Getting Your Tourism Website Ready For The Season
A simple checklist for Whitsundays tour operators and accommodation, to work through before the busy months hit.
The short answerBefore the busy months, check your prices, dates and photos are current, test a booking on your phone, make sure your Google profile hours are right, and give people a clear reason to book direct.
When the school holidays and the busy winter months arrive, your website is working the hardest. People are planning trips, comparing tours and deciding where to stay. It's the worst time to find out something's broken.
Here's what I'd check, ideally a month or two before it gets busy.
1. Prices, Dates And Times
Old prices and out of date departure times cost you trust and bookings. Check every page, not just the homepage. If your prices change with the season, make sure the site says so clearly.
2. Test A Booking On Your Phone
Most people book on their phone. Go through a booking yourself, start to finish, on your own mobile. Does the book button work? Is availability right? Does the confirmation email arrive and say the right things?
3. Check Your Availability Lines Up
If you sell through booking sites as well as your own website, make sure availability matches everywhere, so you're not double booking or showing sold out when you're not.
4. Fresh Photos
Photos from five years ago with a different boat or old rooms don't do you any favours. Use real, recent photos of what guests will actually get.
5. Answer The Common Questions
What to bring, where to meet, what happens if the weather turns, whether kids can come, and stinger season details if you're on the water. If guests ring you to ask, the answer should be on your website.
6. Google Profile
- Opening hours right, including any seasonal changes.
- New photos added.
- Recent reviews replied to.
- A post about what's on this season.
7. Give People A Reason To Book Direct
Every booking through a booking site costs you commission. Make booking direct the easy choice: a clear book now button, your best price or a small extra for booking direct, and all the details right there on your own site.
8. Check It Loads Fast
Open your site on your phone using mobile data, not wifi. If it's slow for you, it's slow for guests on the esplanade with one bar of signal.
If you'd rather someone else worked through this list, that's what I do for tourism operators, and my Site Care Plan keeps it ticked off all year.
Nath J is the website designer and SEO specialist behind Ripple Effect Online, in Airlie Beach since 2001. More about me.
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