Papoose Creek Lodge in Montana

Website: http://www.papoosecreek.com/

Intended audience: The website is designed to attract and provide information to potential guests of Papoose Creek Lodge in Cameron, Montana.

Usefulness of content: The website appears to provide everything one would need to know about arranging and preparing for a stay at the Papoose Creek Lodge. It provides information on, among other things, current weather conditions, what guests should pack, what activities are available to guests during their stay, and the costs associated with room reservations and each activity. The website also contains glowing testimonials and many beautiful photographs that make a stay at the Lodge a very attractive possibility. The homepage’s slideshow of photographs is particularly effective in immediately peaking one’s interest in the Lodge (although it scrolls a bit too fast in my opinion). The website does not contain any maps to the Lodge or provide for online reservations, but each of these deficiencies may be understandable since there are only 8-rooms in the Lodge and the Lodge provides transportation for its guests to and from the nearest airports.

Consistency of design: Overall, the designer of this website has done a very good job of maintaining a consistent design and style throughout every page. Beautiful photographs of nature or the Lodge are always located on the left side of each page, and they usually (but not always) relate directly to the topic described on the page. The designer has chosen to include a descriptive phrase or statement at the bottom of each page in a font that differs from other fonts used on each page, but it is an effective device because it is consistent and serves to draw attention to the statement. An example of one of the more effective statements is on the Testimonials page: “We think you’ll love being here as much as we do.” One critique I do have is that the website has been launched with several errors and unfinished pages. Some of the hyperlinks do not work and there are web designer questions and comments highlighted on certain pages.

Ease of navigation: It is generally easy to navigate through the website’s menus and links. The website does a very good job of providing multiple paths to reach most pieces of information. However, at times its choice of index descriptions could be improved. For example, someone looking for information on reservations cannot find a link to “Reservations” from the main menu, but rather, must first click on the link for “Tariffs.” Also, someone looking for frequently asked questions has a choice of “FAQ #1”, “FAQ #2” and “FAQ# 3,” which is not very helpful. It would also be beneficial for visitors to the website if the contact information for the Lodge was listed at the bottom of the homepage.