How I Built a Custom Wix Website from Scratch for a Travel Brand

When DK Travel approached me to create a Custom Wix Website for their travel business, they only had a logo to use as inspiration for the overall design.

They needed a website that reflected their business aspirations and attracted their ideal client into their world.

The process I follow when designing a custom Wix website is to collect as much information as possible from the client to fully understand their needs, branding and website goals.

Here is a quick overview of what the web design process looks like:

1. I send a welcome pack that includes information gathering documents for each page they want on their website.

2. We have a call to discuss the information provided 

3. I start the design process

4. The initial design is sent to the client for feedback/adjustments

5. I implement the adjustments and send them to the client for final review.

Let’s take a closer look at the web design process for this travel brand:

One of my favourite ways to understand my clients’ vision for their website is to have them create a Pinterest board. It’s a fun exercise for both me and the client to start bringing the design to life.

By having my client “pin” some images to their mood board, I start to develop a clearer picture in my mind of how the website should look.

My client already had a logo they wanted to use and asked me to incorporate the existing colours into the design.

I love drawing inspiration from travel and nature, so seeing a hint of orange in the design immediately made me think of sunsets and sunrises, which I alluded to in the final design by using a gradient effect on some of the website sections.

The brief I was given for the website was high-end luxury. Using the existing colours in the logo and the Pinterest mood board, I decided that a darker palette would evoke a sense of luxury, complemented by creams, teal, and oranges hinted at in the logo.

If this is your first website design, I recommend you seek advice from a brand designer who can help you nail down the exact branding you want for your business.

Within the welcome pack, I include a section about my client’s ideal client/customer.

This is an important step in the strategy and planning of the website, as it helps me deliver a website tailored to that customer profile.

It’s no good designing a website that will appeal to teenagers if their ideal customer is a professional businesswoman.

Much like hiring a brand designer, a professional copywriter will elevate your website copy (the text on your site) by writing in a way that achieves your goals.

My client’s goal for their website was to showcase their package holiday offerings, highlight sales and offers, explain who they are and have a point of contact for sales enquiries.

The website journey is an important one; it’s my job to guide the customer through the website and onto the product pages so that they feel inspired to reach out and enquire about a holiday.

Important pages on a custom Wix website for a travel brand include the home page that will provide a general overview of the business, an about us page, a product/services page(s) and a contact page.

Other pages may include an FAQs page to build trust and authority, as well as a built-in booking page, depending on how the client wants to interact with the customer.

I design all of my custom Wix websites from scratch, starting with a blank document directly on the Wix platform.

You may find that some designers use specialised tools to create an outline of the website that they’ll send to their client for approval before getting into the design process.

Personally, I find that the old school approach is the best! A quick sketch of the layout, titles, images and blocks on a piece of paper is just as good as a fancy app!

(most likely a very unpopular opinion among some website designers, but hey, I’m not here to win a popularity contest, I’m here to design websites!)

By designing directly on the Wix platform, I can send a link to my client that allows them to see exactly how their website will appear once it’s published. I believe this is far better for someone who is maybe a bit scared of tech and needs to see exactly how their website will look to provide the necessary feedback.

Once I have received all adjustments, I complete the final design on the desktop preview before optimising the site for the mobile version.

Around 60% of global website traffic comes from mobile devices, underscoring the importance of having a mobile-optimised website, something that many DIY web designers forget.

This may include re-sizing images and text, or hiding some elements from the mobile version to create a cleaner-looking website experience.

Speaking of resizing images, I always check that the images provided for the website aren’t too large, as I don’t want to run the risk of a slow-running website.

A fun way of getting branded images for your site is to hire a photographer. You’ll know that you’ll receive superior image quality that won’t degrade when reducing file sizes to upload to the website.

Once the design and visuals have been completed, it’s on to the “behind the scenes” aspect of the website build, things such as email automations and SEO.

I include 1 email automation in my custom website packages, so for this client, I created a bespoke contact form and an automatic email to anyone who fills out the form.

I also include basic SEO principles, so for this client, I asked him what he wanted to be known for and if he were to be found on Google, what would his ideal client search for.

By asking those questions, I added several keywords to the website, wrote meta-descriptions for each page, checked the URL slugs and ensured all Alt text was completed for the images across the website.

Last, but definitely not least, is the testing of the website.

I preview the website in both desktop and mobile views to ensure that everything is placed correctly, all links are working, and the website runs smoothly.

I also send a test email to make sure the email automation is running correctly.

Now for the best part, handing over the website to the client, ready for launch!

The Key Takeaways of Building a Custom Wix Website for a Travel Brand

You must have a clear vision of your ideal client so I can design a website completely tailored to them.

Branding is important. Ideally, you would have consulted a brand designer to bring your ideas to life, but at the very minimum, you need a logo to place on your website.

A website for a travel brand will need engaging visuals and imagery to transport the customer to their dream destination.

Depending on your needs and your preferred ways of interacting with your customers, you should have booking systems and automations in place to create a seamless process.

If you are more hands-on, then a detailed contact form is needed to guide the customer with their enquiry and set you up for success from your first interaction.

The Result of a Custom Wix Website

“When I first approached Jane for help launching my travel website, I had no idea where to begin. From day one, she was brilliant — taking the time to understand my goals, the type of clients I wanted to attract, and how I wanted them to engage with my brand.”

A custom Wix website brings clarity to your business, a place to showcase your services and products and a point of contact for potential customers.

DK Travel now has a central place they own, away from social media, where they can promote their holiday packages, share promotions and develop their email marketing to retain customers in the long term.

If you still don’t have a custom website for your business, check out my services page for full details of what’s included and the investment.

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