I have had my website online since January this year, we are getting a steady stream of visitors but no customers as yet. I need to find out where this site is going wrong, whether it is the layout, content or pricing. The actual website design is a template I purchased. All comments will be greatfully received.

http://www.ukhomes4you.co.uk

<Mod edit to comply with Site Review Rule #1 - Masterpeace>

Thank you
Andrea

You have a good looking site. The template works really well, perhaps slightly cold and barren, but it matches the pictures of the clean, sharp home interiors, so I will say that I like it.

It took a little reading for me to figure out what is is you are offering. Usually you try to get the gist of your site across to the visitors within the first few seconds. My initial confusion over this might be cultural. The first line says "hospitality service" because of the graphics I first thought "some kind of home party catering service". If this is a common British phrase, leave it, it just took some more reading for me to figure it out. A headline somewhere like "When visiting the UK, come stay at one of our host family's homes" might make things more immediately clear.

You have what amounts to two footers. The one that matches your template and the one below it (which loaded a little slow for me, the main site loaded very fast, but the second footer kinda lagged; I'm on a satellite connection). I would suggest putting the most important links from the "lower footer" into the upper footer and putting the rest on a links page.

There is a large white gap below your second footer. Nothing majorly wrong with this, I just mention it because it is one more thing you can do to clean it up.

On your prices page, are the prices weekly, monthly..? I imagine weekly, but I have never stayed in another family's home while on vacation, so I have no clue what to expect.

It's minor, but the sub headings on each page, "About Us", "Prices", etc. are underlined. People expect underlined text on websites to be links.

Your hyperlinks in the text are blue. This doesn't match your color scheme. I would make them bold black underlined, or gray underlined to match the rest of your site.

Your "Booking" form is long and scary. I am having to face this same reality on one of my sites. Perhaps break it up to several pages with the bottom button being "Continue". I don't know, maybe this is standard in the industry, but I looked at that form and could see myself being here a while filling it out.

The font used in the headline on the "Booking" page does not match the rest. It looks like bold Comic Sans or something...

The graphic of the guy in the chair signing a clipboard looks like some dude in a doctors office about to have his colon checked. He looks scared and uncomfortable.

Add more information to the pages linked to on the "Locations" pages. You could really go all out here and give a lot of useful information. This will help with the SE's and visitors. Maybe also some pictures of the area, or a map.

Go to the "Contact" page and click on "locations" in the left nav. It goes to an error page. It tries to go to "index.php".

I would add a section with real photographs of some of the homes you offer.

Maybe some former clients’ testimonials.

I know I pointed a lot of things out, but don't think I am saying you have a bad site. It looks good; the things I mentioned were mostly "polishing" type of things.

Good luck.

-Damian

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I would agree, it is hard to understand what it is you are selling. Use the first paragraph to really explain what you do, and why to choose your option from others. You could target, for instance, people staying for longer than two weeks.

The accommodation and booking form is probably asking for way too many details far too early in the process. You want to put people through background checks before they've seen a single place? That is wishful thinking on the 'net.

The site offers little detail, and less information, and at the end asks for a huge leap of faith from the user. Submit your own "background check" first, to start the enormous task you've set for the user. What happens to the "Personal Details" after submission? ...Is the site securely set up? ...Does the site have a privacy policy, simply to insure inquiries will not get a boatload of adverts in their email? You don't say. The request for information (and implied request for trust) is exclusively one way.

Quite frankly it may just be faintly insulting how little information your site divulges to the user, then turns around and asks in return. I well realize I'm alone in trying to refer to information in real terms and not a whimsical figure of speech. But people will share information only inproportion to the information you give them ...first. The site asks for a lot from a cold start.

Finally, the site makes the common assumption the entire process can -- and therefore should -- be automated. This site may be better off setting a lower hurdle, like talking with a sales person.

Put up the details of what's available, for how much. Put up your background check: site security measures for submitted details; privacy policy promising if not insuring details will only be used for the task at hand an not sold to others; testimonials and pictures of satisfied users. Then make the site objective to either request for details packet, or talk with a sales person. Don't expect users to jump through more hoops to do business with you than you would jump through to be worthy of doing business with.