Casa Carlini is an independent publishing house specializing in history, literature, memoir, human rights, politics, and classic works of literature. We publish original titles by contemporary authors alongside carefully curated editions of classic books. Our goal is to create a bookstore experience where readers can discover thoughtful, well-designed books while supporting an independent publisher directly.
What feedback do you want?
I want first-time visitors to immediately understand that Casa Carlini is an independent book publisher and feel confident enough to purchase directly from our website instead of Amazon or other retailers.
We’ve invested a great deal in improving the site, including better SEO, faster page speeds, richer book metadata, and expanded book previews, but our conversion rate still has room for improvement.
I’d especially appreciate feedback on:
Does the homepage clearly communicate who we are and what makes Casa Carlini different?
Are our product pages persuasive enough? Should we include more sample pages, editorial reviews, endorsements, or author information?
Is the navigation intuitive?
I spent some time on the site, and honestly, it already feels much more considered than most independent bookstores I come across.
The first thing I noticed is that the homepage tells me what kind of books you value, but not quite fast enough that Casa Carlini is the publisher behind them. The opening line is strong, but I’d add one plain sentence right under it saying that you’re an independent publisher. That would answer the biggest first-visit question immediately.
On the product pages, I don’t think you need much more author information. You already have a lot of detail there. What I wanted closer to the buying area was a clearer reason to choose your edition specifically, and a clearer reason to buy it directly from you instead of Amazon.
A few sample interior pages would help. So would a short note like “why this edition,” any real editorial praise you have, and a simple explanation of what buying direct supports or includes.
The navigation was mostly clear, but the catalogue is large, so I found myself wanting to browse by subject or format rather than only scroll through titles.
My overall feeling is that the site already has credibility. The gap is mostly in making the independent-publisher identity and the direct-buying reason more obvious, earlier.
It’s a lovely project, and the care behind it really comes through. I think a few small shifts in clarity could make that easier for first-time visitors to feel too.
Thank you for your insightful comments; they were helpful.
We added another line to our Hero title, which addresses the independent publisher issue.
And we’ll be adding a block that tells our site visitors why they should buy directly from us.
Support independent publishing
When you buy direct from Casa Carlini, more of your purchase supports the work of an independent publisher and helps make future editions possible.
Again, thanks for those helpful tweaks. I think you made a big difference in how we position ourselves.
Hi @casacarlini,
Nice site, feels solid overall. A few things I noticed:
No clear reason to buy from you instead of Amazon. A small mention of “your purchase supports the author and independent publishing” would help.
There are no reader reviews or ratings on product pages to build trust with the customers.
No sample or preview anywhere. You can add a “look inside” or first chapter. People usually want a peek before buying, especially for lesser-known titles.
You can work on these points and might see an increase in conversions.
You’re very welcome. I’m glad the feedback was useful.
The new section makes the value of buying directly much clearer, and it gives visitors a real reason to support Casa Carlini beyond the product itself. I think it strengthens the positioning nicely.
The trust and look inside points above are spot on, so I’ll add the copy angle nobody’s hit yet. For books you’re usually up against an Amazon listing for the exact same title, and the Google snippet is where you win or lose that click. If Shopify is auto filling your meta descriptions from the back cover blurb, they read like every other seller of that book. Write the meta yourself and name what makes your edition worth it: the format, a new intro or translation, the paper stock, the fact that buying direct supports the author. Do the same on the page itself, lead with why this edition rather than a plot summary people can find anywhere. One small thing while you’re in there, give each cover image descriptive alt text with the title and author, it helps image search on top of accessibility.