How to tell if your vacation rental website is fit for purpose
Websites have changed dramatically in recent years. Good ones are no longer just collections of static pages in cyberspace. They are high performance tools that help you get more bookings, generate trust from visitors and integrate with everything from your social media channels to the software you run to use your business. What we call ‘integrated websites’. Not sure if your website is fit for purpose? Ask yourself the following…
Is your website less than three years old?
Are you sure it doesn’t look dated?
Is it fully mobile responsive?
Is your menu navigation simple, making content easy to find?
Are your photos professional and professionally optimized?
Is your content concise?
Is it fresh, accurate and regularly updated?
Are pricing and amenities clearly presented?
Are you promoting additional services?
Are you showing new reviews, blogs and helpful local info?
Do you have a flexible search engine on your homepage?
Can prospects see real-time availability for all your properties?
Can they see and navigate via a geolocation map of your entire portfolio?
Can they book and pay instantly?
If your clientele is international, is your site multi-lingual?
Is it easy for you to manage content?
Can properties be added instantly?
Is your website employing modern SEO techniques?
Are you able to flexibly use plugins to for things like analytics and newsletters?
Is your website securely hosted?
Is it protected under a secure SSL certificate?
Is it backed up?
Do you have maintenance and emergency support arrangements in place?
How did you get on?
If you were able to answer yes, to the majority of the questions above, congratulations! Your website is almost certainly fit for purpose.
Could you only answer yes to some of the above? Then, it’s probably time for you to consider upgrading your website.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend that you change your website as a minimum every three years. Doing so keeps you on top of any potential security issues, helps keep your website fresh and modern and gives the best possible experience for your guests and potential guests.