How to Build a Travel Search Engine Website

A website with a travel search engine allows users to search for the best deals on vacation packages, hotels, resorts, plane and train tickets, cruises and more. If you would like to build a website with a travel search engine you will need to make it stand out from the competition. This requires attention to detail and pages that are visually appealing, easy to navigate and full of useful content.

Instructions

1

Create a website. This can be done using a website builder if you don't know how to build one from scratch. Many website hosts provide free website builders, including Bravenet, Webs and Yola. When choosing a domain name, think of something catchy that will be easy to remember. Domain names cost around $10 to $20 per year.

2

Design your website. If you are using a website builder you will be walked through this process. Design elements include page layouts, themes, color palettes, graphics and page names. You want your website to be user friendly, so arrange your pages and content in a logical, easy-to-navigate order. Since this will be a travel website, try to include graphics that relate to travel -- such as maps, suitcases, compasses, airplanes, trains, etc.

3

Add a custom search engine provided by Google, or search for a similar online service. The Google Custom Search page requires you to sign in using your free Google email account. Once signed in, you will be asked to fill out a form to build your search engine. In addition to a name and description, you will need to type in the URL for each online page you would like to include in your search engine. Add any page from a reputable website that lists and updates travel deals on a regular basis. You will then need to decide if you want a free (ad-supported) or paid service. The last step is customizing your search engine's style, colors and fonts. Once completed, click "next" to generate your HTML code. Paste this code in your HTML document or code editor on the page you would like it to appear. Users will then be able to search for travel deals and view results, all from your website.

4

Add supporting content. A website with just a travel search engine is likely to be passed over for travel search sites that have additional features, such as hotel, resort, airline and cruise reviews, information on travel companies, travel advice, planning features, etc. To add more substance to your website, you can add a message board or some interactive "widgets," such as a world map or image viewer. Widgets are small website applications that can be placed on any of your web pages using HTML or JavaScript code snippets. If you are using a website builder, you can add the code to your code editor on the page you would like it to appear. Thousands of free widgets can be found on the following websites: Bravenet, Google Desktop Gadgets and Widgetbox.