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Have you looked at your website through the eyes of your customers recently?

Does it really do your holiday business justice and inspire guests to book their holiday with you?

For many people these days, their iPads or Smart Phones have become a permanent fixture – an integral part of their busy lives, with mobile, “always on” access, a way of life.  There is an expectation of finding whatever you need – whether text, images or videos – on any subject, within seconds.

People are no longer prepared to wait for information – if they cannot find what they need, when they need it, they will bounce off and try someone else’s site. Harsh but true.

Another major shift in online communication is the strangle hold that the search companies and social media platforms have established, which means that you need to understand the game and play by their rules, or your target audience may not even see your website!

Here are a few quick tips to help you identify whether your current website is hampering your online success.

TOP 10 INDICATORS THAT YOUR WEBSITE IS HINDERING YOU:

1. You can’t easily update your web content – perhaps it was originally a bespoke build or has a complex Content Management System (CMS). Either way, you are now dependent on a third party to administer costly changes to your site
2. Your site is not linked to social media sites – you have a Facebook page and use Twitter, but these are not integrated into your website and therefore do not contribute to your SEO or help drive people to your website
3. Your site is not set up to encourage customers to commit – potential customers want to be able to view and compare their purchasing options easily and if they cannot do it online, they will search for the next potential supplier
4. Your site is not mobile friendly (responsive design) – with the majority of web users using smart phones or iPads for online browsing, your site needs to be easy to view and use from different devices – including the ability to buy easily
5. Its navigation is not user friendly – how easy is it to find what you are looking for? The organisation and navigation of your site may not be that obvious to visitors  – especially if you have expanded your website and added extra pages over the years
6. Your site loads slowly – if your site has lots of images and videos yet has not been performance optimised, it could take longer than people are prepared to wait for the site to load….in which case they will search elsewhere!
7. It’s not as good as your competitors’ sites – you will know only too well that most businesses operate in a competitive market. Since most buyers start their research online for purchases, a distinctive, well-constructed and easy to use website is a necessity to make sure you are found and selected  
8. Your site ranks poorly on Google searches – with Google and other search engines regularly adapting their search algorithms to improve the relevancy of search results, you need to make sure you maintain your SEO and keyword strategy to improve your search rankings and appear above your competitors
9. Your website has become just an out of date, online brochure – if your website was initially set up as a static online brochure, it is probably difficult to make changes and there may not even be a way for a customer to order, in which case people will browse elsewhere
10. The purpose of your website has changed – perhaps videos and social media connections have been added as an afterthought to the original design, or an online purchasing system may have been “bolted on” to your existing site rather than being designed into the site structure at the outset. The “bolt on” approach can often constrain the outcome of you new objective of converting web visitors to customers.

If any of these apply to you, then what are your options?  You can:

1. Add a “lick of paint” to the one you have, for an upgrade which will be:
   • low cost
   • will look better visually
   • may not improve SEO/ navigation/ mobile use
2. Commission a new bespoke design, which will be:
   • a unique design just for you
   • high cost
   • may take several months to build
3. Customise a proven template, to achieve a brand new website build which will be:
   • low cost
   • customised to an individual design for you
   • tried and tested, rapid build, best practice SEO, with off the shelf plug-ins

Option 3 offers a practical and cost-effective way to achieve a best practice outcome.  A modern, responsive website, optimised for search and easy to update, you will enable you to:

• Personalise your brand and relate the benefits of your unique offer to your specific audience
• Achieve fast implementation of a new site with a responsive design for mobiles
• Optimise your site for search, social media integration and content management
• Encourage visitors to connect and guide them through to booking with you

For more information on refreshing your website, contact XLR8 Marketing on 0121 286 3992 or send a web form enquiry via our contact page.