Tripadvisor.co.uk has been designed to make it easier to use.

The initial impact is a more attractive homepage – sharp lines and compressed text have been replaced by smooth edges, softer colours and neater text in fewer colours. That said, I still wouldn’t call it an attractive site – the guttering (space between elements) is uneven, and there’s a lot of messy links, making the site look cluttered.

The page has been widened to adapt to 1024 x 768 pixel screens (this is the size of the majority of modern computer screens and monitors), and the map has been made more attractive. Little seems to have changed functionally – it’s more a case that navigation has got easier.

More of the homepage has been dedicated to taking users through to popular countries and cities in one click. They’ve also added a featured traveller photo to boost user generated content beyond hotel reviews, and the helpful links, e.g. “write a review” have moved up the page to a small central spot. This shares space with links to partner sites, including Seat Guru and TravelPod.

At city page level, e.g. Paris hotels, the layout is broadly similar, with the addition of an interactive Google map and improved navigation down the lefthand column, taking you to rich user content such as movies and photos, as well as relevant travel links, including “things to do” and a basic Paris guide. The video content for more popular destinations is already quite extensive. One of the more useful Paris videos, uploaded by Paris resident Guenol, is a guide to using the Paris Metro, although it looks like the work of a professional production company.

The problem for users here is that unless they have a specific hotel name to check, it’s hard to use the site to recommend hotels, other than by neighbourhood, using the interactive map. What needs to happen next is tagging of the hotels by type. The site already asks its users to say who the hotel is best suited for, e.g. families, romance, singles and so forth, so it’s a shame you can’t search by this criteria – likewise by average room rates.

The site features 10 million reviews, up from five in the past year, so you can’t argue with the breadth of content, and together with reader photos and videos you can get a good idea of what you’re booking. Now this content is a little easier to find, and more attractively packaged, the site should continue its dominance of the online hotel reviews sector, with tripadvisor.com getting a similar makeover by the end of the year.

We love: the breadth of content and honest user photos of hotels; the maps to show location (although proximity to well known landmarks or sites would be useful too)

We hate: the homepage is still cluttered and the hotels should be tagged with more useful links, e.g. type and price; there’s no links to the hotels’ own websites

Verdict

Design: 7/10

Navigation: 7/10

Content: 9/10

Fulfilment: 9/10

Overall score: 32/40

Times recommends

• Bogus websites are conning hundreds out of their holidays
• The complete last minute holiday guide
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