comments appreciated 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.

is my website good enough

Poll ended at Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:13 am

goodish
6
86%
poorish
1
14%
 
Total votes: 7

User avatar
Leo2
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:06 pm
Location: Calvados,Normandy
Contact:

comments appreciated please

Post by Leo2 »

Hi,
our website is three months old and I am wondering if it is good enough. My opinion is biased ,and I would like to know what others think about it.
Kind regards,
Leo
.


.




Did you know that ,a ----Murphy 17 inch -----was a television set!
Musetta
Posts: 1892
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:11 pm
Location: Campania, Italy/NJ, USA
Contact:

Post by Musetta »

I seriously just glanced for a second...but...the one thing that struck me right off the bat is that you have EIGHT (I think?) different booking periods and rates? it would be a bit comfusing to me if I were looking. I'll try to look at the rest when I have a few minutes :-)
slartibartfast
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:12 am
Location: Ovacik , Olu Deniz, Hisaronu , Fethiye ,Turkey ..but live in Perth
Contact:

Post by slartibartfast »

Nice looking website. Brief but it has has all the information I would be looking for. It looks nice and fresh. The external shots and the arty home-page look good.

The photos are too small. Making them clickable to a bigger image would be an improvement IMHO.

Perhaps re-shoot the village shot in "out and about". It's a bit too "grey".

In the "village house page" the bedside lights turned on in the first pic look inconsistent and don't add anything .... other make me wonder why they are on!. Generally I think all 4 would be better if they were a bit brighter either by tweaking them and/or using flash (but the results will depend on the camera / flash you have available)

Nice looking place
KathyG
Posts: 3274
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Le Faou, Brittany
Contact:

Post by KathyG »

Hi Leo,

Initial first impression is font is too small as are most of the photos, difficult to see whether it's a nice place as I felt I had to peer in and study them, you want the pictures to jump out and hit people in the face.

Only one typo as as far as I can see - further a field should have no space between 'a' and 'field'.

I would add space between your arty header and the text, on some pages there is, but on the special offers page for example the bit about discount from August onwards is lost, I didn't spot that line till I went back for a 2nd look.

On one page you want a 10% deposit and on another you want 25% and you do repeat yourself a bit on the booking conditions page re departure times............

Overall, as stated before, brief and fresh..........maybe a bit too brief? Sorry, looks like I'm in hyper-critical mode today - anyone else want a review!!?

Very much like the text laid over the hat pic - how have you done that?
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
e-richard
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Algarve, Portugal
Contact:

Post by e-richard »

Hi Leo,
Well, I quite like that site. I like your choice of pictures and they're mostly good quality. You have avoided excessive wordage and all the info is there, so to answer your question "is it good enough?" I would say "yes, it is just good enough".

However, since you've offered it up for review, here are a few things that could make it better. In no particular order:

1. Page headings. They could be just a wee bit bigger than the rest of the body. They would stand out more. BUT, some of them are not quite centered properly. This grates on me, so if you can fix that, please do.
A personal irritation of mine is the opening title "Welcome to our web site Via Normandy". Well, yes, I am on the web, and I am looking at a website, so all you need is "Welcome to Via Normandy".
And while I'm getting pikkie with wording, this is followed by "Our property "The Village House" is situated in the heart of the village of St Sever in Lower Normandy, France", which could be sharpened to "'The Village House' is situated in the heart of the village of St Sever in Lower Normandy, France"

2. Navigation. Its "convention" to have Home page first and contact us last; between that you want to order them in a natural direction that offers information in an organised fashion. I can understand putting a special offer in separately, but franky why make it a main button, rather than a call out (in a red star or something on main page and maybe one or more of your various bookings pages. As a main navigation button it has a look of "permanancy" and not a short term special offer.

3. Speaking of bookings pages, this is definitely confused. You have duplicated "booking" and even within Booking conditions there is unnecessary duplicated text. There is a separate contact us page, but the contact/enquiry form is on one of the booking forms. I suggest you take all of these pages, stand back and rethink. Perhaps something like "Prices" with all the financial info, including deposits etc. "Booking info" which explains how to book and finally "Contact" with your name and with the contact form. You may even be able to consolidate the first two into one page - your choice.

4. About us. What is this ??? Its very thin on content and doesn't really tell us who you are (thats on another page) somewhere), but I wonder if its needed - do use that lovely picture elsewhere though.

5. Finally on the subject of pictures. They are great pictures and could be just a little larger. Whenever you have two side by side, they could be bigger so that they occupied full width oif the text.

Good luck with the site.
User avatar
Overboard
Posts: 374
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:08 pm
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Contact:

Post by Overboard »

Very attractive site! I Like the header very much and the background to your booking page is fabulous. I have not read through all your text but here's what I noticed..

I would love to see the images larger!

The navigation bar felt a little muddled. Pushing 'Home' up top, 'About Us' slightly further down and maybe 'The village House' further up would help me feel right ;)

Is there history to this house? It screams of a story but I cant find one apart from converted stables being briefly mentioned. I'd mention this on my index page, tell us more about the house itself!

Not keen on the "welcome to our website", no, I want to be welcomed to The Village House :)

I like your wallpaper, I use that on one of my websites too (not either of the 2 here), and also on my blogger blog (which I'll never link to as people will think I'm nuts ;)

I too have quite a few different rental rates a year, about 7 for Edinburgh.

Oor Wullie fan eh?
User avatar
Leo2
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:06 pm
Location: Calvados,Normandy
Contact:

[size=18]"Jings crivens help ma boab"[/size]

Post by Leo2 »



Thank you all for taking the time and effort to review my site .
I am very impressed with all the comments and suggestions. I am now aware there is a lot of tweaking do to on my part.

Later tonight I will sit down in front of this screen,with a large glass of Grouse and condense all your suggestions to enable me to improve my site.

So far I am delighted with "your" efforts.

Leo
.


.




Did you know that ,a ----Murphy 17 inch -----was a television set!
e-richard
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Algarve, Portugal
Contact:

Post by e-richard »

And we look forward to seeing the improvements to "our" website :D
guest 4
Posts: 990
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:33 pm

Post by guest 4 »

Hi Leo,

I like your site, to the point and gives the info a potential guest needs within a few clicks.

However, I do wonder if it is too short and sweet. Perhaps embelish a bit more, enthuse a bit more, and I agree with others about offering some larger pics. I love to be nosey.

I looked at the booking page, it said to check the availability - I couldn't find it! That is not to say it isn't there.. I'm sure it is, but I'm a typical technophobe who misses stuff right in front of my face. So if you are looking to build an easily navigatable site, I'm the person to ask. :lol:


Ruth
User avatar
Topcat
Posts: 1888
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:43 am
Location: Isla Canela, Costa de la Luz
Contact:

Post by Topcat »

Here's my two pennorth.

1. Love the first picture. Looks like a watercolour.

2. LOSE 'welcome to the website'. It's 'welcome to our house/villa/home'.

3. Think you should increase font size.

4. Not sure about the 'about us' page - it doesn't really say a lot. Just move it further down the order, I think.

5. Under 'Village house'. Lovely terrace picture, but I can't work out if the terrace is shared with the other property. And since you welcome dogs, that could be a problem for one set of guests.

6. Can you make your pics enlarge?

7. 'Out and about'. How close is 'close by'? 'Close' is relative, so I'd give an idea - 10 minute's walk, 5 min drive etc. Also 'afield' is all one word. Are there any watering holes and/or shops in walking distance?

8. 'Booking'. I'm starting to wonder about short breaks. It costs you the same in time, effort and money for 3 days as it does for seven. You might want to think about that. And maybe you could set your prices out more neatly - it would be easier on the eye (a minor point, though).

9. You refer to it as a 'luxury apartment'. It might be a good idea somewhere in the site to make it clear what makes it luxurious. Certainly you don't have a dishwasher, which would be one criterion. Do you have extra fluffy towels, do you offer a welcome pack, or are the furnishings particularly stylish? (Mind you, every apartment I've ever rented has described itself as 'luxury', and I haven't seen one that fits my definition!)

10. 'Contact us'. Really liked the map, but wonder if it could come sooner. Maybe a page called 'how to get here' or 'where we are'

11. T&Cs. Can guests smoke? It isn't clear (unless I've missed it somewhere else). It's important to be clear either way - I wouldn't book somewhere that had smokers in it before me.


It's a nice-looking site, easy to navigate (crucial) and with some nice features. The links page is really good, with useful information without overdoing it.

Good to have you on the forum, and good luck with your rentals. It looks a lovely place.

Topcat
_________________
Spain beach apartment
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/19365
www.islacanelarental.iowners.net
Painting holidays in the Costa de la Luz
Debut novelist at http://tinyurl.com/or89jle

http://wivenhoewriters.blogspot.co.uk/
Contributor to anthology 'In a Word: Murder'
User avatar
Jimbo
Posts: 3582
Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:41 am
Location: Charente Maritime

Post by Jimbo »

Paul Delaroche (on seeing one of the first photographic Daguerreotypes in 1839) wrote:
'From today, painting is dead'.
Topcat wrote:
Love the first picture. Looks like a watercolour.
WHAAAAT? Think I need to lie down in a darkened room for a bit.

Jim (Taught to count seconds in the darkroom by chanting Kodak 1, Kodak 2, Kodak 3 ...)
User avatar
Topcat
Posts: 1888
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:43 am
Location: Isla Canela, Costa de la Luz
Contact:

Post by Topcat »

All debates are circular, Jimbo.

And by the way, Potato 1, potato 2 etc is slightly more accurate.

TC
Debut novelist at http://tinyurl.com/or89jle

http://wivenhoewriters.blogspot.co.uk/
Contributor to anthology 'In a Word: Murder'
User avatar
Jimbo
Posts: 3582
Joined: Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:41 am
Location: Charente Maritime

Post by Jimbo »

Potato 1, potato 2 etc is slightly more accurate.
Ahh. No wonder all those prints used to come out too light!

Jim
User avatar
Topcat
Posts: 1888
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:43 am
Location: Isla Canela, Costa de la Luz
Contact:

Post by Topcat »

Jimbo, Try Olympus 1, Olympus 2............


TC
Debut novelist at http://tinyurl.com/or89jle

http://wivenhoewriters.blogspot.co.uk/
Contributor to anthology 'In a Word: Murder'
User avatar
Windy
Posts: 3219
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:21 am
Location: Windermere UK

Post by Windy »

Just browsed your site and it has the Apache upgrade success message on it - this happened to me when my ISP ugpraded and failed to do something necessary to the pointers to my web site (not sure exactly what but an e-mail to support at the ISP got it sorted out pretty quickly).

Best wishes

John

PS It (http://www.vianormandy.com/) is still down today (Friday at 6.p.m)
Post Reply