Full Transcript
Lauren: Okay, so picture this... a family is driving down Highway 1, they pass Morro Bay, the kids are bored, and dad pulls over and searches "kayak rental near me" on his phone. How long does he have before he gives up and just keeps driving?
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 that's a great scenario because this is literally happening thousands of times a week in SLO County. Wine tours in Paso, surf lessons in Pismo, whale watching in Avila. And the answer is... about 3 seconds.
Lauren: Wait, 3 seconds? That's it?
Honor: Yeah... 53 percent of mobile visitors will leave your website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Not 10 seconds, not 30 seconds. Three.
Lauren: Oh! So half your customers are gone before they even see what you offer.
Honor: Exactly. And here's the thing... this isn't some future trend we need to prepare for. 73 percent of travelers now prefer to book local experiences on their phones. Not at home on a computer, but right there in the moment.
Lauren: So that dad at the vista point isn't the exception... he's the norm.
Honor: He's the norm. And it gets more intense... 72 percent of mobile travel bookings happen within 48 hours of the search. People aren't planning ahead anymore. They're deciding on the spot.
Lauren: That's like... having a taco truck but the window takes 5 seconds to open. By the time you're ready to take an order, the hungry tourist is already at the burrito place down the street.
Honor: Yes! And the difference is brutal. Websites that load in 1 second have conversion rates two and a half times higher than sites loading in 5 seconds. Same business, same prices, same kayaks... but way fewer bookings if you're slow.
Lauren: So why are so many tourism websites slow? Like, what's making them chug?
Honor: Usually it's three things... oversized photos that haven't been compressed, clunky booking widgets that weren't designed for mobile, and website builders that prioritize fancy animations over speed.
Lauren: So all the pretty stuff is actually hurting them.
Honor: It can. Your competitor might have a boring website, but if it loads fast on someone's phone while they're at a vista point with spotty reception... they get the booking. You don't.
Lauren: That's so frustrating. You could have the best kayak tour on the Central Coast and lose to someone with a faster website.
Honor: That's exactly what happens. And the good news is... this is actually fixable. Most of your competition has mediocre mobile experiences. So if you get yours right, you win a disproportionate share of those on-the-spot bookings.
Lauren: Okay, so what should someone do right now if they run a tour company or rental business?
Honor: Pull out your phone. Visit your own website. Time how long it takes to see something useful, find your main service, see pricing, and either start a booking or find your phone number. If any of that takes more than 5 seconds... you're losing customers.
Lauren: So the moral of the story is... test your website on your phone, because that's how your customers are seeing it. And if it's slow or confusing... fix it before peak season hits.
Honor: Exactly. You get one shot at summer. Don't waste it on a broken mobile experience.
Lauren: And if you want a website that's already built for mobile tourists... give YouGrow a call!
Honor: Yeah, we build sites specifically for SLO County tourism businesses. They load in 1 to 2 seconds on mobile. Booking integrations that actually work on phone screens. 79 dollars a month, month-to-month, no upfront costs. Sites go live in days. And when something needs updating, you just email us... we handle it. I'm right here in Arroyo Grande.
Lauren: Love it. Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.