Any advice you could give me to improve my website?

[J.Lee]

i am enjoying the song right now. not at work. some of the web guru's can tell you ... there must be a way to have an OPT IN to listen to music. click for music or something like that so that one can turn it on to listen and not have to turn it off when it comes on unexpectedly.
i also like the big cat .. it didn't jump out at me, i had to go look for it/her/him.
i would say maybe the main heading is too big ... when it stays on each page ... i think when i click on rooms i should be able to see that the rooms are appearing below the heading ... not sure how to accomplish this, but i am wondering about sizing and why one has to scroll down and sideways so much.
best of luck to you! i love the views and all of it. never been to hawaii but the more i see the more i want to go.

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Aloha Seashanty! Thanks for the pointers. I'm sure there is a way to Opt in to listen to the music. great idea! Thanks for mentioning about the menu being on the top the header. You're right, normally the drop down menu falls below the header. I must have missed that. As for the screen size, I will look for a way to make the website detect the users screen size and adjust accordingly. I have seen it done before on other websites. Thanks for all the helpful tips. I hope one day soon you can make it to Hawaii! It is very beautiful, I'm sure you will have a blast! Thanks again. Mahalo!

 

[J.Lee]

Thanks for all the great advice copperhead! I understand exactly what you are saying about trying to capture the readers attention and making them want to read more! I will move the pictures to the gallery. When I looked at the front page again, I see that since pretty much everything is on that first page, readers may not feel any need to continue reading. Great Idea! I agree that the guest map should be in the guest reviews page. I don't know why I didn't think of that too! After hearing everyone's opinion about the music and rates, I will be sure to make those chnges right away. Thank you again for all the great advice I truley learned sooo much today from all of you

. I hope you had a wonderful time here in Hilo and hopefully you can make it back again soon! Have a great day. Aloha!

 

[swirt]

Hi and welcome to Innspiring. Sorry this is going to hurt but I'll pull the band-aid off quickly

• Address and phone number in real text on the home page (ideally on every page).
• Your site is HUGE in terms of memory. 12+ MB for a home page is a bad idea and should be avoided.
• Worry free reservation policy is confusing or contradictory (first paragraph says something completely different than the second)
• Local info should include restaurants. No matter who is staying with you or why they are coming, they are going to need to and want to eat.
• I have a clock and a calendar, no need to show me the current time and date
• crazy coding. Examples: your blog page .... if you view the source for the page you will see there are paragraphs of hidden text (search engine no no) and the text in the blog is not there at all because the blog is all in Flash (essentially invisible to search engines).
• Bad page titles, change them if you can.

 

[Arks]

Hi and welcome to Innspiring. Sorry this is going to hurt but I'll pull the band-aid off quickly

• Address and phone number in real text on the home page (ideally on every page).
• Your site is HUGE in terms of memory. 12+ MB for a home page is a bad idea and should be avoided.
• Worry free reservation policy is confusing or contradictory (first paragraph says something completely different than the second)
• Local info should include restaurants. No matter who is staying with you or why they are coming, they are going to need to and want to eat.
• I have a clock and a calendar, no need to show me the current time and date
• crazy coding. Examples: your blog page .... if you view the source for the page you will see there are paragraphs of hidden text (search engine no no) and the text in the blog is not there at all because the blog is all in Flash (essentially invisible to search engines).
• Bad page titles, change them if you can.

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J.Lee, I know you have worked hard to make such an excellent website, and you are absolutely the nicest, most criticism-accepting person I think i've ever run across, to accept the suggestions made here so graciously. Quite an aloha spirit! Amazing, really. You must be a wonderful host.


You will not find better free advice anywhere than what swirt offers you. Be sure to pay close attention. Making your website agreeable to the big search engines is hugely important to your success.


I don't understand about the "can't cook" deal, as the B&B I stayed at last year in Hilo made unbelievably wonderful Macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. But maybe things have changed since then, or they're in a different area or something.

 

[wendydk]

I agree with everyone else...

1. Raise your rates, and show them under each room's photo on the rooms page...don't make me click on each individual room to see the rates. Higher rates denote a nicer spot, and given the option, I will not book at a place that seems to cheap. And showing $250.00 marked down to $89.00 sets off alarms for me.
2. Your photos are great, but cause the page to load very slowly. I was suprised at the photo of the snow, I would not want to see that if I was traveling to Hawaii, as I would be going to get away from the snow!
3. I agree with Steve that your worry free reservation policy is confusing. Does this mean that only reservations made through third party suppliers require a one month notice, or do ALL reservations require a one month notice? As a site visitor, I would assume that if I book through your site directly, I can cancel the day of arrival without penalty.
   If that's the case, it should read something like: "For worry free reservations, book your stay directly through the Hilltop Legacy's telephone or website. If at any time you need to cancel your reservation, all payments will be refunded in full with no processing fees".
   
   "For reservations made through third party sites or suppliers, cancellation is required at least one (1) month to arrival date for refund. For cancellations within the one (1) month of arrival date, all payments less one night cost will be refunded only if the unit is rented out."
4. Your "Welcome" paragraph should explain what your property is, a little more in depth. Give me a feel for it...will I be pampered, as at a B&B, or left completely to my own devices for everything? I can't tell.

Your place is really lovely, and I think a few simple changes will do wonders. Welcome to the forum!