Our new responsive website needs your help

Get some feedback on your site or ad from other rental owners and techies. Also a library of online resources so you can make DIY improvements to your web presence.
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Aldo
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Our new responsive website needs your help

Post by Aldo »

This is my first attempt at designing a responsive website for our property. I'd really appreciate your comments and tips before getting it on the official URL. There are a few issues I'm aware of but haven't quite figured how to amend, but I'm sure there are other things I haven't considered. Sometimes, no matter how many years one has been in the business, one still makes the same mistakes.

Thank you fellow LMHers.

The temporary URL is http://maltaholidayaccommodation.webflow.com/
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Casscat
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Post by Casscat »

What a gorgeous property!
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Aldo
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Post by Aldo »

Thank you Casscat. Love the views from yours.
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Looks pretty good to me but I don't know what issues you're hoping people to look at.

Obviously you're using the webflow design package, which on first glance looks very nice. A little pricy when you consider you'll always be paying monthly for this.

Two technical issues I did notice though regarding the images. Because it's a tool that makes your page, the images are uploaded and given huge meaningless names like hjgshztauazsshfdztszagajggdfshgahgsagsggd.jpg (ok I made that one up) This will be bad for SEO.

Another problem with the images, which surprised me for a web design tool is that they are simply too big. Eg on the home page, all the small images are being scaled. 700px × 700px (scaled to 290px × 290px) This will slow down the loading and is a common error made by first time designers who do not prepare the images correctly. I wouldn't expect this from a design tool though.

Some other issues I noticed was that the menus could do with a tiny bit of mouse over highlighting and the availability page was a bit odd. Two big red buttons.

It was also difficult to find an overview anywhere or even any photos.
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Aldo
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Post by Aldo »

Cheers Kev,

Extremely helpful tips.

I was hoping to use the design package for other websites once I learn how to use it properly, then it'll hopefully make more sense financially.

Availability page is rather odd, you're right. I tried to keep the same rectangle element at the top, but probably there's no need.

I was hoping the images at the top were enough. Perhaps I should dedicate a page to images or insert smaller ones throughout the layout.

What do you mean by overview?

Regards,

Aldo
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Aldo wrote: What do you mean by overview?

Aldo
I guess I was looking for a photo gallery or list of features. You have details in the text but most people are lazy and look for bullet points or photos first. There are 7/8 photos in your sliders but you have to wait around and visit 2 pages to see them all. Statistics show that most people jump straight to the rates page and a photo page. Very few actually read all the other stuff but if they do, you know they are keen.
Joanna
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Post by Joanna »

As for its responsiveness - it works fine on my iPad in landscape or portrait mode.

I suggest moving the info on the rooms, facilities and the floor plans to the accommodation page. I wasn't expecting them to be under rates and nearly missed them altogether.

The floor plan didn't tell me enough - is each floor open plan? Maybe having the outlines of some furniture would help. I know it has sizes on there but if I saw how big a bed etc was in relation to the room I'd immediately have a much better idea of the space.

I agree that a few more photos would be good - maybe an extra 'gallery' page with photos of the rooms, some close ups and the local area.

For me the style of the red 'Book now' button isn't consistent with the rest of the site - it looks a bit down market. Maybe try the same font you've used in the headings, square edged corners and a different red - more burgundy or terracotta?

The overall feel is indulgent and luxurious so I was surprised to see that electricity isn't included. Maybe that's usual for Malta, but in the UK I associate having to take meter readings with lower cost accommodation (is that just me?).

Overall I think the site looks professional and attractive.
Jo

Joint owner of Baker's Cottage in Chester & Chandler's Cottage in Sidmouth
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Joanna wrote:
I suggest moving the info on the rooms, facilities and the floor plans to the accommodation page. I wasn't expecting them to be under rates and nearly missed them altogether.
:shock: I did miss them all together
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anya752000
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Post by anya752000 »

Aldo,
First of all it is absolutely gorgeous. I'm often envious when I look at other LMH's properties and yours is no exception.
Just a couple of comments:

I want to be able to scroll through more photos without changing pages - It looks so beautiful I want to see more of it and it's slightly frustrating I have to switch between pages to see different views.

I don't like the availability and book now buttons. They seem to jar with the rest of the website style.

I also don't like the floor plan, it is very brash and is in the wrong place. I do like places with a floor plan but maybe look for a different style.

Regards
Jennie
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Aldo
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Post by Aldo »

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I am slowly going through each of the comments and doing changes as I go. It's now on our official url www.VallettaHouse.com
Astorchamonix
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Post by Astorchamonix »

Your place looks fab!! Just one piece of feedback, can you add more photos to your banner? I didn't initially scroll down to see the gallery of photos and they are all so lovely that it would be a shame to miss them! Your prices seem pretty cheap, would it be better to include the price of electricity in the cost and just charge an extra 10 euro per night? I would be a bit nervous that the reason you didn't include it was because it was very expensive? Some guests might be a bit put off by 'unknown' costs, presumably the electricity is not too expensive in Malta?
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