Website reviews

[Imagine]

I’m not a techie person, but I think the referral hack is solved; fingers crossed!

I’m using MDJN server for my site which seems slow. Anyone else uses this server or NDJ?

Regardless of blogging, altering the site I’m getting no enquiries.

Well done on sorting the hack

I use Zen Internet for hosting. It costs me a tenner a month but they've never let me down. Can't comment on the MDJN servers as never used them personally, but you do see a lot of moans from time to time on the FB group about it.

As for enquiries and traffic....it's very uppy-downy at the moment. My site has been busy all week and I've booked a couple in for later this year (fingers crossed), but today....not a single visitor yet. I still think there's an element of doubt going through peoples minds as to whether or not life will really resume this year, especially reading some of today's headlines about masks and SD potentially being here for several years to come.

[Marc J]

I’m using MDJN server for my site which seems slow. Anyone else uses this server or NDJ?

Get in touch if you want to move, I host plenty of DJ's Worpdress sites, as well as this forum

I'd stick it on Cloudflare for additional speed and security benefits, including CF's Railgun technology (normally requires a package starting at $200 per month) as well as an SSL installed at no extra cost.

[Excalibur]

Get in touch if you want to move, I host plenty of DJ's Worpdress sites, as well as this forum

I'd stick it on Cloudflare for additional speed and security benefits, including CF's Railgun technology (normally requires a package starting at $200 per month) as well as an SSL installed at no extra cost.

I didn't understand a word of that after " get in touch", but I'd recommend Marc J unreservedly, as would others.

[rth_discos]

As for enquiries and traffic....it's very uppy-downy at the moment. My site has been busy all week and I've booked a couple in for later this year (fingers crossed), but today....not a single visitor yet. I still think there's an element of doubt going through peoples minds as to whether or not life will really resume this year, especially reading some of today's headlines about masks and SD potentially being here for several years to come.

I think it's exactly this.

Not dissimilar to the cruise industry. I was booked to on a cruise in February this year - we booked it last January.

It was cancelled in October of last year, and rather than move the cruise, I took a refund.

My sister who was booked on the same cruise moved it to another date - and now that one has been cancelled too.

So we're now in a situation where I'm simply not going to book a package holiday/cruise etc until these things are actually active again.

Similarly, if I were planning my wedding, I wouldn't be booking anything until an actual wedding, with a reception party and disco, went ahead. So I can understand the lack of enquiries.

Most work this year (if it comes off) will be from the postponements from last year. A couple of enquiries were from those looking for new suppliers for their postponed date because their original supplier wasn't available for new date. And the odd enquiry for weddings towards the end of this summer.

But certainly nowhere near the usual numbers.

If we actually see things unlock this summer, with full weddings going ahead, then I would expect to start seeing the 2022 enquiries coming through. But I think most people have had their fingers burnt now in one way or another, so will be holding off until they actually see normality back.

[Imagine]

Most work this year (if it comes off) will be from the postponements from last year. A couple of enquiries were from those looking for new suppliers for their postponed date because their original supplier wasn't available for new date. And the odd enquiry for weddings towards the end of this summer.

But certainly nowhere near the usual numbers.

Yup, the couple I've picked up this weekend up reschedules from last year that were cancelled and in need of new suppliers. I'm getting a LOT of window shoppers (been working on my "technical SEO" over the past couple of weeks so traffic is getting a LOT better), but very few actual enquiries especially when compared to last year which is when I started actually recording the stats.

I'm now at the stage where I've made it soo easy to book, I barely need to engage in a conversation other than replying to an "are you available?" email/text. I now have a contact FORM on every page AND the price for that particular service. There's very little need for them to talk to me before booking which for those that are getting in touch seems to be working very nicely. Maybe this is the future

[Benny Smyth]

By this date last year, I had 105 enquiries, and converted 19 of them. This year, I'm currently at 115 and have converted 32 (4 of those wins are for 2021).

People are out there looking to book. It'll be mostly for 2022 onwards, and I dare say that June 22nd will be the beginnings of a flood of 2021 dates, but my own experience is that they are there.

[Imagine]

By this date last year, I had 105 enquiries, and converted 19 of them. This year, I'm currently at 115 and have converted 32 (4 of those wins are for 2021).

People are out there looking to book. It'll be mostly for 2022 onwards, and I dare say that June 22nd will be the beginnings of a flood of 2021 dates, but my own experience is that they are there.

Completely different story here

This time last year, 45 enquiries and 12 converted
This year, 14 enquiries and 5 converted

And there's quite a few of us over this way saying the same thing at the moment.

[Benny Smyth]

Completely different story here

This time last year, 45 enquiries and 12 converted
This year, 14 enquiries and 5 converted

And there's quite a few of us over this way saying the same thing at the moment.

I can't speak intelligently on why that would be the case for you, but every time I've experienced droughts, I always approached them on the assumption that I am not where people are looking. Am I on page 2 of Google? Nobody is looking there. I'm on Hitched but not RMW, so maybe I need to look at that. Should I drop my Facebook ads and try to focus more on Instagram? How can I get the most out of my directory listings? Have I recently tapped up photographers and videographers that I have worked with so I can get more content on my website with a link back to them. Did they blog about a wedding I was at? Maybe I'll cheekily ask them the link back to my website. Maybe I'll drop my regular venues an email asking how they are. Probably do the same with local suppliers too.

I'm no good at marketing, so I genuinely believe that if this bearded moron is still getting enquiries in, then everyone else can too.

[rth_discos]

I'm getting a LOT of window shoppers (been working on my "technical SEO" over the past couple of weeks so traffic is getting a LOT better), but very few actual enquiries especially when compared to last year which is when I started actually recording the stats.

I'd be definitely looking at running remarketing ads on the Google Display Network to keep in front of those browsers so you're there when they come to book.

Very low cost - a budget of £1 a day would do perfectly fine.

[Vectis]

Slightly OT but reading the last few threads made me go away and look through some NaD stats and user comments.

Up until Boris's roadmap announcement, enquiries had been depressed for quite some time, creeping up gradually since Christmas to a level around half of what we were seeing in 2019-20, majority for late 2021/2022 weddings with a sprinkling of private functions.

Since the announcement the level of enquiries has shot up to well above average for the time of year (ignoring 2020), but so has the number of enquiries without a defined venue. Digging a bit deeper and it seems we're seeing around 8-10 times the number of VENUE enquiries going through compared to 2019. Deeper still and I'm seeing several comments from frustrated would-be customers that suggest they're having great difficulty finding and securing venues at the moment. We're now starting to see lower-level functions coming through again like kids parties, school discos etc. which have been absent for a long time.

So an even deeper dive into mail server logs shows that a very large proportion of venue enquiries are being met with autoresponders along the lines of "We're currently shut, all the staff are on furlough, we don't know when we'll be open, now sod off!"

Methinks part of the problem is not a lack of demand, but folks not being able to secure their venue - which, let's face it, is usually the first thing to get booked before other services get a look-in.