Want to skip hours of coding and build a profitable travel and tourism website for your brand? Starting a travel company website can be a great way to provide a wide range of services and attract new clients.
Traveling makes memories and everybody loves a good vacation. Ray Bradbury once said that it is human nature to wander and get lost, to marvel at the unique wonders of our planet, and explore the beauty of pristine architecture. There has been a sharp spike in travel bookings ever since the COVID-19 era ended. Travel companies are making profits and receiving an influx of requests for making a travel booking, reserving hotels and restaurants, and planning leisurely activities.
The online travel market is steadily growing at an annual CAGR of 3.47% and we can expect it to reach a valuation of USD 1,063 billion by 2028. Travel website needs vary according to geographical location, budget, design specifications, and other factors. In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know on how to build a travel website, write travel blogs, and grow your agency to success.
How To Build Travel and Tourism Website - Step by Step
If you’re asking yourself “how to create a tourism website?” then the first step to answering that is discovering your audience. Finding and targeting your ideal target audience, demographics, and doing market research can help you build a strong business foundation.
Building a travel website from scratch involves the following steps:
1. Select the Right Platform
You can use AI-driven website builders or any mobile responsive site builders that don’t require coding experience or design skills. There are many user-friendly site builders available that can build travel meta search engine information directly into sites. Use a website analytics’ tool to measure your site’s growth, traffic, and optimize other metrics. Lead capture tools like contact forms, pop ups, and email subscription boxes can grow your contact lists and subscriber audience.
2. Choose a Domain Name
A good travel and tours company domain name should be strong, memorable, and make a great first impression. Having an SEO-friendly domain name can help with boosting search engine ranking but it’s not always necessary. Most travel website companies segment themselves into specific niches such as:
- Adventure travels
- Travel blogging website
- Travel experience sharing and road tripping highlights
- Camping website or outdoor activities
- Luxury destinations and vacations
Whatever your niche is, pick a domain name that reflects your brand’s personality. It’s important to come up with a domain name that you can share across multiple social media handles such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Check for the annual pricing and availability as well. Top level domain names include a .org or .com at the end of the URL.
3. Design the Logo
You can work with a logo designer for this process. You can also get a customized template and change the settings to align with your brand’s style, color, persona, and messaging. Avoid overloading your website with too many visuals. Simplicity is the best approach for beginners and many websites look great with minimalist designs and themes. The color palette will draw your visitor’s attention so it’s important to get that right. One of the best ways to showcase your brand is to include visually appealing photographs, videos, and highlight them on your travel website.
4. Advanced Search Filters
Adding search filters in your travel agency website can make it easier to find, navigate, and view potential booking listings. Your customers will want to find the best deals and search filters can help them narrow down options. Parameters such as location, price ranges, amenities offered, booking policy, couples and pets allowed, and others, can make the booking experience pleasant and hassle-free.
5. Showcase Customer Testimonials
Customer reviews and testimonials can serve as a valuable guide to helping travelers decide whether to use your platform to make a booking or not. When you develop a travel website, don’t shy away from enhancing your credibility by displaying good reviews. It’s important to be authentic and showcase the not-so-good-ones as well.
6. Craft Informational and Engaging Content
You can start a travel blogging website and embed it into your travel agency website. For example, your blog can post articles about traveling tips, hacks, how to plan for essentials on the go, and more.
Traveling isn’t limited to flight or hotel bookings and is so much more. Your platform can become a leading voice in the industry by sharing valuable resources and links. You can provide your clients a more personalized experience by giving them options. Post good photos and give recommendations for local gems and tourist attractions to visit.
If your website can feature a space for highlighting upcoming events in different locations, then even better. Make it fun, creative, and instill a sense of adventure. You can help travelers save a lot of money by creating travel itineraries and send alerts about price-drops when they happen.
7. Mobile Responsiveness, User-Friendly Interface, and Integrations
Your travel website must be mobile responsive and easy to navigate. Most travelers these days use smartphones or tablets to sign up on these websites. Travelers also need assurance that their financial transactions are secured and safe.
Different payment modes like Paypal, Google Pay, credit/debit cards, netbanking, and cryptocurrency wallets, are preferred. A successful travel website should have a clear website layout, destination details, booking options, and inquiry forms.
Making the login and registration process seamless is also another requirement. Some users prefer signing up via OTP/mobile or by using their email address. Travelers like sharing their adventurous experiences on social media which is why social media integrations are important. Integrating social media sharing buttons can help visitors share their blog posts and experiences across multiple networks, thus enhancing your site’s visibility.
Most Popular Travel Website Builders
Here is a list of the most popular travel website builders 2024:
1. WIX
Wix is a popular cloud-based development platform for creating travel websites. It is known for its wide variety of ready-to-use templates which are easy to use. Wix’s templates contain specialized features for different applications. It supports drag-and-drop elements and provides travel blogging elements for your website. The premium pack starts as low as 29$/month with 10GB storage space and an online store.
2. Weebly
Weebly is at par with Wix in terms of providing a broad range of fancy templates to complement the existing theme of your website. It is simple to set up and provides an easy interface with drag-and-drop elements to help design your custom website. Weebly also has a mobile app where you can view the website traffic and edit your website. At Weebly, the pricing ranges from 5$ per month to 25$ per month with multiple payment gateway options, Google Ads Credits, Inventory Management and more.
3. WordPress
WordPress is a widely popular travel blogging platform and it provides several templates – most of them for free, to start building your customized travel website. Since WordPress is used by multiple small-scale websites, it has a huge community of developers supporting it. This facilitates an easy resolution to problems and supports coming up with customized solutions for your travel website. When you are low on budget, WordPress is the right option to turn to for developing professional looking websites. WordPress provides you with unlimited control and flexibility while WordPress development companies are easy to come across at a low cost.
4. Squarespace
If you are looking out for designer websites which are more artistic and image-driven, Squarespace provides you with that elite look. Squarespace limits your customization to color, and image changes while the Squarespace development team controls major changes. It has no customized templates for the travel industry, but you can always use a standard one and customize it further. All of the Squarespace templates are mobile-optimized, so you do not have to spend time streamlining the code further to adapt to your designs. It has built-in apps and no separate app marketplace to browse and procure add-ins.
5. VEVs
VEVs is an industry-standard travel website builder in 2024. It provides niche categories like hotel websites, holiday properties, and vacation rentals. It is especially focused on helping small and medium-sized companies quickly set up travel-based websites and start delivering. VEVs delivers an all-round business solution for you while building on site aesthetics. VEVs web templates are quick to set up and get your travel business operating smoothly.
Based on the cost of customization, you can decide which website building is right for you. For specialized changes in these templates, you will need to reach out to a travel website development company which will help you in achieving the perfect look-and-feel that your website needs.
Conclusion
Are you looking for travel website designs that grow your subscriber base? Building a travel website from the ground up is not that difficult if you have a plan in place. Whether you start a travel agency from home or work with an online travel booking host, the road to success begins with building a solid travel and tourism website.
If you’d like help on your next project, reach out to us for more info.
