Creating Your Website with Breakz Templates
Creating your book direct site with Breakz is simple and straightforward. Follow these four steps to set up your site, customise it, and make it ready for bookings.
1: Build Your Site Foundations
Secure your domain name, choose a hosting provider, and install WordPress to get your site online.
2: Activate Your Breakz Template
Choose and install a Breakz template to give your site a professional, appealing design tailored for direct bookings.
3: Add Booking Functionality
Enhance your site with the Search and Stay plugin, enabling smooth and efficient bookings for your guests.
4: Customise Your Site Content
Personalise your site with unique text, images, and layouts to showcase your property and brand.
Step 1: Build Your Site Foundations
To make your book direct site accessible on the internet, you’ll need to purchase a domain name. A domain name is the web address that users will type into their browsers to visit your site (e.g., www.yoursitename.com).
Here’s how to get started:
Choose and Register a Domain Name
To set up your book direct site, the first step is to secure a domain name. This is your website’s address on the internet, where guests will find and book your property.
Your domain name should clearly reflect your property or brand and be easy for guests to remember. Keep these considerations in mind:
- Relevance: Include your property’s name, location, or unique features in the domain. For example, if you own a coastal retreat, a domain like coastalcottage.co.uk works well.
- Memorability: Aim for something simple, concise, and easy to spell, avoiding lengthy or complex names.
- Extensions (TLDs): Choose an extension that aligns with your audience and market. Popular choices include .com, .net, or location-specific extensions like .co.uk
- Keywords: Adding relevant terms, such as your location (e.g., BoomerangBeachRetreat.co.uk), can help your site rank higher in search engines.
After choosing potential names, check if they are available using a domain registrar. Many platforms offer tools to check availability instantly. Be prepared with alternative options in case your first choice is unavailable.
Once you’ve found an available domain, register it with a trusted domain registrar. Registration ensures exclusive rights to use the domain. Keep in mind that registration fees can vary depending on the registrar and the extension you choose. For example, popular extensions like .com might be priced differently than specialised ones like .holiday. Additionally, consider securing multiple extensions (e.g., .com, .net) to safeguard your brand and prevent others from using similar names.
Here are some reliable platforms for buying and managing domain names:
- Hostinger: Known for its affordability and ease of use, Hostinger offers domain registration and hosting services, making it an excellent choice for beginners. Visit Hostinger’s domain purchasing page.
- GoDaddy: A well-established registrar offering a wide range of domain extensions and additional services such as email and hosting. Visit GoDaddy’s domain purchasing page.
- Bluehost: Ideal for those looking to bundle domain registration and hosting, Bluehost includes a free domain with its hosting plans. Visit Bluehost’s domain purchasing page.
Once you’ve secured your domain, the next step is to connect it to your hosting provider and set up WordPress. With these essentials in place, you’ll be ready to design and personalise your book direct site for maximum impact.
Click here to view the full tutorial on how to register a domain name for your book direct site.
Connect to Your Web Hosting
For a book direct website, it’s vital to have a reliable and secure web hosting service to ensure your guests can browse and book with ease. A good hosting provider affects your site’s speed, security, and reliability, which directly impacts guest satisfaction and your property’s success.
Below are some trusted hosting providers that are well-suited for holiday property owners creating book direct websites:
- Hostinger: Hostinger is an excellent choice for property owners due to its affordability and reliability. It offers WordPress hosting plans with free SSL certificates, seamless WordPress integration, and user-friendly templates to help you quickly create a professional website. Known for its strong performance, competitive pricing, and intuitive dashboard, Hostinger is ideal for beginners. Visit Hostinger’s hosting page / Hostinger’s guide on connecting a domain to hosting.
- SiteGround: SiteGround provides fast and secure hosting optimised for WordPress. It’s known for excellent performance, robust customer support, and top-notch security features, including daily backups. Additionally, SiteGround offers scalable hosting solutions, ensuring your site can handle increased traffic as your bookings grow. Visit SiteGround’s hosting page / SiteGround’s guide on pointing your domain
- Bluehost: Bluehost is a popular hosting provider, especially for WordPress users. Its hosting plans come with free SSL certificates, 24/7 customer support, and easy WordPress installation, making it an excellent choice for first-time users. Bluehost also includes a free domain for the first year when you sign up for a hosting package. Visit Bluehost’s hosting page / Bluehost’s guide on connecting your domain.
With your hosting in place and your domain connected, you’ll be ready to install WordPress and start building your book direct site.
Click here to view the full tutorial on how to connect your domain to a web hosting provider.
Install WordPress
WordPress is an excellent platform for creating a professional book direct website, even if you have no prior coding experience. Many web hosts offer a one-click WordPress installation, simplifying the process and making it beginner-friendly.
If your hosting provider doesn’t include one-click installation, you can also manually upload the WordPress package to your site.
Click here to view the full tutorial on how to install WordPress to your book direct website.
Step 2: Activate Your Breakz Template
Now that you have your domain and WordPress set up, it’s time to activate the Breakz Book Direct website theme that fits your property’s needs.
Each theme is designed to enhance your site’s functionality and aesthetics, making it easy for guests to book directly with you. With just a few simple steps, you’ll have a professional, attractive website up and running, tailored to showcase your unique property and attract more direct bookings.
Download your Breakz Template
Single Property Showcase
Clean, focused layout that emphasizes stunning visuals and detailed descriptions, ensuring potential guests can easily see what makes your property special.
Multi-Property Portfolio
Organized, user-friendly interface that allows guests to browse through different properties effortlessly, comparing amenities and availability to find their perfect stay.
Simple & Elegant Design
Minimalist, yet effective solution for single-property owners. Essential information, making booking quick for guests while providing an appealing presentation.
Install your Breakz Template
Follow these steps to install and activate your Breakz template:
- Log in to your WordPress Admin Panel.
- Navigate to the Appearance menu and click on Themes.
- At the top of the Themes page, click on Add New Theme.
- Click the Upload Theme button.
- Select the compressed theme file (.zip) you downloaded earlier and upload it.
- Once uploaded, click on Install Now to begin the installation process.
- After installation is complete, click on Activate to apply the template to your website.
- Navigate to the Plugins menu and click on Add New Plugin and install and activate the Elementor Website Builder.
Your Breakz template is now ready to use! You can start customising it to reflect your property’s unique style and details.
Click here to view the full tutorial on how to activate your Breakz template on your book direct site.
Step 3: Add Booking Functionality
The Breakz Book Direct website templates are an excellent way to showcase your property to guests. To make your site even more effective, we offer integration with the Search and Stay booking platform. This ensures a seamless booking experience for your guests, directly on your site.
Create Search and Stay account
Search and Stay is an essential tool that seamlessly integrates with your Breakz template, enabling booking functionality and displaying key property details.
Click here to get started if you don’t have a Search and Stay account or haven’t published your property yet.
Install Search And Stay Plugin
If you already have a Search and Stay account and your property is published, follow these simple steps to set up the plugin and connect it to your site:
- Click here to download the Search and Stay Pugin.
- Log in to your WordPress Admin Panel.
- Navigate to the Plugins menu and click on Add New Plugin.
- At the top of the page, click on Upload Plugin.
- Select the compressed plugin file (.zip) you downloaded earlier and upload it.
Log in to your Search and Stay Property Manager account:
Navigate to the Breakz menu and click on Custom Website .
Select your website name and click View.
- Copy the token information.
Note: If the token is not available to you, please complete the form so our team can configure your account to support this feature.
- Locate the property you want to display in the My Properties section. Use the toggle to enable it to be shown on your book direct site.
- On WordPress, navigate to the Search and Stay menu and click on Plugin Settings.
- Enter the token information provided in your Search and Stay account and click to Save Changes.
If your site is dedicated to a single property, tick the Only One Property Page Site box and use the toggle to select the specific property.
Once all the details are updated, click Save Changes again.
- Now navigate to the Settings menu, and click on Permalinks. Select the option Post Name on the Common Settings section and click to save changes.
Click here to view the full tutorial on how to configure the Search and Stay Plugin on your book direct site.
Step 4: Customise Your Site Content
Personalise your site with unique text, images, and layouts to showcase your property and brand.
Bring Your Brand’s Identity
Your website serves as your brand’s digital identity, and customising it is key to leaving a strong impression. By tailoring elements such as your logo, site title, tagline, and social media links, you build a consistent and professional online presence that connects with your audience.
This guide walks you through easy, impactful customisations to help your site truly reflect your brand’s identity:
- Log in to your WordPress Admin Panel to manage and customise your site.
- Navigate to the Appearance menu and click on Customise.
- Customise Site Identity
- Select the Site Identity option and click to edit.
- Add Your Logo (Top of Page): Click Select Logo and upload your logo file (PNG or JPEG).
Update Site Title: Enter a title that reflects your brand (e.g., “Your Business Name”).
- Update Site Tagline: Add a short description of your site or brand.
- Add Your Logo to the Footer: Click Select Image and upload your logo.
- Add a Site Icon (Favicon): Click Select Site Icon and upload your icon.
Save Changes: Click Publish to save your updates and return to the previous page.
- Select the Site Identity option and click to edit.
- Customise Social Media Profiles
- Select the Social Links option and click to edit.
- Add Your Social Media URLs: Enter the URLs for your social media profiles (e.g., Facebook, Instagram).
Save Changes: Click Publish to save your updates.
- Select the Social Links option and click to edit.
Click here to view the full tutorial on how to customise your website to bring your brand’s identity.