new member, Please review my site

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gschlact
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:29 pm

new member, Please review my site

Post by gschlact »

Hello-
I am a new member of the forum and love the wealth of information.

I have had my website for about 2 years and have made small continuous tweaks.

I would greatly appreciate a review from this community. My rental is in Keystone Colorado where there are tons of condos for rent.

I have chosen to focus on: search engine optimization and do quite well for people looking for large rentals (4br) at Keystone; the other foucs has been to provide details on my unit along with pictures and other discounts I can provide.

Find my site at: http://greatrental.home.comcast.net
Thanks.
Guy
-Guy
Keystone 4br 4ba Penthouse condo, Walk to lifts and more...
http://www.GreatRentalKeystone.com
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vrooje
Posts: 3202
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:48 am
Location: Burgundy, France

Post by vrooje »

Guy,

Welcome to the forums!

Here are my first thoughts about your site:

I can't see the top left image on your homepage -- there were a few broken image links.

The bulleted list of amenities is great!

I think the description, however well written, is a little wordy. I would break it up into smaller paragraphs and add a few accent pictures.

I don't mind the background image that much, but I'd bet others will take issue with it -- tiled backgrounds like this are sometimes considered unprofessional. In a rental business, however, it can be okay to have a more Mom & Pop family feel.

Your title is great -- very descriptive! I think it's missing one word, however: Colorado. (And maybe USA and some mention of skiing. Okay, so three words. And "holiday rental" if you want to attract people from the UK and elsewhere. Okay, several words -- but I think Colorado is the most important.)

Did you know your floorplan is mirrored so that the text isn't readable?

The floorplan is a great idea, however. Definitely keep it -- but I'd either fix the mirroring or explain that even though the text is mirrored, the floorplan is correct.

The exterior photo shows a gorgeous Colorado blue sky, but I wish the ground were blanketed in fresh unmarked snow as well. Not that there's much you can do about that in June, but I thought I'd mention it. If you have any summer market at all, you might consider also showing a summer exterior picture.

I am not an SEO expert -- but sometimes lists of keywords can do more harm than good. Others can speak more expertly on that point, however.

I did notice one spelling error in those keywords: "swimming poll" instead of "swimming pool."

Are there prices anywhere on your page? I didn't see any. I think posting the prices up front is a good idea, so that nobody wastes their time on something they can't afford, and so that you don't waste your time with useless inquiries.

On a personal note, my aunt and uncle live in Silverthorne, right on the river. The whole area is just gorgeous! :)
Brooke
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tansy
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Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:29 am
Location: La Manche, Normandy, France

Post by tansy »

I just felt it was too much information to take in...the font I found difficult and it was too much in a block..it needs breaking up.

Looks a lovely part of the world.

All the best

Tansy
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Ju
Posts: 1949
Joined: Mon Sep 27, 2004 6:56 pm
Location: Vendee, France
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Post by Ju »

Hi Guy

I agree that the text could do with breaking up. I would also like to see a big photo up front, without having to scroll down.

I like the second photo in your collage, showing the living room and the view from the windows. I would be tempted to enlage this and use it up front. It gives a really good feel of the quality of the accomodation, and has the hills/snow in the background. It tells people what they what to hear.

As an aside, if you could re-take photo, I would redo this one, tidy up the coffee table, maybe put a bowl of fruit or some nice books on the table and see if you can get a shot which shows the view more clearly.

It lloks like a really nice place, but I think in general your photos are a bit flat and need more umph.

Ju
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Hanorah
Posts: 322
Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Turkey

Post by Hanorah »

Hi it looks like a great house and the photos were good. When first clicking in there seems to be an entrance page which auto clicks onto the home page. I was confused as to why this would be necessary.

I would also break up the home page into different pages or at least space the text with some of the photos. This is as they are so good and if the reader does not scroll down and read the text they might miss them.

From a personal point of view I prefer a plain background as I find pictures distracting and as someone mentioned this can make a site look homemade rather than created by a web designer. This is not a bad thing in its way but I have noticed that the standards for rental sites appear to be getting higher and higher.

The copy of the site is good and I like the house so it is just the look and feel to me. I think you are doing a great job.

After my review I licked my wounds then took the advice and as a result my website is leagues better now.
Always Learning
Clexane
Posts: 330
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:42 pm
Location: Provence France
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Post by Clexane »

Too much text and not interactive enough with the pictures. Better to have information that is demonstrated by pictures. Keep it short and to the p[oint as best you can.

The background really does not add much and is rather distracting and hard on the eyes. Suggest a simple single colour background.

Menus should be in a place that are easier to find.

Hope this helps
So you wanted a holiday home in france ...

www.villaemmanuelle.com
gschlact
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:29 pm

Thank you everyone for the feedback. Another question..

Post by gschlact »

I appreciate the feedback.

There is some method to some of my reasons that go against some of the advise proposed. If anyone is still looking at this thread here would be my questions.

1. In the US, especially for a condo like mine where nearly every rental is 2-3 families sharing it, I believe it is quite common to make print-outs of the page. With this in mind, I wanted to ensure that my first page printed fit with all the text and information. This is the reason I place the Thumbnail Pictures after this first table as opposed to in a second right hand side vertical column along side the text.

SO- If the pictures wer side by side, it would cause text to not print on a single page. Which is more important???

2. I intentionally did not do formal menus (made it easier for me to maintain and control layout and style). Should I duplicate the Textual menu from the bottom and also add to the top of the page?

3a. Would Black Text be better than my deep Maroon Text if I left my background?
3b. Would Black Text be any better than my deep Marroon Text if I changed my background to a pale light sky blue?

4. Do I really need to add Keystone Colorado on the top of first page (it is in the text), since I feel that anyone who lands on my page will definitely already know they wanted Keystone Colorado?
Thanks.
Guy
a.
-Guy
Keystone 4br 4ba Penthouse condo, Walk to lifts and more...
http://www.GreatRentalKeystone.com
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vrooje
Posts: 3202
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:48 am
Location: Burgundy, France

Post by vrooje »

Guy:

Regarding your #4, adding "Keystone, Colorado" will help your ranking on search engines for phrases using those keywords. So It's useful even for people who know what they want -- and for those people it provides verification that they've come to the right place, while informing others of exactly where your place is.
Brooke
Renata
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:40 am
Location: Daytona Beach Florida
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Post by Renata »

Hi Guy,

I agree that the text first and pictures after made me want to run.
I need the pictures to entice me to stay....
You are looking for something printable and I don't think I would print this out.

Suggestion:
Make a link with a printable page describing what you think people will print out.
Get their attention first with pictures!!!

Very nice background.

Renata
Renata Gozdziak
Chicago Illinois---Daytona Beach Florida
gschlact
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:29 pm

does this picture help?

Post by gschlact »

Renata -
I put a small picture right at the top of the page. Do you think this is enticing to read on? To then get to the other photos? Also, the top of the page has a link to Photos.

thanks for the feedback.
Guy
(also in Chicago area)
-Guy
Keystone 4br 4ba Penthouse condo, Walk to lifts and more...
http://www.GreatRentalKeystone.com
gschlact
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:29 pm

new domain address for Keystone Vacation Condo Rental

Post by gschlact »

here is my new Domain address where I moved my site.
http://www.GreatRentalKeystone.com

Thanks.
-Guy
Keystone 4br 4ba Penthouse condo, Walk to lifts and more...
http://www.GreatRentalKeystone.com
reddevil
Posts: 244
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:35 pm
Location: Spain

Post by reddevil »

Guy.

I noticed that your 'Return to top of page' and 'Back to home page' at the bottom of your page, do not work.
--------------------------------------------------
What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?
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enid
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Location: Labretonie France
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Post by enid »

It's looking very strange on Firefox thi smorning - the keywords are listing at the left for pages and pages.

It's Ok in IE - but for me there really is just toomuch of everything on this front page - I realise that a US market may view it differently.
gschlact
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:29 pm

firefox

Post by gschlact »

Enid-
thanks for letting me know about fire fox. some of those keywords you saw are supposed to be contained in a Text box. can you email me a screen shot possibly?

send to greatrental AT greatrentalkeystone DOT com

thanks for the help.
Guy
-Guy
Keystone 4br 4ba Penthouse condo, Walk to lifts and more...
http://www.GreatRentalKeystone.com
A-two
Posts: 2091
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:05 am
Location: USA

Post by A-two »

enid wrote:I realise that a US market may view it differently.
Errr...don't think so, (sorry). When it first resolves in IE it is completely illegible, a mass of jumbled type on top of each other, then it kind of sorts itself out, but I think you have major problems with this template (double sorry).

There's no easy way to say this, but you have a great place, good photos, floor plan, and all the other elements needed to make a great site. I just don't think this layout is ever going to do justice to it, (triple sorry).

Hanorah uses a very elegant template that might suit, and I've seen quite a few others here that also work well. It would be worth the investment and I hope you take this in the spirit in which it's meant.
Waves from America
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