Hi Guys

We have just upgraded our website AfricanBushSafari.com and would like to know what we are missing.
Anyone who has an idea of what they would like to see that is not there, please feel free to make comments and suggestions.

Thanks in advance
Ian

Looks good to me mate!!

I think your site looks great...very professional, easy to navigate, very informative.

A few minor considerations...I would list prices in both US$ and Euros

I would have a trophy fee list for the whole list available

If you are going to offer packages, have the different packages and info listed. I think saying "please contact us for packages", will turn some people away- that is fine for custom packages/hunts, but if you have some set, describe and price them. They will likely be your best sellers.

Lastly- I would have a large trophy gallery to catch folks' eyes. People love to look at trophy pix...

Please don't take any of this as negative. I think your site looks fantastic, I just think these additions will help you from a marketing standpoint, and that is what I do for a living.

Steve/Tim

Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

Tim your suggestions are exactly what I was looking for.
Part of the reason for putting prices in Rands was the massive fluctuations in the exchange rates, but perhaps we can put a currency converter into the site to help with this.

The trophy gallery we can do, the last site was picture heavy and we got some complaints, having looked again though, perhaps we have gone too far in the other direction.
Thanks again for the great feedback, if you dont mind I will ask you to have a look again in a few days once we have made the changes.

Best regards
Ian

I'd also vote for a trophy gallery. I don't think you need to overload it with photos, just try and have a photo or two of every species you can hunt.

Otherwise, everything looks great!

Thanks Al
My wife builds the site for me so we will hopefully get the new content up within a day or so (internet connection permitting). Will let you know once its up and you can take another look.
Thanks for taking the time to get back to me.

Chat soon
Ian

Ian,

I like the layout and content. The comments above about pictures, etc are good.

The one suggestion I would make concerns the somewhat gloomy, dark color choices. Lighter text colors would improve readability.

On the home page for example, the black "Affordable Ethical ... " doesn't show up well. The very first line "Hunting Safaris KZN South Africa" doesn't show up well. And, the links across the bottom are very small - lighter colors would read more easily.

Again, I do like the layout and approach taken - just maybe a little difficult to read for us old farts.

I like the site. Love the use of b/w photos.
Maybe do the trophy gallery in b/w so everything meshes together. would be unique.
Well done !

Ian,

I agree with what Tim said to the letter. Having your prices in Rand will just turn people off. They won't take the time to do the conversion. You may just have to periodically change your pricing as the Rand and the dollar fluctuates.

Mark

This year seems to be the worst by far (that I can remember), for fluctuating exchange rates.

If you publish a USD or other hard currency rate at the beginning of the year and then change it some months later, you then have the problem of explaining to the clients/visitors why prices have changed. If you publish Rand prices only, you might possibly confuse some of your visitors and if you publish prices in a variety of exchange rates, then you complicate matters even further for both yourself, your clients and the visitors because of the aforementioned fluctuations.

Other options are to add the comment that the prices published are only guides that were set as such and such a date and may change on a pro rata basis if exchange rates fluctuate more than a set percentage, but that might (quite understandably) cause the visitor some concern as to ultimate cost.

If you only operate in SA then I can understand the logic of publishing prices in Rands simply because you then know you're costs & profit margins etc are not going to alter......... Admittedly it might confuse some visitors but if there's a currency exchange rate calculator there then it's not difficult for the visitor to calculate costs in his local currency.

If there's an easy answer to the problem, I'd like to know what the hell it is.

Nice web page. My suggestion is to change some of the colors. On my computer screen your web page is to dark. Making it hard to read. I would try to add Gold, Blue, Green and a brighter White to your page. If you click on your link to Life Form Taxidermy. You can see were they used Gold, Blue, Green

Gold is associated with wealth and prosperity and grandeur. Gold standard - the best, a measure of quality, excellence color for logos and company names.

Blue indicates trust, loyalty and dependability, This is why you see your mail carrier, police officer and authoritative figures wearing blue shirts. Darker blue uniforms are usually worn by more authoritative figures ( check out Like form Taxidermy, What are their best taxidermist wearing? Blue! ) Sky blue can also be effective since it evokes the feeling of being outdoors.

Black suggests authority, power, seriousness, is distinguishing and classic. Business wise it's great for creating drama and is good for a background color (except on websites, it is very hard on the eyes). It is ideal for text on a light background. Black also implies submission and is associated with evil.

Green is a calming, refreshing color it suggests freedom and tranquility. Businesses use it to communicate status and wealth. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision.

White suggests refined,purity,devotion,truthfulness. ( Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility)

Burnt orange and similar colors stimulate warmth and comfort.

Copied from the internet - There are certain colors which are displeasing to most of us, while there are others which are generally liked. Most people respond favorably by the sight of red and blue and are displeased with certain shades of green and yellow. In general, it may be said that every color or color-harmony has its own effect upon the emotions. The selection of colors that give a pleasing tone to an advertisement is of the utmost importance, since it is the color value which is most likely to attract the attention to it as a whole. A pleasing initial impression prompts the observer to a closer examination of the "story" that is to tempt the reader to spend money. Evidently it is poor policy for an advertiser to devote his best efforts to the writing of forceful copy and then to make no special provision for drawing the eyes of the public to his ad. Too often is this most vital factor of harmony left to the discretion of the designer in another office. His ideal is in many cases to crowd into a given space all the type styles it will hold. One needs to look only at the pages of any website to find samples of these "typographical nightmares." One writer puts it well when he says, "If your designer insists on setting your advertisements in fourteen different styles, sizes and faces of type, he should pay half the cost of the ad for the privilege of showing his stock."

The tone of an advertisement helps to get the attention of the eye, which is as sensitive and as particular about color as it is about form. If there is not tone harmony in the advertisement the eye hesitates, and will not consider it unless forced to do so.

The tone of an advertisement is secured by having the type, the illustration, the decoration and the rule, or border, harmonize in weight, in blackness. This does not mean that all these elements should be of equal blackness, but that each should have the degree of black or color that is the most agreeable and that is demanded by the environment. If it is the type that is expected to make the chief appeal to the viewer, the type should have the strongest tone and the attributes less. If it is the illustration that is to be relied upon to get the attention of the reader, it should have a tone strong enough to thrust its pictorial motive at the reader with force and effect. In other words, don't let the colors and decorations overpower the message you are trying to get across in your advertisement.

Spend your money on your web page. It's by far the best form of advertising !

Good Luck