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4. Upload Your Website’s Content
Once you’ve chosen your template, you can start filling your website with content. But what should you include? Think about your target audience’s needs and ask yourself whether these features will be useful to them.
I’ve listed some pointers below:
- About Us Page – Here you can add background information on your brand’s story and mission statement.
- Services – Showcase your services by creating a bookings page. You can include important details like location, pricing, and dates.
- Social media links – Already have a Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok account for your business? Add social media icons to your page so users on your website can access these profiles too.
- Automated chat box – You can’t be at your website 24/7, so it’s worth adding an automated chat box that can respond to messages. Oftentimes, these chat boxes will notify you when someone interacts with your website.
- Testimonials – Adding genuine reviews to your website builds trust. If previous customers show approval of your services, then more people will be inspired to book a service themselves. You could add customer quotes, star reviews, and even photos (always ask for permission first), or install an app that allows customers to upload their own reviews themselves.
- Privacy Policy – Comply with website regulations by adding a Privacy Policy to your website. It tells users exactly what you intend to do with their information.
- SEO targeted copy – When writing your website copy, ensure you’re targeting the appropriate keywords. For instance, if “nail art” is your unique selling point, then you need to make sure this keyword is in your website headings and service descriptions.
5. Install the Booking Integration
Depending on your website builder, there are different ways to add appointment functionalities to your page. Since we’ve mentioned Wix and Squarespace already, here’s how you can add bookings to both platforms.
Wix Bookings
Setting up Wix Bookings was easy – I went onto the app store and installed the tool in one click. Afterwards, Wix redirected me to my dashboard, where I could now access a new “catalog” section. Here, I was able to add new services onto my website, from private appointments to group sessions.
Once I had added my services, I could explore a myriad of other features. I could click on the “bookings calendar” tab to see my work schedule, set up and manage the work hours of staff members, and edit my default hours so customers know when I’m available each week. All of these features will help you manage your business effectively, so you can run each service without a hitch.
Acuity Scheduling
In contrast to Wix Bookings, Acuity Scheduling is already built into Squarespace. In other words, you don’t need to install an app to set it up. After I had chosen my template, I located the “Scheduling” tab from the left sidebar and began to fill in details such as my scheduling page URL and first appointment type.
I was taken through a straightforward, step-by-step process, beginning with naming my scheduling page to entering my availability for each week. All of the key features, such as appointment invoicing and client lists, are kept in one area of your website, so it’s really easy to organize and maintain your business over a long period of time.
Is There Anything Else I Should Set Up?
Before you dive into testing and publishing your website, double check to see if you also have these key features installed:
- Do you have payments enabled? If you’re offering paid services, you need a way to accept payments online. For instance, both Wix and Squarespace have their own all-in-one payment solution, letting you accept payments from major credit and debit card companies. Wix gives you the widest variety of payment options, with over 80 payment methods worldwide.
- Are you offering gift cards? If so, Wix Bookings lets you sell gift cards from your website. Customers can purchase custom amounts and send them to friends and family, enabling the recipient to book one of your services. Meanwhile, you can’t get gift cards with Squarespace, but you can offer special packages for clients. As an example, you could offer their fifth booking for free after four appointments.
6. Test and Publish Your Website
So you’ve spent hours putting your website together and it’s almost time to hit publish. But before you do, there’s one step you can’t avoid: testing your website. This will help you spot any website errors that could negatively impact users, and gives you time to smooth these problems out before going live.
These are some areas of your booking website to keep an eye on:
- Is your website slow? According to our website load time stats, 82% of consumers say that slow loading times impact their purchasing decisions. With this in mind, don’t forget to test your website’s loading times. You don’t want a customer to feel frustrated and close your bookings page! You can help speed up your website by optimizing images. To achieve this, you’ll need to find the sweet spot between lower file sizes and high-quality imagery, so feel free to experiment with image compressing tools before hitting publish.
- Are your pages mobile optimized? With a third of customers preferring to book appointments via mobile, you need to make sure your pages are mobile optimized. If your website looks clunky on smartphones, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Keep your website mobile-friendly by removing any excess plugins or pop-ups that will clutter the screen, refining your design so it looks sophisticated on all devices, and using a free tool like mobiReady to see how well your website performs on mobile.
- Does your bookings system work? Remember to test your bookings system. After all, there’s no point in setting up a booking website if visitors can’t book your services in the first place! When testing this feature, make sure all dates and prices are accurate, your payment options work, and your booking system offers a seamless experience from start till finish.
Tested your website thoroughly? Go ahead and publish!
7. Market Your Website Online
Congratulations on publishing your booking website! However, you can’t just stop there. You’ll also need to use an array of marketing tools to grow your business’ online presence. Here are three tools that can help you promote your website:
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If there’s anything you should focus on, it has to be your website’s SEO. When you create website copy, you’ll need to target the right keywords to ensure your website appears on search engines.
The keywords you choose should be intuitive and relate back to your business. For instance, a private tutor offering singing lessons could target keywords such as “singing lessons,” “singing teacher,” “vocal coach,” or “voice lessons.”
To help you come up with these keywords, put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Think about what they’d need to search for on Google to find your service.
For additional help, you could also consult a free SEO tool. My personal favorite is Keyword Surfer, a free extension you can add to Google Chrome. When you enter a specific search query into Google, it’ll show you related keywords alongside their overall search volume – perfect for beginners and seasoned SEO professionals alike!
2. Email Marketing
Keep customers in the loop by setting up email marketing. For instance, if you’re in hospitality, you could set up hotel newsletters and notify your contacts about upcoming events, loyalty schemes, or even seasonal discount codes.
If you opt for either Wix and Squarespace, both of these platforms offer built-in email marketing tools. But if you’d prefer to use a third-party company, like Mailchimp, you could also download an email marketing integration from Wix or Squarespace’s app store.
3. Blogging
If you have plenty of expertise in your industry, consider adding a blogging platform to your booking page. This way, you can showcase your knowledge to your audience and build trust with new website visitors who come across your content.
Most website builders, like Wix and Squarespace, already come with blogging features, so it’s easy to integrate one with your website. With Wix, for instance, I could install the Wix Blog integration from the app store in one click. Once I added it to the site, I could access my blog page from the editor and start creating my first post.
If you opt for a blog, remember to enable commenting and social media sharing. Commenting lets your audience engage with your content and spark industry-related discussions, while social media sharing lets visitors share your work with audiences on other platforms (and who knows who will see it?)
How We Tested Booking Website Builders
This article is backed by hands-on website builder research. In fact, our in-house research team has compiled information from over 200 hours of data collection. These findings were split into six key criteria that were weighted based on what users are looking for most in a website builder:
- Website Features (30%)
- Design Functionality (25%)
- User Experience (17%)
- Help & Support (10%)
- Value for Money (10%)
- Customer Score (8%)
Since website features are most important to users, I delved into Wix and Squarespace’s respective booking features to show you what they offer and how they could accommodate your needs.
How To Make a Booking Website: Conclusion
After covering the seven easy steps, you’re now ready to create your own booking website. But if you’re still hesitant about getting stuck in, here’s why you should take the leap:
- You’ll save time by streamlining the booking process. You will no longer need to juggle multiple tasks at once, from managing reservations to constantly sharing your availability with clients.
- Customers can easily book your services. With all of your bookings kept in one place, customers won’t have difficulty booking and paying for a class, consultation, or service.
Keen to pick your website builder? Read our guide to the best website builders and open your booking website now.