Our next hotel website makeover comes from Chris, a reader from South Africa, and owner of the Whale Cottage Guest Houses. First, a little background information:
- Location: South Africa
- Property Type: Guest houses
- Number of rooms: 33 rooms across 4 properties
- Price range: R 300-450 pppn (winter); R 490-650 pppn (summer)
- Typical Guests: From the UK, Germany, and South Africa
Website analysis
(Click image for full size review)
What I would change
Unlike the Apple Tree Inn last week, the Whale Cottage Guest Houses have started to build their web presence with a blog and Twitter account. For this reason, my review focused on their homepage – where a makeover is most likely to provide positive results.
Here’s what I recommend changing:
- The heading area – to focus on more useful content
- The navigation – to be simple and intuitive
- The page structure – to eliminate duplication
- The body copy – to explain the benefits of the cottages
- The call to action – to encourage more bookings
It all comes down to two words
Simplify and focus.
Take-away questions for anyone:
- Is my website concise & intuitive?
- Is the navigation simple?
- Is important content “above the fold”?
How would you optimize the Whale Cottage website?
Related posts:
- Hotel Website Makeover: Summery Hotel
- Hotel Website Makeover: Apple Tree Inn
- Hotel Website Makeover: Yorkland Hotel Toronto
- 3 ways to make guest feedback on your website more believable
- Gradigio’s $25,000 Hotel Marketing Makeover Contest
Need More Hotel Marketing Ideas?
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Josiah,
As far as helping themselves with Google, I notice that they don’t have Contact/Privacy Policy/Terms and Conditions/Site Map pages, all of which Google likes to see.
Thanks for your post.