Developing such website, is allowing me to have a better view on such things. This is where I will share more on the website content matter and I hope that this article will help you developing your own website. I am not applying any illustrative images because this is a unit article. There should only be text example.
Let’s start with the basics!
You should never copy-paste the information online to your website. This is what we call plagiarism and it’s also illegal. Yes, you read that right. Building the content of your website, you have to be creative and explore. There are standards which no one can escape and numbers like measures, dates and names where no one can skip. Rest of the text has to be from you.That’s why your parents sent you to school. Know how to write. Also, please try to use appropriate wording and grammar. Use professional language if your website is specialized. If it’s targeted to the general public, you can never use too professional terminology. Your website will be the local guide for those people. They have to understand the text.
Collect as much information, as possible but show enough. Your website is presentation but not through Power Point or Word. It’s online. Subject of your website can be anything - from selling to presenting a destination or monument. Many places are well known and subject to wide specter of analysis. There’s an ocean of information about them. Make sure your website has just the right dose of it. Generate as many rare facts, as possible but also present some familiar. People love does of known in order to relate with.
Remember to advise your resources. It’s sometimes impossible to use original text. Using quotes, we have to inform the visitors of our resources. We don’t have to use all the text, remember? Letting them know where this information comes from is allowing them to learn more. You don’t have to do that within the text. It’s not a must and sometimes multiple quotes look ridiculous with their resources all over the page. You can use a number and point resource under line at the end of the page. Just like in a book. Another cool option is to disclose a link to Resources page where your resource has same number or hyperlink to the same page … or to the section of the page.
Next stop - Pictures and photos. Every website developer will tell you that whenever using photos, you need as lighter images, as possible. Some countries have lower internet connection and images load around a year when they have very high resolution and weight (I am joking about the time frame but I am not joking about the connectivity). You may insist on the quality and that’s good. However, mind the time. Websites are informative, not a talent show.
Using presentation images, make sure that they are showing best possible picture of the place or product you are presenting. Take monuments, you can’t show the information table in front of the monument instead of the object. Try to have panoramic view and pictures of elements. It’s same with hotels - have the building but show your rooms. Use the space to show off a bit.
Contacts - Always leave them. You may not use the contacts of your website developers, if they don’t want that however, remember to leave your own. Be sure that users can reach you in a wink.
Last but not least important of our intro - Languages. Yes, people, your website has to be presented in the language of your country and at least one more international language. Many owners prefer using their birth language. That’s great. You have the freedom to do it. Remember that your website is available for the public. You will expect visitors from other countries too. The World Wide Web is World, it’s Wide and it’s a Web, remember? Google Translate does wonderful job indeed but users don’t always like it when text can’t be copied, it’s in a Slavic language and they use Chinese alphabet (figurative speaking). Your website could be popular someday. Be prepared. It can cost you money if you don’t know at least one more language but you’re paying for the website anyways. Be sure it has one.
Let’s continue to the website sections.
These can vary. Depending the subject, your website can have a large menu or an extremely small one. Key solution is to keep it compact. Your website developer will let you know how the mechanism work but they are technician in the I.T. area, not the subject of your website. Make sure you have an agreement before starting to attach the sections to links and ‘buttons’. Prepare your vision. This is a road map to your website. Try to have a presentation section, gallery, contact and resources (if needed). That’s the basics, that’s how it works, be creative with the rest. Multiple buttons on the page take too much space, time and can be confusing. Visible drop down or slide menus can be useful and look compact on the page. We are looking at a website, not the control panel of Voltron!
There’s a quick tip which will make your life way easier and it’s a smart solution. You are presenting information online. This does not make you explorers. Presentations are always best when information is three clicks away. If you don’t get to the desired information from the front page, in three clicks, better think of something easier.
Every website has a main page. You don’t have to be specific there. Greet your visitors or customers and tell them the basics. You have the About Us section but front page is about what the website is for. Quick addition - make sure front page does not block the rest of your website.
About Us section is about who you are - as an owner of the website. You can leave it for a desert but if you are presenting a hotel or travel company, make sure it’s close to the main page button. People need to know who are they booking with.
Product pages - I am calling it ‘product’ because this is where you have to inform your visitors what this whole thing is about, what’s going on and etc. Information on these pages has to be clear, understandable and well organized. Chaotic pictures or randomized text lines are hesitating. Best example I could give you for a well organized text, surprisingly or not, won’t be this article. You can check the official documents provided by your local government where the information will be under the top left-to-bottom right rule. Our mind seem to look at pages with information precisely this way. Our eyes are checking pages from top left, through the diagonal, to the bottom right part of the text. I am not sure if it’s same with some Arabic countries where writing is from right to left but if you, as a reader, are from such country, please feel free to share. I will be curious to know.
Use multiple pages or tabs, if you need. It’s not a must to present your product or subject at a single page. Your visitors have to know the details you’ ve prepared for them.
All images from those pages have to be at the same section of the text they illustrate. Your readers will be focused on the information and whenever clarifying with an image, make sure that the image is there. You have never had a school book with an article about bears with sun surface landscape images, right?
Moving on to the Gallery section. Here’s where many website owners manifest best images of their subject. If you are a hotel owner, make sure that you have every room type with clarification which room is that. it’s not only stupid to show one room only but I am sure that you have at least two booking options within the property. I have seen may travel pages with wonderful galleries and many with less attractive ones. Make sure that the images are well organized, properly categorized, always available to enlarge, clear enough, fair quality and most important - detailed. Travelers must know where in the world are they going. They want to be prepared. You can’t show them the pool without sunbeds if you have hem both. They have to know that sunbeds are there and the reason there are sunbeds (the pool, they are there because of the pool!). Yes, there are hotels making such mistakes. Working in travel has also thought me to advise the resource, the thing we are presenting with the image. There are travelers and travel agents who can’t figure the difference between apartment and studio. Yes, this is also true and yes, happens sometimes. Be specific. Leave the caption.
There’s one more part of your website you have to take care of. It’s the ’ honorable mentions’ part. I am the only one calling it like that, so far, I think. These are the Contacts and Suppliers sections. Sometimes directions like Maps and contact forms are provided as well. These are useful when you link them to interactive Google Maps hyperlink as well. No advertising but I have not seen a newly manufactured mobile devise without Maps. Your visitors have to know where will they be. It’s sometimes surprising to find our that you are in Egypt instead of Greece because you couldn’t or didn’t check. Another true story. Also, make sure the link, address, contacts and location share does work. It was a long time ago when I found out that sometimes, map and address can actually be different.
Once preparing the website desktop version, me sure that there’s an online adaptation and they are close to navigation style and equal of information. Don’t leave a function available for desktop only, if it can be moved to mobile as well. Travel has to be comfortable and reachable.
Now that, you have a clue and some ideas, go to the blueprints and research. 
Feel free to share if you have seen poor execution of a travel website, directions or images. If you have more ideas or questions, comments can be left below.