Be Gentle with Me!!

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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Giddy Goat
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Be Gentle with Me!!

Post by Giddy Goat »

Hi team! I'm wondering what you think of our site, which is still undergoing some tweaking. We aren't techies, so didn't build it ourselves. The house is in the Midi-Pyrenees (south west) of France. It sleeps 8 + baby, and has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, 3 of which are ensuite.

This season was our first. Clients were families - either several generations, or say, 2 families sharing, though the house was also booked by a couple, seeking space and privacy! And a group of 6 golfers have booked a week next year. The children have been all ages. The area attracts walkers, nature lovers, golfers, cyclists, those who love real France, foodies ... Two of this year's bookings came from people who were already converts to the area, which as yet, despite excellent transport links, is largely undiscovered - part of the appeal maybe.

We advertise on 2 main listing sites. To date I don't think our site has been found on a search, though the listing sites have generated lots of inquiries, and the property does occasionally come up on a search that way. Our bookings are doing well, but it would be good to get more outside the main letting season if we can. So maybe search optimisation needs to be looked into more.

Main attribute is the view. OK, it's not the sea, but it's panoramic, far-reaching, pretty, and totally unspoilt. Other selling points are its tranquillity, character features, plus level of comfort/equipment offered. We've also tried to reflect its Frenchness a bit, with the use of some old French (country) furniture, mixed in with more modern pieces. And though not cheap, we feel we still offer good value.

Site features planned - we recently added a guestbook, and I've asked our visitors for photos which we can include on this page, of themselves having fun there. The pics are starting to arrive - it's a sneaky way of seeing what they looked like! Also planned is a floor layout, but because we're not clever enough, this may have to be fairly basic, as our budget won't run to asking the web-designer to do it. And it would be good to have an availability calendar on our own site as well as on the listing sites - just in case our website does get found on a search. The info already on LMH about floorplans and calendars will be very helpful. Hats off to Paolo, and to others who've shared their knowledge.

So, log onto our site and please tell me what you think - the good, the bad and the ugly, and offer any tips you can. Thanks in advance, and no, I'm not going to disappear from this forum, you're stuck with me!
Last edited by Giddy Goat on Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

It's a lovely site, Jane. My only reservations concern the dark shots of the salon (main page) & dining area and - a big reservation - the fact that I have to go back each time to click to see the next photo. That's really bad from a professional web designer - you should be able to see the photos one after another.
Otherwise, it's really attractive & inviting.
Best,
Alexia.
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

ps
You look as though you'd enjoy Susan's lawn - couldn't you drop by her place for a nibble?
Best,
Alexia.
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Thanks Alexia for your feedback; I'll pass on your observations re the to-ing and fro-ing to our web man, as it hadn't occurred to me that this would be a bit irritating, and you're right.

I'm glad you commented about the shot of the salon; I took it in haste on our last visit and the light wasn't good. I will definitely replace it when I can.

Yep - the grass is a bit sparse hereabouts; thinking of doing a spot of grazing down your way - need some additional help with the mowing?
Last edited by Giddy Goat on Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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marcus
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Post by marcus »

Really, a very nice site. Exactly what we are all aiming for, simple, clear, easy to follow.

A couple of comments all the same...If it was my site I would have it a bit more centred on the page, rather than over to the left. Also I think the yellow 'menu selected' menu options let the side down a bit - they look a bit cheap compared to the rest of the site for my liking.

I'm not entirely sure about only having thumbnail pictures on each page (except for the header picture), for me I prefer a higher picture:text ratio straight off. The full-size pictures took a while to load even with high-speed but I guess that's OK, someone will wait for them if they want to see them...

Last comment, the site is made using frames, and I think this causes problems re search engines (they don't see the text in frames or don't see it as so important, I think?) Not very 'a la mode' I think nowadays.

But don't let those comments get taken out of context, I think it's a great site, well done.
annedab
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floor plans

Post by annedab »

I included a floor plan on our site as it is always something I look for when booking a property. I am certainly no techie, but I managed to draw it fairly easily using the paint program and doing the requisite rectangles etc etc. I then pasted it onto a blank powerpoint slide (Word is not my favourite) and added the text to label the rooms. If I can do it then it can't be that hard!
Would love to comment on the site but my browser is playing up. Good luck!
Regards

Anne

If there's no such thing as co-incidence, then why is there a word for it?
mvus
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Post by mvus »

Nice website and agree with comments already mentioned. Photos should be compressed more though as they are between 125-185 kb each which is a lot for 600px wide images. 45-60kb would be around the norm
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Thanks PJA, I'll pass that on to 'our man'; since I'm nearly computer illiterate, can you explain what the compression of photos means - will they be faster to download?

And thanks to Anne - maybe my daughter can hold my hand through the excercise! Meanwhile, best wishes to your browser for a speedy recovery!
Last edited by Giddy Goat on Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

Thanks for the offer, Jane, but we're expecting 900 (900) sheep next week. They're coming for 2 days: there won't be much left for a goat.
The shepherd gives us a lamb for this.
We've just been offered 3 mares for the winter/spring. (We don't eat horses so we won't be given a foal.)
Once we had bees, but only once - the river upset them - & we were given 1kg per hive.
It certainly makes a change from living in central London.
Best,
Alexia.
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Hi Marcus - appreciated your input so thank you very much for the kind words + constructive criticism, both of which I will pass on to our nice web man. Food for thought.

Alexia - it sounds as if my family and I have had a narrow escape. Perhaps I'll check out Susan after all.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
Christine Kenyon
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Post by Christine Kenyon »

Jane, I love your site. It looks classy and elegant (and in keeping with your house) and all the info I would need is there. The only improvement I can suggest would be larger pictures as they will really "sell" your property. But that's maybe a personal thing - I don't like clicking on thumbnail pictures and waiting ages for them to download.
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Hi Christine, and thanks for your kind comments and posts! Alexia made the same observation re the pics. Now we're on the free trial with PerfectPlaces, the same photos now run on from one another as enlargements, and look great. But I rather suspect it's too late to introduce this to our own website without necessitating the restructuring of the whole thing. Not being a techie, I may be wrong. Do you know if it's still possible?
Last edited by Giddy Goat on Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Jane,

Just had a look at your site, better late than never. I think it is lovely, and the photos are really good. You could definitely pitch to the American market, in terms of the house itself.

Personally I would show the photos in a larger size because they are so good and I don't want to ask visitors to click to see each picture. But your designer is obviously of the no-scrolling school, which is why he/she has used thumbnails.
Paolo
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Thanks so much Paolo for those words of encouragement, and I take it from what you said re the scrolling that I was right in thinking it was too late to do anything about the thumbnails, without, ie, redesigning the whole site?

On another thread you were suggesting to PeeJay to repeat the navigation bar at the bottom. That's a good idea and I hope not too difficult to do at this stage.

With a view to the US market, should I just stay with my free trial with PerfectPlaces first, (without website link of course) or stick my neck out and sign up with VRBO too? Does the text need tweaking in order to stir up some added interest for the area, do you, or does anyone else think?
Last edited by Giddy Goat on Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Jane,

If you changed from thumbnails to full size pictures, it would mean a change to the design of the site, so yes you probably want to leave it.

Something I had not noticed before is that the site uses frames. This means your navigation menu is always at the top of the page, so there is no need to repeat it at the bottom.

However, it also means that the text of the site is invisible to a search engine. Only the text on the homepage is indexed by Google. So you won't get many people finding you in a search.

Designers often don't know/care about the performance of a site on a search engine. I don't think there is any justification for using frames on pages of this length, where very little scrolling is required. Frames do make a page 'look' better, but at what cost?
Paolo
Lay My Hat
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