11 Key Elements that Make a Good Homepage For Holiday Cottages

Making a Good Homepage for Holiday Cottages – 11 Key Elements

Your website homepage is your front door and window to show off your wonderful holidays and cottages. Here are 11 key elements that help make up good website homepage for holiday cottages and why.

The Homepage Has 5-7 Seconds to Make a Good First Impression

You probably have only 5-7 seconds to engage and capture prospective customers before they head off to one of your competitors. That is why the homepage on any holiday website is so important to attract new customers to your business.

So what are the key elements that make up a good homepage to attract new visitors and to explore having a holiday with you? Prospective customers need to know three things straight away from what they see on your website; who, what, why and how?

1. ‘Who you are’
2. ‘What you can offer them’
3. ‘Why is it is for them’,
4. ‘How they can book with you’

There are a number of key elements that will help your website’s homepage be striking, engaging and informative:   

11 Key Elements that Make Up a Good Homepage for Your Holiday Cottage Website

1. Your Brand Name & Banner Headline – Who are you and what can you offer visitors. You have 3-5 seconds to tell visitors who you are and what you have to offer. Know who want to attract and target your audience accordingly. Set your style, layout and tone to attract your ideal guest.
2. Eye Catching Photographs & Striking Imagery – Lead with your best photo(s), either a static image, carousel of images or a slideshow option. Does your imagery capture what you are offering and represent you and your business. Use evocative imagery that helps bring your holidays to life – For example – the great views, a spectacular aerial view of your cottage and garden, the roaring open fire, a bubbling hot tub, cottage in full bloom, etc.
3. Clear & Simple Navigation to the other key pages within your website which provide useful and additional important information such as ‘Property Details’, ‘See & Do’, ‘Photo Gallery’, ‘Find Us’ & ‘Contact Us’ for example.
4. Strong Call to Action Options – Easy and clear options to ‘Book Now’, ‘Check Availability’, ‘Find Your Perfect Holiday’, ‘Special Offers’ ‘Last Minute Deals’ or ‘Contact Us’.
5. Engaging Text Content & Copy – Quick and short summary or ‘at a glance’ highlights and key features. You could use a set a bullet points headlines with internal links to more information elsewhere on your website for example.
6. Clear Contact Information – Make sure your telephone number & email address are obvious.
7. Testimonials & Reviews – Selection of your latest guest reviews and links to your guest testimonials.
8. Fresh Web Content – Is your website and homepage regularly updated with fresh content, news, updated information, new photos, videos or floorplans (Google loves new content).
9. Social Media Links – Easy clickable links to your Facebook, Instagram feed, Twitter, Blog news & Pinterest pages. You do not need to have accounts for all but just what may work best for you.  
10. Optimised Across All Devices – Mobile users make up most of the searches on Google nowadays so it is important that your website appears well and is easy to navigate on mobiles, tablets and laptops.
11. Can Your Website Be Found on Google – Do you have a Google My Business link and is your website optimised for what you have to offer. Is your website available on a selection of directory websites so potential visitors can find you. How to optimise your Google My Business listing.

Optimise Your Website Design Across All Devices

To make a good homepage for holiday cottages it is important to consider all three from the website visitor’s point of view. See below three examples of the same website on a laptop, mobile and tablet – www.la-serenite-retreat.co.uk

This website layout template was designed by Sarah at Web Design for Accommodation who specialise in self catering and holiday websites.

Bring Your Holidays To Life

The homepage on your website is the one page that works the hardest for you so it requires a lot of thought and attention.

Actions You Can Take:

• Have a quick look at your website and see if it brings your holidays to life.
• Look at your website through the eyes of a customer or get a friend to critique it for you.
• Check that your website’s homepage ticks all the boxes and answers the questions it needs to do.
• Is there anything missing or that could be changed?

Make a Strong 1^st Impression & Ensure Visitors Want More

Your website’s homepage needs to be clearly presented, clearly laid out, showcases what you have to offer and provides simple navigation. If all these considerations are combined with a strong visual impact leaving the visitor wanting more, then you are well on the way to making a very good first impression. This will result in generating new customers and bookings.

Good Luck!

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