5 Key Guidelines For Hotel Home Pages

“Your home page is a central part of hotel web design. What does your homepage say about your hotel?”

A homepage which is part of a hotel web design should not act as a one stop shop. In fact, it should act more like a directory and link to other central web pages on your website. Useability expert Jacob Nielson says, ‘Improving your homepage multiplies the entire website’s business value, and so following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.’ Here are 5 guidelines for homepage useability for hotel websites.

Value proposition

Make a statement about your hotel; what it has to offer someone visiting your website and what clientele it may appeal to. The Swissotel Sydney value proposition is ‘Swissôtel Sydney is a deluxe five star hotel located in the heart of the city’ so in one sentence summed up in 15 words, visitors know that it is a luxury hotel located in the Sydney CBD.

Meaningful graphics

Remember images are the heart and soul of a hotel web design and can help build confidence in the hotel and increase hotel bookings. Capture a visitor’s attention by providing large, high quality images of your hotel on your homepage. Providing an image gallery, videos or 360 degree tours on your homepage can improve your conversion rates significantly.

Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley displays both an image gallery and a video on the homepage of their hotel web design.

Call to action buttons

Your homepage web design should be created with certain conversion goals in mind but the call to action buttons should not overwhelm the hotel web design. There should be different call to action triggers throughout the homepage such as:

• Book now page
• Online enquiry form
• Contact details
• Contact us page

Having a ‘book here’ or ‘online enquiry’ button up toward the top right hand corner of your on-page text above the fold has been known to double hotel online revenues.

Online booking engine (OBE)

An online booking engine that is incorporated into a high volume location such as the homepage of a hotel web design can significantly increase booking rates and close sales. Done well, the OBE can be an unobtrusive and cohesive part of the overall hotel web design.

The Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach website is a good example of a customised OBE that matches the look and feel of the overall hotel web design.

Social Media buttons

Social Media is becoming an important part of hotel internet marketing and more hotel web designs are integrating Social Media buttons as part of the hotel web design. Websites such as Windham Hill have subtly incorporated the buttons on the footer of their homepage.

Here at Hotel Website Designers, we create a beautiful hotel website with high useability and functionality that fulfils your design brief and meets all your hotel revenue goals. Contact us today and find out more about our hotel web design solutions and how we can increase your web site traffic and conversions for your website.

Here at Hotel Website Designers, our team of Hotel Web Design experts have a clear and demonstrable track record of proven results and deliver innovative, award winning hotel design and web development on time and on budget. Make an online enquiry or call us today to discover the best hotel web design and development services for your accommodation, lodging or resort needs.

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