Website Review

[happykeeper]

Aloha from Hawaii,
We have just completed the majority of our website upgrades which includes adding a blog. We would be grateful for any feedback on the site. There may still be some typographical errors etc, but we thought we would get feedback now and see what we could incorporate and what may have to wait.
www.kau-hawaii.com
Thanks
Kenny

 

[swirt]

1. I see you cleaned up some of the file names to get rid of spaces. Don't forget to re-submit the template to rezovation as once you are on the rezovation site, it points to the old pages. Ideally you should 301-redirect the old pages to the new location. (Example: /Hawaii Bed and Breakfast.html should automatically become/take you /hawaiibedandbreakfast.html)
2. Links to your home page should always go to / not /index.html
3. A doctype is a good idea (a mandatory html element) Should be the very first line of code.
4. Images need meaningful alt attributes
5. Images that act as buttons need meaningful title attributes
6. An html sitemap linked to and from every page in your site would be a good idea.
7. You have great photos and the potential (given the beauty of the area) for so many more... but the photos on your site are relatively small. Part of that constraint is imposed by the fixed width of your site which limits you to photos no wider than ~700px. When I view your site on my monitor at 1280 by 1024 nearly half of it is just the green-white modeled background. If I were on a widescreen laptop way more than half would be the background and less than half would be your content. With the broad range of screen widths today, fixed width sites are obsolete. Fluid width presents some challenges to designers, which is why so many designers avoid them but they really are the way to go.
8. If you have to go with small photos, at least make them expand if clicked so people can see the beauty of a larger photo. Most of you photos are pretty good quality...no need to keep them small.
9. Scale your images before you put them on the web There is no reason people should have to wait for this 700KB image to download at 2003x1401 just to have the browser re-scale it to 600x419 If you scaled it ahead of time the image would only be 54KB (13 times smaller).
10. Your secondary navigation is inconsistent (gives the impression of being disorganized). On some pages it is horizontal, just beneath the main navigation, and in other cases it is vertical on the left side of the content.
11. Under "Learn" the subnavigation doesn't help me much (as a non-Hawaiian speaker). If English speakers are your primary audience it may be more helpful to use english on the tabs and then give translations in the text on the page. ..or at least use english in the title attributes so when I roll over the button I get a translation as a tooltip.
12. Standardize your footer. It seems different on practically every page. You might want to rearrange it so the phone number, business name, address and email are all together without being broken up by the copyright notice. {alt-0169 will give you an actual copyright symbol © as opposed to (c) }
13. On the link to your blog...just use target="_blank" The javascript forcing it to open 750x200 is annoying. I can't read a window that is only 200px tall. Let my computer take care of opening the window using my methods, don't force me to have it your way. Not to mention that since it is an odd javascript method (not using onclick) search engines will not follow it, popup blockers may intercept it, and if I have javascript turned off, it won't do anything. There is really no good reason to use the javascript call to open a new window. (its not like you have to open it a specific size because you are using it to display a single photo (somethign that is no longer recommended anyway) Also get some good use of words in the link itself... using the url as the text in the link is not good when you have the ability to use other words (don't use "click here"...you'll make me cry)

This is probably more detail than you were asking for....sorry.

 

[NW BB]

First, your place looks beautiful and I wish I knew about it when we went to the big island a few years ago. I'd stay there in a heart beat! Since you're asking for input, here are a few of my thoughts for what they're worth:

• When looking for a B&B for us to stay at, the first thing I look for when I hit a site is a "rooms & rates" type button. Having to click twice (Your Inn, Suites) means you're going to lose some folks who don't have patience to figure it out.
• I would like to see more pictures of your suites, not just the beds.
• What kind of bathrooms do you have? I don't see a description of what type of bath in the descriptions. Are the baths private? En Suite? When we're traveling, the type of bath (tub, shower, jacuzzi) is very important to us.
• More pictures! The pictures you have are beautiful, but I need more of them. You've done a beautiful job of informing people of Hawaii & the culture, but IMHO you need to sell them on your property more. Pictures of your common areas,
• Where does it tell about breakfast?? What type of breakfast do you serve and where? What time? Choices?

 

[happykeeper]

1. I see you cleaned up some of the file names to get rid of spaces. Don't forget to re-submit the template to rezovation as once you are on the rezovation site, it points to the old pages. Ideally you should 301-redirect the old pages to the new location. (Example: /Hawaii Bed and Breakfast.html should automatically become/take you /hawaiibedandbreakfast.html)
2. Links to your home page should always go to / not /index.html
3. A doctype is a good idea (a mandatory html element) Should be the very first line of code.
4. Images need meaningful alt attributes
5. Images that act as buttons need meaningful title attributes
6. An html sitemap linked to and from every page in your site would be a good idea.
7. You have great photos and the potential (given the beauty of the area) for so many more... but the photos on your site are relatively small. Part of that constraint is imposed by the fixed width of your site which limits you to photos no wider than ~700px. When I view your site on my monitor at 1280 by 1024 nearly half of it is just the green-white modeled background. If I were on a widescreen laptop way more than half would be the background and less than half would be your content. With the broad range of screen widths today, fixed width sites are obsolete. Fluid width presents some challenges to designers, which is why so many designers avoid them but they really are the way to go.
8. If you have to go with small photos, at least make them expand if clicked so people can see the beauty of a larger photo. Most of you photos are pretty good quality...no need to keep them small.
9. Scale your images before you put them on the web There is no reason people should have to wait for this 700KB image to download at 2003x1401 just to have the browser re-scale it to 600x419 If you scaled it ahead of time the image would only be 54KB (13 times smaller).
10. Your secondary navigation is inconsistent (gives the impression of being disorganized). On some pages it is horizontal, just beneath the main navigation, and in other cases it is vertical on the left side of the content.
11. Under "Learn" the subnavigation doesn't help me much (as a non-Hawaiian speaker). If English speakers are your primary audience it may be more helpful to use english on the tabs and then give translations in the text on the page. ..or at least use english in the title attributes so when I roll over the button I get a translation as a tooltip.
12. Standardize your footer. It seems different on practically every page. You might want to rearrange it so the phone number, business name, address and email are all together without being broken up by the copyright notice. {alt-0169 will give you an actual copyright symbol © as opposed to (c) }
13. On the link to your blog...just use target="_blank" The javascript forcing it to open 750x200 is annoying. I can't read a window that is only 200px tall. Let my computer take care of opening the window using my methods, don't force me to have it your way. Not to mention that since it is an odd javascript method (not using onclick) search engines will not follow it, popup blockers may intercept it, and if I have javascript turned off, it won't do anything. There is really no good reason to use the javascript call to open a new window. (its not like you have to open it a specific size because you are using it to display a single photo (somethign that is no longer recommended anyway) Also get some good use of words in the link itself... using the url as the text in the link is not good when you have the ability to use other words (don't use "click here"...you'll make me cry)

This is probably more detail than you were asking for....sorry. .

Are you kidding me! Who wouldn't want a list like this! The fact that I only understand half of it (I am being generous) makes it all the more valuable.
When I think about the list I would have gotten a year ago, I think I am making real progress- and considering the value we'll have in the long run by learning to do these things ourselves- Thrilled is an understatement.

 

[happykeeper]

First, your place looks beautiful and I wish I knew about it when we went to the big island a few years ago. I'd stay there in a heart beat! Since you're asking for input, here are a few of my thoughts for what they're worth:

• When looking for a B&B for us to stay at, the first thing I look for when I hit a site is a "rooms & rates" type button. Having to click twice (Your Inn, Suites) means you're going to lose some folks who don't have patience to figure it out.
• I would like to see more pictures of your suites, not just the beds.
• What kind of bathrooms do you have? I don't see a description of what type of bath in the descriptions. Are the baths private? En Suite? When we're traveling, the type of bath (tub, shower, jacuzzi) is very important to us.
• More pictures! The pictures you have are beautiful, but I need more of them. You've done a beautiful job of informing people of Hawaii & the culture, but IMHO you need to sell them on your property more. Pictures of your common areas,
• Where does it tell about breakfast?? What type of breakfast do you serve and where? What time? Choices?

.

I just love it! These are great comments!
They get to the heart of some of the things we were thinking but that get lost as you go along. We have given a lot of thought to the issue of the rates button and I am going to run through that again. When it is time to return, please let us know.

 

[NW BB]

I just looked at your page "About Innkeepers", and I want to see pictures of these fabulous leis!!!!!!! I know you have pictures in the "Learn" area, but many people will not take the time to click there.
Now, this is just a personal peeve, and many may not share it with me...I hate having to search for the areas I've already been to. Here's an example, I was in the "Learn" section and I wanted again to see "About Innkeepers" or take a look at your rooms again and these "tabs" were no where to be found. It makes for difficult navigation. I like to see the "tabs" for different sections on all pages so I don't have to go hunting.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

1. I see you cleaned up some of the file names to get rid of spaces. Don't forget to re-submit the template to rezovation as once you are on the rezovation site, it points to the old pages. Ideally you should 301-redirect the old pages to the new location. (Example: /Hawaii Bed and Breakfast.html should automatically become/take you /hawaiibedandbreakfast.html)
2. Links to your home page should always go to / not /index.html
3. A doctype is a good idea (a mandatory html element) Should be the very first line of code.
4. Images need meaningful alt attributes
5. Images that act as buttons need meaningful title attributes
6. An html sitemap linked to and from every page in your site would be a good idea.
7. You have great photos and the potential (given the beauty of the area) for so many more... but the photos on your site are relatively small. Part of that constraint is imposed by the fixed width of your site which limits you to photos no wider than ~700px. When I view your site on my monitor at 1280 by 1024 nearly half of it is just the green-white modeled background. If I were on a widescreen laptop way more than half would be the background and less than half would be your content. With the broad range of screen widths today, fixed width sites are obsolete. Fluid width presents some challenges to designers, which is why so many designers avoid them but they really are the way to go.
8. If you have to go with small photos, at least make them expand if clicked so people can see the beauty of a larger photo. Most of you photos are pretty good quality...no need to keep them small.
9. Scale your images before you put them on the web There is no reason people should have to wait for this 700KB image to download at 2003x1401 just to have the browser re-scale it to 600x419 If you scaled it ahead of time the image would only be 54KB (13 times smaller).
10. Your secondary navigation is inconsistent (gives the impression of being disorganized). On some pages it is horizontal, just beneath the main navigation, and in other cases it is vertical on the left side of the content.
11. Under "Learn" the subnavigation doesn't help me much (as a non-Hawaiian speaker). If English speakers are your primary audience it may be more helpful to use english on the tabs and then give translations in the text on the page. ..or at least use english in the title attributes so when I roll over the button I get a translation as a tooltip.
12. Standardize your footer. It seems different on practically every page. You might want to rearrange it so the phone number, business name, address and email are all together without being broken up by the copyright notice. {alt-0169 will give you an actual copyright symbol © as opposed to (c) }
13. On the link to your blog...just use target="_blank" The javascript forcing it to open 750x200 is annoying. I can't read a window that is only 200px tall. Let my computer take care of opening the window using my methods, don't force me to have it your way. Not to mention that since it is an odd javascript method (not using onclick) search engines will not follow it, popup blockers may intercept it, and if I have javascript turned off, it won't do anything. There is really no good reason to use the javascript call to open a new window. (its not like you have to open it a specific size because you are using it to display a single photo (somethign that is no longer recommended anyway) Also get some good use of words in the link itself... using the url as the text in the link is not good when you have the ability to use other words (don't use "click here"...you'll make me cry)

This is probably more detail than you were asking for....sorry. .

Are you kidding me! Who wouldn't want a list like this! The fact that I only understand half of it (I am being generous) makes it all the more valuable.
When I think about the list I would have gotten a year ago, I think I am making real progress- and considering the value we'll have in the long run by learning to do these things ourselves- Thrilled is an understatement.
.

Are you kidding me! Who wouldn't want a list like this! The fact that I only understand half of it (I am being generous) makes it all the more valuable.
When I think about the list I would have gotten a year ago, I think I am making real progress- and considering the value we'll have in the long run by learning to do these things ourselves- Thrilled is an understatement.

It is a perk of being Innspiring. I hope the new improved website brings you many interesting and happy guests! I agree with the photo comments, you can make them clickable to enlarge if you think it is too much to have too many or a photo gallery - which is organized (some photo galleries are just wide open galleries). The breakfast link didn't go anywhere for me. I am on google chrome.
ALL THE BEST!