| January's WETA Award winner is... |
| Piha Seaview Hideaway Bed and Breakfast |
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Our first winning site for 2002 represents, not a large tourism operation but, a smaller accommodation provider on Auckland's scenic west coast.
It's not the first time such a site has succeeded in the face of stiff competition from larger organisations and why should it be? After all, the awards are about excellence. It is how and, how well the medium is used which matters. The Piha Seaview Hideaway site's strengths are its user friendly interface, its simplicity and, especially, its functionality. The graphics are very easy on the eye, no garish colours or reverse type in the body text. Selective use of fonts (typefaces) helps to convey a feeling of friendliness and seems to sit well within the somewhat funky page layout. Photographs are used sparingly and kept to a small size so, the visitor isn't forced to wait (or worse, not wait!) for these to download. Many of the excellent photos of the B&B's interior however, are clickable, enabling visitors to see more of what's on offer at their own discretion. An important difference between this site and, a surprising number of recent entries is, a suitable means of placing a reservation online. By suitable, we mean a secure interface which enables credit card details and other personal information to be transferred in a manner which does not put guests at risk. And not just at risk of misuse of their credit card details. Would you want "just anyone" to know where you live, that you are going away, when and, for how long? That is exactly the type of information tourism providers routinely request when visitors reserve transport or accommodation. There really is little excuse for not providing a secure interface for guests to provide this type of information. There are many excellent website "add-ons" available for those whose sites do not already have this functionality. Some, such as the one used by Piha Seaview Hideway, have the ability to present guests with a total cost for the stay before requesting their credit card details. Well, that about wraps it up. A user friendly, simple and highly functional website. Sound easy? Sound like your site? Share it with us and, if the judges agree, we'll be only too pleased to feature it on these pages.
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