Well - this is it so far!

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.
Robin
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Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:50 pm
Location: Charente Limousine Dept 16
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Well - this is it so far!

Post by Robin »

Comments please and yes I know the photos are not great but unfortunately we only decided to rent out in the Autumn and it was too late to get some lovely summer shots. Would appreciate your input anyway. We have still to do optimisation etc with Iowners. (and with reference to previous postings, Mountain Goat, I am very grateful for any comments positive or negative - how else will I learn?)

Robin

http://www.ruralbliss.iowners.net
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vrooje
Posts: 3202
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:48 am
Location: Burgundy, France

Post by vrooje »

Hi Robin,

Thanks for reading our posts and giving reviews of other websites. It's much appreciated! :)

Here are my comments:
  • I like your color scheme. The sepia tones feel cozy to me.

    You don't mention in your page title, header, or first paragraph (the only one that's above the fold for me) that you're in France. How about adding ", France" to the end of your page title and header?

    Can you swap the slide show and the sunflowers? That way, the slide show will be above the fold (at least for me) and you will get much more exposure for your photos.

    Your details page is generally well-written and I like it very much. We have in the past here had some discussion about whether you should ever say your property is unsuitable for anyone. It might be better to present the facts and give all the information, but leave the decision as to unsuitability up to each individual.

    I'm a bit concerned that you only have two interior photos and they're both of the sitting room -- why is that? If it's just because of the season, consider taking photos of the bedrooms and kitchen on a sunny winter day and just turning up the exposure a bit so that the room is well-exposed and the view outside the windows is over-exposed so that you can't tell it's winter. That's not ideal, but it's better than having no bedroom or kitchen photos at all.

    There is plenty of local info, which is great, but why are all the items in quotes? That doesn't read well to me.

    Your availability calendar looks good, especially if this is your first season!
Overall, I think it's a great start, and with just a bit of tweaking, can be even better.
Brooke
Jenroy
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Location: Zambrone, Calabria, Italy
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Post by Jenroy »

Hi Robin,

I like the overall feel of the site and do agree about the lack of photos, especially with regard to the bedrooms and would also add the swimming pool to the list, as I would have thought it is one of the areas which most people would like to see.

It could be my age, but I find the type face to be quite small on the detail on the front page and a larger font would make it easier to read.

The availability page confused me at first as I was unable to immediately establish which dated were at what cost. I then found out that you have to hover over the prices to establish the relative dates. Is it not possible to colour code the calender so that the costs are shown by the period?

Good luck and look forward to seeing more photos, including the kitchen, which intrigues me as you make reference to it's many facilities.
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Windy
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Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:21 am
Location: Windermere UK

Post by Windy »

I think it looks very professional (like all the iowners templates - I haven't seen one that doesn't look good yet.)

(Personal taste disclaimer)

I have to say that I DON'T like the brown . It really turned me off as soon as I hit the site. I may be the only one, but my reaction was very very strong against it. I think it might work really well if it just changed a couple of tones towards golden.

I know you are already aware about the photos needing some work, but if you have higher resolution versions you'd lose that jaggedy look that some of them have.
Robin
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Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:50 pm
Location: Charente Limousine Dept 16
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Post by Robin »

Thanks everyone so far - much appreciated. Firstly the colour - Afraid it was the best of IO templates I could find. I sort of like it but perhaps it needs a bit more zing - the only good news is that checking through the templates again just now there are another 8 or so New templates promised with a countryside theme - so here's hoping in the near future we can find something even better. I agree about the positioning of the slide show and sunflowers and will change over. I also agree the text on page 1 main body is too small but that seems tobe what I'm landed with on this template - I'm approaching them tomorrow to ask if it can be increased but I suspect that templates can't be tailor-made like that.

Yes I also agree with everyone about the lack of pics. some of them were assembled too quickly and I will replace with better definition but the main problem about the lack of bedroom or kitchen photos is that these rooms are all decorated in the most ghastly colours and we haven't had time to change them (going in March with much paint etc to do just this and will take new pics then) The other exterior photos including the pool will have to wait until Spring/Summer.

I will try to replace the perhaps rather alarming warnings about access and little kids with something that informs but doesn't frighten!

Lastly although availability does look promising, unfortunately only one fortnight is full rate and the rest are mates rates or just us. But if we cover our costs in this first year I'll be pleased. Mind you just ordered summer weight duvets and extra sheets for changeover............. £££££££

Thanks all again.

Robin
esentziak
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Location: Lyon 69003 France
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Post by esentziak »

This is a nice site, and the colour is OK and the size of the writing is OK for me.

I don't understand how the availability calendar works ? at the top there are various colours and prices but they don't show at all either in Firefox or Opera.

Why do you have more sections (home, details, gallery, etc) at the bottom than at the top ?

In the Gite details, you have: the gite is well equipped but it has been designed: I always try and avoid the use of "but", what about replacing it by either a semi-colon or using the word "and" ?

Dominique
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Jimbo
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Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:41 am
Location: Charente Maritime

Post by Jimbo »

The other exterior photos including the pool will have to wait until Spring/Summer.
Robin, you may have excellent reasons (lack of time, lack of paint etc) for using mediocre pictures to launch your property on the world but you can’t expect your potential guests to know or care. It’s a bit like trying to sell your car without giving it a wash or cleaning the interior; it just sorts of says ‘can’t be arsed’.

From what you’ve written here, that’s obviously not the case with you and I’m sure that you’ll fix the photo problem ASAP. But it is urgent …

Jim
Robin
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Location: Charente Limousine Dept 16
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Post by Robin »

Thanks Jimbo - I was glad to have the slightly warmer comments in your second paragraph after the rather acerbic first one! I am suitably humbled.
Yes I understand it needs to be done sooner rather than later but for all the reasons I've already outlined it hasn't been possible. Oh that it was that easy to get time off work at the drop of a hat and pop over to do the stuff.
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

I am suitably humbled.
Wasn't my intention to be offensive; rather to suggest injecting urgency into improving the vital photos on your site. But, if the photography can't be done until later in the year, for the reasons that you give, so be it. Your text, which is interesting and informative, will have to beguile potential guests for the time being.

I wish you soothing pastel shades for your interiors, good weather for your photography and an avalanche of bookings.

Jim
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Bellywobble
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Post by Bellywobble »

I can't get the site to open. Don't know why. Very frustrating as I love the name, it makes me want to see more!
Lori Martin
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:49 pm
Location: Kingsley, PA

Guestbook emptiness

Post by Lori Martin »

Hi Robin,

I think your site is coming along nicely. On the guestbook page, there are no entries, just a comment that it's coming soon. If your web site is already published, then please consider removing this page or adding at least one entry. It's very discouranging to visit a page to find only text such as "under construction" or "coming soon". It's better that the page not be there until you have something on it.

kind regards,
Lori Martin
**Newbie with LakeHouse - still setting it up!!**
SharkHunter
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:20 am

Post by SharkHunter »

Hi Robin,

I general the site looks great, very clean and well laid out.

I would think about jazzing up the local attraction page. Nothing really stands out to me, making it look quite boring. Have you though about linking to local attractions etc, or adding some pictures.

SH
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Garri
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Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:26 pm

Post by Garri »

Hi Robin, on your gallery I think you should group the photos according to context, i.e. exterior, interior and region etc.

The house looks fine in my opinion and nothing a little bit of Photoshop magic can't solve, or even running them through an online service such as picnik.com would give you much improvement.

However, some of the photos of places of interest are very pixelated, such as this one: http://www.ruralbliss.iowners.net/i-114248.jpg

It makes me wonder if this is a photo you took yourself, or one that you've taken from another website and blown up because it was too small?

I suspect the latter as I cannot think of any other reason why it would be so pixelated.
Robin
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Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:50 pm
Location: Charente Limousine Dept 16
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Post by Robin »

Thanks for all the helpful and positive comments - just found some pics of the kitchen and dining room and I will run the others through the website you mention. Sorry - you are quite right the pixelated view of the Chateau de peyras was too small from the web and I will remove .
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

the pixelated view of the Chateau de peyras was too small from the web
And someone else's copyright material?

Jim
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