Five Sharp Resort Websites Built on a Completely Free CMS…WordPress

A while back I suggested that small ski areas should stop fretting over website costs and simply install WordPress (free) with one of a few themes ($70) on some basic hosting ($20/mo) and call it good. While I stand by that idea, I hope resorts realize the power of WordPress for larger, more robust sites [...]

Forget Adding New Resorts, This is My Favorite Part of Mountain Collective 2.0

Just minutes after learning Vail Resorts had added Eldora to the Epic Pass, a bomb dropped from the Mountain Collective crew as they announced not one, not two, but three new mountains who had joined the club: Mammoth, Whistler/Blackcomb, and Snowbird. A sure indication that something is wrong with my brain, that wasn’t the most [...]

Could One (Major) Change to Resort Websites Skyrocket Conversion Rates?

I’m a fan of simplicity. And by fan, I mean massive fan. Huge fan. Addict. And that’s where this idea started: simplicity. You see, the average resort website has 8.12 elements in their nav menu. I first published that number over two years ago, but ever since I’ve been wondering if there is a better [...]

Fall Website Showcase: the Best Designs from the Best Resort Designers

There are a lot of great designers in the ski industry. I’ve been accused of playing favorites (which is probably true, see below), but I also wanted to showcase some of the guys that work on all different scales of sites in all parts of the country. Joe Myers http://joe-art.com/ http://jacksonhole.com/ Origin http://www.origindesign.ca/ http://www.jaypeakresort.com/ Epop [...]

Dear Small Ski Areas, Don’t Fret Over Design, Just Use WordPress. Sincerely, Me

I’m all for a custom website design, perfectly tailored to your resorts needs. A good designer can help your brand’s online presence work for you 24/7, like having a not-so-freaky third arm growing out of…well…somewhere. Bad analogy. But my claim stands: custom design is awesome…for some. Because for you small resorts, no matter how much [...]

Park City’s New Website: an All-In Bet on the Power of Great Content

Park City Mountain Resort didn’t just make a new website, they made a bet. They didn’t bet on good snowmaking temps. They didn’t put money on a 6 year old destined to be the “next Shaun White”. There’s no over-under on their snowfall this year. Instead, they’ve gone all-in on content. Pick a Page, Any [...]

Dear Resort Marketers, the Website Fold is Not Dead – Here’s Why

As you’ve noticed, I am very much a website guy. I love optimization, analytics, blogging, and content. So, I must admit that I’m a bit sick of so many web people shouting from the rooftops that “the fold is dead!” The fold is that top part of your website that your visitors see without scrolling. [...]

Inntopia Launches Competitor to Liftopia’s Cloud Store: A Closer Look at “YieldView”

A couple weeks ago, Inntopia launched YieldView, a new estore platform that is fully integrated with their other products as well as RTP, Siriusware, and SKIDATA. With lower fees (5% for a typical setup and closer to 2% if it is bundled with other Inntopia products) my first inclination was that this was a direct [...]