Top tips for building a travel website

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There are a number of essential factors to consider when you want to build a travel website. Although you will be hiring a designer to carry out the actual work, it is worth keeping the following issues in mind to ensure you and your designer are on the same page from the start.

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Make it responsive

Responsive design is a special type of web design that has become increasingly important as the popularity of the mobile web continues to grow.

It essentially involves designing websites that change depending on the type of device being used to view them. So while people viewing your site on desktops will see one version of the site, people viewing it on mobile devices will see another.

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Many people now use their mobiles to view websites, especially when it comes to travel sites, so you want to provide them with a good experience on your site.

If your site is not mobile friendly, it is also unlikely to show up in the mobile search results, which could affect your visitor numbers.

So when you are considering hiring a travel website designer, always ask them about their experience with responsive design.

Choose a suitable CMS

The platform that you use will also be an important decision. Designers use a range of platforms to create websites, so it is worth knowing a bit about these before making your decision.

One option that many companies now prefer is a CMS (content management system).

These are platforms that allow you to create pages, edit content, add images and add new features to your site without having to worry about coding. They are very user friendly, and they essentially provide you with more control over your website.

WordPress is the most well-known CMS, but another popular choice is Umbraco. Many travel website designers use these to create professional websites that look great and are easy to use, so it is well worth considering.

Take advantage of specialist tools

There are a number of specialist tools that you may want to use when building your website to add greater functionality.

For example, you may want to use a dynamic packaging engine. These are often used in travel sites to enable you to provide more competitive prices, upload stock, provide reporting and pick suppliers for travel packages, so you may want to ensure your site has one built in.

Use large, high-quality images

Don’t forget about the importance of images when you design your website. An experienced travel designer will know all about how crucial it is to bring your website to life using images, and this is another factor to make sure you consider.

You can use images to inspire your visitors and encourage them to spend more time on your site.

So make sure you find some stunning images to place on your home page and other pages of your site, and work with your designer to ensure they look amazing for all of your visitors (and don’t forget to optimise them for SEO)

Consider all of these factors

Your travel website is so important to your business, and it is essential that you get the website you are hoping for. All of these factors will play a large role in the design of your site, so make sure you choose a designer who understands your concerns. That way, you will be far more likely to end up with the travel site you are hoping for.

The Best Ways to Present Your Web Design Portfolio to Clients

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Presenting your web design portfolio to clients is one of the most important activities you undertake as a web designer. Clients want to see proof of your previous work. Once they have this proof they can make a more informed decision about whether or not to hire you. Your portfolio sells your services. The examples you show are as powerful as any sale pitch. This means you have to put a lot of thought and effort into the ways you present your portfolio to clients. These are some of the best ways to do this.

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Physical Copy

Today’s web designers have a wide range of professional printing options available. You can really impress potential clients by showcasing your work in magazine quality, high-resolution brochures that display previous work in the best possible light. Impressing clients by presenting a professional looking, physical portfolio will often set you apart from the completion and increase your chance of gaining a long term customer.

This approach is particularly effective if you will be having a face-to-face meeting with your client. If they need to consult with other people later, they can show them the physical copy of your portfolio too. If you regularly print physical copies of your portfolio make sure you install and replace HP fuser and maintenance kits on a regular basis.

Portfolio Section on Your Website

In many situations websites and blogs have replaced printed products. Websites and blogs are the perfect places to list and display your previous web design projects. Many businesses create a website solely for this purpose. The technology available to create online portfolios keeps improving. You simply create a clean and current portfolio of your products on your website and share the link to this webpage. This is particularly effective for long distance clients and clients who prefer to view content on their laptop, tablet or mobile device.

Social Media

Social media has become an important tool for modern businesses. Social media websites like Facebook and Pinterest are the perfect places to add examples of your previous web design work. The interactive nature of these websites gives your work valuable social proof. If people are commenting positively about your work and you’re responding, it can be a powerful way to impress clients who visit your social media pages.

Package Your Portfolio

If you want to give your clients more options when they view your portfolio, consider packaging examples of your previous work in .PDF files, Power Point Presentations or other software applications. This achieves two things. It’s easy to share these files and they can be viewed in digital or physical formats if your client decides to print them.

It’s never been as easy for web designers to showcase their work. However, different clients expect different types of service. This is particularly true when you’re displaying a portfolio of previous work. Some clients are happy to look at a portfolio page on a website, while others prefer to have a physical paper copy which includes images of your work. The points above give a greater insight into the options available so that you can cater for the needs of different clients.

Tips for creating a successful Ecommerce Website

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Sometimes developing an Ecommerce website can be considered complex. You must constantly add new products with new proposals, bring traffic to your ecommerce website, respond to customers in a timely fashion, and train your employees in using the e-commerce site backend.

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In this article I will write a couple of things that in my opinion works well when developing a successful ecommerce website.

For the most part, for any e-commerce site that I encountered, including my own, there is always room for improvement. If you follow the following steps you will increase sales on your site.

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Understand what you want to do before you start. Understand before starting in which direction you want to go and how you will get there. Invest some time to identify the objectives of your business, your strategies and tactics you will follow to achieve these objectives. Remember to write them all down.

Developing an e-commerce site
Do you struggle to figure out how you’re going to make money, how the various parts of your sales system will work together to create a successful ecommerce. Understand the e-commerce software before you even start. Understanding the software will give you a major advantage over your biggest competitors.

Understanding your customer
Try to understand who your customers are and what they want from you. Why do they come to your online store and why they buy from you and not from your competitors? Are they loyal customers? Or do they buy only once and then never again. If this is the case, how can you change this and get them back to purchase something again.

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Sell products that customers want to buy. Once you understand your customers you are able to sell products that meet their needs. Observes the newest market trends and anticipate what they may want next. When you find a product that is already a best seller on another website, you most probably already lost the race.

Pricing

Buy more stock at a lower price. This old sales method is truer than ever before for those who would like to create an ecommerce website. You have little control over prices on the internet. But you have more control over how much you pay for your own stock. Negotiate a good price for you products and you will be able to compete with the biggest commerce sites on the net.

Invest money into Search Marketing and other marketing services

Invest in the search engine optimization services, online advertising services like Google Add words, develop  an interesting blog, use social media and other marketing strategies to bring people to your online shop that are members of the niche market that you are targeting.  Also try new ideas in bringing more traffic to your website. You can never have enough traffic.

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Make sure that the ecommerce web site, the content, the goods, landing pages, promotions, and shopping cart and customer service, payment mode all perfectly support your sale strategy.

Diversify interactions
Try to customize every single customer interaction. You don’t want them to think they are talking to a machine.  This is a simple idea but will give your website that personal touch. For example, you always would strive to add the first name of the person when sending the newsletter. Strive to provide a shopping experience that is uniquely compatible with the characteristics of your ecommerce platform.

After the sale
Make contact with your client after the sale. Make sure they are happy. If there is a stock issue on your side, make sure you contact them as soon as possible. Most customers will be happy that you contacted them even if it’s bad news.

Think Mobile
Mobile commerce is the new frontier on ecommerce market. Make sure your site is mobile friendly as many people now buy their goods online using a smart phone or tablets.