If you run a hotel/motel/inn/b&b these days, you no doubt either have a website or would like to have a website. In this digital age, it is an essential part of your business to have a website where people can get more information about your offerings. Without a website, you could be losing out on a very large chunk of potential customers.
But, I'm not going to talk about the merits of having a website today. No, today I want to talk about responsive web design, or "mobile ready" web design if you will.
Let's just assume you already have a website or are serious about getting one. A very important thing you must consider is how your website is presented on a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet).
These days we do almost everything with our mobile devices, from checking our bank statement to finding a good restaurant for dinner.
Recent studies have shown that a large amount of travelers these days plan, book, and track their travels abroad on the internet, and mobile devices have made this so much easier. With just a couple taps you can setup a flight, rent a car, and even book a hotel room.
Embracing mobile travelers with a responsive website design can make a huge difference for your business.
What is "Responsive Web Design"?
Responsive web design is a web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience-easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling-across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones).
Without a responsive design most current mobile devices will simply either shrink a full-page design to fit within its screen boundaries, or zoom in on a specific part of the page. This is not very desirable from a usability standpoint.
Responsive web design helps developers prioritize certain parts of the website for different visitors.
Why is Responsive Design Good?
Let's go over just a couple of the reasons why having a responsive website is so important for hotels:
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Responsive Design Can Make You Look More Professional and Help You Stand Out from the Crowd
People really like things that "just work", and a website being displayed on a mobile device is no exception.
A website that does not have a mobile-ready design can actually turn some potential customers away. Having to zoom and scroll around a site in order to see everything in its entirety is bad for usability and looks somewhat outdated.
A website that has been designed with mobile devices in mind will make you stand out from the crowd in a very big way.
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Responsive Design is a Good Business Decision
Having a responsive website can also be very good for business.
People viewing your website from a mobile device will not appreciate being forced to switch to a desktop or laptop computer in order to access all of the features of your website. It's unintuitive and can waste a lot of time.
Many people will actually pass up your offerings in such a case. If they leave your site, you lose some potential business.
Without a responsive design, it will seem as though you are ignoring mobile users. This is not a good message to be sending to potential customers.
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Can Save You Time & Money
One alternative to responsive design is having a "mobile version" of your website. However, this can cost you more time and money in the long run.
Mobile versions are generally designed for specific screen sizes, rather than being scalable, and can get quite complex.
Responsive design is considered to be a better practice as you are serving one scalable version of the website to all size screens. This saves you from having to maintain different versions of the website and can even help save you money depending on your setup.
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Future-Proof Your Website
You can also help future-proof your website by implementing a responsive design. With the convenience of mobile devices, many people will likely be moving to mobile-only setups going into the future (i.e. no desktop, no laptop).
Having a mobile-ready website will help your business stay relevant in the ever-changing personal computing landscape.
So with all that in mind, can you really afford to not have a responsive website? Probably not.
But, but… How!?
Now it is understandable that not everyone is experienced in these matters, and you might have no idea how you would go about implementing a responsive design, so it's good to have an experienced partner on your side that can help you.
This is why you should consider using a WordPress theme by HermesThemes, which are all completely responsive.
Browse all our Themes or Contact us for a consultation
We have many years of experience developing cutting edge websites and working with the various technologies that make it all possible. We have worked tirelessly to develop the very best themes for our clients that adhere to the highest standard. Every theme we create has responsiveness built-in from the very beginning. We're here to make things easier for you and your customers. We can be that experienced partner you need to help you through the creation of your ideal hotel website.
So, whether you decide to go it alone or leave it to the professionals, we hope this article has given you some things to consider for your own hotel website.
Printed with full permission from the author.
Founder and lead developer at HermesThemes, co-founder and developer at WPZOOM. With over 7 years of experience in the travel/hotel industry, it is my strong belief that WordPress presents unprecedented opportunities for small and medium businesses, such as independent hotels, B&Bs, SPA centers, etc.
Source: HermesThemes
