Starting to feel a bit desperate

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Thomas BC
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Post by Thomas BC »

Thanks Elena!
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

Thomas,

Do you mind if I pipe in at this point with a review?

I didn't get a chance to see the previous version of your website, but based on the previous reviews and what the site looks like now, you must have made some very positive changes!

I find the site attractive, and the text is easy to read. I don't find the sidebar off-putting at all. The only two boxes of it that appear above the fold on my monitor are those that would be reassuring to prospective clients who are new to the field of holiday rentals and/or are nervous about the booking process.

You do have a lot of external links in the sidebar, but I think they're all useful links. I would recommend that you set a long-term goal of converting all the "Local Attractions" links to internal links. Each page could be a relatively concise definition of the attraction (with one or two photos), and you could link to each external website on its own page. I'm not sure if that would help your SEO, but it would give people more opportunities to stay on your site.

I do have some pointers on the rest of the home page -- but keep in mind that these are all secondary concerns, as it looks like you've already fixed all the primary issues with your site!

1) Consider removing the "Welcome" text and all that empty space between that line and the "Basse Copette:" line. You could combine them into simply "Welcome to Basse Copette:" and that would bring up more of the paragraphs below above the fold.

2) People are more likely to read shorter paragraphs. Consider breaking the first real paragraph into two at the sentence "There are two Normandy-style gites..."

As an aside, I'm not really sure what a Normandy-style gite is. That might not matter, if you expect your target market to already know. But if I were a potential client, I wouldn't have a clue what that meant. Maybe that's because I'm American! :)

3) As a general note -- you have sentence fragments all over your copy. This may have been noted in the last 3 pages of posts here, but I think it's important enough to risk being redundant. I am a bit of a grammar stickler. Not that I don't make my own grammar mistakes, so if I see a misplaced comma here and there, it doesn't bother me. However, continually reading sentences without verbs is very distracting to me.

An example: "A garden terrace, with garden furniture and BBQ, and great views across the Bresle Valley." Simply adding something like "We have" or "You can enjoy" to the beginning of that sentence would make it easier for me to pay attention to the content of the sentence (and the second option would make it easier for me to picture myself at your gite, which is a bonus).

4) I'm not too sure about the phrase "Sensitively renovated barn." Actually, is there some general advantage to telling people they're going to stay in a barn? For me that doesn't make it sound appealing -- I think of manure and hay and the smell of horses around every corner -- unless you're trying to emphasize the open plan and old woodwork that a barn has, in which case "sensitively renovated" doesn't convey that for me.

You go into more detail on your La Grange page, and there the description is accompanied by charming photos which show off the place well, so if it were me I might just advertise La Grange as a rental house on the main page, and/or find some wording other than "sensitively renovated," and continue to detail the charms of staying in a converted barn on the La Grange page.

However, perhaps this is another thing I don't see the same way as those from the UK because I'm not from the UK. If the phrase "converted barn" is enough to convey old-world charm and a romantic countryside getaway for most of your target market, then maybe you should just ignore this particular piece of advice. :)

I'm glad to hear that your site traffic has improved. With time, it will only get better!
Brooke
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

is there some general advantage to telling people they're going to stay in a barn?
We're in a protected area, so can only convert exisiting buildings rather than build new. As we're rural, such structures are almost certain to be redundant farm buildings. We've always made a point of advertising our 'tobacco drying barn', 'hayloft' and 'watermill' as much of their charm (I think) is because of their industrial ancestry. Our traditional stone and wooden tobacco barn, in particular, is a beautiful structure that belies its humble origins.

Jim
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Blue Shutters
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Post by Blue Shutters »

vrooje wrote:Thomas,

However, perhaps this is another thing I don't see the same way as those from the UK because I'm not from the UK. If the phrase "converted barn" is enough to convey old-world charm and a romantic countryside getaway for most of your target market, then maybe you should just ignore this particular piece of advice. :)

I'm glad to hear that your site traffic has improved. With time, it will only get better!
Us Brits LOVE sensitively converted barns Brooke :) TV programmes like Grand Designs make us all lust after them, and most of us can only dream for the two wek holiday if we can rent one! So I would say don't take that out........
Yes I know the shutters are not blue!
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Thomas BC
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Post by Thomas BC »

Thanks very much for your comments Brooke. I have not completed the make over, so your comments are welcome.

You have touched on what is now to be my focus of attention - having got the page structures (or whatever the fancy term is), I now want to pay closer attention to the text.

With 'sensitively renovated barn', I had in mind Jim's explanation . And thanks Blue Shutters - but I do have an idea to overcome the manure idea, which I would get :wink:

I never seem to manage the balance of getting all the necessary/relevant details across in small blocks of text without being too verbose - hence the fragments. I need to work on this. And my once being a 'texting' addict does not help (still).

My phrase 'Normandy style gite' was my poor attempt (at the start of this website's construction) at trying to make a sentence out of SEO search terms - I did not like 'Normandy gite', so opted for 'Normandy style gite'. It is clearly opening a (justified) can of worms rather than making a search phrase readable.

But I am relieved by your comment on the sidebar - it was previously just a list of links - very intimidating and quite overwhelming.

Your comment about reducing the list of 'Local Attractions' chimes with a suggestion made by NC. When I 'pruned' my sidebar the reason I chose to keep the list of 'Local Attractions' (I could indeed already remove a number of the links that already have a post of their own included in 'Information for your Stay' - which is what I think you are suggesting) separate from and in addition to 'Further Information for your Stay' (I need to change that title though if I do keep it!!!) because I wanted people to see the names of places - like Disneyland, Paris, etc., thinking those are more immediately recognisable and attractive than 'summer Activities', etc.

Re your comment about the HomeAway Guarantee and Paypal boxes and them providing reassurance for newbies/people who are nervous - does anyone think having these could raise doubt in potential punters' minds? Are these not suggesting/implying there could be a problem?

As always - thanks again!
Thomas
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elena
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Post by elena »

Re your comment about the HomeAway Guarantee and Paypal boxes and them providing reassurance for newbies/people who are nervous - does anyone think having these could raise doubt in potential punters' minds? Are these not suggesting/implying there could be a problem?
Ah, now there's a thought!
I've got that on our website too and that did cross my mind, but only because I've recently had some comments (from family in the main!) that I offer too much information and now I find I'm over-analysing everything.

I've always liked to give as much info as possible and let people sift through - if they want to read it they will, if they don't they won't. And I do believe in being honest - in the nicest positive way, of course - and then hopefully people won't be disappointed. What they see is what they get and that's always served me well in the past.

I'm just about finished an electronic version of our information folder and was mulling over whether I should put it on our main site for people to see before they book until my sister pointed out that maybe putting in people's minds that their child may drown or get knocked out by misuse of a golf club is probably not very conducive to a holiday atmosphere and so maybe not a good idea! :roll: ( I'm exaggerating of course but that's the general idea)

People do buy holiday insurance though so perhaps this would be seen more as a service than a warning? In effect it only really covers the possibility that they turn up and there's no house there - so far we've only had one Dutch customer who asked for all sorts of proof that we and all the things we offered on our website actually existed.

It would be interesting to get people's opinions - I'm maybe not the best person to judge!!

Elena
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Hi Thomas, the website's looking terrific now!

Re the Homeaway Guarantee, I understand your niggly concern - is that really so great a selling point that it merits such prominent home page exposure? I haven't been into it but it only protects the holiday-maker from one thing doesn't it? The remote chance that the property they booked and paid for actually exists.

Most people's concerns about their holiday destination are more to do with the state of cleanliness of the property, state of health of the appliances, and whether all is as advertised ie with no hidden surprises in store - followed by the assurance that if there is a problem, it will be responded to quickly and thoroughly with the customer being kept in the loop.

That's why YHM was born!! (you knew that was coming didn't you! :lol: )
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Thomas BC
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Post by Thomas BC »

Elena, how amusing! I also had a Dutch couple phone me up asking me to assure them I exist. And only in my second year so I could not really point to an established ad on OD (I think it was). They came and had a great time anyway.

On offering too much information, IMHO I think it is how the 'additional information' is presented that is the issue, not the amount. There will never be two people who agree on what is the right amount of information. Some people do not read my payment instructions and then phone me up complaining that it is difficult to make a payment. Then I get others who say the information I provide is spot on. Also, I get guests who arrive here knowing what they are going to do every minute of the day - all planned with military precision - routes marked on maps and all. And then there are those guests who have absolutely no idea of what is on offer in the area, let alone what they are going to do - and they are happy with that.

So, I am hoping my use of the side bar to provide the additional information some will want, and to varying degrees, is a solution that will work for me. I already note that there are some guests who have already booked their stay, but are returning to my website every now and then and exploring the site (the elements in the sidebar effectively).

GG, thanks! Thanks to the great feedback I feel I am getting there. Well ... seeing as though you brought it up :wink: I have submitted my application to YHM (Sunday I think). And yesterday I, when redoing my sidebar, thought if I am accepted I shall put that in that box instead of the Homeaway Guarantee. I agree, the Homeaway guarantee is quite restricted, and is probably something HA did to engender confidence (understandably) in their product for newbies. But I think the issues covered by the charter of YHM that are perhaps more what concerns most people when they hand over their hard earned cash. So I believe that should be more prominent than the HomeAway Guarantee.
Last edited by Thomas BC on Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

My personal preference for the order of items in the sidebar would probably be:

Further Information For Your Stay
Basse Copette Image of the Week
Local Attractions
Links to Useful Websites
PayPal (with "scheme" changed to "program" as "scheme" might seem unsavory to some)
HomeAway
TripAdvisor

That puts the internal links at the top, plus another image, and it also doesn't introduce the notion of a buyer guarantee until the user has already decided to read more of your site by scrolling down. I would actually prefer for the TripAdvisor box to be above the PayPal and HomeAway boxes, but the sidebar is a little longer than the main part of the page, so having one of the smaller boxes at the bottom really makes it look like that box was an afterthought.

As an aside, I am really glad that you re-worked the text of the last paragraph so that it no longer says that Paris & environs are "within easy reach." Paris looks like it's about 2 hours from your property, which doesn't seem like "easy reach" distance to me. However, that's definitely day-tripping distance. :)
Brooke
e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

Always reassuring to see comments taken on board and actioned so fast. Well done.

Also, every time I go to make a comment, either someone has beaten me to it or its changed. No complaints there.

Here's a thought though:

How do I make a booking ?

It may be there somewhere among the dozens of links, but I couldn't easily find how to make a reservation. Its the real important call to action and should be easy to find!

By the way, it's easy to pay !
(Although for an English website it takes you to a FRENCH paypal page - ooops)


On a strictly personal note, I find that patterned wallpaper most off putting. It's very distracting on the eye. A simple, plain, pastel colour would probably look much smarter, but I acknowledge its a matter of taste.
** Richard
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

I agree Richard - it's beautiful wallpaper and in the right room it would look stunning but does tend to distract .... :)
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Martha
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Post by Martha »

I like the wallpaper, actually, but agree that it's distracting.

I would consider making the pattern smaller and turning down the opacity a bit to make it subtler. If you have no idea how to do this, let me know :)
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
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elena
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Post by elena »

Ditto - I'm not keen on patterned backgrounds - I find them too busy, but since it's all a matter of personal taste I hesitated to say on my last post.

(I'm not very partial to flashing, moving text either - I also find that distracting as well as frustrating having to wait for all the elements to come up but so many people really do like that so don't know if I'm in the minority.)

Elena
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e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

elena wrote:(I'm not very partial to flashing, moving text either - I also find that distracting as well as frustrating having to wait for all the elements to come up but so many people really do like that so don't know if I'm in the minority.)
If so, you're in a minority of 2. I also hate flashing/moving images with a vengeance. I will first try stopping them with the browser "Stop loading" button, and if that fails, I'll stop them with the close browser button. Many is the website that's lost my custom because of this.

But the busy wallpaper will not irritate nearly as much :wink:
** Richard
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They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
Martha
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Post by Martha »

ImageImageImageImageImage

like this would be nice though. Flashing and moving I loathe! Really, who doesn't :)
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
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