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A seasonal pre-summer checklist for Lakes Region NH tourism and hospitality businesses — restaurants, inns, marinas, campgrounds, and shops. Covers the essential website updates to make before tourist season hits, written in a friendly, get-it-done tone.

Is Your Lakes Region Business Summer-Ready? The Website Checklist You Need Right Now

Summer in the Lakes Region doesn't sneak up on you — and then somehow, it does.

One day you're thinking "I should really update the website," and the next you're slammed through Labor Day and the site still has last year's hours on it. We've all been there.

The good news: getting your website summer-ready doesn't have to be a big project. Most of it is a few quick updates that take an hour, not a week. Here's your checklist.

Why This Actually Matters

Before we get into the list — a quick reminder of what's at stake.

Tourists plan ahead. Families searching for a place to stay in Meredith or a restaurant in Wolfeboro are doing that research days or weeks before they arrive. They're on their phones, comparing options, and making decisions fast. If your site has wrong hours, a broken reservation link, or photos from three seasons ago, you're losing that customer to someone whose site is up to date.

Your website is working for you (or against you) 24 hours a day. Make it work.

The Summer-Ready Website Checklist

1. Update Your Hours

This one sounds obvious, but it's the most commonly missed. If your summer hours are different from your off-season hours — update them everywhere:

Your website
Google Business Profile
Facebook
Any third-party directories you're listed on (TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.)

Nothing frustrates a tourist more than driving to your place and finding it closed. That frustration turns into a bad review.

2. Check Your Menu, Pricing, and Services

If you're a restaurant, is this summer's menu up? If you rent kayaks or boats, are this year's rates listed? If you're a B&B, are your room types and seasonal pricing accurate?

People make decisions based on what they see on your site. Outdated pricing causes awkward conversations. Outdated menus cause disappointed customers.

3. Test Your Booking and Reservation Links

Click every single button on your site that's supposed to do something. Reservation systems, booking widgets, contact forms, "Buy Now" buttons — all of it.

These break more often than you'd think. A plugin update can quietly kill a booking form. A third-party integration can expire. Test it yourself, or ask someone else to try it on their phone.

And when that contact form sends a message — where does it go? Make sure it's going to an inbox someone actually checks during the busy season.

4. Update Your Photos

Nothing says "we haven't touched this site in two years" like photos from a different season. If your restaurant has a beautiful summer patio, show it. If your marina looks incredible on a sunny July morning, that's what should be on your homepage.

You don't need a professional shoot (though it helps). A few good shots taken on a modern phone in good lighting go a long way. Summer photos sell summer experiences.

5. Add This Season's Events and Promotions

Are you running a summer special? Hosting a live music night? Participating in Laconia Motorcycle Week or the Lakes Region Fishing Derby? Put it on your website.

Events give people a reason to come specifically to your business, not just the area. They also give Google fresh content to index, which is a quiet SEO bonus.

6. Check Your Mobile Load Speed

Here's a stat worth keeping in mind: more than 60% of local searches happen on mobile. Tourists aren't at a desktop when they're deciding where to eat dinner — they're standing on a dock or sitting in a car.

If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load on a phone, a big chunk of those visitors leave before they ever see what you offer.

You can test your speed for free at PageSpeed Insights. If you're scoring below 50 on mobile, it's worth a conversation with your web team.

7. Verify Your SSL Certificate

Your website URL should start with https:// — not http://. That little "s" means your site has a security certificate.

If it's expired (they need to be renewed periodically), browsers will show visitors a scary "Not Secure" warning before they even see your site. Most people click away immediately. Check it now, before the season starts.

8. Update Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing people see — before they ever click through to your website. Make sure it's reflecting your summer reality:

Current hours
Fresh photos
Updated description if anything has changed
Correct phone number and website link

If you haven't posted anything to your GBP in a while, add a quick summer update post. It takes five minutes and signals to Google that your listing is active.

9. Make Sure Your Contact Info Is Easy to Find

This one is embarrassingly easy to overlook. On mobile, your phone number should be visible without scrolling, and tapping it should immediately offer to call you.

Your address should be on every page (typically in the footer) and linked to Google Maps so people can get directions with one tap.

Don't make anyone hunt for how to reach you. If it takes more than 5 seconds to find your phone number, that's 5 seconds too many.

10. Read Your Own Website Like a Stranger Would

Set aside five minutes and go through your website as if you've never seen it before. Ask yourself:

Within 10 seconds, is it clear what this business is and where it's located?
Can I find hours, pricing, and how to book or contact you easily?
Does this site make me want to visit?

Fresh eyes catch things you stop seeing when you're used to a site. If you can, ask a friend or family member to do the same.

A Quick Reality Check

If you went through that list and found yourself checking off a lot of "nope, need to fix that" boxes — don't panic. This is fixable, and there's still time before the summer rush.

Prioritize in this order:

Hours and contact info (takes 10 minutes, high impact)
Test your booking/reservation system (can't afford for this to be broken)
Update photos and seasonal content
Speed and technical stuff (if needed, get help)

The Businesses That Win Summer

The Lakes Region is competitive — there are a lot of great restaurants, inns, shops, and outfitters all competing for the same tourists. The ones that consistently do well aren't necessarily the biggest or the fanciest.

They're the ones that make it easy. Easy to find, easy to book, easy to trust. Your website is where that starts.

Get it summer-ready, and let it do its job.

Running through this checklist and realized your site needs more than a quick update? We specialize in helping Lakes Region businesses get websites that actually work — fast, mobile-friendly, and easy for you to keep current. Let's talk.

Is Your Lakes Region Tourism Business Ready for Summer - Website Checklist