Is my online store worth the investment? Need honest feedback

Store Feedback
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Topic summary

An online art store (nomartai.com) seeks honest feedback to decide within 2 weeks whether to keep its subscription, considering more realistic mockups and possibly going download-only.

Access was initially password-protected, then opened for review.

Design feedback: Visual appeal is strong. Recommendations include using consistent product image dimensions (alternate square/portrait or keep square) and adding an About Us page to build trust for art purchases.

CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) suggestions: Enrich header navigation beyond Collections/FAQ (add Home, About Us, Contact Us). Replace the hero banner (top visual element) with a lifestyle image (art shown in a real space). Increase spacing between sections, and add customer testimonials/ratings.

Marketing ideas: Consider Back‑To‑School promotions, student-focused collections, and discounts.

Owner responses: Will adjust image dimensions, restore About Us, explore realistic product mockups across all items, and improve spacing. No testimonials yet.

Market/traffic: Business potential and target audience remain uncertain; advised to conduct customer research, improve SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and use social media for traffic.

Theme: Taste (free).

Outcome: Actionable design changes identified; viability decision remains open. Images/screenshots are central to understanding layout suggestions.

Summarized with AI on January 23. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hello everyone,

I recently finished building my store, but it took longer than expected and I ran out of budget, so I have 2 weeks left in the subscription plan to decide whether it’s worth it or not.

Do you see business potential in it?

Do you think it’s any good?

Do you think it should be changed in order to make it work? In what way?

Looking for brutal honesty here…

https://nomartai.com/

Nowadays I’m not convinced about the way everything is presented, or whether people would buy these designs in the first place. I’ve thought about having more realistic looking mockups, and also making the entire store download-only. Do you think this could be a smart move?

Thanks

David

2

Hi, @nomartai

Thanks for posting!

I would love to take a look, however, your store is password protected. Can you please provide the password?

3

So sorry Skye, I forgot to remove it.

https://nomartai.com/

Thanks :slightly_smiling_face:

4

Thanks @nomartai

You have done a fantastic job!

I love the visual appeal and aesthetic you have going. What stands out to be as an area to adjust, however, is the product image dimensions on the home page. You have 2 square images, one portrait, then more square. I recommend cleaning that up by alternating square/portrait, or only adding square. On the next row of products you can then add the portraits. This will look much cleaner.

Next, its important to add an ‘About Us.’ Are these your own original pieces? Are they curated from specific artists? When it comes to art, the customer wants to feel connected. From an ecommerce standpoint, knowing who you are purchasing from builds trust and sales.

I hope that helps! Truly fantastic work so far.

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5

Hi Skye, thank you for the kind words!

Regarding the dimensions, yes, I will try that.

Regarding the ‘About us’. Absolutely, thanks :slightly_smiling_face:

When you say ‘knowing who you are purchasing from’, up to what extent do you mean?

Do you feel it invites you to purchase? Do you see a target audience for it?

6

Hi @nomartai ,

I’m Garcia from PageFly - Shopify Advanced Page Builder App. From my CRO expertise, I’d love to give you my suggestions as hereby:

1. Enrich the navigation buttons

The sticky header looks great with a prominent search bar. It will help your visitors navigate from every part of the homepage to any page of your store more conveniently. So the more navigation buttons you have in this header, the more effortless it is for your visitors to move around the site.

PageFlyGarcia_0-1689664831128.png
PageFlyGarcia_0-1689664831128.png1600×250 87.4 KB

2. Change your hero banner

The hero content’s banner plays a significant role by being the first visual element that visitors see when they arrive on your website. It is crucial to effectively communicate your products or services to customers within the first 5 seconds of their visit.

PageFlyGarcia_1-1689664833497.png
PageFlyGarcia_1-1689664833497.png1600×654 281 KB

In this part, I would like to suggest you display a lifestyle image of your product. It could be a picture on the wall in the living room, for example. That could be much better than the posters themselves.

3. Increase spacing among sections

In this way, the information can be absorbed more efficiently.

PageFlyGarcia_2-1689664832508.png
PageFlyGarcia_2-1689664832508.png1600×885 332 KB

4. Have an About Us section

A brand narrative enables customers to develop a more profound comprehension of your company and boosts the overall attractiveness of your establishment. That’s why you should spare a section of your homepage to tell you story.

5. Add customer testimonials - customer feedback

Customer testimonials serve as evidence of the quality of your product. This segment will establish trust with potential customers. You have the option to display rating stars for individual products, or you can incorporate customer reviews in the form of text and photos.

Furthermore, let’s not overlook the promotional initiatives available from now until the end of the year. If you haven’t begun your preparations for the Back-To-School period, there’s no reason for concern! Here are a few recommendations to assist you to getting started and fully benefit from this opportunity:

  1. Create a selection of items specifically designed for students as part of a Back-To-School collection, which can be showcased on your website. This will enhance the browsing experience for customers, enabling them to conveniently find the items they require.
  2. Attract shoppers by introducing promotions, such as discounts, complimentary items, or exclusive discounts specifically for students.

PageFlyGarcia_3-1689664831983.png
PageFlyGarcia_3-1689664831983.png1600×771 153 KB

And that’s my feedback! Hope it helps you boost the conversion rate.

Cheers!

Garcia | PageFly Team

1 Like
7

Thank you so much García.

1- Enrich the navigation buttons

I’m not entirely sure what you mean here. Are you referring to the search magnifying glass that comes default with the theme?

header.png
header.png1504×212 46.1 KB

Because apart from this in the store there’s only the ‘collections’ and ‘faq’, there isn’t anywhere else to navigate to… and they are both there in the menu, so again I don’t quite understand what you’re referring to.

2- A few days ago I tried doing something like this as a quick draft, though also removing all the text and reducing the size of product thumbnails

real mockup version.png
real mockup version.png876×939 580 KB

It’s not a living room, and I was thinking of putting them for every single product type, not just the hero banner. But is it a step in the right direction?

3- Thank you, I had not considered this.

4- Yeah, I removed it and evidently it should be there…

5- For the time being there aren’t any testimonials, but for the future I’ll keep in mind.

Thanks again Garcia, and just to reiterate, do you see business potential in this? Do you see a target audience for these products?

I’m aware, from comments I read as well as past personal experience, that most people are able to get traffic to their website (organically, via ads, etc) but that they don’t make any sales, and are left wondering ‘where did I go wrong?’

I’m afraid of getting into this cycle again and just end up getting into more debt…

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8

Hi @nomartai , May i ask what theme you are using?

9

Hi @nomartai ,

What I mean in this part “1- Enrich the navigation buttons” is that you should have more options rather than just “Collection” and “FAQ” in the header. It could be Home, About Us, Contact Us,… Hope it’s clear now!

Regarding your mockup version, I must say that it’s really much better than the old one. Please keep going this way.

In terms of the potential market, I highly recommend you do some research and focus on your targeted customers. I’m not sure about this.

But I agree that the number of sales you get can be affected by many factors. But you might start by optimzing SEO for your store so it can rank higher in the search result. Also, try using social media to drive traffic to your store. It takes time but who knows if we never try, right?

Regards,
Garcia | PageFly Team

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10

Hey, it’s called Taste. It’s one of the free themes.

11

Hi García

Thank you very much. For your time and responses.

Regards

1 Like
12

Hi @nomartai You are welcome. Hope those suggestion may help you a bit.
Happy selling!