Hi
After starting a year ago and deciding to go for professional help, my redesigned website is nearly ready to go. It is done in wordpress with a responsive theme - I would be very interested for any comments - good and bad!! Here is the link - it's not live yet, but will eventually take the name of my original website below. The French site will follow, but hasn't been started yet.
Many thanks
Caroline
Redesign of site - looking for feedback
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French Cricket
- Posts: 3058
- Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:47 pm
- Location: French Pyrénées
- Contact:
This is a kind of instant response, Caroline, not a long well thought out one!
I love the design - it's very clear and easy to read. (I was immediately reminded of LV's site, and I now see that you used the same designer!).
The only thing I'm not so sure about is the green of the background, which I find a bit - um - green. It might well be me because it's not a favourite colour for me, but I'm just not convinced it best sets off the content ...
Others though will almost certainly disagree!
I love the design - it's very clear and easy to read. (I was immediately reminded of LV's site, and I now see that you used the same designer!).
The only thing I'm not so sure about is the green of the background, which I find a bit - um - green. It might well be me because it's not a favourite colour for me, but I'm just not convinced it best sets off the content ...
Others though will almost certainly disagree!
Yep, agree with FC, nice, easy to navigate site, but I haven't spent long on it; so these are just some quick observations.
I'm also not a great fan of the green but it's not a deal breaker. I think it's just not "classy" enough, as you have some beautiful accommodation there.
I would leave some more space between the words and the Visa/Mastercard logos, or else put the logos elsewhere?
We have also discussed putting a photo of yourself in, which divides us all in general! I think if you are going to use one, then find one where you are smiling more please? I don't think it's as flattering as it could/should be.
(and it took you a year.....gulp....I'd better get going then on mine - having made the decision to get someone else to design it!)
I'm also not a great fan of the green but it's not a deal breaker. I think it's just not "classy" enough, as you have some beautiful accommodation there.
I would leave some more space between the words and the Visa/Mastercard logos, or else put the logos elsewhere?
We have also discussed putting a photo of yourself in, which divides us all in general! I think if you are going to use one, then find one where you are smiling more please? I don't think it's as flattering as it could/should be.
(and it took you a year.....gulp....I'd better get going then on mine - having made the decision to get someone else to design it!)
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Wendy@NorthIdaho
- Posts: 744
- Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:03 pm
- Location: North Idaho, USA
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I really like your site, easy to use, when I had a question as to location could find the info out easily, good photos of the gites. The only question that came to mind and it probably is nothing, is that on the how to get to your place page, there were only directions for those coming from the UK. Do you not give directions from Paris, etc? or is it too self explanatory for them? Am assuming you must have a car for your location.
My son and I passed near last year and our group would have loved a few days at your place! Took the train from Paris to dol de Bretagne? bus to M. St Michel then onto Pontorson and Bayeux... then back to Paris.
Good job on the website, green is fine with me, I do agree that your photo should be one of a smiling hostess, but that is a very small point and it's a good photo regardless.
You make it all very inviting, wonderful.
Wendy
My son and I passed near last year and our group would have loved a few days at your place! Took the train from Paris to dol de Bretagne? bus to M. St Michel then onto Pontorson and Bayeux... then back to Paris.
Good job on the website, green is fine with me, I do agree that your photo should be one of a smiling hostess, but that is a very small point and it's a good photo regardless.
You make it all very inviting, wonderful.
Wendy
New Vacation Rental called DayStar Lodge! (Sold Narrows Cottage now have a rental management company called A-List Rental Management)
One of your guest quotes doesnt quite make sense - or at least to me.
"The hardest thing was persuading the children come out for the day"
I had to search for the gallery, and it wasn't really were I would have expected to find it - could it not be a title?
From reading some of your info and from the photos I'm not sure whether the activities with lots of kids were spontaneous or organised?
Anyway, bravo, great effort!
"The hardest thing was persuading the children come out for the day"
I had to search for the gallery, and it wasn't really were I would have expected to find it - could it not be a title?
From reading some of your info and from the photos I'm not sure whether the activities with lots of kids were spontaneous or organised?
Anyway, bravo, great effort!
It's there now. Will fix the mastercard and visa signs.-
Beachcondo
- Posts: 760
- Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 7:51 pm
- Location: Anna Maria Island, Florida and Sweden
- Contact:
I didn't even notice the green, but what struck me was that the site has the air of a work in progress nowhere near completion.
This jumped out at me in your first para :medieaval. It's spelt medieval or mediaeval (you get it right in the 'about' section later!)
Should the weather be described as 'excellent'? It's a very subjective term, for me Brittany would be too chilly, for others too wet - and you trip yourself up later describing the pool as 'rain protected for inclement weather'.
Your page describing all the gites needs a lot of work:
Overuse of 'each' in the second para.
Odd use of capitals : Fresh Eggs, Milk etc. (also Dairy in the 'about' page)
Surely the eggs are fresh, so why mention it? If they are free-range say so
Bread and pastry orders delivered: wouldn't bread and croissants sound better? Pastry means just that to the English, and they wouldn't order it for breakfast, would they?
Tourist information kept in the laundry area? Sounds odd to me.
A plan showing the juxtaposion of the gites with your house and the pool would be useful.
You include some info about what's in each gite on the summary page, repeated in the Ts&Cs section, then on the individual pages you give a long list again: it looks as if you are struggling to fill the page. Why not include a gite floor plan for each one? I see your old website has them.
No pool or beach towels : do you tell people off if you find them using your towels outside?
I couldn't see in the descriptions that the gites are heated, I only found that in the Ts&Cs (but I might have missed it elswhere). Also if it's included in the price in the winter, do I have to pay for it in the summer, or is there no option to have it on then if it's chilly? What sort of heating is it?
I'm currently going through the same revamp process with a client, so looking at yours so critically has been useful. I've picked up points we have missed due to overfamiliarity with the property. My comments are not meant too be snubbing, I know how hard it is to get things right, so please don't be offended by my nit-picking. I haven't even read the 'things to do' section....
This jumped out at me in your first para :medieaval. It's spelt medieval or mediaeval (you get it right in the 'about' section later!)
Should the weather be described as 'excellent'? It's a very subjective term, for me Brittany would be too chilly, for others too wet - and you trip yourself up later describing the pool as 'rain protected for inclement weather'.
Your page describing all the gites needs a lot of work:
Overuse of 'each' in the second para.
Odd use of capitals : Fresh Eggs, Milk etc. (also Dairy in the 'about' page)
Surely the eggs are fresh, so why mention it? If they are free-range say so
Bread and pastry orders delivered: wouldn't bread and croissants sound better? Pastry means just that to the English, and they wouldn't order it for breakfast, would they?
Tourist information kept in the laundry area? Sounds odd to me.
A plan showing the juxtaposion of the gites with your house and the pool would be useful.
You include some info about what's in each gite on the summary page, repeated in the Ts&Cs section, then on the individual pages you give a long list again: it looks as if you are struggling to fill the page. Why not include a gite floor plan for each one? I see your old website has them.
No pool or beach towels : do you tell people off if you find them using your towels outside?
I couldn't see in the descriptions that the gites are heated, I only found that in the Ts&Cs (but I might have missed it elswhere). Also if it's included in the price in the winter, do I have to pay for it in the summer, or is there no option to have it on then if it's chilly? What sort of heating is it?
I'm currently going through the same revamp process with a client, so looking at yours so critically has been useful. I've picked up points we have missed due to overfamiliarity with the property. My comments are not meant too be snubbing, I know how hard it is to get things right, so please don't be offended by my nit-picking. I haven't even read the 'things to do' section....
Anyone going for a professional makeover for their website shouldn’t neglect the photographic element of the mix, for they are two sides of the same coin. I like the dramatic revolving lead banner pictures on the front page and this, I think, is where Caroline will ensnare casual visitors into taking a closer look at all the goodies on offer. And I’m a great lover of the panoramic format for photographs which can be used to great effect on websites and blogs.
Unfortunately, the ‘Big 5’ don’t fully deliver the promise that the site offers. Some of this is to do with a bit of sympathetic density, contrast, colour and sharpening editing – see below. I think that two pictures of the pool (even through they are doing different jobs) is one to many for this lead display. And the garden/table tennis picture has a blank sky and no foreground interest and would benefit from a bit of foreground window-dressing and re-shooting when appropriate.
I like the green background but I might have added a little yellow to the green to make it a bit more summery (if that's a word?) – but that’s personal choice.
Unfortunately, the ‘Big 5’ don’t fully deliver the promise that the site offers. Some of this is to do with a bit of sympathetic density, contrast, colour and sharpening editing – see below. I think that two pictures of the pool (even through they are doing different jobs) is one to many for this lead display. And the garden/table tennis picture has a blank sky and no foreground interest and would benefit from a bit of foreground window-dressing and re-shooting when appropriate.
I like the green background but I might have added a little yellow to the green to make it a bit more summery (if that's a word?) – but that’s personal choice.
Jim
Thanks, Jim for those photos - you're right they look loads better after you've waived your magic wand. I'll have a go and see what I can do myself.
Circé - thank you for your words of wisdom, too. It's always a risky process opening your personal work up to criticism like this - of course, I would prefer it if you all said that you loved the site and that I was very clever! But that is not the objective of the exercise, is it? I have not taken it to heart, and will definitely look at all that you mention.
I do ask that people bring their own pool beach towels - probably 90% of my guests drive here, so don't have to worry about baggage allowances. I realise that sometimes my own towels will get used for the beach and the pool, but what can I do about that. If people do ask, I have old, less fluffy towels that I can lend them for the pool and the beach, but most are prepared to use their own.
Circé - thank you for your words of wisdom, too. It's always a risky process opening your personal work up to criticism like this - of course, I would prefer it if you all said that you loved the site and that I was very clever! But that is not the objective of the exercise, is it? I have not taken it to heart, and will definitely look at all that you mention.
I do ask that people bring their own pool beach towels - probably 90% of my guests drive here, so don't have to worry about baggage allowances. I realise that sometimes my own towels will get used for the beach and the pool, but what can I do about that. If people do ask, I have old, less fluffy towels that I can lend them for the pool and the beach, but most are prepared to use their own.
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Hells Bells
- Posts: 13173
- Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
- Location: French Alps
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Caroline, good luck! The problem with improving photographs isn't the difficulty of using photo editing programmes but, rather, of having an idea in your mind of what the finished product should look like. Which is harder than it seems.CarolineH wrote:I'll have a go and see what I can do myself.
When you have a quiet hour, I'd suggest making a series of corrected copies from a single picture, noting your corrections, and compare the results. Check against your original file and see which (if any) you prefer. Remember that all corrections are destructive and cannot be reversed, so keep your original file safe.
Then look at other owners' websites for similar pictures and compare your results. My old tutor used to say that a picture with proper corrections would 'sing its beauty to the world' - so look for those melodious files!
Jim
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pizza-salsa
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2012 9:34 am
- Location: Trogir, Croatia
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your website and your gites look gorgeous.
You have so much detailed information, specifying exactly what's included, the meals which you provide, all the facilities, the fresh produce etc etc
All the questions one would ask, are already answered in full.
I did not find the green off-putting, didn't even notice it.
hope this helps
You have so much detailed information, specifying exactly what's included, the meals which you provide, all the facilities, the fresh produce etc etc
All the questions one would ask, are already answered in full.
I did not find the green off-putting, didn't even notice it.
hope this helps