Your hotel homepage checklist — How to make a powerful first impression
Your hotel home page checklist — how to make a powerful first impression
When you first meet a person, how long do you think it takes them to form an opinion about you?
One minute…?
As soon as you open your mouth…?
Actually, it only takes seven seconds for someone to put you in a box.
As a society we tend to make snap judgements about everything we see, hear, touch and smell, and websites are no different. Now the internet presents an even bigger problem because users can swiftly exit your website with a simple click. Ouch.
They don’t have to hang around making small talk and politely compose an excuse to leave.
The fact is, first impressions count. How you present your hotel in the first few seconds will determine if your visitor stays or leaves. First impressions last for years, so we need to make sure it’s a good one.
Most visitors will enter your website through your home page, so this is where you need to focus your first impression strategy. If it’s not attractively designed or easy to navigate, your visitors won’t take their time to learn more about you.
You’ll fall at the first glance.
This home page checklist will help you tick off the must-haves and ensure your visitors look past your front page.
Professional, clean design
If there’s one thing most hotel websites struggle with, it’s usually the design aspect.
Travellers today expect to see contemporary designs from the 21st century, not something you whipped together over a decade ago. A lot has changed in the last 10 years and design trends have taken a dramatic shift to fresh and simplistic, with a keen focus on shaping the user experience.
The significance of your design is so crucial, research shows first impressions are 94% design related.
That means moving away from the complicated and cluttered, in favour of taking the customer on a predestined, easy to navigate journey.
Your guests need to know you’re a professional establishment who takes pride in their appearance. A professionally designed website will give your visitors confidence in you. That credibility is priceless for converting more visitors into bookings.
Look at other hotel websites and see how your design compares. Ask others to compare what they like about your website and your competitors. If your competitors come out on top, it may be time to make a change.
A compelling summary
In a few sentences, your guests need to instantly recognise what your hotel is all about. This is where you define your value proposition.
Your summary should entice guests to dig deeper. It should communicate a few unique benefits that get your guests excited about exploring your website further.
Do you have sweeping panoramic views over a luscious valley, a Michelin-star restaurant, or a cosy log burning fire?
You want your summary to be brief, but give an immediate sense of who you are and why a guest should book with you.
Special offer
People who browse for hotel rooms actively search for special offers. It’s standard practice for the average traveller.
So they expect and appreciate a good deal when they see one. A great offer placed on your home page could be the hook you need to establish good rapport and grab your guest’s attention.
Make sure you don’t hide your offer or make users excessively scroll to see it. You should include one prominent offer on your home page where visitors will notice and interact with it. Preferably towards the top of the page.
Consider relating your offer to a specific season, holiday or event happening in your area.
A clear call to action
Do your visitors know what they should do next? If your home page bounce rates are sky high, chances are you’re not making the next step obvious.
Call to actions (CTAs) are paramount for directing visitors through your site and getting them to take action.
Bear in mind the colour, size and positioning of your CTAs all have an impact on the customer experience, so be sure to test and make changes for the best results.
Don’t be afraid to add lots of white space around your CTAs, this will help them stand out and show visitors where you want them to go.
Try to avoid using the same colours you use for all your branding. Your CTAs can become lost on the page. Instead test vibrant colours your visitors wouldn’t expect, this will help them pop off the page and draw the eye.
Easy navigation
Hopefully your home page won’t be the last thing your visitors see. We want your guests to feel compelled to explore. Making your navigation straightforward is an essential component of your website.
Your contact information, room details, prices, menus and so on, all need to be logically and clearly defined on your home page.
Visitors don’t want to search through hidden subpages and links to find the information they’re looking for. Simplicity and clarity is key.
Striking visuals
Sourcing quality images should be your priority. In the hospitality industry, customers want to visualise.
It goes without saying, you should use professional images of your hotel taken by a great photographer. The results of your investment here will give the impact and wow factor you need to impress.
Consider featuring a sliding image banner at the top of your home page, this is a popular and effective technique. Include pictures of your rooms, communal areas, gardens and views. In a quick glance, visitors can get the look and feel of your hotel.
If your images are polished and radiate a feeling of warmth, visitors will feel more compelled to scroll or click.
Contact information
When visitors want to contact you in a hurry, they generally look to either the header or footer for your details. It’s also important to have a contact us page in your navigation, but for the purposes of creating a streamlined user experience, contact information should be clear home page material.
This will also help your mobile customers who may suffer slow page loading times. Instead of waiting for a page to load, mobile users only need to scroll to the bottom of the page or see your phone number in the header.
Certificates and accreditations
Visitors like to feel a sense of trust before they commit. If you display your awards or certificates on your homepage, you reinforce your credibility and help push objections aside. Accreditations reveal you’re a professional property and help validate your authenticity.
If you have a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, AA Rosettes or the like, shout about them with the logo above your footer or in the sidebar.
If you’ve done something great and you’re known for brilliance, let your guests know about it.
Save your best bits for above the fold
The concept of ‘above the fold’ has been a hot topic for years. Over time we’ve been led to believe users don’t scroll and we need to cram everything in at the top of the page.
But today’s research suggests users expect to scroll. But what you need to do is keep visitors interested with great content, design and visuals so they’re enticed to scroll in the first place.
‘Above the fold’ needs to be the best part of your website. That first impression will determine if your visitor sees scrolling down as worth their while.
The Booking Factory
