Full Transcript
Lauren: So I was just at the Victorian Christmas Showcase in Paso Robles over the weekend. And I'm overhearing people at breakfast the next morning, like, planning which wineries to hit. And I'm thinking... how do they even decide? There are like, hundreds of them now.
Honor: Welcome to the 805 Web Minute with Lauren and Honor... We make interwebs and website stuff make sense... Let's get into it.
Honor: So here's the thing about Paso Robles wine country... there are over 250 wineries now. Back in 1983, there were 17. And two and a half million people visit every year.
Lauren: Wait, two and a half million?
Honor: Yeah. And during the holidays, wine sales spike 69 percent above average. So if you're a winery, this is the time people are choosing you... or not.
Lauren: Okay, so how do people actually pick which wineries to visit? Like, there's no way they're researching all 250.
Honor: They're not. Studies show 70 percent of visitors only consider five or fewer wineries when planning their trip. And 67 percent spend less than an hour researching total.
Lauren: Oh, so it's like... quick scrolling in the hotel room while drinking coffee.
Honor: Exactly. And here's the kicker... 87 percent use search engines to find wineries. And 78 percent will visit your website before they ever visit your tasting room.
Lauren: So the website is basically the audition.
Honor: It is the audition. And you have about... 50 milliseconds.
Lauren: 50 what now?
Honor: Milliseconds. That's how fast people form a first impression of a website. And 94 percent of that first impression is based purely on design.
Lauren: So they're judging your Cabernet by your fonts.
Honor: Basically, yes. And 75 percent of people judge a business's credibility based on how the website looks. So if your site looks like it was built in 2015... they assume your winery is stuck in 2015 too.
Lauren: That's brutal. It's like... showing up to a first date in sweatpants. Like, maybe you're a great person, but nobody's sticking around to find out.
Honor: Right. And it gets worse on mobile. Because where are people researching wineries?
Lauren: On their phones... in bed... at breakfast.
Honor: Exactly. And 53 percent of mobile users will leave if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load.
Lauren: Three seconds?!
Honor: Three seconds. Those beautiful high-resolution vineyard photos might look amazing... but if they're making your site slow, they're driving people away. And 88 percent of those people won't come back.
Lauren: So your gorgeous drone shots of the rolling hills are actually... losing you customers.
Honor: If they're not optimized, yes. Your beautiful photos could be the reason people pick the winery down the road instead.
Lauren: Okay, so what's the one thing a winery owner should do right now to check if they have a problem?
Honor: Pull out your phone. Go to your own website. Count to three. If it's not loaded by then... you have a problem.
Lauren: That's it? That's the test?
Honor: That's the test. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi. If you're still staring at a loading bar, so are your customers... except they're not waiting. They're moving on.
Lauren: So the moral of the story is... your website is your tasting room's front door. If it's slow or looks outdated, people just walk past to the winery next door. So test it on your phone, and if it fails... give YouGrow a call!
Honor: Yeah. We build fast-loading sites that work beautifully on phones. 79 dollars a month, no setup fee. Updates included, just call or email. And we're local, I'm in Arroyo Grande. Most sites launch in 3 to 7 days... so you could be ready before January tastings start.
Lauren: Love it. Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.