Could you review www.weardale.toucansurf.com/cottage 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.
civory@toucansurf.com
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Could you review www.weardale.toucansurf.com/cottage please?

Post by civory@toucansurf.com »

We're in Weardale, Co. Durham, England. The cottage is located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the area is fascinating for anyone with an interest in geology, natural history and archaeology.
It's conveniently situated near a pub and shop, and can easily be accessed by public transport. There are loads of great walks and cycle routes from the doorstep.
For families, it's quiet but nearby is the excellent and award-winning Killhope Lead Mining Museum which kids love, and in the summer months there's an open-air pool 5 miles down the road.
Feedback on my website would be appreciated.

Chris
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pinkeyemedia
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Post by pinkeyemedia »

OK, im going to be honest here, as thats why youve posted. :oops:

It looks very old and not well laid out, where on earth did you get that crazy menu from on the left!! :o

I wouldnt advise having adwords on your homepage at the top, straight away its making the wrong impression. It looks like you are trying to encourage visitors away on the first page they visit!! Have a look at your stats and see which page most people leave your site, then put your adwords there!

Your pics need updating, you want vibrant pics which show of your place in the best way. At the moment, they look very old and 'dusty' which may put people off - im afraid I would be. But im sure its a lovely place, so make sure youre visitors know that.

There is some good information on there, especially on your 'explore' page. But even the font you use changes on that page, which looks unprofessional.

Crikey, I nearly had to put my sunglasses on for the 'Essential Info' page. Bit green! :shock:

Hey, please dont be put off by these comments, im just trying to be honest and imagine myself coming accross your page and looking to book, and im afraid i wouldnt. First impressions are everything and your site looks dated. To be fair, there is some good content there, you just need to show it off in the best light! Cheers :lol:

Matthew
civory@toucansurf.com
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Post by civory@toucansurf.com »

Thanks for the feedback - very forthright! It's just what I need actually to do a good old refurbishment of the site. I have taken on board some comments already, namely moving the Google Ads, removing the screaming green, and correcting the font discrepancies.
When I get some more time I'll be re-doing the photos and changing the mad navigation!

Chris
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Ju
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Post by Ju »

Hi Chris

Just to add a couple of other comments,

Your font is not consistent, it changes from parragraph to paragraph. I would recommend you stick to Arial, 11pt or 12pt. 10pt is usually too small.

The photos definately need changing. They do look dusty, I don't know why. Are they scanned in or from a digital? You might be able to improve them by using photo shop to adjust the colour balance.

Is the pub nearby particularly good? If it is then make more of a play of it. I always like to book someshere near a pub which does good food, so perhaps an example of the type of food they do might be an idea.

Hope these help.

Ju
Martha
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Post by Martha »

Just to add to what others have said...

Use some software to auto-balance the photos, it's easy and makes such a difference..If you really don't know how to use it, I wouldn't have thought it would be expensive to get someone to do it, but it's not hard to do.

Before
Image

after
Image

Photoshop Elements is a cheap package that does this, and there may be free ones, I'm sure I've seen some links on here to them.

The Durham site is very good, but maybe don't make it the first thing anyone sees? Could take people away from your site. I'd open external links in a new window myself, so that the user doesn't "lose" your site by browsing them.

Is the top pic the view? say so! it looks lovely!

why not have a section "for families" linked from all pages? you have some great content but it's a bit buried.

I'd also think about getting a proper domain name, it's not expensive, is much more memorable and looks more professional.
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

Being a Consett lass myself, I can vouch for the good information on the site, Weardale is one of my favourite places. Sort out the layout, and you'll have a great site.

Helen
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