Business Website Advice

Where are you?  Near Cape Reigna?  Bluff?  Somewhere in between? I’ll show you some great examples of A+ sites that handles this problem.

Creative Ideas web design and marketing specialist, Jo Couchman, encourages her tourism website clients as well as others to use free Google Maps which she says is easy. Read Jo’s Post for step by step instruction along with a sample for her home area in Maraetai.   

Homepage map
Tourism sector websites need to show a map on the Homepage. Within the first 3 to 8 seconds of being on a website, the visitor wants to know…

 where the place is in the country?  Macro level location is important.  Is this north of Auckland or south of Canterbury airport?  Micro level maps are important for giving detailed directions within a city.

Holiday planning with map at hand
Accommodation or tourism activity providers take heed.  Visitors use the Internet to plan each valuable day of their holiday.  They come to your website needing to quickly see where you are in relation to an airport and other major attractions that bring tourists to your area.

Here’s two examples of homepage regional maps that work.   Pete’s Safari Tours  quickly showa vistors where in New Zealand they will be adventuring. Click on it and it takes you to the region. Good design work NZ Webpages.   Shown in a different spot,  Wharepuke  shows what area of the region is their backyard.

Macro location maps are meant to help people totally unfamiliar with the area. Label the nearest city with an internatinal airport. Then show them the detail from the main highway or landmark. 

Not only tourism businesses need maps.
If people ever ring you for directions, you need a map on your website.  All of these situations call for easy to use maps with distance, landmarks, parking. 

1. new client needs to find you for your first meeting
2. someone new to town
3. existing client hasn’t been to your new office
4. client has previously only talked with you on phone, now coming to see you.
5. you’re a new business start up

You tell me, when has a client asked for directions that could have been on your website?  Comment below, please share your experience.

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