Could you review my website please.

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.
Honeysuckle
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Location: Aude France
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Could you review my website please.

Post by Honeysuckle »

http://www.honeysucklecottageaude.co.uk

I am really not sure if its ok or not or whether it needs tweaking.
Family and friends say its fine but they would wouldn't they lol.
Please be honest I can take it.
Thank you so much.
Lots of hats but only one home!
e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

This may not sound like it, but I do want to be constructive:

This is just the Home Page:

In general, this feels like a website you built for yourself, and then later decided as an afterthought to offer rentals to occasional guests.
Evidence:
a) Picture of yourselves and dogs dominate, rather than pictures that would be of interest to and would entice holidaymakers.
b) How to book/prices/availability (the "call to action") should be right there in your face and easy to get to. Instead its buried in a sub menu under OUR holiday let.
c) The main font is Comic Sans. This is a very widespread joke font that is hated by all modern website designers. It was very popular in the web early days for college students to build their Look-at-me websites before the days of Facebook. (Oh and yes, I also used it myself way back in the early days :oops: )

Now some specifics:

1. What is all that wasted space above the menu ?
Oh, I think there is a dark green heading that is indistnguishable from the background ?

2. That menu is too small, does not work properly.
a) Too much going on when you mouseover. Very hard to work with. Jumps all over the place.
b) Should not wrap.
Just throw it away - its awful, and try to find a different scheme entirely.

3. There is a spurious number displayed above the photos on the left.
I am guessing its a hits counter cos it seems to be different each time. IF you want it, put it below the photos.
Last edited by e-richard on Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Ok a quick one for starters. The Green title on the first page is barely legible over the trees.

The first thing I see is Living Our Dream. Is this a website to advertise your holiday property? In which case I think you need to have a rethink of that sub heading and the layout; make the first page details about the property and the area. You want to sell the holiday to others, so try and look at it from an outsiders perspective. What is going to draw you in as a stranger and make you want to book there?

There is an incredible amount of information on here to guide you, so I would have a read and a nose at a few others websites. I do not hold mine up as a good example BTW, it was a rushed job using software that I really struggle with, so some time soon I will be starting again!
Honeysuckle
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Post by Honeysuckle »

OK I'm listening!!!
Thanks for your input.
I agree with alot you are saying.
I am new at this and am just trying to get it as best I can.
What fonts are popular these days then?
I have already changed things some so please take a look.
I did think the green a little heavy and the menu not visible enough so see what you think now. Looks a bit better to me.
I have also changed the font.
I will get there in the end hopefully :)
Lots of hats but only one home!
e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

Just about to go out, so cannot comment in detail, but I did want to say...

WOW. That's already a huge improvement.

Just some tiny niggles left, but that will probably have to wait till tomorrow by which time I suspect you'll have changed it even more :)
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

Oh my gosh honeysuckle - it looks so much better!

Haven't had much time to look in detail, but just one thing:

Was it really Kate Moss who wrote some books in your cottage?
I'm guessing that you mean Kate Mosse the author not the supermodel, and that you mean the books are IN your cottage, not that she actually wrote them there which is what I initially thought you meant... :D
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wallypott
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Post by wallypott »

Your home page is a completely different style to the other pages, and I still find the green on green difficult to read. What story are the photos trying to tell. They are the things that people look at before they read any text. So.... You accept dogs? Have a caravan? Is that the view. If so you should say so with a photo caption.

I was just looking at your history page and it would seem that either the Aude tourism board have lifted your text wholesale or visa versa. Google, apparently, doesn't like it when identical text appears on multiple pages, and it is quite probably illegal.

Too many fonts - its a good idea to choose something and then stick with it everywhere. And I'm not sure about using different colour fonts for some of your tourist attractions.

On the living our dream page your title goes over the line on my browser which is Rockmelt (a chrome off-spin) on a mac.

Some of your photos are crisp and clear and some are really fuzzy and poor quality. You have loads of photos get the rid of the crap. It would be nice to have a gallery of photos as that would be the first thing most people look for.

I second ERs opinion. This does not come across as a holiday rental website first and foremost. I think you should maybe rethink your site structure. I kept opening the two properties for sale thinking they would be the rentals, not the opposite.

Anyway supper calls - I'm sure others will have something to add.
FelicityA
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Post by FelicityA »

I've just had a very brief look and I think I must be looking at version 2.

Just one comment for now - I like to see prices as a main menu item, not hidden away down a menu. I had to hunt for it. Very reasonable prices BTW!

Why are you sending people to holiday lettings to book? Can they not email you directly from your site? You send them to holiday lettings and they start browsing around similar properties and maybe book somewhere else. If you've got them to your site, keep them there!
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

If you are going to send people to holdaylettings, you should at least send them straight to your page, before they get distracted by one of your competitors! :wink:

You can do this by putting in a link to http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rental ... nne/124827
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

The new text is too small on my widescreen monitor. The "medieval village" is just about legible but by the time I get to "this is a great area" it's tiny.
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wallypott
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Post by wallypott »

Apologies - I was looking at the link in your footer, not the link in your post. Actually no idea what I was looking at but now cleared browsing history and am hopefully looking at the same as everyone else.
KathyG
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Post by KathyG »

This is the first thing I see.....

Image

Haven't read anything yet but noticed that size of font reduces dramatically at the start of the second paragraph and is practically unreadable. The title 'Living our Dream' reads more like a blog about your life rather than trying to sell holiday lets. Welcome to the forum though :D
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

The thing is, we can all find things on your website to comment on, but at the end of the day, you are doing REALLY well with your bookings already - maybe you should be reviewing OUR websites for us! :D

For example, the received wisdom is that we shouldn't talk about OUR dream or have photos of ourselves prominently on our websites - yet you do both of these things and it doesn't seem to have affected your bookings at all.

And your cottage looks gorgeous, plus good value in a lovely location. Keep doing what you are doing, and enjoy your dream. Well done!
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Lindisfarne
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Post by Lindisfarne »

WOW ! I agree with NC

You have lots of bookings and seem to be doing really well indeed !

Reviewing someone else's website is as we know subjective and everybody here is trying to help you

There are some good tips above so why not cherry pick ?

I would definitely link directly to your HL advert rather that the area page as you have it now.
:P
People in Stone Houses should not throw Glass

Website : lindisfarnecottages.co.uk
Honeysuckle
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Post by Honeysuckle »

Wow,
Thanks folks.
I never expected such alot to answer. I really like this forum which I have only recently been told about.
Right to answer some questions.
My website is really for people who look on holidaylettings first and then click on the website not the other way around.
I don't think my domain would bring people direct to me even though it's not a bad one, so its holiday lettings then website.
I suppose it is more of a blog type really.
Guests have said they like the fact it gives lots of info and ideas as to what to do before they come but usually they have booked already or looked from HL.
I suppose its a friendly touch and hopefully because we are on site it shows we are nice kinda people after all our guests will see quite a bit of us.
I aim to go through it though and change things as suggested, so keep watching this space and please keep giving me advice and help. really appreciate it.
With Thanks
H :)
Lots of hats but only one home!
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