14 Common Website Mistakes That Affect Your Bookings
According to data from Euromonitor International, 44% of travel sales and bookings are expected to occur online during the next five years! Meaning, your businesses' website can be a high-converting machine if it's done right that is. To build a website that will attract customers and get your business more bookings, check out our 14 Common Website Mistakes That Affect Your Bookings.
1. Unresponsive design
Today, mobile rules the market! If your website isn't responsive and can shrink down to fit the size of the screen it is being viewed on, you could be instantly missing out on bookings.
2. It's flat-out boring
We are in the tourism and destination industry! Meaning you should be selling a fun experience, and your website needs to reflect that.
3. Lack of Personality
Always make sure to include an "About Us" page and have some fun with it. Having this kind of information on your site will help you create a connection between the customer and your business.
4. Information Isn't Clearly Stated
Consumers don't want to have to dig through the pages of your site to find tour times, locations, etc.
5. Slow Loading Site
You should be checking out how fast your website loads, and on different devices! If it's taking too long to load, if buttons or images appear out of alignment, etc., it's going to be even harder for your customers to book!
6. The Tours Lack Character
What makes your tour or destination different from all of the others? On your website, give insight into what makes you different! Aim to create excitement about your business, and don't rely on the name of your tour to entice customers. Include descriptions with intriguing text and information!
7. Abusing Fonts
Yes, adding a bolded header can draw attention to a section – but bolding everything? How dare you. Don't bold every other word, use various font colors, put italic and bold text next to each other, etc. Pick 2 (at most 3) different fonts, and keep it simple! You want site visitors to read about your business, not be angered by your wonky fonts. Also, never use Papyrus or Comic Sans, these are the joke of the font world and will instantly cheapen the look of your site.
8. Inconsistent Theme
Consistency is key in all of your marketing efforts, from branding to social media, and yes – to your website. Make sure that your website is consistent with everything else, such as graphics and images.
9. Blocked For International Viewers
Don't disable your website for oversea visitors! If potential customers can't find your business or even know about it, how can you expect to get more customers?
10. Lack of Security
Keep your website up-to-date! If your website is hacked your business could be at risk. It is a pain to deal with, it can affect your website traffic, your google ranking will be affected, and your company's information & data could be at risk.
11. Is It Functional?
While your website may look beautiful, does it function well? Do all buttons, links, and pages work properly? Are there clear calls to action? If your website doesn't function properly because you prioritized design over function, your visitors will notice and take their business elsewhere.
12. Background Music
Absolutely not! This is not MySpace. Your website visitors do not want background music when browsing your site, it'll leave them scrambling to find the source to silence it. It also eats bandwidth and can create an awkward situation for your site visitors.
13. Cluttered & Busy
Keep the site simple, and let the text and images speak for itself! If your site is cluttered with bold colors, patterns, too many images, etc., it can turn a site visitor off. Not only that, but it can affect your Google ranking!
14. Lengthy Booking Process
Site visitors have come to expect an easy selection process and simple booking. This can be easily achieved with a booking software such as Peek Pro. *Shameless plug incoming* When utilizing Peek Pro software, you're optimizing your booking sequence and turning it into a high-converting machine. At AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros, we are familiar with a range of booking software and always ensure to implement them in all of the sites we build.
We could go on and on about common mistakes that could be costing your tourism or destination business bookings, but we'll stop at 14 (for now). If you're needing some examples or inspiration as to what a beautifully designed, functioning, and converting website looks like, just take a peep at our extensive portfolio at iwerxconnect.com!
We happen to know a thing or 50 about how to develop a website for a tourism or destination business. We are destination marketing experts for a reason, so if you're feeling a little overwhelmed, just give us a call and we'll help you get your business to where it needs to be.