Good hotel websites don't look alike, but they follow the same principles. Behind sites that look very different, there are surprisingly similar decisions.

In this article, we've gathered the common traits of hotel sites we've seen work well. These aren't designs to copy — they're principles to apply.

Good sites don't crowd their landing screen. There's one strong visual, one short sentence explaining what the property is, and a single call-to-action button.

Weak sites, on the other hand, pile scrolling text, overlapping boxes and three or four competing buttons onto the first screen. When visitors don't understand what to do, they do nothing.

The top menu on successful hotel sites usually doesn't exceed five to seven items: rooms, property, gallery, location, contact and booking. Not everything gets added to the menu — secondary information sits on subpages or in the footer.

Menu labels are also chosen from familiar words, not creative ones. Visitors should know where to click without having to think about it.

On good sites, photos are professional but not exaggerated. A room isn't shown from a single angle — it's shown together with the bathroom, the view from the window, and the overall layout. Guests know exactly what they'll find.

This is as much a matter of honesty as it is a business decision: images that inflate expectations bring bookings short-term, but negative reviews and refund requests long-term.

No matter which page you're on, the booking button stays visible. On mobile, it usually sits as a fixed bar at the bottom of the screen.

The booking step also has no surprises: extra fees, cancellation terms and payment methods are stated upfront. Surprises that appear at the last step are the single biggest reason a near-complete booking gets abandoned.

Good sites load fast because their images are optimized for the web. Their content also stays current: a closed restaurant isn't still listed, and last season's promotion isn't still sitting on the homepage.

Being up to date signals to visitors that the property is actively run. A site that looks abandoned leaves a negative impression of the property itself.