Camping is one of the most popular vacation activities in the United States and is a great choice for outdoor recreation. It’s less expensive than staying in a hotel, offers family-friendly activities, and lets you experience the great outdoors 24/7. However, a good campsite layout design is imperative to running a successful campground and one that visitors will want to return to again and again. And in today’s digital age, you’re also going to need a compelling campground website design that’s easy to find in local searches that’s informative and well organized. Hopefully with both of these things, you’ll be able to provide a good camping experience to both experienced campers and amateurs, who will want to keep coming back.
What Do I Need to Know About Campsite Layout Design?
Many campsites are designed in a loop fashion for easy drive through and pull off access. You’ll probably need between 125-200 lots allotted for camping space and RV sites to break even, and many campsites now offer cabins for those who don’t fancy staying in a tent or who don’t own an RV. Keeping one entrance and exit will ensure that you know who’s entered your campsite and that people can come in and leave in an orderly fashion.
Necessary buildings to include in your campsite layout design are an entrance control station, a double sewage dump station, a maintenance complex, and bathrooms, showers, and toilets. There should be at least two of each, though more is always better, if you can safely manage the waste, especially for the peak of camping season.
You should also keep camping use and day/recreation use separate when drawing up your campsite layout design, so make sure recreation amenities stay outside the camp loop. Family campsites and seasonal campsites also ought to stay separate, so you’ll probably want four loops (at the minimum) to keep things sectioned off.
Try to give everyone equal access to local attractions like bodies of water or park areas and think about campsites you’ve visited. What designs functioned best? What was frustrating to you during your stay? How do you want your campsite layout design to function?
You’ll certainly need outside help from several different parties, including (but not limited to) managers, professional planners, engineers, maintenance staff, guests, and people with disabilities to make the most effective campground possible. Try to have an order to construction that makes sense. For example, amenities should go in first. Don’t be afraid to draw up a few alternate plans. It’s always good to have back-up plans.
What Should I Keep In Mind With My Website?
Focusing on your SEO (search engine optimization) is key, since SEO drives three-quarters of all search traffic. The better your SEO, the more likely it is that you’ll pop up on the first page of search results. Since most people rarely scroll past the first page of results, it means your website will get more exposure. In 2013, data showed that the first organic search result (that is, one not advertised) got over 33% of clicks.
You should also make sure your website is optimized. Some campers may head out for a certain location, but not make a specific reservation ahead of time. They might just drive until they get tired and then search on their phones for the nearest campsite. About 30% of mobile searches have to do with a specific location, and over half of smartphone users found a new company or product when they did a mobile search, according to Google’s 2015 data. Let one of those new companies be yours! If websites aren’t mobile-friendly, most people will get impatient and go elsewhere, which means you lose that business.
Having reviews and social media accounts linked to your website can also help people connect with you. Between 80-90% of customers will look at online reviews before they buy, so having positive reviews from happy campers can often help nudge new visitors into making a reservation at your campground.
Run a successful campsite when you consider both your campground layout and how you’re presenting yourself online.