Feedback on Recent Website Redesign

[himelhochbb]

Hello I recently redesigned our bed and breakfast's website and would love some feedback!
https://www.himelhochbb.com/
It's not 100% done yet, still working on creating a page for Packages / Addons (flowers, etc), Inn History, and some other little things. Keep in mind some of the items regarding the actual reservation process are outside my control because I'm using a Wordpress booking plugin.
Thanks!

 

[Anon Inn]

"Like-new mattresses"
please change this. Reminds me of people attempting to sell their old mattresses on Craigslist.

 

[himelhochbb]

"Like-new mattresses"
please change this. Reminds me of people attempting to sell their old mattresses on Craigslist..

What would you recommend using instead of "like new" to let guests know that we just recently replaced all the rooms' mattresses?
Thanks for taking a look at it! Anything else?

 

[Anon Inn]

"Like-new mattresses"
please change this. Reminds me of people attempting to sell their old mattresses on Craigslist..

What would you recommend using instead of "like new" to let guests know that we just recently replaced all the rooms' mattresses?
Thanks for taking a look at it! Anything else?
.

"Top quality mattresses, linens and furnishings"
assuming that is the case.

 

[gillumhouse]

Change the On Sale Now starting at to rates start at $xxx. You do not want to look like a clearance sale. I did not look further - I am tired tonight.

 

[himelhochbb]

Change the On Sale Now starting at to rates start at $xxx. You do not want to look like a clearance sale. I did not look further - I am tired tonight..

Yeah I changed the to Sale Now text earlier today while playing around with the coupon countdown bar and meant to change it back but forgot. Thanks for taking a quick look, look forward to your more in-depth review!

 

[Jcam]

"Like-new mattresses"
please change this. Reminds me of people attempting to sell their old mattresses on Craigslist..

What would you recommend using instead of "like new" to let guests know that we just recently replaced all the rooms' mattresses?
Thanks for taking a look at it! Anything else?
.

"Top quality mattresses, linens and furnishings"
assuming that is the case.
.

or "recently refurbished with new top quality beds, linen etc"

 

[EmptyNest]

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me. I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider.
The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either :-(
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Contact should be a main link as well.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks.

 

[dumitru]

Hi,
I would look at some performance optimization, as this theme loads quite a lot of resources on the homepage
Here's a link to help you out: https://gtmetrix.com/reports/www.himelhochbb.com/bgGlubEx

 

[Jcam]

Change the On Sale Now starting at to rates start at $xxx. You do not want to look like a clearance sale. I did not look further - I am tired tonight..

Yeah I changed the to Sale Now text earlier today while playing around with the coupon countdown bar and meant to change it back but forgot. Thanks for taking a quick look, look forward to your more in-depth review!
.

DOn't be put off if we are a bit brutal - we want you to make money, every suggestion we give is to help you make money and a more profitable business - that is the key to everything!

 

[Jcam]

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me. I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider.
The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either :-(
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Contact should be a main link as well.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks..

Michigan's thumb - as an international visitor this means nothing to me, if I am coming to your area I want a town or an attraction I can tie into.

 

[gillumhouse]

Change the On Sale Now starting at to rates start at $xxx. You do not want to look like a clearance sale. I did not look further - I am tired tonight..

Yeah I changed the to Sale Now text earlier today while playing around with the coupon countdown bar and meant to change it back but forgot. Thanks for taking a quick look, look forward to your more in-depth review!
.

I am no techie. Empty Nest, Dumitru & JBloggs and others know that stuff. LISTEN to them. We all want success for you.

 

[himelhochbb]

Hi,
I would look at some performance optimization, as this theme loads quite a lot of resources on the homepage
Here's a link to help you out: https://gtmetrix.com/reports/www.himelhochbb.com/bgGlubEx.

Thanks for this report, lots of good info! I'm using some optimization plugins to try to get my PageSpeed as high as possible and it looks like it's not too horrible compared to some other B&B sites because it scored significantly higher than EmpyNest's recently completed riverdellbb.com site with a score of 72% vs an F 26%.
https://gtmetrix.com/reports/riverdellbb.com/ICMA5pKV
There's always room for improvement of course so I'm going to keep working on getting it higher!

 

[himelhochbb]

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me. I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider.
The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either :-(
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Contact should be a main link as well.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks..

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me.
I'm currently working on optimizing the page load speed time, going to try minifying some of the resources and utilizing a CDN - content delivery network. The overlay on header images is more of a personal preference and what I like about it is it allows the text / logos to be more eligible and prominent without having to add outdated outlines or dropshadows to the text. The header image on each of the pages is used more of a preview and then the photo gallery lower on the page provides the full unobstructed assortment of photos.
What's weird though is the PageSpeed of my homepage was significantly better than the PageSpeed of your recent RiverDell BB site?
I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider. The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
Thanks, nice catch, I just disabled the slider's navigation dots as I agree it was a little distracting at certain screen resolutions For the reservation tab that is part of the theme but it's used to direct the user's eye in that direction to make a conversion aka make a reservation.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
This is one thing we've wrestled with because to be honest there's not a ton to do in the immediate area outside of a relaxing or romantic getaway, you pretty much have to travel 30+ minutes to get to any significant attraction. We're right in the in between / middle (heart) of it all. The Thumb reference is something that is widely used in Michigan and in a ton of marketing campaigns because Michigan is shaped like a mitten and our area is in the "thumb" of the "mitten". A good majority of our guests thus far have been Michigan residents but I can see how someone not familiar with the mitten shape of Michigan may get confused by this reference so I'll brainstorm some additional ideas to make it clearer.
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
Yeah responsive headers are always a little tricky, I'll look into increasing the height of the headers at certain mobile / tablet width breakpoints so more of the image is visible.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
I actually personally like the interface because it draws your eye and looks more professional compared to the framed in resnexus tools. I have HotJar installed on the website so I have been watching screen recordings of our users and will make sure to keep an eye on that element to see if it's confusing to users.
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Thanks I just disabled that, it was part of the HotJar recordings tool but it didn't receive any traction so not worth annoying user with it.
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Yeah they are both the same exact page they are just listed under 2 menu items. I'm a big proponent of making things as easy to find as possible and if it means adding a page to multiple menu items so be it. I'll match up the menu naming like you suggested so users don't get confused thinking it's a second completely different set of photos.
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either Sad
I'm not seeing this one twice, I see it it in the header background image and then in the photo gallery if that's what you're referring to? Confused as to what you mean by you didn't enjoy this photo?
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
The room pages are one thing that's hard coded into the theme / booking plugin as a custom post type so unfortunately I can't really change much without creating a child theme and manually coding in the desired additional page elements in the php post type file. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious one day!
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Yeah I went back and forth between left aligning and center aligning it, I ultimately decided that I liked how it looked center aligned slightly better but I'll revisit it again and see how it looks left aligned.
For the main link this link this is one thing I'm definitely against for a couple reasons. First with a responsive design, the more top level menu items you add the faster the design switches to a mobile hamburger navigation style which is not as good of a user experience. I already plan on adding additional top level menu item for the Packages so I don't want to make the menu even wider by adding a Policy link.
The second reason is I want to promote how relaxing and enjoyable their stay will be and feature the rooms, amenities, things to do, etc. I don't want to feature and make Policies such a prominent place on our website that gives potential guests the vibe that we are rule nazis and will impede their relaxing stay. I'm guessing this is the reason that most other hotels and lodging places also leave it out from their main top level navigation. We still expect guests to strictly follow our policies of course which is why when guest checkout they are required to check a box that they read our policies and it provides a popup link to the policy page. It's also in our emails we send out confirming their reservation.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks.
Thanks for the in-depth review! You definitely pointed out some good things that I changed immediately and gave me some things to think about. And of course a few things that are simply a matter of opinion / personal preference that we can agree to disagree on I'll let the Google analytics and Hotjar recordings make the ultimate decision. Thanks again EmptyNest!

 

[EmptyNest]

Hi,
I would look at some performance optimization, as this theme loads quite a lot of resources on the homepage
Here's a link to help you out: https://gtmetrix.com/reports/www.himelhochbb.com/bgGlubEx.

Thanks for this report, lots of good info! I'm using some optimization plugins to try to get my PageSpeed as high as possible and it looks like it's not too horrible compared to some other B&B sites because it scored significantly higher than EmpyNest's recently completed riverdellbb.com site with a score of 72% vs an F 26%.
https://gtmetrix.com/reports/riverdellbb.com/ICMA5pKV
There's always room for improvement of course so I'm going to keep working on getting it higher!
.

I don't make promises I never even did a check...bad on me I will have to run one
thanks sir the reminder somtimes it is theme and plugins. You can use WP smush for images
i never claim to be developer I just try to make designs that look good for the low price I charge

 

[EmptyNest]

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me. I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider.
The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either :-(
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Contact should be a main link as well.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks..

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me.
I'm currently working on optimizing the page load speed time, going to try minifying some of the resources and utilizing a CDN - content delivery network. The overlay on header images is more of a personal preference and what I like about it is it allows the text / logos to be more eligible and prominent without having to add outdated outlines or dropshadows to the text. The header image on each of the pages is used more of a preview and then the photo gallery lower on the page provides the full unobstructed assortment of photos.
What's weird though is the PageSpeed of my homepage was significantly better than the PageSpeed of your recent RiverDell BB site?
I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider. The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
Thanks, nice catch, I just disabled the slider's navigation dots as I agree it was a little distracting at certain screen resolutions For the reservation tab that is part of the theme but it's used to direct the user's eye in that direction to make a conversion aka make a reservation.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
This is one thing we've wrestled with because to be honest there's not a ton to do in the immediate area outside of a relaxing or romantic getaway, you pretty much have to travel 30+ minutes to get to any significant attraction. We're right in the in between / middle (heart) of it all. The Thumb reference is something that is widely used in Michigan and in a ton of marketing campaigns because Michigan is shaped like a mitten and our area is in the "thumb" of the "mitten". A good majority of our guests thus far have been Michigan residents but I can see how someone not familiar with the mitten shape of Michigan may get confused by this reference so I'll brainstorm some additional ideas to make it clearer.
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
Yeah responsive headers are always a little tricky, I'll look into increasing the height of the headers at certain mobile / tablet width breakpoints so more of the image is visible.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
I actually personally like the interface because it draws your eye and looks more professional compared to the framed in resnexus tools. I have HotJar installed on the website so I have been watching screen recordings of our users and will make sure to keep an eye on that element to see if it's confusing to users.
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Thanks I just disabled that, it was part of the HotJar recordings tool but it didn't receive any traction so not worth annoying user with it.
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Yeah they are both the same exact page they are just listed under 2 menu items. I'm a big proponent of making things as easy to find as possible and if it means adding a page to multiple menu items so be it. I'll match up the menu naming like you suggested so users don't get confused thinking it's a second completely different set of photos.
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either Sad
I'm not seeing this one twice, I see it it in the header background image and then in the photo gallery if that's what you're referring to? Confused as to what you mean by you didn't enjoy this photo?
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
The room pages are one thing that's hard coded into the theme / booking plugin as a custom post type so unfortunately I can't really change much without creating a child theme and manually coding in the desired additional page elements in the php post type file. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious one day!
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Yeah I went back and forth between left aligning and center aligning it, I ultimately decided that I liked how it looked center aligned slightly better but I'll revisit it again and see how it looks left aligned.
For the main link this link this is one thing I'm definitely against for a couple reasons. First with a responsive design, the more top level menu items you add the faster the design switches to a mobile hamburger navigation style which is not as good of a user experience. I already plan on adding additional top level menu item for the Packages so I don't want to make the menu even wider by adding a Policy link.
The second reason is I want to promote how relaxing and enjoyable their stay will be and feature the rooms, amenities, things to do, etc. I don't want to feature and make Policies such a prominent place on our website that gives potential guests the vibe that we are rule nazis and will impede their relaxing stay. I'm guessing this is the reason that most other hotels and lodging places also leave it out from their main top level navigation. We still expect guests to strictly follow our policies of course which is why when guest checkout they are required to check a box that they read our policies and it provides a popup link to the policy page. It's also in our emails we send out confirming their reservation.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks.
Thanks for the in-depth review! You definitely pointed out some good things that I changed immediately and gave me some things to think about. And of course a few things that are simply a matter of opinion / personal preference that we can agree to disagree on I'll let the Google analytics and Hotjar recordings make the ultimate decision. Thanks again EmptyNest!
.

I don't know if it is you in the hot tub or not so I will refrain from commenting.
i would like a back or side shot maybe with wine glasses toasting
againa personal preference

 

[himelhochbb]

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me. I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider.
The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either :-(
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Contact should be a main link as well.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks..

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me.
I'm currently working on optimizing the page load speed time, going to try minifying some of the resources and utilizing a CDN - content delivery network. The overlay on header images is more of a personal preference and what I like about it is it allows the text / logos to be more eligible and prominent without having to add outdated outlines or dropshadows to the text. The header image on each of the pages is used more of a preview and then the photo gallery lower on the page provides the full unobstructed assortment of photos.
What's weird though is the PageSpeed of my homepage was significantly better than the PageSpeed of your recent RiverDell BB site?
I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider. The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
Thanks, nice catch, I just disabled the slider's navigation dots as I agree it was a little distracting at certain screen resolutions For the reservation tab that is part of the theme but it's used to direct the user's eye in that direction to make a conversion aka make a reservation.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
This is one thing we've wrestled with because to be honest there's not a ton to do in the immediate area outside of a relaxing or romantic getaway, you pretty much have to travel 30+ minutes to get to any significant attraction. We're right in the in between / middle (heart) of it all. The Thumb reference is something that is widely used in Michigan and in a ton of marketing campaigns because Michigan is shaped like a mitten and our area is in the "thumb" of the "mitten". A good majority of our guests thus far have been Michigan residents but I can see how someone not familiar with the mitten shape of Michigan may get confused by this reference so I'll brainstorm some additional ideas to make it clearer.
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
Yeah responsive headers are always a little tricky, I'll look into increasing the height of the headers at certain mobile / tablet width breakpoints so more of the image is visible.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
I actually personally like the interface because it draws your eye and looks more professional compared to the framed in resnexus tools. I have HotJar installed on the website so I have been watching screen recordings of our users and will make sure to keep an eye on that element to see if it's confusing to users.
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Thanks I just disabled that, it was part of the HotJar recordings tool but it didn't receive any traction so not worth annoying user with it.
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Yeah they are both the same exact page they are just listed under 2 menu items. I'm a big proponent of making things as easy to find as possible and if it means adding a page to multiple menu items so be it. I'll match up the menu naming like you suggested so users don't get confused thinking it's a second completely different set of photos.
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either Sad
I'm not seeing this one twice, I see it it in the header background image and then in the photo gallery if that's what you're referring to? Confused as to what you mean by you didn't enjoy this photo?
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
The room pages are one thing that's hard coded into the theme / booking plugin as a custom post type so unfortunately I can't really change much without creating a child theme and manually coding in the desired additional page elements in the php post type file. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious one day!
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Yeah I went back and forth between left aligning and center aligning it, I ultimately decided that I liked how it looked center aligned slightly better but I'll revisit it again and see how it looks left aligned.
For the main link this link this is one thing I'm definitely against for a couple reasons. First with a responsive design, the more top level menu items you add the faster the design switches to a mobile hamburger navigation style which is not as good of a user experience. I already plan on adding additional top level menu item for the Packages so I don't want to make the menu even wider by adding a Policy link.
The second reason is I want to promote how relaxing and enjoyable their stay will be and feature the rooms, amenities, things to do, etc. I don't want to feature and make Policies such a prominent place on our website that gives potential guests the vibe that we are rule nazis and will impede their relaxing stay. I'm guessing this is the reason that most other hotels and lodging places also leave it out from their main top level navigation. We still expect guests to strictly follow our policies of course which is why when guest checkout they are required to check a box that they read our policies and it provides a popup link to the policy page. It's also in our emails we send out confirming their reservation.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks.
Thanks for the in-depth review! You definitely pointed out some good things that I changed immediately and gave me some things to think about. And of course a few things that are simply a matter of opinion / personal preference that we can agree to disagree on I'll let the Google analytics and Hotjar recordings make the ultimate decision. Thanks again EmptyNest!
.

I don't know if it is you in the hot tub or not so I will refrain from commenting.
i would like a back or side shot maybe with wine glasses toasting
againa personal preference
.

Nope it's not me in the photos but I agree now that you bring it up, an angle without faces would have been a better choice so guests could visualize themselves as the ones enjoying the hot tub. It's the same philosophy behind realtors removing family photos from houses for sale. This would be a nice way to say it too without having to worry about refraining so you don't potentially offend or discourage future posters on this forum.

 

[user 26]

Just a couple little comments.
I also had to look up 'in the heart of Michigan's thumb' as I had never heard of it. That would likely appeal to locals or those who know Michigan. It seems you know where most of your guests come from? Is that a big draw? I saw it all over Michigan's tourism sites. I like your little description here that Michigan is shaped like a mitten and you're in the center of the thumb of the mitten. The thumb print. I didn't know that Michigan looks like a mitten.
I would prefer no people in the hot tub. I see that couple in the header picture of the hot tub under amenities, then it repeats with the scrolling images, then you see them from a little further away. How about a picture of it with bubbles rolling? Maybe towels and wine glasses off to the side. Maybe from inside the game room looking out? I assume the man is looking at the tv in the game room?

 

[gillumhouse]

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me. I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider.
The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either :-(
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Contact should be a main link as well.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks..

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me.
I'm currently working on optimizing the page load speed time, going to try minifying some of the resources and utilizing a CDN - content delivery network. The overlay on header images is more of a personal preference and what I like about it is it allows the text / logos to be more eligible and prominent without having to add outdated outlines or dropshadows to the text. The header image on each of the pages is used more of a preview and then the photo gallery lower on the page provides the full unobstructed assortment of photos.
What's weird though is the PageSpeed of my homepage was significantly better than the PageSpeed of your recent RiverDell BB site?
I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider. The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
Thanks, nice catch, I just disabled the slider's navigation dots as I agree it was a little distracting at certain screen resolutions For the reservation tab that is part of the theme but it's used to direct the user's eye in that direction to make a conversion aka make a reservation.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
This is one thing we've wrestled with because to be honest there's not a ton to do in the immediate area outside of a relaxing or romantic getaway, you pretty much have to travel 30+ minutes to get to any significant attraction. We're right in the in between / middle (heart) of it all. The Thumb reference is something that is widely used in Michigan and in a ton of marketing campaigns because Michigan is shaped like a mitten and our area is in the "thumb" of the "mitten". A good majority of our guests thus far have been Michigan residents but I can see how someone not familiar with the mitten shape of Michigan may get confused by this reference so I'll brainstorm some additional ideas to make it clearer.
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
Yeah responsive headers are always a little tricky, I'll look into increasing the height of the headers at certain mobile / tablet width breakpoints so more of the image is visible.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
I actually personally like the interface because it draws your eye and looks more professional compared to the framed in resnexus tools. I have HotJar installed on the website so I have been watching screen recordings of our users and will make sure to keep an eye on that element to see if it's confusing to users.
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Thanks I just disabled that, it was part of the HotJar recordings tool but it didn't receive any traction so not worth annoying user with it.
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Yeah they are both the same exact page they are just listed under 2 menu items. I'm a big proponent of making things as easy to find as possible and if it means adding a page to multiple menu items so be it. I'll match up the menu naming like you suggested so users don't get confused thinking it's a second completely different set of photos.
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either Sad
I'm not seeing this one twice, I see it it in the header background image and then in the photo gallery if that's what you're referring to? Confused as to what you mean by you didn't enjoy this photo?
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
The room pages are one thing that's hard coded into the theme / booking plugin as a custom post type so unfortunately I can't really change much without creating a child theme and manually coding in the desired additional page elements in the php post type file. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious one day!
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Yeah I went back and forth between left aligning and center aligning it, I ultimately decided that I liked how it looked center aligned slightly better but I'll revisit it again and see how it looks left aligned.
For the main link this link this is one thing I'm definitely against for a couple reasons. First with a responsive design, the more top level menu items you add the faster the design switches to a mobile hamburger navigation style which is not as good of a user experience. I already plan on adding additional top level menu item for the Packages so I don't want to make the menu even wider by adding a Policy link.
The second reason is I want to promote how relaxing and enjoyable their stay will be and feature the rooms, amenities, things to do, etc. I don't want to feature and make Policies such a prominent place on our website that gives potential guests the vibe that we are rule nazis and will impede their relaxing stay. I'm guessing this is the reason that most other hotels and lodging places also leave it out from their main top level navigation. We still expect guests to strictly follow our policies of course which is why when guest checkout they are required to check a box that they read our policies and it provides a popup link to the policy page. It's also in our emails we send out confirming their reservation.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks.
Thanks for the in-depth review! You definitely pointed out some good things that I changed immediately and gave me some things to think about. And of course a few things that are simply a matter of opinion / personal preference that we can agree to disagree on I'll let the Google analytics and Hotjar recordings make the ultimate decision. Thanks again EmptyNest!
.

I don't know if it is you in the hot tub or not so I will refrain from commenting.
i would like a back or side shot maybe with wine glasses toasting
againa personal preference
.

Nope it's not me in the photos but I agree now that you bring it up, an angle without faces would have been a better choice so guests could visualize themselves as the ones enjoying the hot tub. It's the same philosophy behind realtors removing family photos from houses for sale. This would be a nice way to say it too without having to worry about refraining so you don't potentially offend or discourage future posters on this forum.
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The no people in the hot tub - just bubbles and wine glasses at the side is to invite the guest in - WITHOUT saying someone else used that hot tub. People put the question in the mind of a germ nazi of "How was that hot tub cleaned? WAS it cleaned?"

 

[himelhochbb]

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me. I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider.
The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either :-(
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Contact should be a main link as well.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks..

Took about too long to load the header images, I was about to leave. Personally I don't like having that many images loading in header,I will not wait for them all to view one or two is sufficient. I don't like the darkened / shaded overlay I prefer to see brighter images that will wow me.
I'm currently working on optimizing the page load speed time, going to try minifying some of the resources and utilizing a CDN - content delivery network. The overlay on header images is more of a personal preference and what I like about it is it allows the text / logos to be more eligible and prominent without having to add outdated outlines or dropshadows to the text. The header image on each of the pages is used more of a preview and then the photo gallery lower on the page provides the full unobstructed assortment of photos.
What's weird though is the PageSpeed of my homepage was significantly better than the PageSpeed of your recent RiverDell BB site?
I don't like seeing the navigation dots on the slider. The reservation grapic takes over that space on my tablet cutting off images and it detracts from the photos on desktop.
Thanks, nice catch, I just disabled the slider's navigation dots as I agree it was a little distracting at certain screen resolutions For the reservation tab that is part of the theme but it's used to direct the user's eye in that direction to make a conversion aka make a reservation.
"in the heart of Michigans thumb"??????? What is that??? How about putting your real location there as it is not obvious when I first open the page where you are
This is one thing we've wrestled with because to be honest there's not a ton to do in the immediate area outside of a relaxing or romantic getaway, you pretty much have to travel 30+ minutes to get to any significant attraction. We're right in the in between / middle (heart) of it all. The Thumb reference is something that is widely used in Michigan and in a ton of marketing campaigns because Michigan is shaped like a mitten and our area is in the "thumb" of the "mitten". A good majority of our guests thus far have been Michigan residents but I can see how someone not familiar with the mitten shape of Michigan may get confused by this reference so I'll brainstorm some additional ideas to make it clearer.
All Header images are cut off in tablet view. probably on smartphone as well. Did you check? You will need to do some customization to fix that.
Yeah responsive headers are always a little tricky, I'll look into increasing the height of the headers at certain mobile / tablet width breakpoints so more of the image is visible.
I don't care for the huge reservation interface. Using some custom CSS maybe could fix that
I actually personally like the interface because it draws your eye and looks more professional compared to the framed in resnexus tools. I have HotJar installed on the website so I have been watching screen recordings of our users and will make sure to keep an eye on that element to see if it's confusing to users.
Don't like having that pop up appear about improving our website
Thanks I just disabled that, it was part of the HotJar recordings tool but it didn't receive any traction so not worth annoying user with it.
Why a photo gallery and a photo tour? they are both the same thing
Yeah they are both the same exact page they are just listed under 2 menu items. I'm a big proponent of making things as easy to find as possible and if it means adding a page to multiple menu items so be it. I'll match up the menu naming like you suggested so users don't get confused thinking it's a second completely different set of photos.
Why have the same photo twice on the hot tub page. I didn't enjoy the photo either Sad
I'm not seeing this one twice, I see it it in the header background image and then in the photo gallery if that's what you're referring to? Confused as to what you mean by you didn't enjoy this photo?
No way to get to view the next room without going back to menu.
The room pages are one thing that's hard coded into the theme / booking plugin as a custom post type so unfortunately I can't really change much without creating a child theme and manually coding in the desired additional page elements in the php post type file. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious one day!
On policies page, Left align the text. I would put this as a main link..just personal preference
Yeah I went back and forth between left aligning and center aligning it, I ultimately decided that I liked how it looked center aligned slightly better but I'll revisit it again and see how it looks left aligned.
For the main link this link this is one thing I'm definitely against for a couple reasons. First with a responsive design, the more top level menu items you add the faster the design switches to a mobile hamburger navigation style which is not as good of a user experience. I already plan on adding additional top level menu item for the Packages so I don't want to make the menu even wider by adding a Policy link.
The second reason is I want to promote how relaxing and enjoyable their stay will be and feature the rooms, amenities, things to do, etc. I don't want to feature and make Policies such a prominent place on our website that gives potential guests the vibe that we are rule nazis and will impede their relaxing stay. I'm guessing this is the reason that most other hotels and lodging places also leave it out from their main top level navigation. We still expect guests to strictly follow our policies of course which is why when guest checkout they are required to check a box that they read our policies and it provides a popup link to the policy page. It's also in our emails we send out confirming their reservation.
Overall I like the look of it...just needs some tweaks.
Thanks for the in-depth review! You definitely pointed out some good things that I changed immediately and gave me some things to think about. And of course a few things that are simply a matter of opinion / personal preference that we can agree to disagree on I'll let the Google analytics and Hotjar recordings make the ultimate decision. Thanks again EmptyNest!
.

I don't know if it is you in the hot tub or not so I will refrain from commenting.
i would like a back or side shot maybe with wine glasses toasting
againa personal preference
.

Nope it's not me in the photos but I agree now that you bring it up, an angle without faces would have been a better choice so guests could visualize themselves as the ones enjoying the hot tub. It's the same philosophy behind realtors removing family photos from houses for sale. This would be a nice way to say it too without having to worry about refraining so you don't potentially offend or discourage future posters on this forum.
.

The no people in the hot tub - just bubbles and wine glasses at the side is to invite the guest in - WITHOUT saying someone else used that hot tub. People put the question in the mind of a germ nazi of "How was that hot tub cleaned? WAS it cleaned?"
.

The no people in the hot tub - just bubbles and wine glasses at the side is to invite the guest in - WITHOUT saying someone else used that hot tub. People put the question in the mind of a germ nazi of "How was that hot tub cleaned? WAS it cleaned?"

Very true, good point hadn't even thought of that aspect. I will add it to my list of photos to retake!