Starting a website seems like a daunting prospect if you've never set one up before but I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be scary!
Rather than thinking about the entire picture and getting overwhelmed, focus instead on these 5 things that you need to include on your website.
A description of what you do
Seems simple but it's essential that potential clients know what you actually offer. If you're unsure on exactly what you're offering, I'd recommend working out what that is first before spending time and money on a website.
When you're early on in your biz journey, you may want to say that you offer everything because you don't want to miss out on opportunities but niching down has more benefits. I'd suggest focusing on 1-3 products/services and then on your contact page say that the potential customer has something else they'd like to enquire about to get in touch.
A way to contact you
This can either be a contact form, an email address or a phone number, but it's essential that potential clients know how to contact you.
Your contact method should be clearly visible. You may choose to put the contact details such as the email address and phone number in the header or footer of your website or have a specific contact tab that is clearly visble.
Top tips:
Use a professional email address - it doesn't cost much to get a professional email and will make you look like a business rather than a hobbyist
Don't direct from your website to your social media for discussions with potential clients, direct to your email instead as this will make you look more professional
Photos
For a creative businesses such as calligraphy, having photos of your work is essential. Linking your Instagram is not the same thing unless you only post portfolio work to your account. If you do not have photos of client work because you're new, create some mock ups e.g. creating some envelopes if you'd like to be a wedding calligrapher.
Consistency is key when it comes to showcasing photos. If you have photos that are different colour schemes it can quickly look messy. You also want to make sure that the photos are nicely lit (or at an absolute minimum, consistently lit).
Although it's not essential, it's nice to also have a photo of yourself so that potential clients connect with you more easily. It's always nice to know the face behind who you're doing business with.
Top tip: don't have too many photos on one page and reduce the quality slightly to increase loading speeds.
Email subscription option
It can take a lot of effort to get people onto your website, so it makes sense to be able to make contact with potential clients again by getting them onto an email list.
Now there are several reasons for creating an email list but just know that it doesn't have to be overwhelming and you don't even have to email those on your mailing list right away; I emailed my mailing list 8 months into starting it and whilst I'd recommend that you start sooner than this, it goes to show that you don't need to email subscribers right away.
Creating a freebie is a great way to get people to sign up or you can offer a discount on a current product/service that you offer. I recommend that you offer some form of incentive though if you want to gain any traction.
I know that this is something that you can may not want to start but trust me when I say don't delay!
A way to pay
This is standard if you're selling products via your website but you should also have a way for clients to pay if you're offering services.
It may be that you set up specific event/product pages or you may just have an invoicing system through a website provider. I recommend testing this out before you get potential customer enquiries to remove any stress when you get an enquiry.
Conclusion
There are 5 key things you need for your creative website:
A descripton of what you do
A contact method
Photos of your work (and of you if possible)
Email subscription option
A way to pay
There are other things that you'll want to add eventually but you don't need to launch everything all at once. You can work on things behind the scenes and publish as you go.
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