Website review 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.
Pmagowan
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Website review please.

Post by Pmagowan »

Hi all,
This is probably my 4th website without actually being ready to open to guests. I had a very large site made but lost it when my computer died! I would appreciate any comments on this version. I have not got the final photos done yet so am using what I have. My spelling is attrocious (sp) but will get that checked prior to going live. I am most interested in fresh eyes about the layout etc. The site is not complete. Thanks in advance.

www.escape2tuscany.com/public_html
e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

Its nice and unusual without being too off the wall.

Some specifics. Apart from the first, none are real deal breakers:

1. Hate that "bouncy" side menu. As you mouse over it, the words bounce up and down overwriting your footnote, and sometimes making it difficult to click on sub-menus.

2. Love the idea of Booking is as easy as 1-2-3 - but after you click on 1 to check availability, how do you get to step 2 ? Seems like you have to go back to go forwards.

3. You seem to like the idea of always centered text. I guess its a matter of opinion. I generally do not like large blocks of wide texts being centered. Slightly harder to read.
HOWEVER, centering bulleted texts is really odd in the T&C ??
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
Pmagowan
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Post by Pmagowan »

Thanks e-richard.

I had noticed the side menu thing so will try and find a way around that. I wonder if disabling the levels altogether would be a good idea? There are links in the body of the top level pages to sub pages but that might be a bit clicky. I will look at it.

The 123 thing needs some work so I will get at that tonight hopefully as, like you say, it should flow.

I will look at the centred text too.

Thanks for advice.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

I do not mind the accordion opening menu. It does not bounce if you hold you mouse over the subject.
The fonts are a bit "light" Whist It is great for the larger text when I can to fill in the contact form ( No I did not send one) The text I added to the form was very light. The areas one fills in is centre loaded for some reason I thought they should be tagged to the left. The areas of the form are not highlighted when you are filling them in. The same with the buttons on the form, no highlighting.
I am not so sure about the subject matter on the first row, first page. A leg of ham, a glass standing on the ground and some leaves.
The second row has far more enticing photos.
SEO and HTML:
Title tag very short.
No Meta Description tag.
No robots.txt found.
You should outsource styles to an external CSS files.
Check your Google SERP Snippet.
To be fair I have found the same sort of errors on the website where one can purchase the theme.
Overall presentation is good clean and simple. Also a fluid layout.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Pmagowan
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Post by Pmagowan »

I have adjusted the menu to take out the sub pages.

I have changed the 123 booking thing to make it flow better.

The T&C's have been left aligned.

I hope this is an improvement.

I have not got around to my SEO yet and so have not fiddled with anything other than basic layout etc. I will look at that when I am happy with the content. I know the pictures are not right yet but the property is still under construction (this seems to take a long time in Italy). I will get good photos at the next available opportunity, hopefully once the pool goes in.

The contact form is generic and I have not changed any settings on it yet as it is unlikely to be the one I use when things are up and running. It is more of a place setter for the time being. It won't work even if you hit submit I am sure.

Thanks for comments, any more are welcome.
Pmagowan
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Post by Pmagowan »

A quick question while I am making changes; Are the buttons on the bottom of the page better on the home page (big buttons) or on the availability page accessed through booking-availability (small buttons)?
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Pmagowan wrote:A quick question while I am making changes; Are the buttons on the bottom of the page better on the home page (big buttons) or on the availability page accessed through booking-availability (small buttons)?
I would doubt that many people will actually scroll all the way down. People are lazy, me included. Being lazy, I just clicked on the first hyperlink, which was the title in the middle of the picture. It did nothing. Then I did scroll down and saw the buttons at the bottom. They did nothing either.

BTW, the site loads really slowly even on a 20MB connection. The reason is fairly simple and the number one mistake I regularly see on here. The pictures are way too big. The first one is 4896 pixels wide. I appreciate that it's scalable but who has that size of monitor?

Edit: It was only after reading some of the other comments on here that I actually found the menu. It's off the bottom of my screen and I have a fairly decent sized monitor. You would have lost me as a potential client.
Pmagowan
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Post by Pmagowan »

What are you viewing it on kevsboredagain? The menu is supposed to be on the left side and is on both my mac and pc using safari and explorer. The only button and hyperlink that shouldn't work is the final 'book now' one as the rest should just direct you to a page on the site. It is in 'sandbox' mode at present as I am fiddling with things.

I have tried to reduce the size of the pictures as much as possible. The banner is supposed to be 1500 pixels wide. I don't know if there is an error.

Just a thought, if you are clicking on my signature link that takes you to an old version. The new website is at www.escape2tuscany.com/public_html
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Pmagowan wrote:What are you viewing it on kevsboredagain? The menu is supposed to be on the left side and is on both my mac and pc using safari and explorer. The only button and hyperlink that shouldn't work is the final 'book now' one as the rest should just direct you to a page on the site. It is in 'sandbox' mode at present as I am fiddling with things.

I have tried to reduce the size of the pictures as much as possible. The banner is supposed to be 1500 pixels wide. I don't know if there is an error.

Just a thought, if you are clicking on my signature link that takes you to an old version. The new website is at www.escape2tuscany.com/public_html
Duh, sorry :D I clicked on your signature. I'll look again.
Pmagowan
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Post by Pmagowan »

Thanks, you had me worried for a second. :)
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Ah that looks much better!

I don't think the availability needs to be 2 clicks away. You have loads of space in the menu area. I'm undecided about the big buttons. Perhaps smaller ones in the menu area would balance the layout more.

Actually, at first I thought there was too much empty space on the left but because it's all responsive, the layout works nicely.
Astorchamonix
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Post by Astorchamonix »

Your villa looks lovely. What you are offering with amenities etc looks really luxury and I think the website is overall very good. What is your usp and target audience? Familys? Weddings? Might be better to make it a bit more targeted.
You mentioned that you are planning to update the photos: I think that this is a good idea, you really need to sell the luxury villa holiday message. Perhaps staging the bedrooms a bit might help, and brightening them up as they look a little dull currently, as an interim measure you could edit them to make them a bit brighter, there is a website called www.picmonkey.com which is free and really easy to use. I got a little carried away with it for my website photos and perhaps overdid it!
Also, couldn't easily find the prices.....is this work in progress? As a customer, if I couldn't find the prices within 2 clicks I'd be off.
Pmagowan
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Post by Pmagowan »

Thanks.

Yep, still a work in progress. The prices will be on the availability page once we have invented them. The photos currently are just ones I have taken en pasent. I will take good ones 'selling the dream' when things are closer to completion.
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