A “Bastion” Website for Castello B&B
Published by Incomedia in Success stories · Thursday 20 Dec 2018
He was an electronics and telecommunications graduate working as a company electrician. Then the company closed, and Gian Marco Polonioli, born in Breno in 1990, decided to take over the family business from his retired mother: the "Castello" B&B in Cimbergo, northern Italy. The first step was to create a suitable website, so that he could better promote his business. Gian Marco didn't have any web experience, but he wanted to do it himself: that is how he became one of our incostars.
Here is his story.
Castello B&B's First Website
Gian Marco Polonioli discovered WebSite X5 thanks to a friend’s recommendation. His goal was to use the internet to better advertise the newly renovated B&B, including a gallery of beautiful, high-impact photographs. He decided to start by purchasing the Evolution version of the software, and mastered it easily. After just a few months, he published his B&B's first website.
Then, curious about the Professional software, he decided to try the demo. He took advantage of a sale to purchase it, then built Castello’s new site. He started with a template, which he modified as he pleased, keeping an eye on competitors’ websites.
“The first step was to advertise online: I wanted beautiful photos and a website, which is the most important thing.”
Growing Visibility
Beyond pretty pictures, Gian Marco wanted to do a little advertising for his B&B. That is why he decided to use AdWords, the online advertising service which places advertisements within Google’s search pages. He started out by teaching himself, then decided to take a specific course.
“I always monitor visits using Google’s website analytics tool.”
Linking advertising to key words brought his B&B more visibility: website traffic increased, as did reservation requests, most of which come from abroad. The majority of visits to Gian Marco’s site are made via smartphone, making WebSite X5’s “Call” button crucial: users can contact the B&B directly with just one click.
“90 percent of visits and many reservations are made over cell phones, not computers. That is why inserting the “call” button is crucial.”
Thanks to a large increase in foreign-language inquiries, Gian Marco also decided to create an English-language version of the website. With WebSite X5, creating pages in different languages is easy: just duplicate the page and proceed with the translation into the desired language. After translating his website in English, Gian Marco is now considering also making it available in German.
“I am satisfied because the website has good visibility. Thanks to my new web project, I've received many more requests, especially from abroad, and a lot of direct reservations.”
The Positive Aspects of Gian Marco’s Experience
Gian Marco explains that one of his favorite aspects of WebSite X5 is that once the license is purchased, you own the software and there are no other fees to pay.
In fact, you only need to purchase the software once to enjoy infinite possibilities for developing your projects.
“The best aspect compared to other tools that I've tried is that once you've paid the first time, WebSite X5 is all yours.”
Another aspect Gian Marco values is the ease of use, which allows him to modify each section independently. If he runs into problems, help is always available:
“I wanted to add a background image that would fill the entire homepage,” says Gian Marco.
“But I couldn’t get it right. So I contacted the support team and asked for help. They were very responsive, and we resolved the issue immediately.”
Gian Marco also appreciates the image bank available in WebSite X5, which allowed him to select his favorite pictures from among thousands of free images. For example, the image bank let Gian Marco quickly and efficiently customize his website for the Christmas season, without spending any money for additional photos.
Not Just a B&B
Gian Marco is so satisfied with WebSite X5 that he used it to make three more websites. One for his brother, who is a surveyor; one for a major DIY center (which would now like to create an e-commerce section); and the third for a bicycle rental service for tourists in Val Camonica.
Looking forward, Gian Marco is planning to use credits to purchase a 360° photo gallery and make his project even more visually appealing.
I did it myself. You can do it too.