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At very first look, it doesn't wow me. You need your B & B name much larger with the location smaller below it.
Will the theme let you put in larger slider photos? I would like to see bigger and more WOW pics on the home page.
I agree the photos are too dark and some of the food photos...too close and not staged well and dark shadows. I like the melon one the best for the staging and the oven souffle one is ok as well. Did you resize all your thumbnails and food photos to the same size before posting? It took the thumbnails way too long to load. You have to relook at some of those photos because most of them need some help. Know any photographers you can barter with?
Have you looked at some of the blog postings from the inn photographers?
Though I did a pagespeed test and your score is a good one 94/100.
Anyway to make that blue background only show up as the background with the text area being white so that then you can have your text black or a dark shade of grey. I find the bolding of all the text in white too strong and not easy on the eyes.
You need to change the reservation css style sheet to match the colors of your site. If you don't know how to edit css to create your own. John will help you.
 
Right now when I hover the mouse over Guest Rooms, only the Comphy choice displays, which makes it look like that's all that's available under that topic. It's not necessarily "intuitive" for people to know they have to click on "Guest Rooms" to see the rooms, when the Comphy dropdown appears as soon as you hover. I'd add a link to the rooms page on the dropdown, along with the Comphy page.
I agree that the slideshow moves a little too fast. You have to remember that YOU know all those photos very well, but someone who is new to your website and to your B&B will want a little more time to study the photos before they change. Right now I count 2 seconds before they change. That's not enough, IMHO.
Also, I find the white text on the other pages easier to read than the black text on the Comphy page..
I did originally have all the guest rooms as a drop down, but felt it was overbearing? No? I read somewhere that the navigation buttons should be simple, and you should "hide" pages from the navigation to keep it clean. Mmmmm...not sure what to do here. So you're saying to add all four rooms under the Guest Rooms, each individually,and remove buttons on the Guest Rooms page itself (under the picture)? Comphy will need to be added elsewhere then.

Since that's two of you now that said slideshow is too fast, I'll change it back to 5 seconds. This is why I ask for opinions, so thank you again :) Oh, and thanks for checking out the text colors.

Man, it's a b*#ch being OCD sometimes.
Edited to add: Changed the slideshow to 4 seconds. Compromise :)
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BananaE29 said:
I read somewhere that the navigation buttons should be simple, and you should "hide" pages from the navigation to keep it clean.
Edited to add: Changed the slideshow to 4 seconds. Compromise :)
I think the way it was, it was hiding the room pages from some guests, which you do not want! I would say either have NO dropdown, and they will know to click "Guest Rooms" to get to the room pages and Comphy page, OR put them all in the dropdown under Guest Rooms.
What you want to avoid is a mix of both ways, having a dropdown that only shows the Comphy page, plus requiring a click on Guest Rooms to find the rooms. I found that confusing.
Yes, I think 4 seconds is perfect for the slide show. Let's people linger a while and look at the photo, but it changes in time for them to see there are other photos to enjoy!
You're gettin' there!
But I must say, some of the best and most experienced website folks have not chimed in on this yet. Joey Bloggs must be on one of her mountain getaways or something. She might have lots of suggestions when she gets back.
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Back to the dropdown under Guest Rooms, and I'll figure out where to put Comphy later. Perhaps just a button on each room page, even though I have a link through the word "Comphy" when describing the room amenities. You can't tell that I really like to sell these sheets, can you? LOL

Invaluable advice. Thanks again!
 
Hello! Have you had a chance to look at your site with an IPhone?.
I did it just now. I do not get the slide show photos, but the text is black on white background (looks good and easy to read). The reserve/Ability button is right on top where it need to be. Up in the right corner of the screen is a MENU that when I tapped it showed her pages. When I tapped rooms the drop-down was there and as I chose the rooms the photos showed up crisp and clear and big. Looks great on an iPhone.
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I did not think to do that - thank you for the idea. I don't like that no pictures shows up on the first page - doesn't make it very enticing, does it? I assume the slide show is the reason why. Will look into that also. Thank you!
.
People these days are using phones right up there with computers. When I looked at your site from my phone it almost reminded me of a blog feed. I did not see any pics until clicking on another page. It is an easy read. It just did not jump out at me. I do think you are on the right track and doing fine. It's a tuff thing taking everyone's advice. But remember, it's yours and not ours! So you need to be happy with it.
 
Hello! Have you had a chance to look at your site with an IPhone?.
I did it just now. I do not get the slide show photos, but the text is black on white background (looks good and easy to read). The reserve/Ability button is right on top where it need to be. Up in the right corner of the screen is a MENU that when I tapped it showed her pages. When I tapped rooms the drop-down was there and as I chose the rooms the photos showed up crisp and clear and big. Looks great on an iPhone.
.
I did not think to do that - thank you for the idea. I don't like that no pictures shows up on the first page - doesn't make it very enticing, does it? I assume the slide show is the reason why. Will look into that also. Thank you!
.
People these days are using phones right up there with computers. When I looked at your site from my phone it almost reminded me of a blog feed. I did not see any pics until clicking on another page. It is an easy read. It just did not jump out at me. I do think you are on the right track and doing fine. It's a tuff thing taking everyone's advice. But remember, it's yours and not ours! So you need to be happy with it.
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I did a quick look at the We eb ly site and there is an option...probably at another cost to have i phone compatibility. You do not want to use flash. You need a a jquery slider script so I phones and I pads can see this site right now.
 
Hello! Have you had a chance to look at your site with an IPhone?.
I did it just now. I do not get the slide show photos, but the text is black on white background (looks good and easy to read). The reserve/Ability button is right on top where it need to be. Up in the right corner of the screen is a MENU that when I tapped it showed her pages. When I tapped rooms the drop-down was there and as I chose the rooms the photos showed up crisp and clear and big. Looks great on an iPhone.
.
I did not think to do that - thank you for the idea. I don't like that no pictures shows up on the first page - doesn't make it very enticing, does it? I assume the slide show is the reason why. Will look into that also. Thank you!
.
People these days are using phones right up there with computers. When I looked at your site from my phone it almost reminded me of a blog feed. I did not see any pics until clicking on another page. It is an easy read. It just did not jump out at me. I do think you are on the right track and doing fine. It's a tuff thing taking everyone's advice. But remember, it's yours and not ours! So you need to be happy with it.
.
I did a quick look at the We eb ly site and there is an option...probably at another cost to have i phone compatibility. You do not want to use flash. You need a a jquery slider script so I phones and I pads can see this site right now.
.
I am not in the least bit impressed with their customer service. Contact is by email only, and they've not responded to two of my emails, sent over 48 hours ago. So when I email again to inquire of this, I just need to say that I need a jquery slider script? Is that correct? (totally foreign language to me!)
 
At very first look, it doesn't wow me. You need your B & B name much larger with the location smaller below it.
Will the theme let you put in larger slider photos? I would like to see bigger and more WOW pics on the home page.
I agree the photos are too dark and some of the food photos...too close and not staged well and dark shadows. I like the melon one the best for the staging and the oven souffle one is ok as well. Did you resize all your thumbnails and food photos to the same size before posting? It took the thumbnails way too long to load. You have to relook at some of those photos because most of them need some help. Know any photographers you can barter with?
Have you looked at some of the blog postings from the inn photographers?
Though I did a pagespeed test and your score is a good one 94/100.
Anyway to make that blue background only show up as the background with the text area being white so that then you can have your text black or a dark shade of grey. I find the bolding of all the text in white too strong and not easy on the eyes.
You need to change the reservation css style sheet to match the colors of your site. If you don't know how to edit css to create your own. John will help you..
I believe the slide show can be larger, but I need to ensure my "reservations" button can go in the header before I do that, or the larger slide show will force the user to scroll to get to the button. I'm still waiting to hear about adding to the header. And also about having two different size fonts in that area. I'm sure it can be done in the code, but I can't find it - it's not obvious to me. So I'm dependent on them responding to my emailed questions :(
The food photos are all done with an iPhone. I completely agree I need better food photos, but it's difficult to do by yourself. This is something I will work on in the coming months, but is not a high priority for me. Staging will definitely be part of the program when I get to it.

The reservation program style can be changed, and that's on the "to do" list also.
Great info, thanks!
 
Great to see you here again Coastal Dreams! You've been hard at work on your website.
regular_smile.gif

I just clicked and my first instinct was too many images in the slideshow, and when I went WOW to see the table setting I then went ICKY when I saw a couple of the food photos, especially the close up of the greasy bacon. You are better to have ONE GOOD food photo than all the rest combined. For the header and the Breakfast page.
Also you need a HEADER image of some kind, not just smallish test, that needs to be your BING BANG BOOM!
I went no further, I see plenty of other input here.
 
At very first look, it doesn't wow me. You need your B & B name much larger with the location smaller below it.
Will the theme let you put in larger slider photos? I would like to see bigger and more WOW pics on the home page.
I agree the photos are too dark and some of the food photos...too close and not staged well and dark shadows. I like the melon one the best for the staging and the oven souffle one is ok as well. Did you resize all your thumbnails and food photos to the same size before posting? It took the thumbnails way too long to load. You have to relook at some of those photos because most of them need some help. Know any photographers you can barter with?
Have you looked at some of the blog postings from the inn photographers?
Though I did a pagespeed test and your score is a good one 94/100.
Anyway to make that blue background only show up as the background with the text area being white so that then you can have your text black or a dark shade of grey. I find the bolding of all the text in white too strong and not easy on the eyes.
You need to change the reservation css style sheet to match the colors of your site. If you don't know how to edit css to create your own. John will help you..
I believe the slide show can be larger, but I need to ensure my "reservations" button can go in the header before I do that, or the larger slide show will force the user to scroll to get to the button. I'm still waiting to hear about adding to the header. And also about having two different size fonts in that area. I'm sure it can be done in the code, but I can't find it - it's not obvious to me. So I'm dependent on them responding to my emailed questions :(
The food photos are all done with an iPhone. I completely agree I need better food photos, but it's difficult to do by yourself. This is something I will work on in the coming months, but is not a high priority for me. Staging will definitely be part of the program when I get to it.

The reservation program style can be changed, and that's on the "to do" list also.
Great info, thanks!
.
Rather than putting your phone number so large in the right header, why don't you have the reservation button there. It should appear at the top of every page. You can always put the phone number elsewhere. Looking at the css, you can edit it to make the header area larger to accommodate everything you need up top. I used Firebug to edit the site live and I put this in for the header. It doesn't have to be that large, but you can adjust.
Did you just type in your B & B Name? Or is it a graphic?
#header {
width: 100%;
height: 220px;
}
I tried this code in the header and it works. Though I am not fond of that font. It doesn't remind me of anything to do with the coast. It seems like a military style font. Not appealing to a B & B goer.
#wsite-title {
font-family: 'Capture it' !important;
font-size: 30px !important;
}
 
Hi, BananaE29! Welcome back.
I went through your website last night and had some recommendations. But, I accidently hit the back button & lost them all
confused_smile.gif

Here are a few I remember off the top of my head:
  • On Mediterranean page, "Comphy" is spelled wrong as "Compny"
  • I agree with others that you should replace the bacon picture. It's not very inviting.
  • At the bottom of each room page, you should add links for each of the other rooms. It's not a huge deal, but I had to go back to the main Rooms page in order to get to the next one. You can expect that most people will be browsing from one room to the next, so this will make it easier for them.
  • One of your pages has three pics at the top - two room pics & a middle rose vase pic
    • The rose pic is very washed out/bright and looks odd next to the other brighter pics
    • The one on the right would look better if you cropped out some of that white wall and white tablecloth.
  • On your Specials page, the first package "Celebration" should be on it's own line. Right now it looks like it's part of that first paragraph and it should be like the others on it's own line.
  • Your Trip Advisor widget is on your Policies page. This should (must) be on your first page. That's your first opportunity to grab people, not everyone will even look at the Policies page.
I'm glad you asked for opinions, because I have plenty
wink_smile.gif
I know you said the site wasn't done yet, but it always helps to have another set of eyes nit-picking. Hope this was helpful.
Overall it's a pretty website - you did good!
 
Hi, BananaE29! Welcome back.
I went through your website last night and had some recommendations. But, I accidently hit the back button & lost them all
confused_smile.gif

Here are a few I remember off the top of my head:
  • On Mediterranean page, "Comphy" is spelled wrong as "Compny"
  • I agree with others that you should replace the bacon picture. It's not very inviting.
  • At the bottom of each room page, you should add links for each of the other rooms. It's not a huge deal, but I had to go back to the main Rooms page in order to get to the next one. You can expect that most people will be browsing from one room to the next, so this will make it easier for them.
  • One of your pages has three pics at the top - two room pics & a middle rose vase pic
    • The rose pic is very washed out/bright and looks odd next to the other brighter pics
    • The one on the right would look better if you cropped out some of that white wall and white tablecloth.
  • On your Specials page, the first package "Celebration" should be on it's own line. Right now it looks like it's part of that first paragraph and it should be like the others on it's own line.
  • Your Trip Advisor widget is on your Policies page. This should (must) be on your first page. That's your first opportunity to grab people, not everyone will even look at the Policies page.
I'm glad you asked for opinions, because I have plenty
wink_smile.gif
I know you said the site wasn't done yet, but it always helps to have another set of eyes nit-picking. Hope this was helpful.
Overall it's a pretty website - you did good!.
All excellent ideas and good eye! This is the input I really welcome. I've done all that you recommended (yes, the bacon pic is gone :) )except the rose pic and the cheese one. I'll get that done later. The only thing I don't agree with is the other rooms links on each room. To me, they can see the other rooms by moving their mouse back to the guest rooms button and select from the drop down.

Thanks so much :)
 
Great to see you here again Coastal Dreams! You've been hard at work on your website.
regular_smile.gif

I just clicked and my first instinct was too many images in the slideshow, and when I went WOW to see the table setting I then went ICKY when I saw a couple of the food photos, especially the close up of the greasy bacon. You are better to have ONE GOOD food photo than all the rest combined. For the header and the Breakfast page.
Also you need a HEADER image of some kind, not just smallish test, that needs to be your BING BANG BOOM!
I went no further, I see plenty of other input here..
Thank you :) I appreciate you taking the time. The food pics are a work in progress, and maybe I should just hide that page until I'm completely done with it. I will at least remove the bacon pic - several of you have commented on this, but dang...it looked good to me! LOL.

When you say HEADER image, you are referring to the top portion of each page with my name and phone number, no? You're saying another picture up there in addition to the pictures down below? I'm thinking like a beach picture, or something to do with the area...versus more inn pictures. Is this what you're saying?
 
On your welcome page you say you have central air - just as important to potential guests and should be here is FREE WiFi. Do not make them guess or look for it on other pages. It may be the missing item that makes them say - NEXT.....
I am not a techie, but the header photos should be your WOW! Make them bigger if you can..
Good catch! Added the free wifi - thank you! I can make that slideshow bigger, but I want to get my "reservations" button up higher first (so they don't have to scroll to see it). Waiting on word on that, then bigger she goes. Thanks!
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BananaE29 said:
...I want to get my "reservations" button up higher first (so they don't have to scroll to see it).
Why not put it on the menu along with Welcome, Guest Rooms, Breakfast, etc.? That's where I have "Reserve/Availability" on my website. It's as important as anything else on the menu. Just have that menu choice send them to your ResKey page.
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I'm limited to how many "primary" buttons go across the top. I can have as many pages as I want, but unless I want it in a drop down, I'm limited to how many will fit across the top of that header picture. So my thinking was that as long as it's visible, I don't need to take up that precious space. I'm really hoping to get it under the phone number right at the top, but I'm not getting a response from Weebly on changing that code.

I'm also experiencing times where I load it fresh, linking from a directory, or from here, for instance...and a lot of changes aren't showing. It's as though it reverts back to how it was before I published it. Not all the time, but a few times. That's frustrating. They're not expensive, but I did upgrade to the Pro version instead of free, so I wouldn't expect the site to revert back to how it was prior to making changes. Anyone else out there have a Weebly site and experience this?
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Make the Reservations/Availability button really stand out - put it in a brighter color! Still checking everything else out...
 
Hi, BananaE29! Welcome back.
I went through your website last night and had some recommendations. But, I accidently hit the back button & lost them all
confused_smile.gif

Here are a few I remember off the top of my head:
  • On Mediterranean page, "Comphy" is spelled wrong as "Compny"
  • I agree with others that you should replace the bacon picture. It's not very inviting.
  • At the bottom of each room page, you should add links for each of the other rooms. It's not a huge deal, but I had to go back to the main Rooms page in order to get to the next one. You can expect that most people will be browsing from one room to the next, so this will make it easier for them.
  • One of your pages has three pics at the top - two room pics & a middle rose vase pic
    • The rose pic is very washed out/bright and looks odd next to the other brighter pics
    • The one on the right would look better if you cropped out some of that white wall and white tablecloth.
  • On your Specials page, the first package "Celebration" should be on it's own line. Right now it looks like it's part of that first paragraph and it should be like the others on it's own line.
  • Your Trip Advisor widget is on your Policies page. This should (must) be on your first page. That's your first opportunity to grab people, not everyone will even look at the Policies page.
I'm glad you asked for opinions, because I have plenty
wink_smile.gif
I know you said the site wasn't done yet, but it always helps to have another set of eyes nit-picking. Hope this was helpful.
Overall it's a pretty website - you did good!.
All excellent ideas and good eye! This is the input I really welcome. I've done all that you recommended (yes, the bacon pic is gone :) )except the rose pic and the cheese one. I'll get that done later. The only thing I don't agree with is the other rooms links on each room. To me, they can see the other rooms by moving their mouse back to the guest rooms button and select from the drop down.

Thanks so much :)
.
I agree with most of the other comments here. Biggest thing for me is that your property name doesn't catch my eye at all. You need to increase the font, change up the type of font, or do something to make it really POP!
Food photos: Remember that a photo of a bunch of rolls isn't as appealing as setting one or two on a pretty plate, with a fork, and really zooming in on the drippy gooey cinnamon or sugar. :) Pretty much applies to any kind of "brown" food.
Good start!
 
Great to see you here again Coastal Dreams! You've been hard at work on your website.
regular_smile.gif

I just clicked and my first instinct was too many images in the slideshow, and when I went WOW to see the table setting I then went ICKY when I saw a couple of the food photos, especially the close up of the greasy bacon. You are better to have ONE GOOD food photo than all the rest combined. For the header and the Breakfast page.
Also you need a HEADER image of some kind, not just smallish test, that needs to be your BING BANG BOOM!
I went no further, I see plenty of other input here..
Thank you :) I appreciate you taking the time. The food pics are a work in progress, and maybe I should just hide that page until I'm completely done with it. I will at least remove the bacon pic - several of you have commented on this, but dang...it looked good to me! LOL.

When you say HEADER image, you are referring to the top portion of each page with my name and phone number, no? You're saying another picture up there in addition to the pictures down below? I'm thinking like a beach picture, or something to do with the area...versus more inn pictures. Is this what you're saying?
.
BananaE29 said:
Thank you :) I appreciate you taking the time. The food pics are a work in progress, and maybe I should just hide that page until I'm completely done with it. I will at least remove the bacon pic - several of you have commented on this, but dang...it looked good to me! LOL.

When you say HEADER image, you are referring to the top portion of each page with my name and phone number, no? You're saying another picture up there in addition to the pictures down below? I'm thinking like a beach picture, or something to do with the area...versus more inn pictures. Is this what you're saying?
Be careful not to put a beach photo up there, as that would tell people you are beach front. Are you? If so, sure add the beach. That area is called the HEADER, so that needs to have a static image or logo and your inn name but in a nice design that means B&B and a slogan or catch phrase is also nifty. Look at this as an example.
 
A HUGE shout out to Empty Nest for all her help and guidance, patiently explaining why things should be a different way than what makes sense to me :) Thank you so much for your help!!!
 
This forum is worth it's weight in gold. If you ask you will receive useful comments and feedback. Unfortunately, many of us find useful comments about "our babies" tough to take and go away. But there is no better resource!
The new header ROCKS! It is the first thing, the most valuable real estate on your website, and now it is inviting and fun. That is what I was talkin' bout, well done, CL.
Oh and the whole home page is much improved, the font, the whole visual impact. I wanted to let you know, all the hard work is not in vain. Looks great!
 
This forum is worth it's weight in gold. If you ask you will receive useful comments and feedback. Unfortunately, many of us find useful comments about "our babies" tough to take and go away. But there is no better resource!
The new header ROCKS! It is the first thing, the most valuable real estate on your website, and now it is inviting and fun. That is what I was talkin' bout, well done, CL.
Oh and the whole home page is much improved, the font, the whole visual impact. I wanted to let you know, all the hard work is not in vain. Looks great!.
heart.gif

 
A HUGE shout out to Empty Nest for all her help and guidance, patiently explaining why things should be a different way than what makes sense to me :) Thank you so much for your help!!!.
BananaE29 said:
A HUGE shout out to Empty Nest for all her help and guidance, patiently explaining why things should be a different way than what makes sense to me :) Thank you so much for your help!!!
Isn't she a sweetheart? I've got a brand new header for my page as well. Website still under construction, but a sharp new header to start me off!
 
This forum is worth it's weight in gold. If you ask you will receive useful comments and feedback. Unfortunately, many of us find useful comments about "our babies" tough to take and go away. But there is no better resource!
The new header ROCKS! It is the first thing, the most valuable real estate on your website, and now it is inviting and fun. That is what I was talkin' bout, well done, CL.
Oh and the whole home page is much improved, the font, the whole visual impact. I wanted to let you know, all the hard work is not in vain. Looks great!.
heart.gif

.
heart.gif
Right back atcha!
 
A HUGE shout out to Empty Nest for all her help and guidance, patiently explaining why things should be a different way than what makes sense to me :) Thank you so much for your help!!!.
Empty Nest designed my website when I had the biz. I got GREAT compliments on the site and she was absolutely wonderful to me. I sooooooooooo appreciated her!
 
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