The travel industry is a highly competitive online industry. Accommodation, transport and destination websites are all vying for your travel dollar in a market where only the most outstanding service providers stand out.

For a travel-related business, appearances, as well as ease-of-use services are everything. Your sites’ branding, design and navigation can make or break a sale, deter a customer or win a new client within minutes.

Below are five quick tips on how you can improve your site’s appeal and win more exposure, brand loyalty and new business through your site’s design.

Focus on user experience

Your travel and tour website is not about you or your brand. It is about the user – the traveller who lands on your site.

To design a website that speaks to your audience and one they would be comfortable navigating, you want to first, spend quality time learning about them.

For instance, young travellers predominately want to discover things by themselves. They prefer reading other travellers’ authentic experiences about your services instead of you just telling them.

So, when designing a travel website for this demographic, you want to integrate a review feature on your site. This way, users can leave reviews and read about other people’s experiences too.

As part of improving user experience, you may want to ensure users can easily navigate the site. Display navigation buttons should prominently use the breadcrumb feature for a modern mobile look. Users expect a sleek and neat interface with little clutter.

Ensure consistent brand touch

Your travel website is your brand’s online home. Just as your physical office is thoughtfully designed to convey your brand’s mission to visitors, your website should also evoke such emotions on users.

One way to ensure visitors ‘get what you are about’ is by maintaining a consistent brand touch across all online assets. Use your logo on the site. If you have a brand tagline, be sure to include it too.

Your logo, tagline and matching brand colours are subtle differentiators that show this is your website. One more thing, ensure a consistent brand voice. The copy on your website should reflect your company’s personality. Are you a lighthearted, fun-loving brand? Reflect that in your website. 

Use crisp, high-resolution images

Don’t tell. Show. Instead of describing with words how great the experience is, show users how much fun they could have with pictures of trips clients have taken.

If you can, include aerial photography of the destinations you are offering, as this provides potential clients with a bird-eye view of the location and is a powerful presentation technique to close deals. 

Booking and reservation feature

When travellers come online, most times, they are searching for great deals. Please take advantage of this, and make it easier for users to book on your site with a book and reservation feature.

Granted, almost all travel websites today have some form of booking and reservation tool on their site, but for your travel site, you are going to take it a step further.

Put yourself in the traveller’s shoes and see how you can improve the booking experience. Most people would appreciate a booking system that is flexible enough to accommodate their schedule.

Add a blog

Your travel website needs a blog where you can share exciting news and content which travellers would find helpful.

The blog is an integral part of your marketing strategy. Publishing content regularly on the site will not only help clients and potential users to trust your brand, but it is also an effective way to add fresh content to your website which is suitable for search engine optimization.

So, there you have some helpful tips for improving your travel website and engaging with your audience.

Image Pexels License CCO