Newbie review please

[Windwhistle]

Hi,

Have been searching for ages for a site with really good information, and finally found this place! All the threads are really helpful and hopefully once we get up and running we can contribute as well.

We are just starting out and would be very grateful for any feedback on our website. We currently are renovating and won't be ready to let until the start of june so don't have any internal photos. Also, need to get rid of the cloudy photos for sunny ones!

Any positive or negative points will be very helpful.

http://www.windwhistlewhitsandbay.co.uk

Thanks in advance, Windwhistle.

[la vache!]

Hi Windwhistle,
welcome to the forum! I'm on changeovers but just had a quick look and what stuck me is the lack of photos of the chalet itself, particularly the interiors. There is one of the woodburner and that is it - I wouldn't book anywhere if I couldn't see photos of at least the living room, bedroom, kitchen etc.
And the photos seemed to take an age to load too - I'm afraid I wouldn't have stayed on the site long if I were looking to book a chalet in Cornwall, sorry!

[Windwhistle]

Thanks for having a look, I will look at getting the file sizes down to speed up loading times.

We don't have any internal photos at the moment as the whole place is getting renovated. Should be able to get some up at the start of June.

[wallypott]

Welcome Windwhistle,

I have just had a quick look. I like quite a lot of your site, the photo under the homepage is a spectacular view. There is a bit of a text you could change on the first page

walkers to enjoy walks and scenic views

would read better "walkers to enjoy scenic views" (we know they are walking).

How did you do the Facebook link? I'd like to do something similar on my blog.

Some of your photos are a bit similar, which I guess will change once you have some more to put up.

Good luck with it all.

[Windwhistle]

Thanks, i agree a bit of a re-wording needed. We do have quite a lot of photos of the area to put up, just getting them off various members of our family is hard work! Will push people along.

The facebook like box is a plug in, at work at the moment so can't access FB to get a link. I think its on their developers bit. Just search it in google and it should come up.

Thanks for the welcome Wallypot and la vache!

[Nemo]

Hi and welcome.

Looks like a fab location so you should do well.

You need to put a description on the photos; at the moment they just have a file number.

Not sure about the black background; I would prefer something a bit more seaside, summery?

I'd like more details of the facilities; how many does it seat, dining table?, what's in the kitchen etc etc

As you have a facebook link I would be updating that regularly. Add some regular info about local places etc

Good luck!

[katz]

Hi Windwhistle

Initial thoughts:

-The page took a while to load on my laptop - picture first then eventually the text - not sure what you can do about it but slightly off putting

- I know you are showing the view at the top of the screen but it means scrolling down to see your text - perhaps move the text up more (so less of the blue sea at the top)

- I think page links should be at the top of the page, again so you don't have to scroll down to see them all - or perhaps reduce the font size.

- I like the maps on the local attractions links that show how far away they are

- Contact Us - who are you? Personally I think people like to know who it is they are dealing with - maybe a bit of information about yourselves, at the very least your name

Good luck with you new venture!

[KathyG]

Hi Windwhistle, I live in Plymouth so just down the road from you, will have to pop over and see your chalet once it's all finished

I found photos really slow to load as well, didn't actually get to see many but those I did see didn't show the chalet itself in a very flattering light. Stunning, stunning views.

[Windwhistle]

Thanks guys some really good points there. Should be able to get it sorted this week!

Nemo, the black background, is that behind the writing or the background? I know sometimes the background doesn't load properly and comes up as black.

Katz, I think the loading of the site could be a bit of an issue, will look at picture sizes, its built using moonfruit and does lag a bit. With scrolling down, I will have a bit of a play with it and see if it works. Contact info will need to be updated.

[964kevin]

It has potential, but the bits I think need more punch are, Centering the focal aspect, it looks lop sided to me, and I find it difficult to focus on the info or background picture.
I also think the top 3 picures could do with being clickable, as doing nothing they aren't big enough for anything useful, so make links or JQuery slider or something.
Make more of the pictures vibrant, they look a touch moody, and overcast, I want to see why I would go, and if it looks overly grey and miserable, I wouldn't go.

Hope thats not too harsh..


Kevin

[katz]

Yes loading is an issue - just tried it from work and took just as long to load - remember if someone perceives that the site is hanging they can quickly hit the cancel button...

I've "liked" your Facebook page

[Nemo]

I have tried it a couple of times now on different computers. The background appears to load now and is dark grey with white writing. I assume that's the intended colourway? Bit gloomy still for me! I'm also not a fan of a background picture behind the writing, it's very distracting.

I am on my old computer which doesn't have a widescreen and I now have to scroll left and right as the page expands beyond the screen width.

[Windwhistle]

Thanks for your time guys. I do agree with most of the points posted.

Loading is an issue and will work on this, not really sure what I can do about it as using moonfruit and from experience their sites do load slowly, might change when they bring in HTML5.

Pictures, definetly need better pics and internal ones. The chalet should be ready in about 2-3 weeks so will work on them then.

Updating the FB page is worth doing, just need to get my head around it!

The grey/black behind the writing is there so you can read the text. Will prob stay the same at the moment, but might have a proper look at changing it later.

Thanks again!