The results should be a fine balance of splendid visuals, razor-sharp e-commerce and the latest technology.
It needs to act as an effective booking tool while also bringing your brand to life and reflecting your hotel’s personality.
Here is a helpful design guide to showcase what will make your hotel website beautiful and business ready in 2022.
1. Better User Experience
Small user-experience (UX) tweaks to a hotel website will make a significant improvement for users and for direct booking revenue. Here’s some tips:
- Open booking panel: An open booking panel on the homepage with pre-filled dates simplifies the customer journey and will increase click through to the booking engine by around 30%. Book now call to actions (CTAs) on other key sections of the website (gallery, accommodation, special offers) provide better UX and more bookings.
- Mobile CTAs: Removing or scaling back images on mobile devices and replacing with CTA buttons such as Book Now, See Special Offers will dramatically improve booking conversions.
- Great imagery: Do not undersell your hotel with sub-standard pictures and videos. Professional, high-quality images which reflect your property’s personality and tell an authentic story will repay you many times over and differentiate your brand from the competition.
2. Calm design
Websites with concise microcopy, minimal design, soothing colours and relaxing white space have served as beacons of quiet in a noisy and tumultuous world- especially because of COVID-19.
Consider a clean, simple design which is easy to view. Choose background colour which complement your branding and evoke your browser's desired emotions.
A designer’s view is important here though, not only to ensure that color combinations work well together, but also that they don’t impede the readability of your website.
You will be penalised by Google if your site doesn’t meet the latest WCAG accessibility standards.
3. Micro Interactions
Micro interactions are the small responses users notice when they complete certain actions online.
They can be expressed in a multitude of ways such as sounds, chimes, or animation.
It can be as simple as images moving when the visitor hovers over with the mouse.
Interacting with the audience creates a sense of control - transforming passive viewers into willing participants.
These visual and audio cues make browsers more aware of their actions on the site, while bringing attention to certain features.
Welcoming and delighting users, micro interactions also provide instant feedback and create engagement.
4. Asymmetry & Broken Grid Layouts
Breaking the traditional rules of design can lend a distinctive look to websites.
If you represent a youthful, vibrant brand, consider introducing out-of-the-box concepts.
Asymmetrical layouts make pages look more dynamic and exciting. Visitors will be entertained longer and more inclined to stay on your site.
Unusual positionings, multiple layers, accent colors, illustrations and many more techniques can be deployed to create a unique visual display.
5. Inventive Menus & Navigation
Mega menus expand to wider or full page panels, bringing more movement to websites. They are ideal for hotels with a wide range of offerings such as spa, golf, weddings, and multiple dining outlets.
Keeping the navigation menu in a fixed place (such as the top of the page) enables users to switch pages from anywhere on the site and keep the booking panel in sight at all times.
Fixed navigation entices visitors to stay longer on the site and increases the total number of page views.
Vertical navigation can present multiple choices easily which makes it ideal for rooms and special offers pages.
This design gives an immediate snapshot of all available options and shows content concisely.
Some design trends come and go but pay close attention to those that endure for a future-proof hotel website which will boost engagement and conversions in 2022 and beyond.
Aró has spent decades designing beautiful and high converting websites for independent luxury hotels seeking a better way to engage their audience.
Let’s create something beautiful together! Get in touch with us.