Please let me know what you think of my website

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.
katz
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Location: Finistere, France
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Please let me know what you think of my website

Post by katz »

I had been pretty much a lurker on here until recently but I've found that you are a friendly lot who offer some really useful advice. Hopefully I have put a lot of that advice to good use when designing my website!

I'd very much appreciate your feedback on my website, I have been working on it for over a year and I started as a complete novice (both to website design and building and to holiday letting!).

I am planning to start translating the main pages of the website into French in the very near future so it would be good to have a sound basis to work on.8)

Many thanks in advance! :)

http://www.lostinfinistere.com
KathyG
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Location: Le Faou, Brittany
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Post by KathyG »

Only had a really quick look Katz but did notice that on your location page........Flybe don't fly Exeter - Brest anymore sadly :cry:
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
Beachcondo
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Post by Beachcondo »

Waow Katz,
That must be one of the most informative websites I've seen!

Having said that, I think that you might actually gain from making the front page a bit less informative. It can be overwhelming - I would rather give them a teaser there and lure them into the rest of the site.
I also missed that I couldn't tap on the home page pictures to enlarge them.

You have a lovely place and some very enticing pictures, but I feel that you can gain from using a higher quality, because they were not really crisp and clear when I enlarged the gallery pictures on my Ipad. They loaded very quickly, though, which of course also is important.

In short:
Well done, but my suggestions are less copy and bigger/better pictures on the Home page.

I am sure that you will get other feed-back that is more tech savvy and well thought through. This merely a total amateur's point of view!
Pessimists only get positive surprises.
katz
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:20 pm
Location: Finistere, France
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Post by katz »

KathyG wrote:Only had a really quick look Katz but did notice that on your location page........Flybe don't fly Exeter - Brest anymore sadly :cry:
Thanks Kathy - I must double check all that information - I know that flights have now started from London City to Brest and Quimper too - I'm afraid I've neglected that page (I kind of admit that I don't think that we will get many guests that fly in but I guess you never know!)
katz
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Location: Finistere, France
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Post by katz »

Hi Beachcondo - thanks for taking the time to look at and feedback on my site.

I did worry that there might be too much info on the front page - it's just I'd hate people to leave it as they can't see the key information they are looking for, but if it is too cluttered I guess they won't see it anyway!

I will change the home page pictures so they can be enlarged though the two top ones of the properties were already enabled, it was just the other two below and I didn't think people would want to enlarge them - just goes to show!

I purposely reduced the quality of the pictures on the gallery as I thought that there would be an issue loading the page - it's a fine line really - not sure what to do

Yes there is a lot of information on there, it really has been a labour of love and a great way for me to learn about the area :D :?
katz
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Location: Finistere, France
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Post by katz »

A question for you Beachcondo - when you mention the gallery do you mean the slideshow on the home page or the actual gallery page?

Cheers
KathyG
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Location: Le Faou, Brittany
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Post by KathyG »

katz wrote:
KathyG wrote:Only had a really quick look Katz but did notice that on your location page........Flybe don't fly Exeter - Brest anymore sadly :cry:
Thanks Kathy - I must double check all that information - I know that flights have now started from London City to Brest and Quimper too - I'm afraid I've neglected that page (I kind of admit that I don't think that we will get many guests that fly in but I guess you never know!)
I've just done it Katz so you're welcome to pinch my info if you want, it's on the Planes & Trains bit on my home page.
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
katz
Posts: 172
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Location: Finistere, France
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Post by katz »

KathyG wrote:I've just done it Katz so you're welcome to pinch my info if you want, it's on the Planes & Trains bit on my home page.
That's extremely kind and generous of you Kathy - if you find anything of use on my website you are welcome to use it too :)

You have a lovely location there - my hubby came across your website previously when he was researching bird life in Brittany - we are both birders - you are lucky to have the estuary on your doorstep. We been to Le Faou a couple of times and plan to explore the area more in the future.

Out of interest, do you get many people who fly in rather than drive from the UK?
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Jimbo
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Location: Charente Maritime

Post by Jimbo »

I like the informative and well-structured picture gallery that takes me seamlessly from property exterior, to interiors, to the surrounding area's attractions in a logical and attractive progression. I loved the cool linking picture from 'property' to 'attractions' sections of the guy walking into the distance down the long and winding road - inspired!

I would prefer that all the photos enlarged to the same size - some go hardly bigger than the original - but that's being picky. I don't mind that the gallery photos take a little time to open because the original size is easily viewable and the blow-ups are a bonus.

Some of the interiors might benefit from being a little lighter in density.
Last edited by Jimbo on Sat May 05, 2012 6:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jim
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Windy
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Location: Windermere UK

Post by Windy »

Just passing by quickly and took a look - it all looks very professional, but my instinctive reaction to the grey was negative - sorry. I think it would be a lot more enticing with a more holiday-like background colour.
KathyG
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Post by KathyG »

katz wrote: Out of interest, do you get many people who fly in rather than drive from the UK?
It tends to be families with babies that fly rather than take the ferry, mother and baby will fly then the rest of the family pick them up from Brest airport. Rather than put them through ferry and (sometimes) quite a long drive. It's probably only about 10%-20% who do fly though.

Thanks for the lovely comments about our house, we are indeed lucky and are still constantly stunned by the view. :D
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
lorca
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Location: The Axarquia, Spain

Post by lorca »

Nice website and easily navigable. I like the gallery too - but the heading shot on the home page is very dark (looks like it´s about to rain!), a sunnier one would make a big difference I think.
If not now, when?
katz
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Post by katz »

I have started work on my home page for the French version of the site and I've tried to implement some of the suggestions made on here.

- Jimbo - I'm glad you like the gallery - the cool linking pic of the "guy" is my hubby, they are all pictures that we have taken on day trips from our gites to show the places that can be visited. I will work on trying to get the enlarged sizes consistent, it's just a bit time consuming and I've found even when I save the pictures using the same sizes they don't display in the same size. Appreciate the comments about the interior pics - planning to redo them after our next visit in June when we can take some more photos

- Windy - I agree about the grey look, my hubby chose the design template when he created the first page originally over a year ago - I've tried a different lighter template for the French site

- Lorca - the problem we have is that we are not onsite so I have to work with the pictures we have until the next trip - I've changed the heading shot - it's a bit brighter but still no blue sky!

This is my work in progress French home page: http://www.maisons-de-vacances-finistere.fr/ - it is lighter and brighter - I haven't checked the text yet and the other pages are not done so the links go back to the English version. Just would like to know if you find this more appealing than the grey English version: http://www.lostinfinistere.com/index.html

Thanks again for taking the time to help me improve my website! :D
tavi
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Location: Algarve

Post by tavi »

In a hurry but just wanted to say the site looks great and what a lot of work has gone into it!

Haven't read the others' comments but no doubt someone's mentioned the header shot on the English site is very grey, with closed umbrella etc....

Other than that, it's very inviting.
Beachcondo
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Post by Beachcondo »

katz wrote:A question for you Beachcondo - when you mention the gallery do you mean the slideshow on the home page or the actual gallery page?

Cheers
I meant the actual gallery page. The slide show has a smaller size, so it doesn't reveal low quality that much. The enlarged picture does. Your outdoor pictures are more crisp than the indoor ones though, so you might want to use a tripod the next time.
I invested in (a simple) one that stays in my Florida apartment since I always take new pictures when I'm there. Either because I have updated the interior, or because I want to catch the light better than on the last round of pictures.

You can give all the information in the world, but a picture with ambiance will make your renters fall in love with the place in a heartbeat!
Pessimists only get positive surprises.
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