Last Updated on October 23, 2024 by Admin
With the current advancement in technology, travel agencies need to embrace the internet and ensure that their websites succeed in the travel sector. According to available statistics, more than 72% of people who are interested in traveling like to book their holidays online.
This shift underlines the need for a user-friendly, well-endowed website that will attract potential clients and convert them into customers.
For travel agencies, creating such a website is not a luxury but a tool that will help expand a client base, gain more trust, and ultimately make more money. In this guide, we will discuss the most critical aspects of how to make a travel agency website that converts.
Why Does a Travel Agency Need a Professional Website?
Professional travel agency website acts as an online shop that is always open to consumers worldwide. It is not just about being online. It is about having a tool that generates leads, retains customers, and establishes the agency as the market leader.
Here are some key reasons why a professional website is crucial for travel agencies:
- Reaches a large number of possible tourists all over the world.
- Presents your services and unique travel products.
- Offers an opportunity for customer feedback and recommendations.
- It provides around-the-clock access to the bookings and information.
- Strengthens the authority and gains confidence among potential consumers.
- Enables the company to market the product in a specific way and create promotions.
- Has the potential to deliver valuable information about customers’ activities.
- Enables the direct selling of rooms and services, thereby minimizing the use of online travel agencies.
By 2029, 75% of sales in the travel and tourism industry will be online, so having a professional website is no longer a luxury but rather a necessity for longevity.
How to Create a Travel Agency Website (Step-By-Step)?
Developing a travel agency website might appear overwhelming, but it becomes quite easy when segmented into steps. Here are the steps you should follow to create a highly converting website for your travel agency.
1. Select a Domain Name and a Hosting Company
The initial aspect of having a successful travel agency website is choosing a domain name that is easy to remember and relates to your company. This is important for user identification and search engine optimization. Once you have selected your domain, choose a hosting provider that promises fast page loading times, secure services, and expansion as your business expands.
Why it matters: A slow-loading webpage can discourage visitors from exploring the site further, and hence, high bounce rates cost businesses a lot of money.
2. Pick a Website Builder or CMS
It is crucial to determine between having a website developed from the ground up and using a CMS such as WordPress, Joomla, or Wix. Many times, CMS platforms include templates and easy-to-use options for handling content and optimizing for search engines. If you have further requirements, you should consider a custom web development service so that they can build a website according to your specific needs.
Recommendation: WordPress and Wix provide great opportunities to create a fast and friendly site, but custom development is the best choice for those who need more.
3. Select a Design Template
Your website design should represent your brand and, at the same time, be user-friendly. A simple and fast design is a must since over 60% of travel bookings are made on mobile devices.
4. Build Essential Pages
Some of the basic page types that should be featured on a successful travel website are as follows:
- Homepage: For a solid first impression, use stimulating images and prominent CTAs that tell users what to do next.
- Services or Packages: Emphasize travel packages, which include the destinations, the prices, and the services to be offered.
- Booking System: Ensure a smooth booking process for tours, hotels, or flights to enable users to book easily.
- About Us: Establish credibility by telling your agency’s story, what it does, and what it stands for.
- Testimonials: Use customer reviews and feedback to strengthen your credibility and increase the level of trust from potential customers.
5. Include Features That Would Better the Experience Of The Users
Introducing enhanced elements to your travel agency site will help increase client satisfaction and use. Key features include:
- Search Filters: To save time, users can filter results by price, location, amenities, and other criteria.
- Google Map Integration: Using maps, users can build up mental images of destinations and plans.
- Predictive Search: Improve search processes with in-place text input that suggests results as users type instead of selecting them.
- Integrated Booking System: It is advisable to allow users to book directly through your website to avoid a long conversion process.
- Mobile Optimization: Make your website accessible for viewing on different devices for a broader market since many are using mobile to book.
6. SEO and Content Marketing
SEO is the process by which your travel agency website can rank high in search engine results for organic traffic. It is recommended to incorporate keywords such as “how to make a travel agency website” and “travel agency website” in the website’s content. Every page, starting from your homepage and going all the way to your blog, should be travel SEO-friendly. The use of keyword frequencies in the blog will also assist the site in attracting more traffic and improving interaction.
Tip: Some topics for your blog include ‘Best Holiday Destinations for 2024’ or ‘Tips on Vacations for the Wallet Conscious’ since these will attract potential customers.
7. Payment Gateway Integration and Security Elements
For the performance of the customer payment gateway, your travel agency website needs to be secure and user-friendly. It is integrated with famous payment gateways such as PayPal or Stripe to allow secure payments. Moreover, the company needs SSL encryption for the safety of customer data and for customers’ trust.
Essential Features to Incorporate in a Travel Agency Website that Converts
Now, let’s consider the key features that every travel agency website should have if you want the UI and UX to be perfect and let you sell things.
- Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): They have the functionality of a native app, but when run through a browser, it does not need to be downloaded, which is a significant advantage in conversion and usage factors. The PWA web page can also be bookmarked on the home screen of a user device and can be used like a mobile application. Travel companies that use PWAs are Jumia Travel, Ola, Trivago, and Wego.
- Google map integration: The feature helps view the available holidays on a map with all the specifics of the chosen destination, together with engaging images.
- Search Filters: Since different parameters are at work while traveling, filtering is always an option. The larger the selection of filters, the better. An advanced search should permit sorting by price, booking policy, stars, location, payment, available services, and other parameters so that you can make a sale.
- Predictive search: It is a drop list bar that appears along the typing process. It helps to prevent showing the list of endless results, quickly finding the results, and also saves typing if you are using a tablet, for example.
- High-Quality Images: Quality images and media improve understanding and deliver the right brand voice. They are provocative and will attract new customers. If a website contains many beautiful images, users will spend more time on it and communicate with it more actively.
- Recommendations: These features improve the website’s credibility because users want to know about other people’s experiences before deciding.
- Evocative copy: There is lots of competition with many operators promoting holidays to the same sort of places, so a good use of words can be persuasive.
- Big Data: Customer experience is enhanced because big data analysis predicts purchase behavior based on patterns, trends, and associations. Using big data analysis, travel industries can improve the user experience, set up the pricing model, redesign loyalty programs, and develop new marketing techniques.
- Easy booking system: Ensure that your website is integrated with a property management system (PMS) to get updated information on a destination, check-in and check-out dates, and contact information, among other travel information. Also, it is recommended that customers be provided with an option to pay using a credit card, debit card, PayPal, or net banking.
- Pricing transparency (with little to no additional charges): There are many reasons why the bounce rate rises, but one of them is the additional costs and taxes. Thus, if you aim to make more money, the given pricing table has to be intuitive and easily understandable so that the target audience can select the appropriate option.
- Favorites list: Many customers are casual drivers who need a specific place to get to. Hence, it is a handy tool that enables users to recall the places that interested them in the search.
Why Is It Worth Building an Online Travel Agency from Scratch?
Developing a template for your travel agency is more flexible and easily scalable, and it allows you to add and exclude options as per your needs. Having a custom-built website means that you can configure the way that users interact with the site to your requirements and also add specific extras such as AI-based chatbots, recommendations about travel, or complex analytics.
Moreover, custom web design can evolve as your business expands with relative ease and accommodate new services and higher traffic. Custom development is time-consuming and costly initially, but it results in optimized features and active user involvement.
Conclusion
Building a travel agency website that will convert visitors into buyers entails several considerations. Follow these guidelines when selecting the domain: make the site as search engine friendly as possible, include the necessary features, and think of the visitors as customers. You will create a site that will attract people and convert them into clients.
Are you interested in creating a successful travel agency website? Use AlgoSaga professional web design services for that. As specialists in conversion-oriented website design, we have what it takes to provide the best for your travel agency. Starting from the concept and ending with SEO and responsiveness, AlgoSaga offers the best solution for travel agencies that need to succeed online.