Ideas about the website?

bigneacy

Hi there,

I built this website myself for my new B&B. Didn't (and still don't) know much about CSS or HTML, blagged my way through it anyway. :pac:

Can you give me some feedback?

I plan to change the main title picture for a better one, but apart from that what do you think?

www.ivyhouse.tk (www.ivyhouse.ie is taking ages to register so we're working off the free one for now)

Thanks
Niall

Axwell

Probably better to put it in the web design forum under the site review section.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1382

EIREHotspur

Thats actually not bad....when I read about you not knowing too much about CSS and HTML I feared the worst to be honest.

I hate the colour scheme though, looks very dreary.

The layout is good, I'd take some good panorama photos for each page, brighten them up a bit though....photos are very important because your selling your premises to people.

The Gallery isn't good though....buy an off the shelf xml gallery from www.activeden.com.

tomED

I assume you actually purchased the template from somewhere?

I'd agree that you need to look at the gallery, but don't pay money for one - there are way too many free ones available.

Lightbox seems to be widely used now : http://www.huddletogether.com/projects/lightbox2/#example

Herbalist

On the gallery when you click the arrows to progress through the pictures nothing happens.
I like that the main page highlights the price point as this is a big selling point

LauraOrlagh

Hi Niall,
I just took a look at your website there and I think it's very impressive - good job!
Lots of information, pictures and contact details. The only thing I'd reiterate is the gallery isn't great but the rest of the site looks fantastic and if I'm ever in the Blackrock area wanting a bed and breakfast I'll know where to go!

BnB

Same as above. I think it looks very good. One small thing that caught my eye is that you just have a mobile number on it for contact information. I know it makes very little difference at the end of the day but I think a landline number would look better. It is no harm to have the mobile there for a second number but I would have the landline first.

But if I was looking for a B&B and came accross your website, I would certainly give you a call.

The thing you will have to work on now is, if someone does google B&B's in Dundalk, how do you make sure it is your website they see first. You will need to make sure that code-wise your site is written with this in mind. Also, it might be worth your while looking into Google Adwords or something like that.

But, well done - Nice site

Eoin

I think some better photos might help (that don't open on their own in the same tab - look up "lightbox"). Your "book online" link doesn't seem to do much. I'd give a lot more information about the local amenities, plus use google maps with a pointer on it.

Your email address down the bottom isn't a hyperlink.

The price does seems good, but is breakfast really an extra? That's what it looks like on the site.

I presume you'll ditch the frames once you get a decent domain name and hosting sorted?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

Great work.

I'd focus a little more on the experience on offer. You've done a great job of telling them about you, but you need to tell them about how their needs are met - about the experience. Be emotive as possible, dont just be happy to welcome them - offer to make them experience being at home when away from home.

I'd suggest changing why us to the experience and talking through each of the activities in a way they can let their minds imagine being there. Have some customer photos and testimonials.

(nigtty gritty pointer - theres a 404 error on the logo which should always link to the homepage).

All in all though fab job, I've seen professionals offer a lot worse.

PaulPinnacle

As others have said, very impressive job! You can and should be proud.

Agree with the comments to date regarding the photos and the 'experience' comments by Ronan are spot on. A few too many 'we' and not enough 'you'.

A few other minor/pedantic things:

I assume the favicon is a default/part of whatever host you're currently using? If you have the ability/option, I'd defiantly replace it as the green image is very much at odds with the site (possibly not an issue if you're changing host shortly).

Take care with the "00 353" number. It's 00 from some countries, but not from them all (e.g. from the US it's 011). You're safer to use the generic '+' symbol and leave it up to the person dialling to figure out the international dialling code they require. (I'd strongly agree with the landline comment too)

Very subjective, but I think you'd get a higher usage rate if you replaced the text 'twitter' and 'facebook' links with the normal/common images (people have all but come to expect them these days). You can easily tweak the 'non hover' version so that they sit into the background to match your site design if that's a concern. Might also be worth considering adding a facebook 'share' option along with the link to your business page. (those are very debatable and you'll get a split view on if it's worth it or not. If it gives [potential of] more free promotion, I know which side I'd err on personally)

Be sure to 'tidy up' the few little quirks. I've only scanned the site, but having a fresh pair of eyes check it for things like the unused/unwanted hyperlinks on the 'book by phone' and 'book by post' could be a little confusing to some users and better off to remove.

I personally like the text, but I know that some of your target market will struggle with text that small. I'd consider bumping it up a touch (if you can keep it at a level where it doesn't disturb the 'visual' in your own mind. Having said that, 1px can make a dramatic difference to a users experience).

As Eoin mentioned, a map is a must. The logical place at the moment is on the 'booking' page. But as that has very little to do with 'booking', I'd nearly look at renaming that as 'location' to be honest (unless you plan on implementing an online booking system).

In terms of the code, there's a few minor 'slips' in there. Something like http://validator.w3.org/unicorn/ will help you spot most (be sure to use the http://212.126.36.154/~ivyhouse/index.html url rather than the .tk one if you're using the online submit option).

From an SEO point of view, there are a lot of tweaks you can make to help ranking:
(very brief overview on the things I can look at in a couple of minutes)

Title: You want this to match the keywords people will be searching for. Using "Ivy House, Dundalk" is making poor use of a very valuable area. It would require some research to decide which terms you want to compete for (e.g. get the most volume but in a less competitive area than 'B&B' possibly, at least to start with), but something like "B&B accomodation | Ivy House, Dundalk" would instantly help you rank for 'B&B'. (also, don't use the same title for every page. Each page is unique, each title should be too)

Description: Too short. If you do rank for a term, your description can/is commonly used as the snippet that appears in the search results. You want this to be a clear selling point for your business. It doesn't help with the ranking, but it has a big impact on conversions once you do rank.
"Irelands best value B&B accomodation." maybe change to "The best value B&B accommodation in Ireland. Located in the idyllic setting of... yada yada" (again, don't use the same description on each page. Make each unique to that page).

Keywords: You've no meta keywords listed at the moment. This won't hurt you with google (who exclude keywords due to the huge keyword stuffing spam of the past), but it can/will with other search engines. It's also a good way to keep your focus on what content you're keen to get across to your users, so it's no harm to include as a 'logical aid' in any case (in my own opinion).

Headings: Your h1 is ok for the home page (not ideal for 'catching visitors', but it's what needs to be said), but I'd suggest not using it as the h1 for every page (you can still mark it up the way it is while removing the h1 tag from it). Many of your headings work great from a user point of view, so I'm reluctant to say anything here (don't write for search engines is the ol' SEO guideline), but where you 'can', try and get keywords you hope to rank for into your headings (more something to have in the back of your mind rather than a 'change your headings' suggestion).

tricky D

When I open the site I get a pretty banner picture of a bedroom. Nothing happens for about 7 seconds and there's no text content. Then the room rate appears big and bright. €20 is a super rate and you've got my attention now. Next thing is the picture changes back to the blank 'do nothing' bedroom one. Nothing happens again for a few seconds and then it loops. So what I've got is a price and nothing else. Your location is tucked away further down the page and is not prominent. This is key info, so put it in the banner like you did with the price. (It's important that I am not made have to work hard for any info, I should be able to see or get it without thinking much.) I'd also want to get some idea of the premises so I know I'll be staying somewhere decent. So put something about that into the banner too. That's three key pieces of purchase decision making info sorted and at the part of the page which can make or break you prospects. You also have other things that should be on the homepage or all pages. E.g. under 12s stay for FREE. Free sells, so get that somewhere of the homepage.

Your address doesn't tell me where in Blackrock you are. Also, put it at the bottom of every page. Make the email address a link at the bottom of every page.

In my many travels in the online tourism market, I don't ever remember Facilities being refered to as Services in the accommodation sector.

An often overlooked fact in this market is the significant amount of misspelling of Accommodation as Accomodation. About 1 in 9 or 10 only have the one 'm'. The one 'c' redirects to two 'c's in Google. Yahoo! redirects all to the correct spelling. So it's worth having that misspelling somewhere on the site probably as a hidden heading.

You could provide info on the area and suggested itineraries around the area (tours in the Boyne Valley or the Mournes).

I'd use the ++353 convention for the international dialing.

The menu is a PDF and is 3.4MB in size. This is way too big and should be plain text and images in a regular page anyway.

The red 'Luxury, Without a luxury price!' tagline contrasts poorly against the brown background.

The white link text in the banner also has poor contrast against the bedsheets in the background until rolled over.

Put Google Analytics on the pages.

endplate

What type of cards do you accept you should display that on your homepage

Get the dead link sorted on your logo

But keep up the good work it's looking well

Eoin

Just read the menu - so breakfast is extra? I have never, ever heard of that in a B&B. Or a "B & Optional B" in this case.

bigneacy

Hey Guys,

So i've taken on board a lot of what you've said.

• Changed to landlines,
• Tweaked the bits that weren't working.
• Cleaned up the dead links etc.
• More professional pictures
• Price displayed constantly on the title image,

• The price is now €17.50 including breakfast per person per night.
• We still do the room only rate, just not pushing it is all.
• I plan to change the 00353 to +353 (make it easier for the yanks!)
• I also plan to make more emphasis on the free.
• I'll change services to facilities also

Any other ideas?

bigneacy

PaulPinnacle wrote: »

Thanks PaulPinnacle, there's a lot of really useful info in that. A lot of stuff I was quite confused about in terms of SEO optimization. There are lots of companies calling me asking and x and y amount to SEO optimise my site but its kinda my policy not to pay for anything I can do myself, especially when it concerns the internet. It'll always be free somewhere!!

Anyway. Thanks for all the pointers. Any more advice would be very much appreciated!

(looking into the lightbox thing for my gallery too!!)

MrMatisse

That is a fantastic effort. A professional would charge you 1k + for something like that.

bigneacy

Really-Stressed wrote: »

That is a fantastic effort. A professional would charge you 1k + for something like that.

I am absolutely beaming from ear to ear about the thought that I saved myself a potential 1k! :D:D:D:D

Fergal C

The site looks great bigneacy, well done and I hope it goes very well for you. It is very professional in appearance and it would definitely grab my attention and attract me, if I was looking for a place to stay in the area. I agree with the comments regarding the gallery, but otherwise I don't have any suggestions. (I've followed you on Twitter and FaceBook). Good luck with it!

You might find this site helpful for adding a map - http://yourmapmaker.com/ - it's Irish owned but I'm not affiliated with it in anyway.

Fergal C

I noticed that your Twitter profile says "Thats as low as €10 per person, per night!!" and your website says "from only €17.50 .... (two people sharing)", which I had assumed was €17.50 per person sharing. It might help to give some clarity to how much it is per person sharing on your home page.

bigneacy

yeah, i need to clarify that on twitter. Its €17.50 per head including breakfast.


€10.00 a head room only basis.

Tony

Have you signed up for "google places" . This will help you with google searches or anyone who uses google maps to search for accomodation in your area. To see how it works do a "pages from Ireland" search on google using the term "satellite"

PaulPinnacle

bigneacy wrote: »

A lot of stuff I was quite confused about in terms of SEO optimization.

If you're confused about anything I mentioned in there, feel free to ask. Lots of users here that would be more than happy to help explain it further if you let us know which bits are causing confusion.