Link to ETRIP website

Hey guys, please check the link below just to see the website of etrip. What do you think about the it? especially about the design? do you think it's easy the use?
Feel free to post any comment

http://www.etrip.nl/index.php

The domain .nl is from Netherlands, right?
I think, using that domain limits a lot the company's visibility in the whole Europe; they should use the domains .com or .eu.

One additional observation is: the website doesn't have an attractive design and it has many errors messages or restrictions when the customer try to use it.

luis_guerrero wrote:The domain .nl is from Netherlands, right?
I think, using that domain limits a lot the company's visibility in the whole Europe; they should use the domains .com or .eu.

One additional observation is: the website doesn't have an attractive design and it has many errors messages or restrictions when the customer try to use it.

According to web archives, the site has not been updated for one year.. that's a shame.

Is the website already dead ?

Vincent_Alliaga wrote:

luis_guerrero wrote:The domain .nl is from Netherlands, right?
I think, using that domain limits a lot the company's visibility in the whole Europe; they should use the domains .com or .eu.

One additional observation is: the website doesn't have an attractive design and it has many errors messages or restrictions when the customer try to use it.

According to web archives, the site has not been updated for one year.. that's a shame.

I agree that the design is not a real success. Besides, you need a passport to drop a request...that's weird and not really user-friendly

Here is some kind of solution to many of our questions. It is a great timing that ETRIP published that blog entry three days ago. (The one before is older than one year). So there you can read about the reasons why the idea failed to become successful. It is very interesting to read the information ex post after we discussed on the basis of the information we had before.

Go to:
Etrip Blog

edith_bonnefond wrote:

Vincent_Alliaga wrote:

luis_guerrero wrote:The domain .nl is from Netherlands, right?
I think, using that domain limits a lot the company's visibility in the whole Europe; they should use the domains .com or .eu.

One additional observation is: the website doesn't have an attractive design and it has many errors messages or restrictions when the customer try to use it.

According to web archives, the site has not been updated for one year.. that's a shame.

I agree that the design is not a real success. Besides, you need a passport to drop a request...that's weird and not really user-friendly

...i meant password of course...not passport

"Despite long efforts, we never actually managed to get enough venture capital to execute our search engine, which was the core of it all. We received some grants and small seed capital, but since we lacked a dedicated techie in the core team it was hard getting passed the ‘engine obstacle’ without paying for developers, and we were left with plans and slideshows, but could not create any real added value." (a quote from the Etrip Blog explaining why Etrip failed to 'get off the ground', pardon the pun)

chloé_laluc wrote:Hey guys, please check the link below just to see the website of etrip. What do you think about the it? especially about the design? do you think it's easy the use?
Feel free to post any comment

[url=http://www.etrip.nl/index.php

http://www.etrip.nl/index.php[/quote[/url]]




and would you use it personally?

If it were working correctly yes ! As it is supposed to offer tickets 10% cheaper than their competitors...

I will use it personally if it were working correctly, without having to use a passeword, of course, and if the interface were a little bit more original. It's to common and has nothing that would attract customer's attention, compared to other websites such as Opodo and Expedia

Har Adir identified four factors as being the most important differenciators, one of these four differenciators was "convenience"; he said "our service tool would make online purchasing ever more convenient, which might attract customers who previously preferred to shop offline because it was more comfortable than the online world".

Just with a quick look at the website, I know that if I were an offline shopper for air tickets I would not change my mind and buy my tickets online using this website...

Maybe Har Adir should have focused more on this issue while developping ETRIP...

What do you think about that?

Hi all,

In between my departure to Taiwan and my last job as a finance analyst, I took a contract job at my brothers Web Design firm. There, I was in charge of website critique, functionality, and to take mass survey's on user satisfaction.

So from that standpoint I think the website seems to have had a very low budget.
It has the user interface portion of most travel websites, and the standard, "destination to" "departure" portion. They do not fully utilize the size of the size and limit the functionality of the homepage. However, if it is simplicity they are going after, they do hit that point. But there is simplicity with class, and just flat out boring. They need to bring in images and bring some life the stale site.

I dislike using the site as a whole and even through it to my old co-workers for some feedback. This is what I heard.

"Great and simple, but if they are trying to be a big company, this won't do"
"Simple"
"Boring"

There was much more, but those are the most common ideas coming up.
Overall, I believe if they are trying to get to that next level of becoming the headliner in the this industry, they will have to dump a lot more money into their budget. For as, this simple little website is their product. This is it.

J

And I think if their goal is to get really easy to use for customers, they should improve the few they already provide:
- put a small calendar when it comes to chose for the date
- put all-made suggestions for the additional remarks
- no password (not so easy to know how to get one...)

Easy to use doesn't mean as less info as possible...

I also like the simplicity of the website however, the fact the you can't check the prices of the tickets at a click of the button is not convenient. I think that waiting period is much longer.

Take Travelocity for example, you can just enter your destinations and click and wait for the screen to give you the different airfares. Due to convenience purposes I would prefer to use other sites.

@Edwige:

It's a very good point you mentioned (and others mentioned before).

Not many users are willing to try to understand a homepage before testing the service. It should be like: come - see - and be exited

Otherwise an internet user will loose his interest. Just because there are so many offers.

uroi.salii wrote:Take Travelocity for example, you can just enter your destinations and click and wait for the screen to give you the different airfares. Due to convenience purposes I would prefer to use other sites.

I agree. I see no added benefits by using the etrip website. If you've used other travel websites before, and they work for you, why would you switch to something that seems worse and less convenient? I'd stick with what works.

i think the service provided by the website is not professional.
watch out the words near the bottom:
" The site now operates in a closed alpha mode. Please enter your access code here: "
When a customer comes in, how could he be sure this site is trusted ?Furthermore , i think the website has potential security problem

Hey, I think perhaps the founder of Etrip would like to reply to your questions. Let's wait and see. Ha ha...

TA_Max_Huang wrote:Hey, I think perhaps the founder of Etrip would like to reply to your questions. Let's wait and see. Ha ha...

I think he could enjoy this free study about the ways to improve his website...

I did not found Etrip introducing its affiliations on its website. How do I know the search engine could really offer me a real best price and valuable information? If the users only see this website is short of funding, and built by one man band, Har Adir, they will doubt the credibililty of the infomation this website could offer.

Hey guys, I'm the founder of Etrip and I came across your discussion.

I'd like to point out that the website seen on Etrip.nl was part of a research study we ran, and that website was left as an evidence to the public study. It was not intended to act as a commercial service.

What was intended to act as a commercial service and is discussed about in your case is an and automated search engine with a different design, which you could view here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20215703/Etrip-Design-Vision

----
As for the design comments: design is highly important on the internet but at the time of development we had very limited resources (and a wrong choice of designer...) - A website competing on consumer attention with giants such as Expedia and Priceline as you mention, must look better.

I'd be happy to hear your feedback about the design I linked to, and in general about the business proposition.

Good luck with the study!

Oz Har Adir

FlyOpenSky wrote:Hey guys, I'm the founder of Etrip and I came across your discussion.

I'd like to point out that the website seen on Etrip.nl was part of a research study we ran, and that website was left as an evidence to the public study. It was not intended to act as a commercial service.

What was intended to act as a commercial service and is discussed about in your case is an and automated search engine with a different design, which you could view here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20215703/Etrip-Design-Vision

----
As for the design comments: design is highly important on the internet but at the time of development we had very limited resources (and a wrong choice of designer...) - A website competing on consumer attention with giants such as Expedia and Priceline as you mention, must look better.

I'd be happy to hear your feedback about the design I linked to, and in general about the business proposition.

Good luck with the study!

Oz Har Adir

Hello,

I've seen the linked design and it's much better than the previous version : clear, clean and more ergonomic. I like the idea of the map on step 1. There are huge buttons, that's good because the user can see exactly what's the page is doing.

If I where you designer, I'd add some contrasts and maybe some margins to add a bit more space in the page. And I think a room for an advertising banner could be useful : with enough traffic, it can generate some money. Finally, I think the design is a bit too similar too priceline.

But this new design is way more evolved than the previous and I think it is more efficient too. That's a good point "cause people are sensitive when you want to help them

Another point I'd like to add about giant website design : for instance, I think expedia design is terrible and the site is now too big for a major and quick re-design. There is plenty of room on the web for little and well-designed websites.

So, good luck !

Thank you Har Adir for pointing this out. The Etrip website is simply available for case discussion, not for commercial operation, so don't have to focus too much on the design aspect. The purpose of this case discussion is "business plan." What should a good business plan look like and what components should it contains in order for it to win financial support?