Web Site Design

It doesn't matter how much traffic you can drive to a site if your site visitors are dissappointed with what they find there.

Nothing drives that point home more clearly than the prospective client who once told us that they frequently got comments from guests that the hotel was much nicer than expected after visting the web site.

Getting lots of traffic to your site is just the beginning. Once that traffic lands on your site you have a short amount of time to gain the attention and interest of visitors and convert browsers into hotel guests.

Good and effective web design involves much more than simply creating an interesting look for a site. Some of the top elements include:

1. Greet the visitor with an interesting and engaging visual design
2. Build an effective navigational structure
3. Strive for simplicity over complexity
4. Focus the visitor's attention
5. Follow established site design and layout conventions
6. Design a site oriented towards conversion
   

1. Engaging Visual Design
When people click on a link in a search results page they aren't wanting to click through a dozen listings. With every click the user hopes that this will be answer to their needs and the end of their serach. The visual look of a site will not be enough to generate a booking but first impressions count for a lot. You want a visual design that is engaging. A book's cover might not be enough to sell the book, but it can get you to pick it up and thumb through some pages.

2. Navigational Structure
No one is going to click through all the pages of a site. In fact the typical visitor views no more than 4-6 pages. It's important to present a navigational system that is simple, consistent and easy to understand. Visitors to a site should never have to think about where to find information on a site.

3. Keep It Simple
Don't add cool new features to a site just for the sake of adding cool new features. Don't write three pages of copy if a single, well-written paragraph will do. Most people don't read whole web pages, they scan the highlights until they see a link that seems likely to answer their needs.

4. Focus
What is the most important element on a page? Where do you want to draw the visitor's attention? If you don't know then neigther will the visitor. On any given page know where you want to direct attention and what you want the visitor to do next.

5. Follow Established Conventions
We once had a prospective client who wanted to create a web site that was different from any other site on the web. If you could attain such a goal then you would likely have a site that most people would find confusing and difficult to navigate. There are certain established conventions in web page design. For example, the two most common navigational menu systems are the horizontal menu at the top of the page, or a vertical menu in a left sidebar position. Using other layouts means that visitors will have to spend time looking for the site menu.

6. Drive Conversions
There is nothing wrong with elements on your site like slideshows, Flash presentations, video or other engaging media and content. But remember that you are not in the business of selling clicks, page views or cool widgets. You are in the business of booking hotel accomodations and the ultimate goal of the site is to get the visitor to book a room at your hotel. Design, layout and content decisions should be made with this in mind.

So Now What?

This is where you are supposed to see a sales pitch! We are supposed to tell you all about our services and our company blah blah blah... Only you know if you have a problem that keeps you up at night. We've helped clients solve some problems that might be similar to any problem facing you, but who knows? We start with an open conversation and see if there's any reason to consider working together. Here's a sample of the questions - you can fill this out and send it in if you want.  

Just Say NO!

We just ask you for one consideration - if, at some point, you are confident that working with us would not help your business solve its problems, then we ask that you just say so. "You know, I'm just not interested" would work!  If you are okay with that, then all that's left is to schedule a conversation.