Not long ago a fellow innkeeper suggested I visit the website of what was an extremely popular bed and breakfast. I say "was" because that inn is not nearly as popular anymore – and with one look at their website I could see why.
Rather than a brilliant home page with crisp images and carefully selected fonts, the inn’s Internet identity seemed to have been put together as a joke. Instead of a series of short pages dedicated to a single subject, ie: home page, rooms and rates, reservations, policies, what to do, etc., it was a "40 page in 1" continuous, enormously cluttered virtual tour filled with overexposed images, family photos, cringe-worthy amateur clip art, and headlines typed in multi-colored letters.
For what was, in fact, an elegant inn with rates starting at $225, this was a huge disconnect.
So how do you easily create a professional-looking website that captures the style of your bed and breakfast and has the power to attract customers?
From basic to brilliant, consider some of these tips…
For further reading, visit Meet Mary White: She Brought B&Bs To The Internet
• Become master of your domain name!
Remember when the Internet was becoming popular and web addresses were so long and convoluted they took up several pages? Don’t settle for that. Stake your claim. Own your own domain name and make it short and sweet and to the point. And if someone already owns the site you want, get the next best thing with a .net or .biz – or differentiate your B&B with a tag such as SimpsonInnOrlando.com
And where do you buy a domain name? Check out sites such as godaddy.com, dotster.com, buydomains.com, domain.com, and networksolutions.com where you can type in different combinations of domain names until you find the one that’s available.
• On your own?
Whether you own a Mac or a PC, creating a website is far easier today than it was just a few years ago. Most new computers come bundled with web designing software to create your own site and there are also services like coffeecup.com that can provide the templates you need to do it yourself (although some free web design sites have a fairly limited range).
Advantages: Inexpensive, easy to learn, and you can change the content anytime you wish. Drawback? Chances are it won’t look quite as good as a professionally designed site. But still…
For further reading, visit B&B Blog Central
• Websites by design
If you’re anxious about creating or re-designing your inn’s website, there’s no shortage of individuals or companies that can help. You provide the content, they do the design and arrange the hosting (ie: getting it online). If they live locally, invite them to visit your B&B (maybe consider bartering?) where they can get a feel of the inn and ideas on style, colors, images, fonts, etc.
For ideas to share with the designer, look for other inns with websites that catch your eye. Use them as a starting point. Many hosting companies have designers who will help create your site. Advantages: One-stop shopping. Drawbacks: Making even small changes, ie: seasonal specials, prices, new images, etc., requires the webmaster to be available.
Mary White of BnBFinder.com suggests
• Hit me with your best shot!
As mentioned in the example above, an inn with a high nightly rate managed to look like a cheap motel by adding cheesy graphics and the family photo album to its site. Nearly everyone owns a high-resolution digital camera, and if you think you have an eye for composition and lighting, have at it. It doesn’t have to be fancy – a close-up of a bicycle with a straw hat on the handlebars, for instance, triggers images of a country setting, sunshine, fields, and flowers. A candle, soap, and rose petals suggest an indulgent bath.
If you question your artistic talents, take the plunge and hire a professional. Although it may cost more, if they know something you don’t (and they probably do) the results will be worth it.
For further reading, visit Weaving A Website
• Word Wise
Like photography, writing isn’t as easy as it looks. A picture can say a thousand words, but you do need words to back it up; from sharing your history to creating a profile of the innkeepers to – and most critically – evoking an image of your bed and breakfast. Consider these examples:
Before
Enjoy a wonderful weekend away at the Coconut Cottage Inn. Isn’t it time you took time to relax and savor peace and quiet in an old home with interesting items?
After
Leave the world behind and step into a 1917 storybook Arts and Crafts cottage trimmed with peaked gables, colorful flowerboxes, and old-fashioned porches. Inside, discover Old World charm in a collection of exotic treasures, artwork, and furnishings in an around the world tour that leads to spacious guest chambers with unusual furnishings, plush comforters, and pillowtop beds which are perfect for pure indulgence…
See the difference?
For further reading, visit Q&A with Jay Karen, Part 1: What Can PAII Do For You?
• Get Around: Mapping Out Your Website
Before you (or the designer) get started, take out a piece of paper and draw a square in the center of the page. That represents your home page – or landing page – the first place guests will see when they reach your site. From that square, draw lines leading to smaller squares marked ‘Rooms’, ‘Rates’, ‘Policies’, ‘About Us’, ‘Activities’, ‘Reservations’, ‘Recipes’, etc.
Consider your home page as the book and the pages of your website as the chapters. Each link from your homepage should be clearly marked, perhaps highlighted with an image, and lead directly to the page as promised. If you have ten rooms and decide to dedicate a page to each, lead to those from your ‘Rooms’ page – not your home page.
One last tip: On each individual page include a well-placed icon reading ‘Home’ so your guests can find their way back to the starting point.
And this feature is the starting point. When your site it complete, you’ll need to focus on getting it listed with search engines and being acquainted with the driving force: Search Engine Optimization.
But for now…
Class dismissed.
