ZoomConcept Reviews
Summary:
Hello Geert, very nice design, clean, i can easily find what i want, very nice use of color, the only sing missing in my opinion is a search for the hole website and a service by phone where i can call and ask for information in case i don't have the time to search for it, i'm waiting for the "All Hotels" page (i'm curious to see how you will manage that) , i hope that was helpful and good luck. P.S. - very nice teaser page.
-
-
David Laurentiu commented:I understand now, so you have custom search for every category, in that case i think it's more than enough.
-
Minor Problem on hotel-detail.jpg 1 Would WiFi availability be the most pertinent for an age range of 20-60? Although I don't argue that it should not be in this section, however information such as free parking or other amenities may weigh in at a higher importance. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Yep, Wi-fi is by far the nr 1. demanded facility since about 2 years. But you're right (free) parking is a good one. I might switch that in for 'nr of rooms' which you commented on below .
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Concerning the Wifi: at least that's what I head :)
2 Great feature to have, but it takes up a bit of space. Maybe adding a hide/show functionality so users can scroll past the review a bit quicker to what the hotel has to offer. Allow for a few lines to show to still allow people to start reading easily. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Yeah. I've been thinking about that. I was hesitant because the summary at the top of the page already links to this description. (through the 'read more'). Coming to a description, which again shows only a couple of lines doesn't feel user-friendly. I guess I could initially collapse it like you suggest, and only when users click through to the description with the 'read more' at the top expand it using javascript. Thanks!
-
Andrew Murray commented:haha yea I just noticed that it was a link to an anchor. The hide/show will allow users to keep their place on the page, or keep it how it is but put at least services ahead of it. With that information sandwich, it could lead users up or down.
3 This section seems alienated from the rest of the section, most likely because it uses the same colors as the rest of the layout and the layout is very wide. Maybe using a different color in your palette will help grab attention to this section without having to resize everything in this late stage. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
It's hard to say perhaps, but would you feel the same if you saw it at 100% size? I mean , that way less whitespace would be shown below the right column obviously, which now might add to the suggestion of the alienation more than when viewed at real-size. Also, I should have probably included that, but there's 2 filters below the 'Quick Search' at the right (being able to select 'roomtypes') This might diminish the 'alienation-effect'. Not trying to defend, I do see your point :)
-
Andrew Murray commented:
Ah, yes it does look different zoomed in. On second look, I'm starting to side with you now and maybe alienated wasn't the work, but I still don't think it has the attention it deserves. You can always try http://fivesecondtest.com/ . It will allow you to set up a test that sees if someone can find the correct section of a page to complete a certain function, if you want. I haven't used it to test but I have contributed to testing before when researching for usability test suites.
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
haha well your suggestion does have merit I must say. That's because I actually tested the setup of having quicksearch & filters on the right using fivesecondtest. But tested the (somewhat outdated) search-page instead. Most people see something to the right, but aren't sure exactly what in 5 seconds. Here's the link in case you're interested. I'l be posting the updated here soon btw. Thanks! http://fivesecondtest.com/test/ddnb2aR3ze-8Ay
Positive Feature on hotel-detail.jpg 1 Awesome, wish they all did this (incl. fees) New Idea on hotel-detail.jpg 1 Not sure how important this would be, unless it could show how many are left. Also, with showing how many are left, the lower number seems to drive sales (it works really well for amazon.com) -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
You're right. Probably not that import to have it under the highlighted features. It's a suggestion of how cozy a hotel is. I agree using it as a scarcity factor would be great. Unfortunately I can't link it to nr-of-rooms available, since that info isn't available to me.
Summary:
I like this site a lot, even if it is a bit wide. You have a lot of information, make sure it aligns well with in which order your average user would like to see them in.
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Thanks for the comments, really useful!
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
If I may ask: how would you see this working as a landing-page conversion-wise? As in people coming onto this page directly from Google (probably searching for Hotel Beauchamps Paris) . Thanks.
-
Andrew Murray commented:
I believe it works very well as a landing page, the overall look and design is great and it seems that you can get a good conversion out of it... if this result is the one they are looking for. The only thing I have against from the point of a google search is what should I do if I want to continue using this site to look at hotels in the same area or same type of hotel. Trying to generate location based suggestions would be a huge task to add to it, but would be helpful. Maybe a similar, more elegant solution is available that requires less computing power and not as much programming. The only way I see to continue using this site to search for hotels is the tab at the top, which could make people think that they would have to start all over again with typing info, in which they would just exit back to google.
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Actually it's already there, on the hotel-tab 'Location'. (which would show Map, nearby place of interest, and nearby 'similar' hotels). Having said that perhaps the hotel-tabs (Info & availability / Guest Reviews / Location / @Mentions) isn't visible enough? Your comment made me think about different ways to get back to the search-page. In addition to what you suggest (as is present on 'location' as said) , I'm thinking of putting a link right below 'Quick Search' mentioning 'Take these settings to see All available Hotels'.
-
Andrew Murray commented:
Yea, I think your on to something with that extra link, maybe I passed by locations just because I thought it dealt with that hotel's current location. Again, I really do like this design, it's really good and very clean. Esp. for all the information you had to present.
-
Serious Problem on hotel-detail.jpg 1 Will people understand what is behind this lable? Is it so important that it comes before everything else? -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
you are probably right. I'll be revisiting that. thanks.
Positive Feature on hotel-detail.jpg 1 Customers will depend heavily on photos to decide whether or not they will book a hotel so this is good service - especially the view all function. Hopefully they can enlarge the photos a great deal. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
yeah, they can. Another option for them is to quickly browse through the pics by hovering over the picture which pops up forward and back controls
Other on hotel-detail.jpg 1 Although it is great to see a tagline it is a bit too long and cumbersome. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Indeed, I've been thinking about this yesterday actually. Since it's a site that combines travel/ destination info with the ability to compare & book, what do you think of: "Get Inspired, Go Compare"
-
Tanja T. commented:Much better length and broken into manageable bits. Could you somehow make it clear what is compared and what one to be inspired by? I am just thinking that the sentence has to have enough information in it to stand alone underneath 'paris for a weekend' - I am thinking that people might read the sentence and decide already at this stage whether or not to stay on the site. They will want to know in a snap: what can I do here?
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Agreed. Probably it's coming to me under the shower which is usually when these epiphanies happen :)
2 Is there a map function so one can see where this is? -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Yeah the hotel-tab '' location'. Perhaps this should read 'Map & Nearby' instead. Are the hotel-tabs visible enough? I'm not so sure myself. (I'm talking about the tabs: 'Info & availability | Guest Reviews | Location | @Mentions
Thanks for your comments!
-
Tanja T. commented:
I did have to go and hunt for them - I didnt in my minds eye know where they would be. What if you pushed down that whole section a little bit so that it would look more like a separate part with it own tabs? Check though that you dont lose this part under the fold. Notice that the white space between the tab and the headline 'availability & prices' is greater than between the tab and the bottom of the photo. That makes it harder for the eye to know what goes with what.
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
highlighting that margin-bottom vs margin-top issue is really spot on. It's pretty in-your-face now that you mentioned it. I will definitely work on that, probably by decreasing the margin between the tab on the tab-contents, since otherwise I'm getting into the fold-problem (the tabs are already dangerously close to the fold on some laptop screens) .. This may seem over-zealous to some, but it's really pretty crucial so thanks a lot :)
Summary:
One can feel that the creator is trying hard to please his customers. Therefore the comments are mainly directed at improving on vital details.
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Actually I'm my own client , but indeed, it wasn't a rush-job :)
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
BTW: do I get the impression that you 'hold back' on your critique/ suggestions from the above? If so, please don't. I'm open to all suggestions really :)
-
Tanja T. commented:
when I said that the creator was trying to please his customers - I meant the users who are using the site - so it was a compliment that I managed to garble :-) I did not feel like I was holding back on critique so no worries.
-
Summary:
Very clean and attractive design. It serves its main purpose very well, as it is both elegant and user friendly. The only thing I'm not too keen of is the placement of those widgets like panels in the right hand side. In my opinion it would feel more natural on the left hand side. Plus, for smaller displays (netbooks) might be better. Great job overall.
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
I understand your point, its been mentioned by Andrew above as well. I'll see what I can do with it. The intention is to make it a responsive design, which should at least cover netbooks. Thanks
-
Quitrk commented:sorry didnt got the time to read their reviews I was at work:). All the best mate.
-
Minor Problem on hotel-detail.jpg 1 This info is listed twice on the page. I would think about whether listing it twice adds value or just takes up space. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
It's because of what you already mention in another comment: 1 of the 2 elements is shown only on the active tab, while the other remains visible all the time.
2 This panel is fading into the edges of the page. Since this is probably your primary call-to-action, make it stand out. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
yeah, I have a problem with that myself. I have a problem coming up with a way that makes it stand out without breaking the entire toned-down look.. I'm looking into this
Positive Feature on hotel-detail.jpg 1 I like how these are broken up by category. There are certain things I look for whenever I book a hotel and this kind of layout allows me to quickly look through it. New Idea on hotel-detail.jpg 1 Your description is quite long. I don't know if this is just because of the hotel you've used for this example or if they all will be this long. Honestly, as a person who researches every hotel before making a decision, I'll only read the first few sentences and then skip over the rest of it. Also, again you're listing information twice. Ask yourself, helpful or distractive? -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Indeed.. Have you seen screenshot 2 (the newer version) At least it is shrunken to 2 paragraphs, although perhaps still long for quick scanning
2 Consider listing the items alphabetically so I can browse faster -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
great idea. thanks!
3 Since this info disappears when I select a different tab, maybe combine it with the "quick facts" at the top of the page so that I can see the important info no matter which tab I'm on in the lower section. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
That's the idea. The info is the same. I just wanted to have it in 2 places, because if you're reading the description, you might want to glance at/switch to the (quick) facts.. Therefore I want to display it next to the description. At the same time, having it at the top is, like you said, useful bc. it stays displayed regardless of active tab
4 To me change and refine are almost the same thing. Either way, I'm changing my filter criteria. Consider using "Change" and "Back to Results". Personally I like it when I can return back to the results list in exactly the same spot that I left off on. This way I know which hotels I've already browsed through and I don't have to remember which number results page I was on. -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
You're probably right with Change and Refine thanks. Clicking 'all Hotels' would have brought you back to the search result you just came from, which I now realize is a complete misnomer :) .. 'Search Results' would be better. Would that work for you? As in not needing 'back to results' anymore?
5 Since I've already been through a search, maybe rename this as "Start Over" -
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
To confirm, hitting 'Search' on the hotel-page would keep you on the hotel-page, but would update the prices & availabilities reflecting the newly input date, persons, etc. Is that clear?
Summary:
Overall, the layout isn't bad. Just maybe a few minor tweaks here or there. Great job!
-
Geert-Jan Brits commented:
Great review again :) Thanks!
-
All hotels / search-page was indeed a struggle, but it's almost done. I hope to post it this coming week. Glad you like the overall tone, etc.
Since Parisforaweekend.com is an intermediary (people are linked-through to partner-sites to do the actual bookings) we have no tel-nr to call. We're just an information-provider.
Concerning side-wide search: the way it's done now is that hotels can be searched through hotel-search / all hotels. Similarly Things-to-do (musea and stuff) have similar search pages. Given that, would you still think a side-wide search (which to me would cover everything from hotels to musea, restaurants, articles, blogposts) would be useful?
Thanks again for the kind words!