Ok, gone live....your thoughts please?

[Stu]

Hi all. First post on this wonderful site. Well done Paulo! I've posted before on the LF forum, and had my ears chewed in public, as it were. This one seems far friendlier, and well done to you all for making it so!

We went live with the website just last night. I'd appreciate some feedback, just hit me with it, ok?

www.loire-gites.com

But, please be gentle!

Thanks all!

[charles]

No toilet pictures - yahoo! (see previous threads on the subject if that comment sounds weird..)

Anyway,

Yeah, I like it. The pic and the text on the main page are enticing. I particularly like the comment on the local area page: "the night sky is so dark and the heavens seem so close you could reach out and touch the stars...." Reminds me of my youth in the Massif Central, before it got desecrated by tourism.

My 2p worth:

- Is the calendar also going to act as an availability calendar - if so shouldn't you have a legend to go with it?

- The link to your developer at the bottom took me to the 1st Skeby Scout Group - is that normal?

- The price list shows 2006 - is that because you're not expecting to take bookings for 2005 (or maybe you're full?)

- You are missing alt / title tags on the pictures - these are text boxes that appear if you hover of images - useful for text only browsers and for search engines to index your site correctly.

- In the picture gallery - the drop down box to select pictures is really good - are some supposed to appear if I select bed and breakfast because none did. If that's normal I would suggest having a default set of pictures appearing first - and then a new selection to appear when the drop-down box is altered.

- The admin feature should be more discrete in my opinion - you don't want to make too easy for the hackers (the update account details part throws up a database error by the way..)

- I sent a test message using your form - when sent the message "Your mail was sent to our administration, we will contact you as soon as possible" - sounds very officious - maybe something more gentle?

Other than that - great! Hope I was gentle enough!

hth
Charles

[Stu]

Thanks Charles,

that's exactly the kind of feedback I need.

The truth is that the Calendar was set up as a 'What's On' kind of thing. The jury's still out on whether we'll keep it!

LOL @ the link. YES that's 'normal', or as normal as my mate Ant gets! I'll have a word with him!!

The price list shows 2006 simply because that'll be the first opportunity for us to put our 'stamp' on the place. We're taking bookings, yes. No we're not full, but we don't take possession of the place until July, so I couldn't really use the current owners' pricing structure. Plus we're making some upgrades to the facilities which will hopefully allow us to charge a little more.

I'll see what I can do about the tags. Useful info. Cheers!

On the Photo Gallery, there are some that I need to upload still. The B&B ones are proving a tad difficult at the mo, the script is being awkward for some reason! It'll be sorted soon tho!

Thanks for the info on the Admin feature. Certainly hadn't crossed my mind! Too naive by half....

I got your test e-mail, thanks. I wasn't actually aware of the message, I shall look into making that a bit 'softer'....good stuff, thanks!

You were magnificent mate. Thanks very much for the review.

[vrooje]

Stu & Syb,

Welcome to the forum!

Charles made some very good points -- so I won't repeat them, but they're all good advice!

I like your design very much -- you've got your own color scheme and branding, but your site is still easy to navigate and read. You've also got a great tone in your copy: very welcoming and familiar, but still professional. Well done!

Your paragraphs might be a little long. This is a matter of taste, of course, but a reader might skip over the copy because the paragraphs are a little long, and there are a lot of them. I emphasize "might" because it's not like it's all one big paragraph. I think it's just borderline, but I'd bet others on the forum will think the paragraphs are fine!

One thing I really, really wanted to see more of was photos! The picture on your homepage is lovely, and in fact all of your pictures are well done. But where are the interior pictures of the gites? I want to see more! This, I think, is pretty important. I don't think I would book a holiday without having seen interior pictures.

I like the "How to Find Us" section -- I wonder how it would work if it had a further zoom-out image that showed your location in relation to the whole of France? You do describe the Loire Valley, but not everyone will know where that is (e.g. how far it is from Paris), nor why they should choose that area to visit.

Overall, great site.

Cheers!

[enid]

I liked the site too - easy to read and easy to navigate. I know that I didn't have all the photos I wanted when I first launched my site and I am sure that you will be adding more photos as you go along. I would like to see the interiors and the outside without the cars parked there. The gites look lovely and so do the gardens. My only problem was that the photos in the photo gallery took a while to load - I don't have a fast connection here in the middle of the fields!
I know this part of the world very well as I have French friends who live just North of you in Chateau Gontier and we have been visiting the region for over 20 years - I am sure you are going to love it.

[charles]

I like the "How to Find Us" section -- I wonder how it would work if it had a further zoom-out image that showed your location in relation to the whole of France?

I knew I'd forgotten something: on the how to find us page - it didn't have information on how to get there from Blightly or elsewhere by air or Eurostar/TGV - or what the best ferry port is etc. And I agree a plain map of France with a little dot somewhere would give an instant idea of where you are.

Another 2p...


Cheers
Charles

[Stu]

Once again,

many, many thanks to you all for such brilliant insights. I shall be working on the site to trim it a little, and incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible, they're ALL valid. Thank you all so much!

I aim to get some more pics up asap. My next trip is in 2 weeks to meet the Maire and introduce the kids to the college etc. So I should get some time then.

Once again, thankyou. we're thrilled to be welcomed to the forum.

[Clexane]

I just tried to get in and this is what I get.

Active Server Pages error 'ASP 0126'

Include file not found

D:\DOMAINS\LOIRE-GITES.COM\WWWROOT\CONTENT\../content/skins/default.asp, line 1

The include file 'nukedit/skin.asp' was not found.

No web page or anything.

I am using Firefox so that may be the problem

[Fraise]

Oh,after that last post I went to see and all was well,it loaded quickly (IE6).Nice site!!

www.thepetitmanoir.com

[Alan Knighting]

Same here. I use IE 6 and it all displays as it should, and I like it! Maybe it is a Firefox problem.

If you are bothered by this you could check out the way that your site displays in multiple browsers, on multiple operating systems, at www.browsercam.com. Mind you, you have to pay for the service, it isn't free.

Alan

[Stu]

Hi all,

thanks for all your positive comments.

Clexane - We've been doing some tweaking with the site based on the responses we've had from you so far, and maybe the reason some of you may have got the error message was due to this? Hopefully it's all sorted now.

Brooke - I added a map of France and the travel info as suggested! Nice one.

Charles - Ant's toned down the message we give out to you upon sending an e-mail, he had problems with the scripts on that one, but we believe it's sorted now!

Once again, it's brilliant being able to share this and get such positive feedback. Thanks again to you all. If you have any more, please don't hesitate to let us know.

[charles]

Looking good!

On the how to find us page the link www.viamichelin.com should be opened in a new window - thay way you don't lose your visitor.

You might want to go here: http://www.whatsonwhen.com/ to 'borrow' some ideas for your events calendar..

Cheers,
Charles

[vrooje]

Such a quick turnaround for changes! It took me months to make the suggested (and brilliant) changes when I put mine up for review. Well done!

I like how the new France map also shows some cities on the British coast as well. Sort of cements the connection for UK clients.

Just FYI, I'm using Firefox as well, so I doubt that code problems are caused by a browser incompatibility.

Cheers!

[Stu]

Whew,

I think we're getting there!
Charles, I was having some script probs with the external link, so I've just made the ViaMichelin link a text thing for now. I'll work it out later!

Brooke...I really should go out & find a life, I know!

Actually I have been out today. Syb & I met our bestest pals in Haworth for the VE Day Celebrations....brilliant! Then back to this! I love it!

Thanks all once again.

[annemarie]

but I'm dying to get a look at that new pool you talk about on the home page! Since the announcement is in a different color, I clicked it expecting a link.
You might try condensing the text a bit as well, a bullet point list would be a bit easier and inviting to read.
I love the colour scheme you chose, it reflects the look and feel of the rental property nicely.