Websites trends in 2023

Each year, the internet evolves, promising new ways for us to interact with and leverage it. But it can be difficult to tell what new opportunities are simply hype and what are worth our time and investment. It’s especially difficult to know how these changes will impact hotel and restaurant websites.?

In this article, we share 10 web trends that, in 2023, can provide reliable growth and measurable benefits for your hospitality business from personalization, the return of the QR code, voice-based interfacing, eco-design, a mobile-first approach, and more– and no, we won’t mention the?metaverse!?

1. Personalization of experience

We've talked about the personalization of the guest experience using data for a number fo years now. There is really nothing better to create or strengthen your connection with your community, guests, and prospects.

Examples abound: Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, Booking.com, and Airbnb. All of these giants show you personalized content based on you and your browsing.

These brands use AI and machine learning to analyze their behavior and recommend relevant content in real time, focusing on things like location, demographics, and behavioral data. Think about Netflix and its smart recommendations that are based on your viewing history and location.?

How could this apply to hotels and restaurants? Today we can highly personalize content on a website based on guest data like location, gender, segment, or device. This improves your conversion rate and therefore your direct income generated by your website.

2. The return of the QR Code

Before COVID, QR codes were not widely used in Europe or the west, but the pandemic contributed to their popularity. Today, QR Codes are on restaurant tables for digital menus or in rooms for room directories.?

We integrate QR codes into all our web strategies today because it’s an easy link to the rest of your channels (your website, for instance.) Updating the Spa menu on your site can therefore simultaneously update it in your room directory, or vice versa.

Unfortunately, we still meet many hoteliers and restauranteurs that use PDFs of their menus or room service offerings. This doesn’t have all the benefits of a truly online menu but there are still opportunities here. In this case, you can:?

- Install tracking (to know exactly what your guests want).

- Generate immersive experiences (for example, launching a small video game for guests with children when they have scanned the QR Code).

- Do cross-selling, for example, offering a special offer for a spa booking (ideal for non-hotel guests who have lunch in your restaurant and have not yet thought of coming to your spa).

3. “Hey Google” but for your website

A voice-based interface with your website saves time by skipping text input and makes it easier to interact. It’s more accessible for people with motor or visual impairments, too. It’s also just the natural way we communicate!?

Add voice features to your website to allow users to interact with their voice, for example, with a voice chatbot. Design this experience with a voice-based approach in mind rather than a screen-based one, or a combination of the two.

4. Eco-design

The environmental impact of a website is becoming a major issue. It is therefore important to consider this in the optimization of your website in order to find a balance between the user experience, the project/business constraints, and the usage of resources. It is also an opportunity to put users at the center of services, by providing them with precise information about the environmental impacts of the technology you use.

Turn legal obligations into opportunities to build trust by communicating in a clear and educational way about the uses of personal data and cookies.?

Design and develop inclusive services, accessible to all, and adapted to different technical systems to avoid obsolescence.

A benchmark to measure the eco-index of your site is available here:?https://www.ecoindex.fr/

5. Mobile-first is no longer optional

There are over 7.1 billion mobile users worldwide in 2022 according to Statista and by 2025, 7.5 billion people are expected to own a smartphone. Devices will be more capable and versatile, giving users plenty of options. We must therefore focus on the mobile experience and adopt a responsive approach during the design.

Everything has become faster. Users expect sites and apps to load much faster, and the abundance of design elements significantly slows down the loading time.

Also, remember to think about your conversion funnel (aka your booking engine) which today remains one of the worse spots in terms of mobile booking experience. Check out alternative tools like?Namastay?or Selfbook if you want to increase it.

6. Storytelling has never been more important

This may seem obvious, but web storytelling is still very far from being mastered in the world of hospitality.

It is essential for the visitors on your website to connect with your messaging. This helps to shape a strong bond between you and your web visitors (in the same way that walking through the door of your establishment also creates this link).

The more a user knows a brand's full story, the more likely they are to trust and identify with the company. Tell stories and describe experiences that are emotional and immersive, that arouse curiosity and push the visitor to go further.

Linear progression allows discovering, page by page, or with each scroll, new details about the purpose of the brand, what it is trying to do, and how the user fits into the vision, the product, or the service.

7. Dark Mode

In 2023, almost all mobile applications will offer a dark design as an alternative. We are not only talking about a darker screen but also about the use of other colors: brown, dark green, dark blue, etc. This graphic design will apply not only to games and multimedia but also to other mobile applications (including instant messengers).

Why is the dark mode popular? It helps to better highlight individual details, it saves the charge of the mobile device, and it is more comfortable for reading.

The growing interest in dark mode is challenging the familiar interface of many sites and apps. In the years to come, it could well become an essential prerequisite in the eyes of Internet users.

8. A creative scrolling experience

Browsing a website by scrolling offers many opportunities to “surprise and delight” visitors, uncovering more and more elements, which can change in the background, move with the user, or immerse the user in the site experience.

What was once a passive way to move around a site has become an active and engaging experience that transports the user, creating a positive, imaginative, and immersive experience.

Try it for?yourself

9. Real-time video

In the hospitality industry, live video can be used in a variety of ways to enhance the guest experience. For example, hotels can use live video to show available rooms and hotel facilities to give guests a better idea of what to expect during their stay.

Restaurants can also use live video to show dishes on offer or to allow guests to see cooks in action in the kitchen. These can also be used to offer live tours of tourist attractions, amusement parks, and historical sites to give guests an idea of what to expect from their visit. This can help guests make a buying decision faster.

With the rise of Instagram Stories and also Real on TikTok, video communication has become a pressure point for many brands. Our advice: using “social media” content on your site is a real guarantee of authenticity for visitors to your site, so consider reusing your content across formats and channels and designing mini-films that reflect the image of your establishment.

10. Instant messengers

Instant messaging applications are communication tools that allow users to exchange messages in real-time. In the hotel and restaurant sector, these applications can be used to improve communication between guests and employees of the establishment.

Hotels can use instant messaging apps to provide real-time customer service, answer guest questions or provide information about rooms, rates, events, and more. Restaurants can use instant messaging applications to take reservations, make food suggestions, or manage take-out orders.

Here are some concrete examples of instant messaging:

- Addition of a WhatsApp button on the website: This allows users to chat in real-time with an employee of the establishment to obtain information or to ask questions.

- Integration of an online reservation system: Users can reserve a room or a table directly through a chatbot on the website.

- Added notification system: Users can receive push notifications for special offers or upcoming events.

- Integration of an online ordering service: Users can order dishes for home delivery or for take-out directly on the website.

Sébastien Felix

CEO & Founder

Influence Society