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Digital Experiences

Should you redesign your resort website over the winter?

Sep, 2017
5 mins

For most of our resort clients, summer seems like a logical time to start planning a new website for fall. The crowds have gone, and the slower summer season brings renewed energy and time to your marketing team. But this may not always be the case.

The reality is that the “off season” can create some major hurdles in redesigning or updating your website. These Hurdles can not only cause unwanted headaches, but can often put your fall launch date in jeopardy. In our experience of over ten years designing resort websites, we have noticed some major efficiencies in undertaking a new website during the winter months.

Key staff are available

 

Setting up time with each department to review details and requirements for their website content is hard enough. Throw in seasonal positions, summer vacations, and off-season brains and this task can become nearly impossible. Although operating season can seem like a busy time to gather all of your key staff, it is often the best option. 

 

Real time review of current site activity and possibility for user testing on existing site

Do you have a web strategy that you need validated by a test group or your current website users? User testing can be very effective in determining how users will best react with your content. Capturing this user feedback or testing is most effective when your general users are in ski mode, and not when they have summer vacation on their mind. 

Technical staff and instruments are available for weather reporting functionality review and testing

We all know that snow reports and weather conditions are some of the most viewed components of your resort’s website. There is nothing worse than planning a new website when you realize that your entire weather forecasting team has taken off for 3 months in the off season. Though it may be harder to get their time while they are actively forecasting your resorts weather, you can guarantee they will be available, and you will likely have access to real time weather data to test live data feeds and webcams. 

Information of site issues and requirements are fresh and can be validated 

Determining requirements for your new website while you are dealing with the issues of your current site every day can make the task substantially easier. Chances are, that by the time July rolls around, you won’t remember several minute details that caused you to redesign your website in the first place. Instead of starting a list of pieces you would like to see addressed in a new design, why not incorporate them directly into the requirements while they are fresh in your mind. 

Missing assets can be identified and captured in-season

Fresh content can make or break the feel of a new website. There is nothing worse than getting around to uploading the new header image of your ski school website, to realize that you have an out of date image library that will seriously detract from the feel of the site. If you are able to come to this realization in while developing your website in February, you will still have time to organize a photo shoot and collect these assets.