Feedback on the Cornwall guide we've just published

[martin-s]

Hi all,

All comments very welcome:

http://www.campsites.co.uk/guides/ultimate-cornwall-visitor-guide

Approach, content, style, whatever

Cheers,

Martin

 

[MikeJDS]

Lovely looking site!
I'm from that area, so couldn't resist having a nosey.

TBH I don't normally like this kind of layout for on a website. (personal preference)
But I think it works really well with this type of site & the content you have on there.

One thing you may want to you may want to consider improving on though..

Could do with some help with avoiding forced scrolling.
Perhaps extend the 'Top Menu' to skip to the content further down in your categories.
It's quite a bit of work getting down into the sub-sections.

All the best with it.
Mike

 

[max99x]

Looks great, only thing I wasn't keen on is the first bit allows users to scroll down by clicking the arrow (in the centre) after that there's no obvious way apart from the sidebar.

Maybe best to have a floating arrow so users can scroll down, or simply make the down key do a whole page down rather than a little bit at a time.

 

[orchardapple]

simply love it, i'm really a fan of that sort of template but as others suggest perhaps a top section menu to link to the sub sections

some really nice photos on there too, where did you get these from? love the sea scapes and the colours of the water

 

[scottmccloud]

Just had a quick look now, the 'search for campsites in...' link isn't visible on each section on my phone, I have to scroll across to see it. To be honest, I didn't know the link was there until I scrolled across by accident.

 

[martin-s]

Thanks for the feedback all.

Is anyone who commented on the menu using the desktop version of the site? If so, is the existing top menu not appearing, or just not useful enough for skipping to each section? (It should stay visible as you scroll the content- let me know what browser you're using if not.)

We hadn't quite finished the last few bits on mobile, so I can see the menu doesn't work there as it stands, thanks.

some really nice photos on there too, where did you get these from?

Most of the photography comes from Shutterstock.

Will crack on with making the other improvements suggested, thanks.

 

[BeachLife]

There are some layout problems on an iPhone. The header background image isn't visible, same with each header section, so you only see the transparent overlay on a grey background, which is very hard to read (css opacity problem?). All internal or external links after each numbered item are offscreen, far to the right, as are many of the menu items at the top of the screen.

Aside from that, it looks good, and having comments from other local bloggers or organisations is a really nice touch. Otherwise though it seems a little empty of real value? Many items don't have any description, and those that do it is only a sentence or two, and the images all appear to be used elsewhere. Perhaps a smaller number with deeper content would work better? As it is, if I was using it as a guide because I was interested in staying in Cornwall, I would be forced to Google most of the items. The items where you have provided links to find out more (eg Tintagel Castle) work better, at least you are controlling where the customer goes off site, rather than just setting them loose on Google.

All IMHO of course.

 

[BeachLife]

We hadn't quite finished the last few bits on mobile, so I can see the menu doesn't work there as it stands, thanks.

Our posts crossed, apologies.

Is anyone who commented on the menu using the desktop version of the site? If so, is the existing top menu not appearing, or just not useful enough for skipping to each section? (It should stay visible as you scroll the content- let me know what browser you're using if not.)

It is visible and fixed on my Chrome browser, but on a large screen is very small in relation to the rest of the content, and I didn't realise it was there, see screenfly

 

[ian]

Hugely impressed with the site Martin, congratulations, looks great.

Would probably change the "The Ultimate Cornwall Visitor Guide" font, it isn't the easiest to read at first glance tbh.

Plus if you are going to offer a down arrow, you should continue it throughout the drops, rather than just one the first screen.

 

[martin-s]

There are some layout problems on an iPhone

Yep thanks, aware of those bits and working on them now.

Otherwise though it seems a little empty of real value? Many items don't have any description, and those that do it is only a sentence or two, and the images all appear to be used elsewhere... snip

The main aim of the page is to sell Cornwall as a destination through beautiful photography, but we do plan to add intro text and some links to most of the suggestions eventually. I wanted to get the guide live asap, but the content will evolve over time for sure.

It is visible and fixed on my Chrome browser, but on a large screen is very small in relation to the rest of the content, and I didn't realise it was there, see

We were kind of assuming that people would just scroll to browse and that it would be better to keep the menu discreet, but I think we could make it a little bit bigger, thanks.

Would probably change the "The Ultimate Cornwall Visitor Guide" font, it isn't the easiest to read at first glance tbh.

You're the second person to raise that, so we'll try and tweak it a bit. The down arrows tweak is already in progress

Thanks for all of the feedback (and kind words too)

 

[Edwin]

Maybe I'm a traditionalist stuck in the last decade, but I feel this kind of site works better with a "real" page for each major topic. That way, people get a sense of "progress" when navigating around, and they can also print out the exact information they found most interesting - at the moment you've got a 113 page monolith when you flip to "print preview" mode.

Plus it means that visitors wouldn't have to load the whole page, which has a positive effect on page speed (while the current one looks very pretty, it scores badly on Google PageSpeed and similar tools)

 

[martin-s]

at the moment you've got a 113 page monolith when you flip to "print preview" mode.

A downloadable PDF is coming via a signup box shortly, along with css improvements for printing (as that's how we'll produce the PDF!)

Plus it means that visitors wouldn't have to load the whole page, which has a positive effect on page speed

It's a big page, but we wanted it to be, in order to create a "wow" impact and be as shareable as possible. It's an approach we're testing with this piece of content.

Although it's massively long, the source is only 650kb and all of the images are lazy loaded and resolution/quality optimised, so the experience isn't quite as bad as speed tools would suggest.

There are some bits we can optimise later, such as CSS delivery, but nothing too major to worry about I don't think.

Maybe I'm a traditionalist stuck in the last decade

No comment

 

[accelerator]

Viewing on a desktop, I think the text in the main menu needs to be a lot bigger. I would also use normal case instead of all upper case as it is quicker to read.

I would also think about simplyfying the menu items as it's then quicker to read:

MUST SEE PLACES => Must Sees

TOWNS AND VILLAGES => Towns

BEST BEACHES => Beaches

WALKS AND TRAILS => Walks

etc

 

[Murray]

Maybe I'm a traditionalist stuck in the last decade, but I feel this kind of site works better with a "real" page for each major topic. That way, people get a sense of "progress" when navigating around, and they can also print out the exact information they found most interesting - at the moment you've got a 113 page monolith when you flip to "print preview" mode.

Plus it means that visitors wouldn't have to load the whole page, which has a positive effect on page speed (while the current one looks very pretty, it scores badly on Google PageSpeed and similar tools)

I very much agree with your points

Seems to be the way modern designs are going

Looks flashier but doesn't feel as functional to me

I haven't commented because I know I'm perhaps stuck in my ways and behind the times.

 

[martin-s]

Viewing on a desktop, I think the text in the main menu needs to be a lot bigger. I would also use normal case instead of all upper case as it is quicker to read.

Thanks - we're fixing the sizes and having tested the font case, I agree with you. We'll tweak that too.

I would also think about simplyfying the menu items as it's then quicker to read

Yep, another good idea thanks.

I haven't commented because I know I'm perhaps stuck in my ways and behind the times.

I'm pretty thick-skinned if you want to comment. I wouldn't have posted on here for feedback otherwise - and hopefully I've shown that it was a genuine request and I'm acting on responses!

 

[Murray]

I'm pretty thick-skinned if you want to comment. I wouldn't have posted on here for feedback otherwise - and hopefully I've shown that it was a genuine request and I'm acting on responses!

I just looked at what VisitCornwall have for comparison, for me something like this is absolutely perfect

Nice clear map, can quickly pick out what you're interested in then you just click the link to go to the page for more info

Intuitive and simple

 

[martin-s]

Thanks Murray. Our long term aim is to re-purpose content into lots of different formats which work for different sorts of people.

Using an overwhelming amount of beautiful large photography is what we're testing this time though

 

[spiderspider]

Nice looking site.

When I go to Find A Campsite > Campsite Search > Map Search (on desktop, win10, chrome) the map is empty. I zoomed in and out, and nothing showed up.

Then I put a town in the left hand bar 'enter a destination or name' and 1 came up. on the map.

Think it would be better if they were all on the map, when it loads.

Next up, I put Crickhowell in the search next to the map, and 0 results. Tried Abergavenny and again 0 results, however the filter then included 'Campsites in Wales' and 'Monmothshire'. I deleted Monmothshire, and the map vanished, to be replaced by a list of 9 sites in Wales. I wasn't after a list, I wanted the maps to see who was close to the areas I go to.

After going back and having a second look, I saw the 'display as' icons. Don't know if you make it stay in map search when someone starts in map search, changing to list if they need to?

 

[diablo]

Huge difference between how I view web content and how my (teenage / 20 something) kids do - not just in terms of devices, but in what they like / expect to see on a page. So there is no right or wrong answer.

The key is to tailor content in a way that your target audience will find most appealing.

 

[martin-s]

Thanks Spider. Particularly focused on the guide at the moment, rather than the site, but I really appreciate the feedback and have added it to our Trello board.

There are actually quite a few bits around the mapping we're not happy with at the moment, but that comes behind listing volume as a priority for the next couple of months.