Our first website, what's wrong?
Hello dear board,
We are a small British team who have developped our first online travel website. We are in the soft launch phase, only promoting our website to search engines and hoping users will find us.
Not many do, and those that do don't stay very long. What wrong?
Can you please check it out at www.travelvision.com
Thanks!
AndyB posted this at 12:21 — 15th May 2000.
They have: 344 posts
Joined: Aug 1999
I experienced a very slow load (over a 56k modem) and blank page for 15 secs before I saw anything ... and the first thing I see is an entry to secure area box ... and then it's slow again.
So, lots of your 'visitors' may have hit the back button long before they reach your content.
Dreaded horizontal scroll appears at screen size less than 800 px - irritating and easily corrected.
It wasn't obvious where the content was .. until I found a guest button. You could make it more obvious how new visitors could see the type of content available.
.. and using a text link that says [more] would make it more obvious how I got more information about places, instead of the arrow in front of the paragraphs (which I thought were just decorative until I moused over one).
Megan posted this at 13:38 — 15th May 2000.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Yup, slow loading is probably the main problem. I'm suspecting it's your server, not anything you've done with the page but I could be wrong on that (make a really basic HTML page, upload it and see how long it takes to come up - that'll tell you what the problem is)
The site does look nice though. You might want to try doing something more interesting with your logo so it stands out more. I like how you've used photos from different destinations.
You also have to make your navigation more apparent - a lot of people wouldn't know that some of these things wre linked (Like the arrows on the guest user page)
Another thing that you might want to do is to find a better way of organizing your navigation. I'm kind of lost in here, and some things are opening in new windows which just makes it more confusing.
Megan
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Justin S posted this at 13:58 — 15th May 2000.
They have: 2,076 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Very original design...
1) I agree that it's slow loading time. I think it's the actual server, and not the actual page + graphics. But that could be also be the reason. 'Cause the big picture of the desert is 31kb, which could take a little while to load.
2) I like the menu a lot. I would move the Terms and Conditions up there also though. I also wouldn't have the '|' in the beginning or the end of the menu.
3) Some of the pages make it scrollable on 800x600 resolution. For example: the About Us page.
4) The logo could be much more interesting. Either add some color, or design, or even a different font would solve this problem.
5) The main page needs a line of text explaining what the site is about.
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My name is Nitsuj. I bet you're thinking WTF...
Justin Stayton - [email] [icq]
xberg posted this at 15:20 — 15th May 2000.
They have: 2 posts
Joined: May 2000
Thank you so much for your replies! This really helps us a lot and we look into each of your recommendations!
Great board
Brooke posted this at 15:43 — 15th May 2000.
She has: 681 posts
Joined: Feb 1999
I agree that it's a little slow loading. But I also see another problem. It's your home page. Not quite a splash page, but it's not a full blown home page either. I kind of felt like I came to the middle of the site somewhere. I feel like there needs to be a little more information about your site on the home page.
Brooke
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Providing quality websites for businesses and individuals!
www.cataluna.com
graphicald posted this at 18:35 — 15th May 2000.
They have: 19 posts
Joined: May 2000
If you could add your logo into the main picture, that would look great. If you made the text white, with a black outer shadow, that would make it stand out some more. If you want me to help you make a logo, just drop me an email. I can help you out if you wish.
Thanks,
GraphicalD http://www.graphics-universe.com
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