VirtualPainter.ie

[php.allstar]

Hi,

I've just launched a new site and would like to know what you guys think. All feedback negative and positive appreciated. As with all new projects there's bound to be something I've missed!

VirutalPainter.ie is a website which helps Irish people to decide on what colour to paint their house or a room in their house via an online colour tester.

Users upload a photo of their house/room and pick some colours they would like to try out. Over the next 24 hours, I edit the photo in photoshop applying the colours to the surfaces the user has specified and email the edited photo back to the user.

There are some similar sites out there at the moment. One only allows you to paint a room that they provide, while the other allows you upload your own photo but the function for selecting the surfaces exactly are not there.

With my manual photoshop method, I use the Lasso tool to get an accurate selection of the surfaces on the photo.

I got the idea as one day my wife and I were trying to decide on what colour to paint our house. I took a photo and photoshopped it and the idea was born.

Check it out: Online Paint Tester | VirtualPainter.ie

 

[louie]

Very good idea and nice design.
Good luck with it.

 

[robototitico]

Really excellent design, very impressive. Did you use a template or make it from scratch?

 

[php.allstar]

Cheers Louie & Robototitico,

Yes it was all my own doing, bought the house graphic from istockphoto and then photoshopped the rest. Tried to get the message across with the logo and header as to what the site does....apply colour....

I wanted to keep it plain and simple.

Its an idea I had for a while now and I just got some time over the last few weeks to do it with a few hours here and there. No idea how I'm gonna market it online. What keywords and keyphrases to target in the serps etc...

Offline I'm gonna issue a press release to a few home and garden/diy mags.

With the next release I'm gonna add in some functionality where tradesmen painters can resell the the product as a whitelabel allowing them to provide colour mockups to their potential customers, with their logo affixed.

I'm waiting for a fine sunny day to create a few more samples by taking snaps of my family's houses, so much for the sunny south east!

 

[louie]

Rome wasn't built in one day and it looks like a very good idea.
I have a feeling it might work for you...
Market it in the right place and should be a winner.

Keywords? house painting ideas, paint your house, online house painting, etc....

 

[ivanovitch]

You seldom see stuff as simple but as well executed as this. Fair play (Ronan Keating writes all my posts for me). Big thumbs up.

Just one little thing...and it is little.

"I have to balance this between family time, chores, hobbies and a new arrival so please allow at least 24 hours for your edited photo to get back to you." Could read "Please allow at least 24 hours for your edited photo to get back to you" which would have exactly the same effect whilst sounding just a smidge more professional.

Any road up...fair play Y'all. (Yes...I'm still watching True Blood)

 

[php.allstar]

Hi Ivanovitch,

Tell Ronan I said thanks!

That's a very valid and welcome point about the 24 hour wait time sentence and I did struggle with it...

I was trying to add a personal touch, trying to connect on a one to one basis with my users to give them the full picture so they'll part with their hard earned cash... I dunno though... personable human approach or rigid profeesional corporate approach?

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this point?

 

[DecKen]

Hi,
Just looking over the site, it looks really good. I am not sure about the 24 hour waiting period for getting your picture back. Some of the painting companies websites already allow people to upload photos and change the colour in real time (I would imagine your finished photos would look much better).
Also I did a few tests on the site, when I tried to upload a PNG file it was rejected (which is good as I see you only accept JPG file extensions) but for some reason when the order form refreshed after trying to submit the PNG file there was about 5 or 6 colour varitions under the job details section and I got alot of PHP errors when I tried to submit the order form using a Jpeg file.

Are you using any payment gateway?

Overall the site design looks great, good luck with it

 

[php.allstar]

Hi Decken,

Thanks for the detailed effort! Just a few things before I go investigating... what browser were you using? do you have javascript enabled? what kind of internet connection are you using?

Ohh...also...which sites allow you to upload a photo and colour it in instantly? When I was researching this, none of the Irish paint sites had that facility, if they do now, i may aswell pull the plug on this!

Thanks!

 

[ADVERTISINGGUERRILLA]

Your a clever sausage.

Great idea Black, how about doing the same thing with internal photos? Much more popular than painting the outside.

Let me know how this business performs. And get yourself on dragons den.