There are countless website solutions out there these days. You could go the SaaS route and pay a monthly subscription for your website, or you can hire an agency to make a website for your hotel. Both have their pros and cons. There are some hoteliers, however, who want to make, host, and publish their own websites by hand. And for them, there is no argument–the best tool to use is WordPress.
WordPress is a content management system for experts and novices alike. Publishing your own website with WordPress gives you absolute control over its technology and content. It also makes you responsible for its security and performance. You’ll have greater freedom, and you’ll be able to get the exact look and function that you want. But you’ll also have to spend time updating plugins, improving website load speed, and updating your website over time as new technology appears. Before you begin, you must understand that you’re getting yourself into a fun and rewarding project that will take up some of your time.
With this 7-step guide, I will show you how to make a basic but fully-functional hotel website with WordPress. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, then I suggest purchasing a website subscription. But, if you like to fiddle with things and learn as you go, keep reading.
A website hosting provider is a company that lends you a computer (or a “cloud” of connected computers) where your website is installed. You need to choose a hosting provider before you begin. This is the home of your website. The host is responsible for keeping your website online 24/7, so it is important to choose a reliable host.
There are many options out there. For WordPress, there are two that I recommend:
Bluehost is an affordable web host with great customer service. They give you a server (which is the computer where your website will live), and you can do nearly anything you want with it. Their 24/7 customer service is excellent, and has helped me out of many jams in the past. Bluehost is what I use for my websites.
WP Engine has marketed itself as the host of choice for WordPress users for years. However, in my personal experience, they have mediocre customer service. They also have many rules in place that prevent you from using the plugins and themes you want. These rules are in place to protect your server, so they say, but I find them burdensome.
Both are good options, but I prefer Bluehost for the lower price point and the greater freedom.
A domain name is the web address where your website will be found. For example, www.cloudbeds.com is the domain name of Cloudbeds. If you already have a website, then you already have a domain name. You can use it, or purchase a new one.
You can purchase a new domain name through your hosting provider, which is likely also a registrar. Use these SEO guidelines when choosing a new domain name for your hotel’s website:
Regardless of the host you choose, installing WordPress is easy. WordPress is basically the engine used to run your website. Once you install WordPress, you can build your website on top of it.
You can do this yourself. I recorded a short 10-minute guide which you can watch below or here.
Or, if you don’t want to do it yourself, call your hosting provider. They will gladly do it for you.
After you install WordPress, your host will give you a username and password for your new website. They will also give you a URL where you can log in. If you don’t have these things, call your web host. They will help you find them or reset them.
Once you log in, you will appear at your website’s dashboard. There is much you can do here, and it is easy to get overwhelmed. Let’s start by installing your theme. In the left-hand sidebar, hover over “Appearance” and click “Themes”.
A theme gives your website its look and feel. There are many great themes you can choose for your hotel website–and most are free! When choosing a theme, bear in mind the following:
To find a theme, go to Appearance > Themes. Then, click the “Add Theme” button at the top of the page. This brings you to WordPress’ theme gallery. Use the search field to search for hotel or bed and breakfast inspired themes.
You can also purchase themes from 3rd-party developers online. Be careful when shopping for themes online. Many “free” themes you can find on Google come with malware or built-in “backdoors”. Only download your WordPress themes from trusted marketplaces. These include themeforest.net, the Mojo Marketplace, Templatic, and WordPress.org itself.
This is the most important step in building your website. The point of your website is to increase direct bookings, and you can’t do that without a booking engine. Install a hotel booking engine plugin. Plugins give your website extra functionality that does not come native with WordPress. Whichever booking engine WordPress plugin you choose, make sure that the booking engine is mobile responsive and commission-free.
Plugins give your website added functionality. The following are some free plugins I recommend for every hotel website. From your dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New and use the search box to search for and install these plugins:
WordPress is an excellent, mostly free solution for hosting and crafting your own website. The process is time-consuming and can be complicated, especially for hoteliers who have never built websites before. However, if you can do it, creating your own WordPress website gives you complete control over your hotel brand and how the public sees it. It is an excellent option for hoteliers who want to put in the extra effort to polish their hotel brand’s web presence.
Do you have any questions about WordPress? Post them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them.
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