| Your bed and breakfast website design and content | | | | it's how I made a comfortable living for years - but |
| is one of the most important areas of your business. | | | | the truth is that what we do is a balance between |
| More and more people are searching the internet for | | | | what the client (you) wants and what's |
| their accommodation so getting it wrong can cost | | | | cost-effective to produce. The client always wants |
| you a lot of money. | | | | more for their money, the designer has to have |
| Yet most bed and breakfast owners give control of | | | | profit in mind - they're in business too! |
| their website to someone else. Someone who they | | | | If they're any good you should be happy with the |
| hardly know and who, at best, knows very little | | | | results - but how effective is your site? It might look |
| about the market place. | | | | great to you but how does it look to Google - where |
| Ah, you say, "but I've used a free online website | | | | it really matters? What will it cost you to change it or |
| builder for my bed and breakfast" or "I pay $xx a | | | | update it in a couple of months time. What if you |
| month and do it all myself". You think you've got | | | | don't like it? What will it cost to move to another |
| control? Really? | | | | web designer? |
| What happens if your host decides to show adverts | | | | So what's the solution? |
| (completely unrelated to your accommodation | | | | Understandably most people are cautious about |
| business) every time someone visits your site? You | | | | buying software and doing it themselves. Most |
| potential customer is distracted. Probably so ticked | | | | people don't want to do their own bed and breakfast |
| off that he or she just goes elsewhere. So you pay | | | | website design because they're concerned about |
| a monthly fee to prevent adverts being shown, but | | | | their ability to turn out a professional looking result. |
| who says that monthly fee will stay the same? | | | | You certainly don't want to look amateurish. |
| Worse, the search engines don't really like most of | | | | Fortunately today you don't have to. Modern content |
| those sites very much so your chances of showing | | | | management systems allow you to host your own |
| up in a decent position are virtually nil. | | | | site, build it and maintain it for a fraction of what you |
| Does that mean that for proper, effective bed and | | | | would pay a website designer - in fact for less than |
| breakfast website design you have to go to the | | | | you would pay anywhere except the free sites. You'll |
| professionals? Well you might be giving up control of | | | | get power, ease of use and, most importantly, you |
| an important asset, but at least these guys and gals | | | | retain control. You don't have to worry about |
| know what they're doing, right? | | | | complex programs, html or php. If you can point, click |
| I'm certainly not going to knock website designers - | | | | and type a little you have all the skills you need! |