website critic needed

[aasta]

Hello Everyone...our website is finally online...it still needs some tweaking...photos of the house and rooms are not yet included because the renovations won´t be complete for another 2 weeks....then those photos will post...also we feel we need to add more about the great sport activites available...will add that to colinaflora page.....all your critics welcome and wil be pondered
www.colinaflora.com
thanks...aasta

[CSE]

My first comment is it is in flash.
It is said that Google has a lot harder job finding and indexing websites written in Flash.
As you said the photos are not up and running, this is an important part of the website. The rest looks on. I would change the links to the blog and your Facebook to read as such rather than just adding generic symbols.

Hopefully you get your first guests soon.

[superpp]

I like the look and feel.

Is there a non-flash HTML version too, to ensure it is search engine friendly?

[cottageguru]

I'll look forward to the photos - without them there is not much to go on but the look and feel is good.

It took me several clicks to find out where you are located. Can I suggest you put this on your home page. The photo you have there is lovely but it may be think it was a Cotswold laneway rather than somewhere in Portugal. You'll want visitors to stick around when they arrive at the home page and not make them search to find the information they want.

[CSE]

I wonder what has happened to aasta. She said in one posting that she wanted to be open before Christmas. maybe she is busy getting ready for the opening?

[aasta]

thanks for your responses. We hope the webdesigner will make the changes soon, he seems to be a bit slow, so we are looking for a new webmaster. we did not want the flash and because of this we can not make the changes ourselves. We opened on Christmas eve...hectic...but good responses

[Wendy@NorthIdaho]

Beautiful website aasta, looking forward to seeing your photos. I'm surprised people booked without seeing pictures of your place, or do you have pictures somewhere else on the web?

Wendy

[burdy]

aasta
Nice looking website.
As the others have said, you need more pictures but I'd question whether the ones you have could be bigger. There appears to be more room to have the pictures bigger.

I'd also agree that it doesn't immediately shout out as being in Portugal.

Also - the "read more" at the bottom of the Cloina Flora page could do with either adding on (so you can scroll down) or making more prominent.

Other than those minor points - a nice site

BURDY

[stork]

It is beautiful to look at - but I _do_ not like flash!

- flash makes my machine slow
- back button does not work
- I can't link to anything but the front page.

Often I close the window when I see Flash loading, but I made an exception for you

Navigation - under Colina Flora I tried Read More, and the picture was replaced by some text. The original text stayed where it was. I then found a Back link (it is hard to see what is a link and what's not), and could get one step back, only. Split that in 2 pages, add one more picture.

In fact, add lots more pictures. Interiors, gardens, views. Perhaps also from the area, I know it is lovely.

[CSE]

I do not know if aasta will be back or not. On another thread she said she is putting the house onto the market, because of family reasons. But nothing more.

[aasta]

Hello..thanks for all your input...we are looking for a new web maker and will not have flash again. The man who designed the website sofar never has time to come and take more photos or make any changes and since it is flash we can not add anything ourselves...live and learn...
We will continue to attempt to grow the business but at the same time due to our personal circumstances seems it will be necessary to sell...
regards, aasta

[theoharis]

Hello,
I will start with the positives
This is one of the best overall sites I have seen the LMH, it has beautiful photos of a very beautiful place. Congratulations to all involved in the artistic part of things (offline and online).

Now for my comments/suggestions:
It has been said previously: FLASH...you do not want it for many many reasons. As a techie I can go into a deep techno-philosophical analysis of why it is bad for you. For arguments sake lets say that all these millions of users with iPhones/iPods/iPads will not be able to see it. Also as you already mentioned...you will need the source code and the expensive Flash authoring software to make the simplest of changes. On the other hand with HTML 5, you can use a simple text editor (Notepad!) to change text in a html page.

I believe you need to rethink a bit the naming of your pages and maybe how content is distributed in each one (this is called Information Architecture).
For example in the "Colina Flora page", you mention "location" but have no map, which is present in the Contacts&location page.
In the rates page, what is high/low season? dates?
In the Contacts&location page, not many people will know that the Wordpress logo means your blog use a text description too
The FB link does not work for now.

I suggest you use a tool like http://www.addthis.com/ for posting to social media sites. It is effortless and useful! Put it at the footnote of each page.

The favicon (the icon of your site on the browser address bar), is deliberate? why not use your beautiful logo instead? Keep in mind that when people bookmark your site, it will appear next to the name, sticking out in the eye of the user!

You can have a look at the way information is arranged in my site, for ideas!

You are nearly there!
Theoharis

[Mosca]

Hi aasta
What a very interesting site.

The feeling is very clean, uncluttered, cool and spacious and gives the viewer the feeling that there will be space for reflection, reading, resting and so on.

Its also very classy.

The statement on your index page - implying that a holiday and travel itself is largely an act of the imagination, is exactly right, and the restraint of the whole site reinfoces this.

So although the lack of photographs is unacceptable, when you have them I would use them with caution. You need just enough information combined with some iconic and atmospheric images to stimulate the imagination of your potential guests.

The website isn't supposed to do everything. It simply has to stimulate enquiry. Then its up to you to get the potential customer to take the next step.

Very best of luck with your business!

John
www.vivasiesta.com
www.puebloman.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/vivasiest ... 9700743663

[aasta]

Hello Everyone! thanks so much for all your input. We have found a new webmaster who will take our exisitng website and transcribe it into HTML. He will be adding photos of the rooms and exterior and a entire page of beautiful photos of the local beaches etc.
I have sent him your comments.
Regrds, aasta

[mitchellbryson]

Flash can be done better, i.e. so it doesn't break the back button and it can be indexed by Google. But I'd say you're better off with a HTML/CSS site because it's much more versatile.

I like the design, simple and elegant. I also like how you haven't used too much text, I'm more willing to read this amount!

Could I suggest using an email from your domain name? like info@colinaflora.com, hotmail let's the feeling of professionalism down a bit on the contact page.