(Click on the thumbnails above for a larger view)
The Cambodia Cooking Class started in 2005 and at the time was the only cookery school for tourists in Phnom Penh. The web design hasn’t changed a lot since then. At the time it was modern and stylish but trends in web design change fast. To be honest, we think the site needs a re-design to make it up-to-date again.
However, the site still has strong features. First of all, the site has a sophisticated booking system, custom built by CamboDesign. When a visitor fills in the preferred date for a cookery class, the engine automatically looks for how many places are still available on that particular date (see screenshot 3). Once booked, automatically emails are send to the participant and to the website administrator. The reservation is of course also registered in the database and when the participant shows up to pay, with just one click staff can print out the ticket(s).
In a previous version, the reservation system offered the possibility to pay online (via PayPal), but that is no longer the case, as the present (Cambodian) owner of the business cannot open such an account (PayPal does not - yet - offer this service to Cambodian bank accounts).
Furthermore, the website has a strong presence in all search engines thanks to clever Search Engine Optimization. When you use the .kh version of Google, simply searching for “cooking class” places the site on top of the results (see screenshot 4). But also on Google’s international version, the Cambodia Cooking Class comes up on top when searching for “cooking cambodia” or “cooking school in Cambodia” or similar. While cooking classes have sprung up all over Cambodia, this site’s search engine presence gives it a definite advantage over its competition.
