A third attempt and maybe, just maybe...

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.
MadDogWoman
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A third attempt and maybe, just maybe...

Post by MadDogWoman »

www.frenchsecrets.co.uk is the offending website!

I originally designed my site using Frontpage which I found very limiting so I've attempted to redesign it in Dreamweaver and am now struggling BIG TIME!

While I was doing it I previewed it all along using IE and Firefox and all seemd groovy but now I've uploaded it it does not display well at all in Firefox.

There are problems which I just can't get my head around so if anyone can help with the following:
Getting the form to work (online reservation enquiry form)
How to get it to display the same in Firefox as IE

Also, as if I've not asked enough, what do you think of the general appearance, layout, font, ease of navigation etc?

Waiting, with baited breath and in the hope someone can help me out...(Brooke, are you around? :lol: )

Nicola
Last edited by MadDogWoman on Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Garri
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Post by Garri »

It doesn't seem to work well in FF on OSX and I assume you have a Flash file embedded somewhere? If so, it doesn't work for me.

Looking at code I can't see any use of H1- H6 tags and these are your friends when it comes to SEO.

If you want to get a glimpse of what your site looks like in various browsers and platforms then take a look at: www.sitevista.com

Well worth the money in my opinion. They also have a utility for CSS too.
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

Nicola,
I'm sorry to hear that you found frontpage limiting - I have used it to create my website and have had no problems with it. Looking at your website, I couldn't see anything that you appeared to be trying to do which you couldn't have done using FP.
I know that FP does have certain limitations, but for a simple website such as mine (and yours?) I don't think they are an issue.

Anyway, you asked for honest opinions, so here goes...

My first impression was that your site looked a bit "messy", but when I looked closely at it I realised that this was not really the case, it was just that most of the text was in Times New Roman (a bit of an "old fashioned" font), with a bit of verdana here and there, and then a smattering of italics and bold which also made it look messy. I think that the site would be much improved with a clear, simple font such as verdana or arial. But then when I looked at the underlying HTML code I realised that it did specify the font family as verdana, arial etc - but for some reason this is not being picked up by my browser (IE) hence the fallback to the default Times New Roman. Not sure why this is happening.
I did a screendump of the home page so that you can see how it appears on my computer:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pslack/Screendump.jpg
Looking at it more closely, it appears that the links are being displayed in the correct font, but not the ordinary text.

Other things:
I don't think you need those "read more" links on the right, as all they are doing is replicating the links on the left, and I got very confused about where I was on your site. I think you should stick to one or the other, but not both.
I like your Frequently Asked Questions section - this is something I have been thinking about doing myself for some time, and I think yours works very well. (Although some of the questions are in bold and others not - is there a reason for this? I couldn't see any apparent reason).

All in all, I don't think you need to make a lot of changes, although I have not looked at it from a Search Engine Optimisation point of view, and I can't help you with your booking form as I don't know Dreamweaver.

Good Luck!
MadDogWoman
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Post by MadDogWoman »

Catherine
What you are seeing on your browser does not look anything like it does on mine! :shock: Which browser are you using?
I think I am going to go back to square one and going to reinstate my old Frontpage site until I can sort this mess out.
Thanks everyone anyway.[/img]
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

Garri,
I'm sure it's good, but is there nothing cheaper than that available you know of? For an amateur who only wants to check their own site it seems very expensive!
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Garri
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Post by Garri »

Susan, it's very reasonably priced - in US dollars remember. What I particluarly like is the fact you can buy it for a day, not tied into any recurring fees (although they also offer monthly plans)

Since you can test 25 sites for $9 the day, why not club together with other owners?
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Nicola,

www.browsercam.com is another service which shows what your site looks like in various browsers but again it's not free.

A partial answer could be to have IE, Firefox, Opera and Netscape installed as browsers on your PC. They’re all free downloads.

That way you could view your site on the main-stream browsers. I know it doesn't deal with other operating systems at all and it doesn't include all browsers but it does deal with the overwhelming majority of Internet users.

Just a thought!

Alan
MadDogWoman
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Post by MadDogWoman »

Thanks everyone for your comments.
The site that is now "live" is the first one which you guys helped me with originally .
Alan, I have already got FF and IE installed as browsers in Dreamweaver so I would have thought.... :?
This website creation/design malarky is not for me. Maybe I need to get a professional in. :lol: Back to square one.
Just when I thought... :cry:
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

Hi Nicola!
I'm using Internet Explorer version 6.

I've just looked at your original site and it looks much better! What was wrong with it that you felt needed to be changed in Dreamweaver?
MadDogWoman
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Post by MadDogWoman »

Hi Catherine
It looks too home made. :lol:
I was using IE 6 too! I even looked at it on more than one PC (I am such a dumbass I had to check it out on PCs I knew did not have an software on it or any saved files tucked away).
I had problems customising the navigation bars on FP and it seems simpler in DW how wrong was I?
Live and learn, live and learn! :lol:
reddevil
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Post by reddevil »

Nicola,

I am not so keen on the centred text for the main content. Sure, use it for any one-liners like "click here for special offers" and possible (but only possibly) for the left menu, but not for the main text.

This may make it look less home-made, if that is the effect you are looking for. But remember, some people also get put off if the site is too professional :wink:
--------------------------------------------------
What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?
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Garri
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Post by Garri »

But remember, some people also get put off if the site is too professional
Really? That's a new one on me. I guess the other side to that is some people get put off if a site is too amateur :wink:
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enid
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Post by enid »

Totally agree that the centred text needs changing - I was also a bit put off by the copyright text on all the photos. Otherwise I thought the site was fine - liked the text size and colours and the photos show of the property very well. Well done I say! :)
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

Agree about the centred text, and about the copyright message on each image.

Why do you have a picture of your kitchen in the "Discover the region" section?!! (In fact, why do you have this section as well as the "Things to do and Places to go" section? When I looked at this latter section, it didn't have many details of places to go, yet you list a number of them in the former. Suggest you amalgamate the two sections into one).

Also, I would be put off by the fact that you have to fill in a form just to check for availability - I just wouldn't bother and would move on to the next website. I think that you should try to have an online availability chart on the site.

But, although you think the site looks home-made, I think that is part of its charm - and Garri, there is a big difference between "home-made" and "amateurish"!!!! I think that Nicola's site is lovely, and I would certainly contact them if I were looking for a property in their region (subject to there being an availability chart of course :wink:)
MadDogWoman
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Post by MadDogWoman »

Thanks again everyone. I would remind you that you are still looking at the original site.

The images are being revamped to remove the copyright thing.

Most people do use the enquiry form and the majority of my bookings are as a result of that. I prefer people to contact me anyway rather than check an availability calendar. If they contact me, I have the opportunity to use a bit of personal charm to talk them into another time, maybe, if I am booked. MOH is a travel agent by trade and it's technique they use with enormous success time and time again. In my experience (and I have another site linked to a travel company which does feature an availability calendar and is updated regularly) people ignore the calendars anyway and still contact me! One last thing, I get put off if I look at a site and see there is tons of availability and ask myself why? That's obviously just me! :lol: Still, never say never!!! :lol: :wink:

The new site is still in the process of being revamped - back to Frontpage! Funny, now that I have battled with DW I'm finding FP much easier and understand what's what a lot more!

Thanks Catherine, for the nice feedback!! You'd be more than welcome chez nous!! :wink: BTW I do like the navigation on your site so have "pinched" that idea from you. I hope you don't mind. I am also changing the font to verdana as the Georgia does not seem to display well on all PCs (the site looks horrible on my Mums pc!).

I take the point about the discover the region/things to do sections. I will have a rethink and try to separate the two and make them more distinctive. However, there is something to be said in having similar information on both pages as not everyone looks at every page!! :wink:

I am also reducing the mumber of irrelevant photos on each page and am including a gallery instead. :D

Keep the comments coming anyway, it all helps. I'll try to build them into the new site. :D
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