Is my website good enough?

[964kevin]

A bit subjective I know, but thanks to the good peole on LMH, I seem to be making progress in my understanding of rental listing sites, bounce rates and the like.
I wonder if it's possible for someone to critique my website. It fits all the things I want it to fit, but thats just in my head, what do others think.

Could you let me know things like usability, layout, navigation and the like/

Be very much appreciated.

http://www.encantada-vacation.com

Kevin

[Maurmc]

Hi Kevin,

Welcome to LMH!

I've had a quick look at your site. I like the home page photo, don't like the black!

You have a lot of information on the home page- too much, in my opinion. I'd suggest less information on home page to entice people into your site- maybe with links to other pages. But make sure relevant info is on home page- I had to dig down to information page to find out how many bedrooms/how many it sleeps.

I liked your "updates and changes" section. This suggests an owner who cares and is constantly trying to make things better for the guest.

The site & photos load very quickly (Chrome), it's easy to navigate. You have a good range of photos so prospective guests will know what to expect. I'm sure you'll get a lot more advice from others that will improve the usability of your site.

[La Chouette]

Sorry - I've only had time for a quick look, but the first thing that caught my eye was 'Spanish' in the second line of the first para...so I thought you were in Spain!

I think your home page title could be something like 'Encantada-vacation, your get away from it all resort in Orlando, US' and the sub-header of 'your holiday resort for Orlando attractions' could be more prominent to help in SEO and for the geographically challenged! just a thought.

Jan

[CSE]

I do not have much time to look into the technical details of your site at the moment.
I have had just a quick look at some pages.
The menu/header “Information” should be changed and added further up the line on the menu.
You could think about adding guest’s comments to the menu rather than hanging below.

From your website:

Bookings and Payments
Bookings can be arranged either through ourselves, or the Emanagement team onsite, if they are booked through ourselves then we require a non-refundable 20% deposit, with balance to be cleared 30 days prior to booked arrival.
The necessity of this is due to running costs even if the villa is unoccupied.

Do not apologise why you need a deposit you ask for; just say the amounts. It seems to suggest you have different rules to where your rental is listed with other sites. Can you not make them the same?
What or who is the Emanagement team?

I think you have already posted about pricing.

You may want to consider a list of attractions with distances etc.

[Ju]

You are not telling the customer what you are selling. Up front at the top of your page you need to say something like "Florida holiday rental, near Disney World, sleeps 6 in 3 bedrooms.

I actually don't know how many you sleep or how many bedrooms you have because I couldn't find that information quickly and easily.

My other comments are that the text is too small, and I don't like the black surround.

[Harborfields]

You are not telling the customer what you are selling. Up front at the top of your page you need to say something like "Florida holiday rental, near Disney World, sleeps 6 in 3 bedrooms.

I agree with this -- on my quick look, I had no idea where encadata was located -- a click on the "our-location" link brought me to your map, but it took me a minute to figure out Orlando, FLorida. As they say, the most important three things in real estate are location, location, and location. I think the same goes for vacation rentals.

[Jimbo]

Could you let me know things like usability, layout, navigation and the like

Your vital 'landing page' photograph of the front of the property, although technically sound, is just a bit dreary and might not hold those with an itchy mouse finger. Half the picture is taken up with a dull pathway and bushes that seem to be in some distress with dead foliage. An estate agent's record rather than selling the dream.

Not too difficult to rectify. One solution might be to shoot later in the evening but when there's still a little light in the sky. Opening the shutters and switching on all the room lights and porch light will allow warm romantic light to spill out, giving a three dimensional feel to the house, whilst mostly obscuring the path and plant beds.

The photograph below demonstrates the principles. A carefully chosen viewpoint/time of day (sunrise) allows colour in the sky, reflections in the foreground and details in the structure to be displayed. This is a straight shot, not photoshop manipulated in any way. To increase your foreground reflections, flood the pathway with water just prior to shooting.



Jim

[lasourcetranquille]

I agree with the other postings - the main photo is a bit 'estate agent' - if you were selling the property it's ok, but you're selling the holiday... Same with the black surround - I'd want something sunnier!

I love the updates and changes section - that's great.

You need to change the title from 'Encantada-Vacation.' (a what? ) to something like 'Luxury 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom villa in Florida'. The information page would be better suited for your home page and visa versa...
Hope that helps!

[964kevin]

I feel a bit embarrassed. thanks for the suggestions.
the front landing page has always been a bug bear, but I could never think what to do with it until now.
it will most likely be the weekend before it gets changed. however, I would like to say thank you for the help, It's very much appreciated.
I can also understand what is meant by too much info, It's only apparent when you step back to see. who'd have though web design isn't my trade

[donafe]

Kevin, I think there is just too much info on the front page - difficult to find what you need.

Maybe it's worth identifying info that is the most important and link to it from the home page and move the rest under "resources" section or something?

Also, the font size is way too small - difficult to read.

I would like to comment on the improved version of the website as many suggestions have already been made about your website.

[964kevin]

Well.
\its been a hectic weekend doing more around the home items than pursuing the website rebuild, so I've only completed the home page.

http://www.encantada-vacation.com/index%20test.htm


The links do not work, its just a tryout for a fresher looking homepage.

Opinions are as usual more than welcome.

Thanks

Kevin

[wallypott]

OK this is just my tuppence worth - it looks fine to me, but you make three references to security in your opening paragraphs which makes me wonder how dangerous it must be there. One reference to gated community would be more than enough in my opinion.

[CSE]

Much Better.
One suggestion I have is make the photos and the text underneath the same width.
Ok two suggstions. The click colour for the links at the top should be changed from white to something readable with the yellow background.

[964kevin]

Much Better.
One suggestion I have is make the photos and the text underneath the same width.
Ok two suggstions. The click colour for the links at the top should be changed from white to something readable with the yellow background.

Thanks for ther reply, the links should have a green block background when hovered/clicked, what browser are you using?

Thanks

Kevin

[lasourcetranquille]

They just go white for me too on ie9. Also think the pictures need a bit of space as they are a bit jumbled together..