Social Media has become an almost ubiquitous part of the technologically driven society that we live in today. You’ll very rarely find any Hotel that doesn’t have any Social Media presence at all these days.
And most – if not all – people find out about the existence of a certain Hotel through Social Media. But no matter how riveting your Social Media presence maybe, if your Hotels website isn’t providing your target audience with a memorable experience, your Social Media plan can backfire in the long run.
So, for droves of people who check out your business on Social Media to enjoy their stay on your website, here are some web design trends that your Hotel should take note of:
1. Optimizing your Hotel website for mobile users
Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets have also become as ubiquitous as Social Media. You’ll very rarely see anyone who doesn’t have one in their hand.
- However, a mobile device user might be surprised to find out that a website of a certain business is essentially the same as its desktop version – albeit in a smaller size. They’ll then have to zoom in so that they can see whatever text is on the website itself which makes visiting it slightly cumbersome.
- Thus, when designing a website, you should make a smaller layout for mobile that’s as functional as its desktop version.
- Just as your Hotels Facebook Page will appear on a smartphone, you should also ensure that every element that’s present in your website’s desktop version also exists in its mobile counterpart.
2. Letting users sign in to your Hotel website using their preferred Social Media account
Nothing frustrates a visitor of a website than having to fill out a registration form where too much information is being asked of them before they can access the rest of the website’s contents.
- Some mobile users might even be hesitant to enter their username and password while visiting a certain website, most especially if they’re in a public place and their account security can get compromised by something as simple as someone looking at their phone behind their back.
- So while incorporating your Social Media accounts into your website’s design, you should also allow one-click sign-in using a visitor’s Social Media account so that they don’t have to type in a separate username and password anymore as long as they’ve already logged in to their Social Media account of choice.
3. Using fewer stock photographs and more original-looking ones in their place
Your Hotels’ target audience is craving authenticity, most especially in this day and age when too many websites over-rely on stock images which some people see as a hallmark of laziness.
- You may have resorted to using stock photographs while designing a website for your business out of economic constraints. But using too much of them can lead your target audience to think that you aren’t investing enough effort into it.
- If you can stretch your budget a bit, you can hire a professional photographer to take pictures of anything that has to do with the nature of your business. Otherwise, you can do it yourself even with only your phone’s built-in camera and some photo editing skills that you can easily learn online.
4. Adhering to the philosophy that less is more
A website that’s full of unnecessary clutter gives off a bad impression to anyone who sees it.
- So when designing a website for your Hotel, its layout should be sparse – but not too much or your target audience might get turned off by the seeming lack of attention put into it – and you should keep text to a bare minimum.
- You’ll also have to include links to your Hotels Social Media accounts but in a subtle manner. Instead of putting a text-based link that says “Twitter” on your website, for example, you should use the said social media platform’s bird icon instead and link your business’s Twitter account there.
Nowadays, spreading the word about your business often entails you to have a Social Media plan in place.
After all, the number of Social Media users all over the world is expected to reach almost close to the three billion marks by 2020, so you’ll want your Hotel to attract the attention of a decent percentage of that.
However, promoting your Hotel through Social media is only half the battle as you’ll also have to give your target audience a website that they’ll check out and then recommend to anybody else who they feel should do the same.
To accomplish exactly that, you should start implementing the above-listed web design trends to your Hotels website alongside your Social Media plan.
If you’re looking to learn more about web design trends, you can click here for more information.
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Melissa Turner is an aspiring web designer who has been working hard on developing her skills. She enjoys creating websites and in her spare time, she loves to walk along the beach with her dog. She’s currently working on her next big piece.
About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Marketing Coach. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram| Podcast