Why Your Travel Blog Needs a Professional Website?

Did you know that there are over 600 Million blogs in the world today?

While the vast majority are dedicated to niche personal interests, several of the most popular ones are travel blogs!

But here’s the catch: the average travel blogger will stop posting after about 18 months!

We know what you’re thinking: how can you stand out from the crowd and grow your travel blog to thousands of followers?

Well, we’ve got just the right solution for you: building a professional website is the best way to transform your travel blog from a hobby to a full-time, money-generating activity!

In this blog, we’re going to cover the A-Z of developing a professional website for your travel blog.

Read on and find out how you can become the master of your destiny powered by cutting-edge travel blogging website development.

Why Should You Invest in Creating a Professional Website for Your Travel Blog? 

As we have discussed, the internet is a repository of 600M+ blogs from authors around the world. 

However, most are hosted on Tumblr or WordPress. Less than 5% of blogs use professional websites!

So, while others view a professional website as a costly investment, we view it as an opportunity to position yourself as a trailblazer!

As a veteran CMS Development Company that has worked with some of the biggest travel companies in the world, here’s why we think a professional travel blog can benefit you massively:

1. Social Media Isn’t Enough

If you’re a travel blogger or aspiring to become one, you might have come across attractive, visually appealing Instagram pages or TikTok accounts of travel bloggers.

But, if you want to take your blogging for travelers to the next level, social media might not be enough!

While social media engagement is a great way to interact with users, share experiences, and even monetize content, it also has a glass ceiling on your growth.

For one, there are millions of Instagram and TikTok users you’re competing with. Moreover, once you’ve grown to a few thousand followers, they might be looking for more detailed content to follow your journey and get insights into new travel experiences.

In our experience, the best way to complement your social media presence is through a professional website!

2. Control Over Interface and Experience

As a travel blogger, posting on social media or using a template-based blog is like fighting with one arm behind your back.

You have no control over how your users interact with your posts. You’re limited by the templates of WordPress or the interface of a social media platform.

However, with a professional website, you can take advantage of simple yet elegant visuals and content types to create immersive and visually appealing user experiences.

In short, a professional travel blog puts you in charge of every aspect of how users view and engage your content. 

3. Monetization

After all is said and done, you might be wondering, “How to make money from travel blogging?”

You can put out the most vivid content, but your blog will only become sustainable with sustainable monetization opportunities. 

While you can definitely leverage affiliate marketing and monetize social media content, a professional website will only strengthen your portfolio.

Additionally, let’s say a travel company, hotel or brand is considering whether they should partner with you. In such a scenario, a professional website will inspire confidence in your ability to deliver consistent content over long periods of time.

To put it simply, your professional travel blog is the best way to advertise your product, i.e., your ability to effectively convey your travel experiences.

4. Visibility and Scalability

An increasing number of Americans are looking to travel more every year. This also means they’ll be looking for travel bloggers like you to help them discover new destinations and experiences.

And how will they search for your content? In most cases, they’ll do a quick Google search rather than hop on Instagram or TikTok.

As you may already know, the best way to boost visibility on the internet is through an SEO-friendly, mobile-friendly website!

As your travel blog grows in scale, you’ll also need the tools for the job. And a professional website is indispensable if you want to generate organic traffic.

5. Better Engagement

At the end of the day, travel blogging comes down to one word: engagement.

How many people are viewing your posts? 

For how long are they reading your content? 

What do they like the most about your blogging? 

What can you do to improve the user experience?

All of these questions and possibilities have one thing in common: they require you to have a professional website. 

Of course, it’s true that you can track your analytics for your social media page or WordPress blog. But, having a website gives you more freedom and options to take data-driven decisions. 

Having a website is like having a window into your readers' minds. It’ll help you generate a list of things you can do to grow as a travel blogger.

Must-Have Features for Professional Travel Blogs

The best travel blogs rise to the top because they can create memorable, smooth user experiences. They lead the users quickly and directly to the content they want to see.

To help you visualize what your website should look like, we thought we’d compile a list of some must-have features to help you. 

Let’s check them out!

1. Visual Editing

Never forget one thing: before anyone else, your travel blog is yours!

We don’t simply mean that you decide what happens there and how it appears. 

Rather, we’re talking about how you can manipulate the blog to suit your requirements. After all, all of us have different strengths through which we can grow our blogs:

Perhaps you’re a photographer who paints a picture of different locations. 

Or maybe you’re a wordsmith who can tell a masterful story of every place you visit. 

Of course, you could also be a versatile Vlogger with a knack for bringing every place you visit alive in the eyes of your viewers…

So, the first thing you need is a website you can build to highlight your skills and strengths. And for that, what you need is a visual editor. 

A visual editor is like a drag-and-drop interface that lets you design your blog through blocks of content. 

Whether it’s a small post, a photo story, or a comprehensive video review, you should be able to create a website that lets you put your best content front and center for your viewers.

2. Interactive Maps

There are two types of people who visit and read travel blogs:

First, casual readers who may enjoy learning from your travels to expand their worldview.

Second, a large section who will want to find out whether they can go to the places about which they read.

To ensure that this latter segment of users can imagine themselves in the places you’re describing, you must provide them with an interactive map that lets them visualize their journey. 

Integrating a map will also ensure that the viewers stay on your website longer as they don’t have to switch to another website to understand how far or near their next destination is.

3. Multilingual Content Delivery

One way to expand your following is to expand into markets of emerging travelers. 

With international travel on the rise, and many travelers looking to expand their horizons, reaching niche audiences could be a great way to increase your footprint. 

One way to do this is by deploying multilingual content to reach people in their own language. Of course, visitors could translate web pages for themselves. 

However, some of the best and free-to-use Content Management Systems offer a built-in option to show your content in multiple languages. This feature automatically detects your users' locations to give them a tailored viewing experience. 

4. Media Gallery

When it comes to travel blogging, the maxim “Pics or it didn’t happen,” reigns supreme. 

While words can convey the spirit of your experience, pictures and videos can help you tell unique, visually attractive stories. 

Moreover, studies suggest that today’s audiences are better adapted to visual learning rather than textual inference.

For this reason, we highly recommend that you include a media gallery. Seeing you visit the places you’re describing will show the users that they can trust you to authentically convey the essence of new destinations.

5. Newsletter Subscription

In our experience, the best way to build a sustainable following is to have them subscribe to your newsletter.

A newsletter helps you form a lasting relationship with your readers. When they see your consistency in talking about your travel experiences, it will help you gain their loyalty. 

Even if they may not read every newsletter you send out, they’ll know that whenever they need recommendations for a travel destination, you’re just a click away…

How To Create a Professional Travel Blog Website?

Okay, so you’re just about convinced that building a professional website could really help you transform your travel blog into a full-time business. 

So, how should you go about it?

As an experienced web app development company , we’ve got three suggestions for you:

1. Hire a Developer

The tried-and-tested method for travel blogging website development is to hire a programmer and work with them to create a website that meets your requirements. 

You can easily get an expert developer from an experienced web development agency like Green Apex.

How Long Will It Take?

An experienced programmer can help you build your website in about a month or two. However, the exact time will depend on the features you want to include. 

Pros of Hiring a Developer:

• One-to-one coordination

• You share a personal relationship with the developer

• You can build a customized website from scratch

Cons of Hiring a Developer:

• Long development timeline since you’re developing an entirely new website

• Creating a website from scratch might be expensive

• You can’t make urgent or immediate changes to your website

We suggest that you hire a developer only if you have a very specific vision and technical requirements for your website.

2. Try Website Builders

The second option is to explore a website builder service like Wix, Squarespace or WordPress.

Such websites offer you templates you can personalize to fit your requirements. They also help you host your website through their internal cloud-based infrastructure.

How Long Will It Take?

Depending on all the features you want to integrate, building a website through a website builder might take around one or two weeks. 

Pros of Website Builders:

• Very short development timeline as you have access to ready-made templates.

• Drag-and-drop editor that is accessible even if you don’t have technical expertise.

• Zero cost for backend development: you only have to pay for hosting services.

Cons of Website Builders:

• You have limited control over the user experience and can’t build custom templates.

• You only get a few tools for Search Engine Optimization, which could limit your visibility.

• Template-based websites might struggle to cope with increased traffic.

3. Use a CMS Platform

The third, and in our opinion, the best way to build a professional website for any travel blogger is to use a Content Management System.

A CMS platform is similar to a website builder, but it stands out because it combines the freedom of customized development with the ease of visual editing. 

While a website builder gives you access to templates, a CMS allows you to build your own templates based on blocks of content. Once built, you can use them anywhere!

How Long Will It Take?

On average, a good headless CMS development company can help you build a fully functional professional website in two to four weeks. However, the exact timeline depends on the kind of features you want to deploy on your site.

Pros of a CMS Platform:

• Limitless customization and complete control over user experience.

• Multilingual content delivery, SEO options, and robust security infrastructure.

• Easily scalable due to a cloud-based approach to hosting.

Cons of a CMS Platform:

• You might need to engage a CMS development company to take full advantage of CMS capabilities.

• Slightly longer development timeline compared to website builder tools.

If you’re not sure which alternative is best for you, why not connect with us? We’ll hold a no-commitment brainstorming session with you to understand your requirements and present you with the best options to help you build your website.

Which Is the Best CMS for a Professional Travel Blog?

Custom cms solutions are really worth the investment, especially if you’re in it for the long haul. And if you’re wondering which CMS platform is right for you, we’ve got some exciting options for you to choose from:

1. Strapi: Versatile, highly scalable and increasingly popular CMS. Recommended for Multilingual Content Management & delivery and ease of use. 

2. Prismic: Known for its “Slice-based approach” to website development, Prismic offers you a very good visual editor for your website.

3. Sanity.io: Sanity gives you access to a “Studio” for editing your content and a “Content Lake” through which you can build a repository of your content.

4. Contentful: Using “Composable Content,” Contentful lets you build simple yet visually stunning websites for your travel blog. 

5. Kontent.AI: True to its name, Kontent.AI leverages the power of artificial intelligence to deliver generative content, security and real-time collaboration. 

Build a Travel Blog Worth the Name…with Green Apex

Travel blogging is not easy: it requires days of sleepless nights and weeks of daydreaming.

But we know that your passion knows no bounds: it can turn the distant aspirations of a day past into a reality of the day to come…

All you need is the right tech partner to help you create a roadmap to travel blogging success.

At Green Apex, we specialize in creating tailored solutions for your development needs. We have worked extensively with a range of travel and travel-adjacent enterprises to create powerful websites for unforgettable user experiences.

And we’re excited to share our insights and services with you, whether you’re a digital nomad, a gifted storyteller, or a classic travel enthusiast.

We also understand that budget might be a concern. That’s why we offer flexible engagement models, so you can focus on doing what matters most: traveling and telling stories that people truly appreciate!

Connect with us to explore how you can grow your travel blog from zero to one and one to infinity with a professional website…exciting possibilities await!