Business in the Mount Washington Valley and the Lakes Region runs on seasons. Ski season, mud season, summer on the lakes and fall foliage each bring different visitors with different questions, and most of them start on their phones. Here’s a checklist I recommend to local businesses before each busy season.
Before Every Season
- Update your hours on your website and your Google Business Profile, including holiday and off-season hours.
- Refresh your homepage with seasonal photos and a clear message about what’s happening now.
- Check your booking, reservation and contact forms. Submit a test and make sure the email arrives.
- Update pricing, menus, rates and packages. Outdated prices frustrate customers fast.
- Test your site on your phone. Can someone find your address, hours and how to book in a few seconds?
Winter
- Add a clear weather and closures notice that’s easy to update.
- Promote ski-season packages, gift cards and indoor activities.
- Make sure directions and parking information are current.
Spring and Mud Season
- Use the quieter months for website updates, redesigns and speed improvements.
- Publish a blog post or news update about what’s new for summer.
- Review your Google Analytics to see what visitors looked for last year.
Summer
- Feature lake, hiking and family activities and local events.
- Make online booking and contact options easy to find on every page.
- Keep event listings current and remove past events.
Fall Foliage
- Update photos and promote foliage-season specials early, since visitors plan ahead.
- Expect traffic spikes: make sure your hosting and site speed can handle them.
- Ask happy summer and fall customers for Google reviews.
All Year
- Keep WordPress, plugins and PHP updated and backed up.
- Keep your name, address and phone number consistent everywhere online.
- Post regularly about local events, seasonal services and community news.
I live and work in Chocorua and build websites for businesses throughout the Mount Washington Valley. If you’d like help getting your site ready for the season, I’m happy to take a look.
Rich Collins is the owner and lead developer of Thirst Productions, a WordPress web design, hosting and support business based in Chocorua, New Hampshire. Email me with questions about your website.