Hi guy’s,

We have been building an new portal called costaeye.com which can be found at http://www.costaeye.com  I am here because I would like feedback on the articles and site.  You can also comment on any of the articles.

Thanks for your time

Mark

It kind of looks to me like it’s running out-of-the-box software with little customization or personalization. Where are the articles coming from?

Hi,

Nothing out of the box.. the whole site has been designed and built from scratch.  We have 3 frameworks sitting behind the site. 
All articles are written by our own writers and are unique.  Our edit Catherine also writes but carries plagiarism checks on all articles.
We also encourage readers to comment on the articles to help use with keep the quality at the right level.

The ethos of the Costaeye team is to deliver quality information, we don’t steal anything from other sites and want to show the good things about Spain..  I suppose we are trying to help tourism as the site is promoted all over the world.

We are just completing the other functions.  Events Calendar, Business Directory are in there basis format, we then have the restaurant guide which is due for release next month.

My name is Mark and I am the technical director of Costaeye if you would like to talk more about the technical aspects I would be willing to answer any questions you have.  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Hi Nizzo,

We ask all businesses to tell there customers to comment on there services.  This is entered into our rating algorithm which calculates your star rating.  At the end of the month the top rated business receives a free upgrade to our Gold Package and is feature on the front page of the Costaeye business directory.  You maybe wondering what happens to those who have paid for there Gold package.  Well we write an article about them and incorporate some of there customers comments.  You can see an example of a gold entry here http://www.costaeye.com/directory/business/49d5f7dd-a0c5-e808-da00-4ae5c57130ac  this is a dummy entry. The gold package doesn’t include the video. 

We are also just upgrading the packages page ... this is why it’s not visible at the moment.  So keep checking back as we release now options and articles all of the time.

We value feedback from everyone as this is how we improve.

Hi Mark,

Great name - Costaeye - I like it 😊

I logged on to your site and it seems easily navigable and pleasing on the eys, unlike some sites where you’re not quite sure where you’re meant to be looking.

Good luck with it..

Keidi

Hi Keidi,

Thanks for the great comments,  we spend a lot of time on usability which a lot of web design companies have not yet grasped.  You only have 5 seconds to pull the user in before they click away, so it is very important that the site is easy to use.

We also run a web consultancy service which specialises in usability so if you have any projects or colleagues that need help in building workflows you have my contact details.

Thanks again.

Hi Mark,

How do you browse the business directory?
Are there going to be more guides or is it restaurants only?
The site needs SEO and popularization.

Good luck!

Hi Reno,

Thanks for your comments.  You will be able to browse the Costaeye business directory soon.  We are just working on a tag cloud to make it one of the most simplest directories to use.

Thanks

nice color scheme and clean, i like it

i think it better you add one or two other color to make it more alive

Hi,

I am really sorry we didn’t get back to you…  Can you tell which email you used to contact us?

Your entry hasn’t vanished http://www.costaeye.com/directory/business/4baa7771-a6a4-43fc-aea3-63cbc0a80058

You may have searched when we were optimising the search function.

Apologies.

NB:

We are now running a competition
Win an Ipod Touch

All you need to do is add your business for free with the Costaeye business directory and tell all your customers to comment on the great services you provide.  The business with the highest score at the end of May 2010 will receive a brand new 3rd generation Ipod Touch and a free upgrade to our gold plan.  The winner will also be on the front page of the business directory.

you are also able to enter all your events onto our events calendar for FREE
If you have all ready added your business you still qualify
If you would like to find out more about our advertising plans contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Mark Lindley how do you add two the BD ?
jurdy

Hi Jurdy

Just follow this link http://www.costaeye.com/directory/businesses/free

Thanks

Mark, the URLs you’re using for the business directory aren’t very search engine friendly - the long hash code-like id for each business says nothing about the content of the page. I suggest you update your URLs to something like: costaeye.com/directory/business/category_name/the-baby-hire-centre/

Hi,

We are in the process of coding mod re-write for friendly URL’s.

Thanks

I really like the way your site looks, doesn’t look out of the box to me. Looks professional.