Your comments on our new web site, please

[la vache!]

BB and Ian, my comments were not directed at you.
BB, your site looks fantastic now, well done.

[greenfrog]

the 2 phrases that fill my heart with dread are:

'I am our companies/schools computer expert'

Dear ttp,

I am our company's computer expert.


No, really. Well, the Paris office expert.

But this is purely because the others in the office are grandfathers who've resisted this new technology and I actually know how to use Word .

And the computer support people, in London, need someone on the end of the phone who knows it's called the "enter" key and not "carriage return" !!

[Big Sis..]

I'm get very annoyed when this happens - a lot of long term members go to the time and trouble of offering advice, most of which is ignored, never to hear from the OP again. Same old same old.

You are Soo right Susan I was thinking exactly the same!!!
..and I knew you werent having a dig at BB and Ian..there are loads on here especially lately that just seem to take from people like Garri and E Richard [and the others] who know sooo much and are willing to give their time so generously....
Its a shame

[KateK]

What can I say! I did not just put my web site up "just to show off" and I know we haven't made all the changes you all suggested - YET. But we are working on it. Believe or not we've all been pretty busy for the last couple of weeks with our jobs and other things and have not had time to do all the work we need.

I have posted elsewhere, though maybe not as often as others - as I said I've been busy!!!

I doubt if my 24 year old daughter will be too happy at the suggestion that she sounds like an "overly hormonal semi literate teenager." She is NOT some amateur techie who thinks she knows it all. She earns her living as a web content editor - admittedly the web sites sell iPod, laptop and hifi accessories and not apartments in Vilamoura which probably accounts for the difference in the styles. As her boss says on their web site "She has not one but TWO university degrees that are actually relevant to her job - seriously!" See what I mean about the difference in styles?

For what it's worth I too hate it when people claim to be the "office computer expert" - mainly because I earned my living providing IT support to all sorts of companies. I've come across lots and lots of computer experts - usually when we were called in to fix the problems they created.

None of us is any better than any other - I WILL update the web site as soon as I can - I liked a lot of the things you all suggested but your more recent comments are actually quite hurtful rather than helpful and not exactly encouraging.

Kate

[Garri]

She earns her living as a web content editor

Really?

Anyway, I do think when people ask for advice for their website and state they think "it's excellent because my son/daughter did it" are bringing clouded emotions into the equation, and are setting themselves up to be slaughtered

By the way, we are all busy people (believe it or not)

[Bohinj Badger]

Kate,

Good to see that you posted back with an update. A lot of people invest their time reviewing websites here and get very interested, and then hear nothing again and see no progress. So I am sure that you will understand their frustration when there are no updates as it is easy to think this with no information.

I know that it is difficult when life is busy, but it would be good to try and post an update with progress 'every now and then' - even to say very busy but working on it, and these are my priority changes xxxx).

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with it

BB

[ttp]

Dear ttp,

I am our company's computer expert.

It's the term 'expert' I hate (ex = has been, spert* = a drip under pressure) & when someone is called an expert it sets them up to be knocked down, there is always someone who knows more.

*OK, I know it's not spelt that way.

[Chambo]

Hello,

Please don't stop reviewing websites or thinking that your comments aren't appreciated - all of you comments have been a real eye-opener for me. I've just posted in 'would love some comments on my website' that I have changed the text on my site, because of the helpful advice I got here. Definitely still not up to scratch and need more photos but am working on it.
Sorry to hijack this, just didn't want you to think your coments were a waste of time,
Anna

[KateK]

She earns her living as a web content editor

Really?

Yes, really......

Anyway, I do think when people ask for advice for their website and state they think "it's excellent because my son/daughter did it" are bringing clouded emotions into the equation, and are setting themselves up to be slaughtered

By the way, we are all busy people (believe it or not)

OK. So my emotions were/are "clouded" BUT I don't think that set me up to be slaughtered. I asked for opinions on the web site and I got them - and I appreciate the time and effort busy people spent to give them to me. I did respond to the first set of comments but maybe I should have acknowledged them again sooner. I didn't, so I'm sorry - but I don't think that gives anyone the right to start ripping in to me personally - some of the comments did hurt.

Please don't feel that my lack of response is because I'm ignoring your suggestions or I'm too big headed to do anything about them. I have taken your comments on board - I've already got rid of the hob and brightened and sharpened the photos, as suggested. I genuinely have been very busy and don't have as much time as I'd like to spend fixing the web site - or to be posting here. Today has been an exception so you can expect to see some changes uploaded on the web site either later today or tomorrow - I'll let you know when.

Kate

[enid]

Kate I'm sorry that you have been upset by people's comments - I know how dificult it is to get round to a web site amongst all the other things in life - mine has been in the process of being redone for eons!!! It's just that when you ask for a web review and the people take the time (and it does take time) to do it and don't hear anything then they get a bit irritated - you see some people have just come along for that without contributing.

i'm very guilty of singing my daughter's praises as a techie - but like yours she really is!!!! I am sure that when you have the time to look again at the comments and made any changes you think relevant then folks will be happy to have another look.

Now when am I going to find time to work on my revamp???

[KateK]

I've done some updates - not all of them yet, but I have

- darkened the text
- replaced the photo of the hob and one of the bedrooms
- auto-leveled and shapened the photos
- got rid of the "cleansing" dishwasher - well not literally, don't think our guests would like it if I did
- removed nearly all the !!!!!!!!! (it did shriek a bit)
- removed the emphasis on security - the apartment is in a quiet residential area; nothing to be worried about
- changed the heading paragraph to mention "Algarve in Portugal"
- and updated the text; I don't think there are any more closed condominiums (that's what the Portuguese call it) or shared, privates either.

And now it's back to the day job, before my customers start complaining their orders are not ready.

[Garri]

Katek, looking much much better now, although I still feel the nav needs to be different colour to your main copy as it becomes lost.

One thing I did spot, the text in the photos e.g. The Apartment, looks like it has anti-alias switched on. Try switching it off, or upping it to smooth as it looks a bit jagged.

I usually only use anti-alias when working on pixel fonts at a fixed size.

[enid]

Well it's looking good to me - the colour scheme is very relaxing. Hope you got all your orders out on time too

[la vache!]

Kate,
I'm not going to comment on the style, but the text reads so much better without all the exclamation marks. You haven't lost the informal style, but it much easier to read. If I was going to be really fussy, there are a few commas missing and this sentence on the Vilamoura page

Or head down to the place to be seen at the marina for some dinner in one of the huge range of restaurants available.

I would re-write as something like this!

Or head down to the marina, the "place to be seen", and dine in one of the many excellent restaurants to be found there.

I know I'm an English fanatic and feel free to ignore me, but if you would like the site proof read, just let me know.

Thanks for getting read of the cleansing dishwasher and the washing machine for washing your clothes!

[Garri]

Thinking more about the jagged text in the photos, I've since realised this may be the result of sharpening the photos as you most probably have flattened the Photoshop file i.e. no longer on separate layers.

When you sharpen a photo in PS that has text on a separate layer, the type must be rasterized which means the text will no longer be editable.

This is the case when you use any filter, not just sharpen.

Solution: work on optimising your image and getting that right before adding any text.