Problem
Guests choosing a small villa want to see the rooms, understand where it is and ask about dates without friction. Many small villas rely on chat apps and scattered photos, so guests have to piece the picture together themselves.
Goal
Give guests a single place to see the villa, get oriented and send a clear enquiry with their dates and group size.
Plan
- Option: a full online booking engine. Decided against it: a small villa usually confirms stays personally, so an engine adds cost and upkeep.
- Option: a one-page site with a chat button. Decided against it: guests lose the room details and directions.
- Decision: a short site led by photography, with an enquiry form that asks for dates and guest count up front.
Build process
- Research & structure: Listed the questions villa guests ask first and turned them into a page map and copy.
- Design: Built a calm, photo-first look so the rooms and grounds do the selling, with the enquiry button always within reach.
- Build: Built the pages mobile-first with light, optimised images so they load quickly on a phone connection.
- Review: Checked every page across phone, tablet and desktop sizes and tightened copy that was hard to scan.
Final product
- A gallery that walks guests through each room and the grounds.
- Room details at a glance: who it suits and what is included.
- A location guide that explains how to get there and what is nearby.
- An enquiry form that asks for dates and number of guests, so the first reply can be a real answer.
Lessons
- A clear first screen matters more than extra features.
- When photos carry the story, image quality and loading speed have to be handled with care.
- Asking for dates up front saves a round of back-and-forth messages.