon realized from the “Snapshot Review” that these are small, portable products intended to power night-vision items. Question answered! So, yes, I found what I was looking for, and no, it wasn’t confusing.
    
   3. I looked at some of the products, and I’m not sure I’d be convinced to buy if I wasn’t already looking for a night-vision product. For example, I can see how a night-vision camera could be fun to use, but unless I was already in the market for one, I don’t think your site would convince me that it was something I needed. The same goes for night-vision goggles and binoculars and so on. I think I might get more excited about the products if I had an interest in nighttime photography or hunting or something like that. I *do* think there are ways you could make your copywriting more exciting, and I’ll go into more detail about that below.
    
   4. I Googled “night vision,” as you specified, and the first company that came to my attention was called ATN. At first glance, their home page is a lot busier than yours. I find it to be a little overwhelming what with all the images, video thumbnails, news feed, dense sidebar, and lengthy intro copy. However, I *do* like their uniquely designed slideshow of images that unfold with descriptive copy when you roll over them. When I click on one of your product categories (e.g., goggles) and one of their categories, I notice their items are laid out in a more horizontal fashion with subcategories, and I prefer that to the long vertical list that you use. I also like their “Recommended Use” icons, which show visitors how they can utilize products at a glance. When I select a specific product, I like that ATN arranges the description in a way that’s easy to digest with a bulleted list of features, specs, thumbnail images of accessories, and so on. NightVisionExperts again uses a lengthy vertical layout with wordy text, some of which is too small to read easily. So I think I prefer ATN’s site in this regard. In addition, I notice that ATN includes a lot more information about their company, which is reassuring when one is buying an expensive product. On the other hand, I like that your site devotes a whole navbar tab to “Applications,” explaining how a potential customer might realistically use what you’re selling. Overall, I’d say that the ATN site seems more “complete” at this point and more easily navigable. However, their home page is just too busy for my tastes, so NightVisionExperts wins in that department.
    
   5. Here are my suggestions for your pages so far:
    
   Home Page
    
   The slideshow is attractive, and the navbar and sidebar are easy to navigate. However, I’d cut down on the intro copy. It reminds me of the copy I’m used to seeing on “About” pages. I’d stick to a simple tagline like “The best assortment of night-vision goggles, scopes, and binoculars in America!” If you want, you could add a few selling points below that, but I’m not even sure it’s necessary. Now as for the image thumbnails and descriptions below the fold, these are redundant given that you already have a sidebar above the fold. My suggestion would be to eliminate this second sidebar but add images to your sidebar above the fold. Save the descriptive text for the sales pages.
    
   Products
    
   The “Night Vision Review” page under the “Products” drop-down menu again reminds me of an “About Us” page, which your site sorely lacks. You should have one, and it should include the kind of copy you have here, explaining how long you’ve been in business, the reputation you’ve built, your dedication to customer service, and so on. I honestly don’t think you need a separate “Products” tab on the home page navbar at all since you have a whole sidebar listing each product. 
    
   Regarding the product category pages, each one opens with quite a lot of intro text, and I’m not sure it’s necessary. My guess is that most visitors who land here already have an idea what they’re looking for and don’t need you to explain, say, what night-vision scopes are and how they’re used. They probably want to go directly to the products. And I would rearrange the products similarly to how ATN arranges them, laid out under subcategories like “Gen1+,” “Gen2+,” and so on. Another option would be to install a search feature and let people filter results themselves. I’ve already talked about the individual product listings and how they also might be more effective with a cleaner layout of bulleted feature lists, specs, and so on.
    
   Applications
    
   When I first saw this navbar tab, I thought it referred to some kind of software. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was a guide to possible uses for night-vision products. So I would rename this tab something like “Benefits” and place it before “Products” on your navbar. The idea here is to sell the undecided on why they need your products before they look at them. Now, while I like the idea of explaining why potential customers might want your products, I don’t think your copy does a great job of getting me excited about them. The copy is simply too dense and lengthy. I would suggest enlarging the text, editing out all unnecessary words and phrases, and increasing white space. If possible, I’d suggest you hire an actual copywriter who can make your products sound like a must-have and can do so in a concise, catchy way. For instance, just look at the head and subheads on the “Home and Property Security” page. They don’t communicate any urgency. Instead of “Home and Property Security,” try a head like “Secure Your Property with Night Vision.” Instead of heads like “Digital Night Vision” and “Night Vision Lighting,” try something like “Is Your Home Security Compromised?” or “Why Your Security System May Not Be Secure.” Then follow this with copy that explains why customers without night-vision equipment may still be vulnerable. Use the copy to create a need and show visitors why your products are essential. Keep the language simple and nontechnical but use emotional keywords and phrases like “vulnerable to intruders,” “protect your family,” “powerful safety features,” and so on. (These and similar emotional keywords should also be part of your product descriptions if you want to sell more effectively.) Finally, try adding some images or video of the products in action to illustrate how they can help. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.
    
   How to Buy
    
   Again, you don’t need an intro page here. And pages like “Payment Options,” “Shipping Options” and so on can be combined into one FAQ-style page. Once more, I find that your copy on these pages is too long and wordy. For instance, take a look at this: “Shipments are subject to delays beyond our control, including weather, equipment failures and stockouts. We will notify you should a stockout delay the shipment of a product. As couriers operate on a business day basis, weekends and holidays do not count as shipping days. For example, a next day shipment that is picked up on a Friday will not be delivered until Monday.” You could state this more simply like so: “We ship on regular business days excluding weekends and holidays. Shipments may occasionally be subject to unforeseen delays. We will notify you should a delay occur.”

   Support
    
   Once again, no intro page is necessary. Most people know what “Support” is. I like that you have technical FAQs for those who are interested, but the “Online Ordering FAQs” and “Company Policies” could easily be combined under “How to Buy.”

    
   News
    
   Looks like copies of press releases. Not much to say about that except that I think potential customers would probably be more interested in a blog format.
    
   Bottom line: You’ve obviously been doing this for awhile and have a built-in market but might be having some problems transitioning to the online world. I really do think that more concise, user-friendly copy that creates a need for these products would be helpful to you. I think the site as a whole tends to have a “lengthy” look–too much copy, products laid out in columns that are too long, etc. If you can find ways to reduce the amount of copy and better organize product listings, I think that might make users more interested in sticking around and investigating your items. Good luck!

5. 1) Look around the home page – what is your initial impression of what you see?
   My first impression of the home page is that there are a lot of different patterns on there and there isn’t a pattern or theme to it. The cat at the top of the page grabs my attention right away, but I don’t see what it has to do with a site that sells binoculars. The next thing I notice is the gun on the image slide; at first I thought it was an online gun shop, but then I saw that the products are vision products.
    
   2) Think of something you want to find on this website. Now try to find it. Did you find what you were looking for? Was anything confusing?
   I will search for a high power scope to view the moon and stars. I was going to press the icon with the word Scope on it, but the top “Products” icon popped up and I viewed “Night Vision Scopes” which then gave me another wide range of options such as “Gen +1 Vision Scope” “Digital Night Visio Scopes” and more. I decided to go down to the “Scopes” icon and press that because I’m not really savvy with this sort of equipment and there are just too many choices on the drop down.
   The page I was taken to seemed a bit more helpful, as I was informed about the different types of Scopes and in a way convinced that the Digital Night Vision Scopes are the best. I took a look at the iGen 20/20…the info. up at the top with the picture is great except the words are a bit small. I like the fact that it has a camera integrated and it can record, but since I’m not high-tech savvy I don’t know if this equipment will allow me to see the moon or stars. I’ll have to do extra research and reading online in order to find this out.
    
   3) We sell very specialized, very expensive products. We strive to present our products in a compelling manner that makes you walk away thinking, “Wow, I gotta’ have that!” Did we do that to you? If not, what were you thinking to yourself when you walked away from the site?
   
   No, I was not surprised or wowed mainly because I’m not familiar with some of the terminology used such as; Gen+1, 2-30 frames per second, 30 Ip/mm, etc. I supose people that go to the site will understand these things, but if not I’m sure the general audience will become frustrated and leave the page because of all the reading and extra research necessary. I was thinking; “what does that word mean, where can I find more about what I can look at with this scope.”
    
   4) Go to search engine of your choice and find one other company that offers a similar service (try googling “night vision” or “night vision goggles”). Compare the two companies. Which on do you prefer? Why?
   
   I typed “Night Vision Scopes” in google and the first website listed is http://www.atncorp.com  I prefer this site because it has a nicer color scheme, it has video examples of the products in action, and when you select a product it gives you a short description, it’s recommended use (camping, boating, wildlife observation, etc.), features, and specifications. This site is definitely more user friendly.
    
   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   
   The website has a lot of good information regarding the products. However, if the information was simplified and put in a way that appeals to a wider audience, then I’m sure more people would be attracted to the site. The colors on the website are also all over the place…it could also use some organization. Like right now I’m on https://www.nightvisionexperts.com/iGen.html   and there’s a cat at the top right next to the title, a phone number and email icon to the right, the iGen 20/20 image with words right below, then to the left there’s a bunch of boxes with words and prices on them, and so on.
   I don’t mind reading because I like to read, but for someone who doesn’t enjoy reading they would be gone in no time.  If there was a section for each product where the basic info. like description, features, specifications, etc. were listed that would be fabulous. A video of how it would look through the goggles or scope is also a good idea.  Something like what Amazon’s product listings look like where the info. is just easy to access.

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