Now it is has become a fact that mobile interactions have considerably surpassed desktop ones, that has translated into a rise in mobile bookings. Hence a well-structured and functioning mobile website has become a must for any hotel. Among an abundance of different ways on how to improve your site, we have formulated a list of those which will ensure an upgrade on speed times and engagement.
Quality images
Images give life to a website, yet on the other hand they have quite of a digital weight. Try reducing the number of images you display per page, at best to one, making an exception for your gallery pages. There should be a fine balance between the number of images and user experience. An option as well is to compress your images making them as light as it possibly can be. There shouldn’t be even the slightest sign of a slowdown when a user loads your page, if it takes too long he might leave for good. On your gallery pages make sure that images load as one is scrolling down the page, this method helps to reduce load times.
Simple design
If we are going to reduce the number of images on a site, some work as to be done as well for other main contents. When it comes to forms, design them to be short and simple. This of crucial importance when a guest is signing for your newsletter or making a booking. Cut out any non-necessary data and ask only for the information that you absolutely need, such as name, phone number, email address and credit card number, once they have chosen their booking package.
Videos
Videos are an integral part of an incredible website experience. Instead of hosting them on you site, post them of YouTube and embed them. Such action brings two clear advantages. Firstly, the video won’t need to load with the page, which allows a bump in speed, because they will load only when the user is ready to watch. Secondly if you have a base of YouTube videos you can use them in video advertisement across Google.
Friction reduction
Friction reduction is another point to keep a look at. By that we mean making sure your icons are identifiable when someone is browsing your site, to eliminate the prospect of misunderstandings which cause hesitation. The higher the friction on your site the same will be the bounce rate level. To avoid that from happening, add small text identifying labels to all your icons.
Interactive maps
Interactive maps are a cool feature you probably may find in every website, they are also heavy and slow things down and time to time don’t function as they should. Instead, just link a map button or a still image of a map to Google Maps. You can link it directly to your hotel’s address, and even include directions in the URL if you like.
As is one of the focuses of hospitality, to create the best experience for guests, so is the aim of a proper mobile website. The above mentioned solutions are easily implementable even for established mobile sites; to keep your page light, fast and user-friendly.
