I'll show you mine as you've shown me yours!

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.
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Jimbo
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I'll show you mine as you've shown me yours!

Post by Jimbo »

Charlie Brown wrote:
A yawn may not be polite, but at least it’s an honest opinion.
When we started renting in 2005, we decided against having a dedicated website because we preferred to put our energy and resources into using commercial rental listing sites. However, in these bleaker times, we’ve slowly come to understand the potential value of such a website if used in a wider marketing strategy.

Only my second site build, I’ve spent the last 10 days banged up in the office using ‘moonfruit’ software (thanks to davedeighan and MG for the heads up). I’ve also re-read and (hopefully) absorbed much of the valuable site-building information on this forum. Using an ‘off the shelf’ template system has some disadvantages but the cosseting software gave me the confidence to crack on at a fair pace. My ambition, when designing the site, was to allow quick access to relevant stuff for people in a hurry but to reward others who choose to linger. Probably controversially for this forum, I’ve used a lot of ‘people pix’ but I’ve grouped these in one place and used ‘empty stage’ photographs for the gites. Usually fairly, snappers often get accused of trying to impress their peers with exciting designs but neglecting the needs of the poor old buyers – I’ve tried hard to avoid that trap.

Time to push the freshly-scrubbed infant through the school gates and ask you knowledgeable guys if you might spare a few minutes to give the site a welcome slap of LMH astringency. Like Frankenstein’s monster, the beast lives, but I still have more to do.

www.rosieregites.com

Jim
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Big Sis..
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Post by Big Sis.. »

OOH Jimbo :D .......Brilliant job!!.....and your gites are stunning.

Talk about hiding your light under a doodah :wink: .......
Margaret
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Post by Margaret »

I'm afraid I'm not quite so enthusiastic. I think the combination of the photo and the 1st paragraph makes it come across like a travel site. No photos of the gites on the front page is, I think, a mistake. You are in a well known location - in my opinion, the first priority is to sell the idea of your gites rather than the area (obviously, we have to do the reverse as we are in such a little known location).

I also found the text difficult to read - small font on my screen anyway and solid blocks of text are difficult to concentrate on. I would try to insert some bold text, headings, bullets...

Sorry, didn't get past the front page for lack of time but as a punter, I'm not certain I would have done either.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

I like the design, as a low-attention browser I would like to see a little more information up front, specifically:
- picture(s) of the gites on the front page, perhaps below the first paragraph, including a pool shot to state straight away that there is a pool (assuming the site is to get you summer visitors and not just out-of-season). This is just to give a flavour of the accommodation you offer, so I know straight away if I am in the right place without having to click around.
- more detailed pictures of the outside space for each gite as that is where I am going to spend much of my time;
- explanation of the layout of gites and pool - are they close together, is the pool noise going to bother me, do the owners live on site, etc.
Probably controversially for this forum, I’ve used a lot of ‘people pix’
In the context of a page full of pics of activities and days out in the region, I think they look great.
Paolo
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la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

Hi Jim,
Firstly well done on having a go at doing your own site! It's a shame Margaret didn't get past the first page, because the other pages are much better, but I agree with what she said about the homepage - it isn't clear what you are offering, the text isn't easy to read and why oh why, with all the beautiful photos you have of the gites and pool, don't you put a few on the homepage? I think a little less text, or text interspersed with a few photos of the gites and pool, would be far more effective than the photo of the lake and trees, nice though it is.
Navigtion around the site is nice and easy - the only thing maybe missing was a transport links page, local airports etc.
HTH!
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enid
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Post by enid »

I think the site is clean and well laid out. The information is accessible and well organised although I would like a little more non bulleted text too to build the ambiance.

The gites look gorgeous but I would have liked to enlarge the images and that didn't seem to be possible. I agree that I would have pictures of the gites on the home page. If you still want to keep the landscape image it could go at the bottom as there is space.

It may just be me but green text can be hard to read.

Overall I thought it an inviting site that would make me want to find out more - bravo!
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Big Sis..
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Post by Big Sis.. »

the only thing maybe missing was a transport links page, local airports etc.
It is there LV, but under prices availability, maybe Jim could use a different heading..... :wink:

http://www.rosieregites.com/#/pricesava ... 4532176811
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

Hi Jim,

Congrats, I really like your site.

I found the site structure beautifully clear and very easy to navigate. In Garri-speak, I love the CTAs (calls-to-action, i.e. Ready to book?) you have dotted around - plentifully - making it easy for your visitor at every stage. I also like the way you have thoughtfully provided an "At a Glance" link to the gites in the left-hand sidebar, and in the boxes under each gite on your Prices + Availability page. These are great, and really speed things up for the impatient surfer.... most of us are! :roll:

I was "disappointed" to find I can't enlarge the pix on the gite pages - maybe have another look at that? I loved the gallery of Dordogne photos with their captions (which add to the mood) and the page of children's drawings, which I nearly missed. I'm sure that will score you brownie points with parents! Great idea.

I can see what you want to do with the homepage - a sort of cover to the glossy magazine inside? I do agree with others, though, in that you could make it even better with pics of your gites and the surrounding area. If it were my site (and it's not, and this is all a matter of taste...), I might even scrap your current homepage banner and use a really enticing pool shot (agree with Paolo), and a kaleidoscope of gite/exterior/regional pics under your paragraphs of text (to frame it). Or vice versa. Perhaps consider editing the length of the text on the homepage?

I love the "Send to a friend" button - great idea.

Have you got WiFi, btw? This is one of the things I look for first, when choosing anywhere to stay. If you have, you might want to use a nice WiFi logo to promote this; if you haven't, dare I suggest you might want to consider installing it? Your places are in a stunning location, but reasonably remote, and I really think some kind of Internet access is a big selling point.

Good luck - hope the bookings roll in....
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enid
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Post by enid »

Can you direct us again to that Wifi button please RR?
KathyG
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Post by KathyG »

Wow Jimbo, you have some stunning properties there!

Now, how many seconds exactly do we have to pull those punters in.....? I have to agree with everyone else, you must have some photos on your front page, you can't scan text like you can pictures and you need those to give them an idea of what they'll read about and to get them interested enough to read anything at all.

The text is not easy to read but I think it's the size rather than the fact that it's green, otherwise it's a lovely clean and well-organised site, well done!
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

WiFi button here.
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enid
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Post by enid »

Merci :D
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greenfrog
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Post by greenfrog »

Hi Jim,

Well done on getting the site up and running! Your properties look lovely.

I have to agree with others here that I would like to see a pic or two of the gites on the front page. Perhaps you could run that lovely pic of the Dordogne all across the top as a strap and then have gite pix in the body of the page.

I also agree that the font size is too small. The colour is a bit light too - it's hard to read.

Your first par is all about the Dordogne. I would have thought you didn't need to sell the area so much as your gites. You could weave in the stuff about the area further down. Or just simply move par 1 to the end of the home page and begin with par 2.

The general layout is clear and crisp and it's easy to follow. Best of luck with the site and have fun tweaking it!
Lounging on the lily pad...
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

Jim, your properties are stunning, and I love the picture on the home page, but agree there should also be some pictures of the gites.
e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

I'm a bit late into the fray, which means that most of the comments have already been made, but I don't necessarily agree with them all.

Font size
There is nothing wrong with your choice of font size.
Interestingly, you are using the identical character size to those used on Margaret's website - and many many others.
Possible solutions:
I'm sure part of the problem is the colour; or to be more specific, the colour contrast. If you selected a darker green, it would help.
Secondly, the blocks of text are just a wee bit too wide. If you built a vertical stack of Gite pictures (as widely suggested) on the front page, you'd get shorter, more readable lines.
The third "trick" with smaller fonts is to use a larger line gap - something like 1.25 - 1.5 line spacing makes a huge difference and looks cleaner/crisper. This is very prevalent on Blog pages/most Wordpress sites. See, for example HelenB's site which doesn't quite have the colour contrast, yet uses the identical font size, has a larger line spacing, and so it just works.

While on the subject of colour, I'm not sure that the red boxes on the left fit in with the overall style of the website, and yes, it does have "style". Giddy Goat's stylish website uses only ONE colour throughout, yet manages a callout box on the booking pages in just a variation of the house style.

Cute catch phrases
Yes, I quite like the use of cryptic terms like "to see and do", and the term "at a glance", but you've got to be careful that all readers understand the sentiment and that you're using these terms consistently. When I clicked on the sub-menu points for the Gites "at a glance", I was expecting a quick review of each Gite, but instead got the more "boring" prices and calendar, which are well signposted elsewhere. On the other hand, when you click on menu "to see and do > at a glance", you do indeed get a bulleted glance at what there is to see and do - nice !

Which leads me on to my final point, which in itself is a clue to the solution to the above issue:

Navigation
Two level menus that pull out/drop down are a minefield waiting for the unsuspecting traveller, and you have laid a few mines.

If there are dropdown(pull out) sub menus, then one should try to avoid making the top level clickable as well. Many of yours are only one sub-menu, and, as I've mentioned above, potentially redundant. I'd drop them :wink: and stick to one level menus if you possibly can. A single level menu may feel longer, but it lets your visitor see at a glance, all that is available at this website. Of course this only works if you do not have a seriously heavy multi-level website, and this is not one. By all means use callout boxes to achieve your stated goal of "quick access to relevant stuff" in addition. That is called being sensitive to your website visitor and reaps rewards.

Of course, I have omitted all that is good with this website; its stylish, clean, crisp, consistent and interesting, but then you didn't just ask for a pat on the back did you ?
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
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