New Year, New Website?
Even in 2024, websites are still very much alive and can add real value to your hospitality business and that all important bottom line. In an era dominated by visual content on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, it's tempting to shift your focus entirely. However – a well-designed, functional, and tasty website remains a crucial element for business success, especially in the dynamic and ever-evolving hospitality industry.
Here are three reasons why your hospitality business still needs a website:
Reason 1: People Still Google Things:
We all look to the internet for our everyday answers. For deciding where to eat, checking menus, and finding opening hours, people turn to search engines to answer their questions quickly and conveniently.
Having a website ensures that your business is discoverable and accessible as the potential solution to their query. Without a website, you lose out on valuable custom in the digital space.
The internet is like one giant machine, the information we give it forms the information it gives back to us. By optimising your website's content with relevant keywords, you can increase your chances of appearing first in search engine results. This increased visibility not only attracts more organic traffic but also establishes your business as a credible and trustworthy option in the eyes of potential customers.
Reason Two: Another Shopfront for Your Brand Identity:
In an industry where first impressions are crucial, a well-designed website can make a lasting impact on customers. Key touchpoints to consider are the user experience, how your brand is translated through images and colours, and how the content on your site contributes to shaping how it feels to interact with your brand.
Through cohesive branding elements utilising colour schemes and imagery, your website becomes an extension of your physical premises. This cohesion between your in-person and online presence strengthens your brand in customers memories and fosters a sense of familiarity among your tribe.
Reason Three: Increasing Revenue Through E-commerce:
The hospitality industry is ever-evolving, moving, growing, and shaped by customer trends. With the rise of e-commerce, many hospitality establishments are leveraging their websites to offer additional services and products online, from online booking to gift cards and even wearable merch.
It is key that we make it as easy as possible for our customers to get their hands on exactly what they want! By incorporating online booking you make it easier and therefore more likely for customers to book and by adding e-commerce functionality into your website, you gain access to new ways to make money and different streams of profit for your business.
After all, we buy what’s easiest.
Seamless online booking experiences and secure payment gateways contribute to customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately boosting your bottom line.
In the fast-paced landscape of the hospitality industry, embracing the digital realm is not just a trend but a necessity for sustained success. A well-crafted website enhances your online visibility, establishes a strong brand presence, and provides avenues for revenue growth through e-commerce. In 2024, the importance of having an online presence remains a constant for hospitality businesses looking to grow and thrive.
Our Website Ethos
For the most part, hospitality brands do not need expensive custom built websites. A well designed site using affordable web building platforms like Squarespace is generally more than sufficient – and with some very basic technical know-how, you can be fully equipped to keep the site up to date without paying anyone else to do it for you. Custom built sites certainly have their place but for most of the hospitality brands that we work with, a beautifully designed site using an online web builder can make your brand look great online at a fraction of the cost.
Here’s some we made earlier:
The website you’re currently reading this on
The website for | Lost & Found | a coastal coffee brand with an online merch store which integrates with their POS
The website for | Coppi | a belfast-based Italian restaurant
The website for | Bella Goose | a multi-location coffee shop in North America and Asia
In each of these cases, building the site itself took us just three days of designing, and the clients are now fully equipped to keep their own websites updated without having to pay a developer to do it for them. Fast, affordable, and beautiful.
Want us to serve up a delicious new website for your hospitality brand? Just get in touch and let’s chat about what you have in mind.
