Results of Survey
Thanks to those people who kindly provided some feedback via our survey (even unkind feedback was appreciated).
The number of respondents who were able to meet the purpose of their visit has steadily climbed to over 90% as we have improved and extended the site.
The things people liked/found useful about the site were:
- The photos, the photos, the photos ....
- The honest reviews and ratings.
- Based on genuine research, not just advertising.
- Great to be able to see what a playground is like before going there. It is possible to determine whether a location is worth visiting for a particular purpose.
- Easy to navigate through website (although some people didn't like the layout)
- Being able to find activities by location using Search by Maps or Search by Suburbs.
- Gives ideas for Free Activities.
- Able to pick a suburb to meet a friend in and suggest a park without having ever been to that suburb.
- One stop shop for Kids Activities. There is no need to go to other websites because there is a huge range of venues and differing types of activities, all on the one website.
- Very comprehensive content. There is a huge amount of resources in the one place.
- Just moved to a new suburb, great idea for researching our new local parks! Many people have found playgrounds within walking distance of home that they didn't previously know about.
- Able to browse for playground equipment for sale using the Playground Shop.
- Maps and directions for people visiting Melbourne.
- All the resources are on the site to organize all aspects of a Birthday Party.
- The option of the other activities allows for wet/dry day options, a day out, etc.
- The Events page / Whats On Calendar which shows what activities are happening in Melbourne on any given day.
- Very limited activities and park reviews for the western suburbs of Melbourne - We have taken big steps to address this problem and have added many extra playgrounds and other activities in the north-west and south-west. Soon we will be heading to Geelong to review more playgrounds and activities in that area.
- Not much to offer in the way of activities in the central business district - See our blog Activities in Melbourne Central Business District (CBD)
- Couldn't find the playground they were looking for - We have reviews of more than 2100 playgrounds and are adding extra playgrounds all the time. If you find an area which needs better coverage or find a missing playground, please let us know and we will endeavour to add it in. We plan to add all playgrounds onto the site. However, it is difficult to find all playgrounds because some councils, namely Casey, Brimbank and Whitehorse, the Scrooge councils in Melbourne refuse to give us a complete Playground List. We have also created the blog How to search for a playground
- Lack of photos for some playgrounds - We have photos for most playgrounds but there are still playgrounds without any or insufficient photos. We are progressively adding photos for these locations. The site currently contains more than 18,500 photos of activities. Unfortunately we cannot add any more photos for St Kilda Adventure Playground or Skinners Adventure Playground since these locations no longer allow photography and do not want to publicise their facilities.
- Unable to find playgrounds with specific features e.g. with chin up bars/gymnastic equipment or swings for babies (9 months old) - Admittedly this can be difficult to find because it relies on using the search with the exact text.
- Unable to find a certain reserve. Suggested a complimentary postcode search would be useful - We do have a search by suburb which achieves the same purpose. We have moved this to the top of the home page to try and reinforce that this capability is available.
- The ability to search within a certain distance of a suburb - This has been on our development list for quite a while and is one of our top development priorities. Unfortunately it is easier said than done.
- Lack of information about public toilets. We endeavour to include information about public toilets in all our reviews although we may have missed the occasional toilet in our travels. See our blog Playgrounds with Toilet Facilities
- Couldn't easily locate a way of submitting a site for review - We love to receive feedback and there is a "Contact Us" link at the bottom of every page. Alternatively contact us via our Facebook Page
- More age appropriate advice e.g. rate playgrounds by age group - We find it very difficult to define which ages each activity is suitable for. We give advice when we can but often leave the decision to the parent based on the descriptions and photos. The site doesn't have the ability to search for all activities for children of a certain age.
- More advice for people with disabilities - We try and add information about All Abilities access but are currently looking for someone who can help us come up with a list of the best playgrounds for people with disabilities.
- I want to find an indoor swimming pool near my place but it's very difficult because the list does not show the place of given swimming pool. It takes me time to find out where they are - We now have Google Maps which show the location of many types of activities including swimming pools. The summary listings of activities have the suburb name in the bottom right corner.
- Would be helpful if you could select to list activities in order of ratings in each area - This might be available in the future
- Need to include what amenities are there (ie. toilets) as that is a big factor for where we go - We endeavour to do this in all our reviews.
