Can you check out my web site for me please.

Junior WebHelper Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 1 Location: UK

Hello All

Can I have a few comments on my site please www.mason-web.me.uk.

I have only built one site before this one and it was to trace my friends family (which I have done successfully) but this site wasn't trying to make money and I think the search engines go a bit easier on you for this reason ? This is only a hobby of mine I'm not a pro, the property is owned by my parents, the main problem I am having is getting higher listings / listed at all on search engines. It gets a lot of hits from mainly 1 site that my parents pay to be listed on, so we have to rely on this other site and I don't like that (all eggs in one basket) apart from that I would be interested in your views on the design of the site.

I have gone to the suggested sites to get the code checked and on sitereportcard.com I'm ranging between 7.5 and 8.5 on most pages so I think all that is ok. I can read html and adapt it to an extent but I couldn't write it from scratch so please don't get too technical with your replies.

I thank you in advance for your time.
Yours Dave.

Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 5:11 pm (17 years, 6 months ago)

Here are some things I think you should look at, in no particular order:

The purple background is very distracting and could make the site hard to read.
The links on the top-right of the page don't look right if the text is too big. See screenshot.
Scrolling marquees are distracting and hard to read.
Page headers don't stand out from normal text.
Normal text is quite large, and blue text is quite difficult to read (perhaps a darker shade of blue would be better). Text should be broken into shorter paragraphs to make it easier to read (the home page particularly has very long paragraphs).
The blue border around images on some pages should perhaps be smaller. Some pages (e.g. "Guestbook") do not have this border at all.
Along with the map, you should consider adding directions (e.g. from the nearest airport).
I personally am weary of sites which list a mobile phone number on their contact page. There are services which can provide an 0800 or 0845 number which you can forward to somewhere else; this usually comes with a voicemail service, which can also be useful.
The text in some places is bold for no apparent reason. Consistency is better.
The attractions page should perhaps link to the web sites of each attraction.
I have a general dislike of big flashing adverts, such as those on the Links page.
You should consider converting the video to a more accessible format. MPEG would be ideal. I do not have MS Windows, and am unable to play the video at all.

With regards to search engine listings, I see that you have a Google Sitemap. That's a good start, though there's no real reason to link to it from every page. A visitor could click the link, then get very confused by the screenful of XML they will be presented with. (I assume it's also been submitted to Google?)

In my experience, there is very little you can do to influence your search engine rankings beyond writing content that people want to read (and link to) and making that content accessible (use a minimal amount of HTML, don't bury your content in flash animations etc.). For your site specifically, all I could suggest here is perhaps moving to an XHTML/CSS-based design (but then, I tend to recommend that anyway).

Team Member Joined: 06 Jan 2002 Posts: 2564

Adam has made a number of valid points, so I don't have much left to say, except that:

It would be nice to have high res versions of the photos - the ones you provide don't let you see much. A place which provides high res photos inspires trust - if you don't then it indicates to me that you have something to hide. [Edit: you actually do have high res photos, but the small versions don't have a link to them. This is definitely something you should have, since you went to the trouble of uploading them! ]
"Awaiting photos" may be useful information for you/anyone else who works on the site, but it shouldn't be shown to the visitor. Add it as an HTML comment if you wish.
Is there any reason why you're using a .uk domain name? It's rather confusing to me. Is it because you're targetting people in the UK?
I like the "Guestbook". Most guestbooks are filled in by website visitors, but this one is actually a guestbook .
An explanation of what PayPal is on the "contact us" page may be useful. I know my parents wouldn't know what it is...

Overall though I do think it's a good site in that it provides a lot of useful information. Sometimes you're lucky if you get a few bullet points, crummy photos and a phone number Very Happy

.

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:49 pm (17 years, 1 month ago)

Hello

Let me be honest thats what you want.

1) the site needs a full re-design asap! to be a Condo related website it must look more professional. it is "business your face" in the web Open to the world - Site now looks cheap to say they less. Desing Desing Design!

2) You need to add a Subscribe me option where you can gather and collect info and e-mails for prospects so you can continue to promote or advertise any service or business related before. (Very Imp) Leads, leads, leads!

3) I will suggest also some pictures of real people the owners or workers there wearing the uniforms etc. so it looks more professional even. _ Corporate look, coporate look, Corp look Wink

I will certainly suggest a new domain name also

tons of other ideas...
but I guess you get the it right?

Regards!

Tlgst. Maurice V