The main features to be implemented in the website were determined in the Strategy plane of the UX section. Below is the table as a summary of which user stories we are able to implement and which we are not (due to time contraints and developer knowledge limitations) this can also be found HERE.
| Opportunity/Feature | Feasibility/Viability (score out of 5) | Level of Importance (score out of 5) | In or out? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obvious role of the website demonstrated with hero image/video and capture text | 5 | 5 | In |
| Simple design with straightforward navigation to make it easier for the user to understand where to find information | 4 | 5 | In |
| Past customer testimonies to show the company is genuine and trustworthy | 5 | 4 | In |
| A downloadable brochure for customers to view at their leisure | 4 | 4 | In |
| An easy to find and intuitive contact form for customers to be able to discuss their holiday wants and needs with the company | 4 | 5 | In |
| High levels of up-to-date information on the different places customers can go on their holiday and different types of holiday they can have | 4 | 3 | In |
| Footer on all pages containing social media links for customers to view further information and more customer testimonies | 5 | 3 | In |
| A highly visually interactive website to show the customer what they are able to experience from a Caribbean holiday | 5 | 4 | In |
| A database of external companies affiliated with Travel Caribbean to make it easier for customers to plan excursions and experiences | 4 | 3 | In |
| A database of clients and customers from past holidays and a database of clients and customers of potential interest | 2 | 4 | Out |
| A Fully accessible website able to be experienced by customers with visual imparement | 4 | 5 | In |
| A booking form for customers to be able to book their holiday with a login option to manage their booking | 1 | 2 | Out |
| Average Viability x number of features: 47 |
Sum of Importance: 42 |
- Obvious role of the website demonstrated with hero image/video and capture text - I have tried to make the landing page (catering for all screen sizes) as obvious as possible to identify the role and purpose of the website. The background video itself shows a woman walking through very shallow water with white sand below while carrying a sun hat; this identifies to the customer that the website is likely to be about somewhere tropical and warm. The cover text over the video "The new way to plan your Caribbean getway" further identifies to the customer the role of the website - this is where you can plan your holiday and decide where you'd like to go and what you'd like to do.
- Simple design with straightforward navigation to make it easier for the user to understand where to find information - The website has a simple design throughout, with each page having it's own title and each page having separate sections. The font and colours throughout are all the same adding continuity and familiarity to the website - improving user experience. These elements were all styled using CSS with psuedo classes for hover actions to enable the customer to visualise a transitioning style. These first two features meet aim 11 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- Past customer testimonies to show the company is genuine and trustworthy - this was a very straightforward feature to implement. As my family and I are frequent travelers to the Caribbean, we were able to write the reviews from our own perspectives based on the types of holiday that we have had and where we have traveled to. As the customer base increases, and the number of reviews increases, these reviews can be updated or a separate page implemented on the website specifically for customer testimonies. This feature meets aims 6 - 8 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- A downloadable brochure for customers to view at their leisure - this is accessible via the contact page. This was a fairly easy feature to quickly design (using Publisher) and implement. It adds a lot of content for the customer and allows them to see the potential of using the services of the company. This feature meets aims 2, 6 - 8 and 12 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- An easy to find and intuitive contact form for customers to be able to discuss their holiday wants and needs with the company - Following the lessons provided by Code Institute in the HTML essentials module, the form was a straightforward feature to implement. It allows the customer to contact the company and alerts the company to potential customers and potential future income. This feature meets aims 2, 3 and 10 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- High levels of up-to-date information on the different places customers can go on their holiday and different types of holiday they can have - It was important for the function of the website to provide customers with information regarding potential holiday locations and holiday types so they are able to make informed decisions around their holiday. This feature meets aims 6 - 9 and 11 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- Footer on all pages containing social media links for customers to view further information and more customer testimonies - Following the lessons provided by Code Institute in the Love Running Milestone Project, I was easily able to implement this feature ion all pages of the website. If the company was 'real' the social media links would navigate the customer to the relevant social media platform company page. This would enable the customer to see more information about the company, more reviews and contact the company in whichever way they prefer. This feature meets aims 3 - 9 and 11 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- A highly visually interactive website to show the customer what they are able to experience from a Caribbean holiday - by making the website interactive, the customer is going to be more inclined to stay on the website and explore the website to learn more about their potential holiday. It also makes the website seem more professional and seem as if more effort has gone into the design and implementation e.g. in the types section of index.html, each of the divs linked to the specific type section will go transparent and reveal the image behind it, all of the buttons in the website have the same psuedo class design to go light blue and have a shadow. These small but effective features will engage the customer and make them more likely to go through the process of booking a holiday with the company. The large amount of images on the website will also encourage the customer to stay and explore the site, as customers will always want to visualise where they are going on holiday. This feature meets aims 2 and 6 - 11 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- A database of external companies affiliated with Travel Caribbean to make it easier for customers to plan excursions and experiences - The companies affiliated with Travel Caribbean have been incorporated into the 'types' page of the website. This makes it easier for customers to see the different companies we are partnered with and makes the affliated companies easier to learn about and navigate to as all of the company logos are linked to the specific company website. This also provides advertising for the company and potential revenue as customers using the Travel Caribbean website have a high probibility of navigating to the partnership company websites and making a booking. This feature meets aims 1, 7, 8 and 11 identified in the Strategy section of UX.
- A Fully accessible website able to be experienced by customers with visual imparement - This feature is highly important (as outlined in TESTING.md Accessibility section) it allows all customers to interact and use the website even if they have a visual imparement, meaning that the company will not lose out on a potential customer base. It also makes the website more inclusive and higher on potential search engine results lists. This ensures that the company is following Equality and Diversity best practices and will not be liable to litigation from neglegt of this legislation.
- A database of clients and customers from past holidays and a database of clients and customers of potential interest - this would enable and guarentee future income for the company from a loyal customer base. Many people like to have a 'yearly getaway' to relax and get away from day-to-day life, this would be the main source of guarenteed income for the company.
- A booking form for customers to be able to book their holiday with options for hotels, excursions and flights - this would reduce the need for customers to contact the company directly and free up time for company employees to carry out other tasks such as maintenance of the website and collaborating with other potential partnership companies.
- A login option for customers to manage and edit their holiday booking - again this would mean the customer would be less likely to need to contact the company directly and be able to manage their own holiday booking without the help of company employees.
- An interactive 'google-map-style' map for customers to click on which will direct them to the specific location and information - I tired to do this during development of the website using a static image as a background and divs overlayed with precise postition measurements, however this proved to be far too buggy for the website especialy as the screen size alters. I instead opted to go for a google maps iFrame for customers to be able to explore the area as they see fit, with links to specific island groups in a separate nav bar below the iFrame to direct the customer to the specific section in the web page. Having something more interactive would be possible with the use of JavaScript, however using JavaScript is beyond my current coding knowledge at this point in the Code Institute course.
- A carousel-type gallery - this would be so customers can focus on one image at a time rather than be overloaded with images. The focus groups I used all commented on how nice the website looked, however almost all of them just scrolled straight through the gallery page without taking notice of the images within it. Only 8 out of the 25 individuals that tested the website realised that when you hover or click on an image in the gallery it shows where the image was taken.
- A hamburger menu for smaller media screen sizes - this would save space at the top of the screen and allow for easier navigation of the website by removing the need for small text in the nav bar. There could also be the option of having an extending menu for different pages e.g. at the moment there are 5 pages in the nav bar, there is the potential for an extending list below 'Types' with another 9 navigation links: one for each type of holiday, and an extending list below 'Islands' with another 8 navigation links: one for each destination.
- A way for customers to select the destination and type of holiday in the islands.html and types.html pages, and for this to update the form in contact.html with relevant information - I wouldn't know where to begin with this feature on the website, but it would make the website more intuitive and save the customer time when they come to fill out the contact form.
- A portal for affiliated companies - This would enable the companies to log in to as a way to discuss partnership terms and alter contracts if needed
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