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Build a Sports Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 30, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a sports website — perhaps for a sports camp, local athletic club, academy, or even a fan site. Chances are you landed here because you have a certain “look” in mind. Perhaps you’re even searching for sports website templates.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their website up and running relatively easily.

However, starting the process of building your website with a sports website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices. Why?

Because starting the process of building a website with a website template tends to pigeonhole people into choosing a certain website platform just because they like the template that platform offers.

But here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you were to find a sports template you like on, say, Squarespace, you’re not actually tied to using Squarespace. In fact, you should only choose that website platform if it supports all of your needs, such as integrating with software to give you the functionality you need, meeting your price point, having adequate support options, etc.

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right sports website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that fits your needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Any generic template can transform into a sports template with a little editing, which makes website templates very easy to market… and easy to mislead. It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

What does your website actually need to be able to do? Is it simply a “brochure site”, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? Do you need to be able to display stats and schedules? Embed highlight films? Have a community chat forum? Sell tickets or merchandise?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. What do you need to spend money on, and where can you cut back?

Is your sports website generating revenue? How long do you expect the site to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? If you’re working with a club, how much is your staff’s time worth, and how can a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made sports templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be seeing mock-up photography, fonts, colors, etc., which you’ll be replacing with your own assets. So what do you have and what do you need?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? If you’re a fan site, do you have descriptions of how the site is supposed to function (i.e. is it a community forum? A merch site?). For sports clubs, do you have information on your location, membership options, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or sports organizations? Do you already have established social profiles?

Knowing what you bring to the table with help keep you from getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website nowadays:

Domain Name

A domain is your “address” on the Internet. You lease it for a certain amount of time from ICANN via accredited “domain registrars”. You can buy one now and “point” it to your website later. Many website hosting companies also resell domain names to provide convenience.

Website Hosting

Your website is made up of computer files. And those files have to “live” somewhere. Website hosting companies rent space on specialized servers that store & serve your website files whenever someone goes to your website.

Website Software

A modern website usually consists of a lot of different files. While not 100% necessary, websites usually need software (ie, a “content management system”) to manage all the files and make it easy for a human to edit & maintain.

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most sports websites, especially due to its integration capabilities (more on that in a minute).

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, that’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a sports website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

*WordPress is for most, but not everyone. It does have a learning curve. Here’s how WordPress compares to Wix, how WordPress compares to Squarespace, and how WordPress compares to Weebly. Your end goal should be a website that is best for *you* and your goals. The general strategies below work regardless of platform.

Website Templates

As we saw in the introduction, templates are simply pre-made HTML & CSS (the computer languages that browsers use to yield a webpage). While not 100% necessary, mobile devices and different browsers make good design nearly impossible to do well from scratch. All good web designers use some sort of template/framework to start.

And there is a whole universe of pre-made sports website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember is that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small sports websites to have very advanced functionality on their sites. In fact, many sport software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site (like Hudl).

3. Choose & Setup Your Sports Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Disclosure – I receive customer referral fees from companies mentioned on this website. All data & opinions are based on my professional experience as a paying customer or consultant to paying customers.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

When you self-host WordPress, you get complete freedom but also have complete responsibility. It’s like owning your own building. You can do whatever you want… but you’re also the one to call the plumber.

That said, installing WordPress with a good business hosting company makes all the difference. A good hosting company can provide the support, security & services that can minimize the risks of maintaining your own self-hosted WordPress.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

Upside: If you self-host your WordPress software, you can download & use basically any theme or plugin that you want. Developers & consultants are used to the setup. It is future-proof, and it saves a good bit of money compared to other options.

Downside: You are in charge of technical aspects. Sure – InMotion provides support and consultants can provide expertise, but you are ultimately in charge of everything. For anyone who doesn’t want to deal with technical issues at all – self-hosting WordPress is not ideal.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a “hosted service” run by the originator of WordPress software. It’s an all-in-one service that bundles a limited version of WordPress software with hosting, software, support, and services all into one monthly plan.

If self-hosting WordPress is like owning your own building, then using WordPress.com is like leasing a pre-built storefront. You can do all the customizations that you want “inside” your building, but the maintenance and boring bits are not your responsibility.

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefiting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom sports website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress, and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Sports Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made sports template for your website. When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with all of your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

If you used InMotion Hosting, then you’ll also have access to their BoldGrid templates that have drag & drop functionality. You can also use their design services to convert a template you love to WordPress + your brand.

WordPress.com Templates

With a WordPress.com Business Plan, you can not only upload template choices from sites listed above – you also get unlimited access to WordPress.com’s premium templates. These all have advanced customization options so that you can edit them.

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Sports Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for sports websites that want to sell memberships, merchandise, camp registrations, lessons, event tickets, etc. directly on their website.

Specialized Functionality

Now what you’ve been waiting for: sports-specific functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you do that, check out these excellent resources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Sports / Athletic Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration (again, see Hudl). Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of sports functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Using WordPress + a good template should make this process straightforward. InMotion’s BoldGrid tool brings drag and drop functionality to WordPress and WordPress.com’s Customizer tool allows for simple click & edit customization.

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel, it might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Sports Website

Ahh, now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best visitors and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Golf Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a golf website — perhaps for a camp, local club, etc. Chances are you landed here because you have a certain “look” in mind. Perhaps you’re even searching for golf website templates.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their website up and running relatively easily.

However, starting the process of building your website with a golf website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices. Why?

But here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you were to find a golf template you like on, say, Wix, you’re not actually tied to using Wix. In fact, you should only choose that website platform if it supports all of your needs, such as integrating with software to give you the functionality you need, meeting your price point, having adequate support options, etc.

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right golf website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Any generic template can transform into a golf template with a little editing, which makes website templates very easy to market… and easy to mislead. It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

What does your website actually need to be able to do? Is it simply a “brochure site”, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? Do you need to be able to display stats, schedules, membership options, etc.? Accept camp registrations? Book lessons?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. What do you need to spend money on, and where can you cut back?

How can your golf website contribute monetarily to your club/camp/etc.? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth – can a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made golf templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be seeing mock-up photography, fonts, colors, etc., which you’ll be replacing with your own assets. So what do you have and what do you need?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your club/camp, location, membership options, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or sports organizations? Do you already have established social profiles?

Knowing what you bring to the table with help keep you from getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website nowadays:

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most golf websites, especially due to its integration capabilities (more on that in a minute).

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a golf website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made golf website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember is that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small golf clubs to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many sport software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site (like Hudl).

3. Choose & Setup Your Golf Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefiting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom golf website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress, and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Golf Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made golf template for your website. When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with all of your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Golf Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for golf clubs that want to sell memberships, merchandise, camp registrations, lessons, etc. directly on their website.

Specialized Functionality

Now what you’ve been waiting for: sports-specific functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you do that, check out these excellent resources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Sports / Athletic Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration (again, see Hudl). Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of sports functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel, it might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Golf Website

Ahh, now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Football Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a football website — perhaps for a camp, local youth team, academy, etc. Chances are you landed here because you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their website up and running relatively easily.

However, starting the process of building your website with a football website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Why? Because using a website template tends to pigeonhole people into choosing a certain website platform just because they like the template that platform offers.

But here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you were to find a football template you like on, say, Wix, you’re not actually tied to using Wix. In fact, you should only choose Wix if it supports all of your needs, such as integrating with software to give you the functionality you need, meeting your price point, etc.

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right football website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a football template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

What does your website actually need to be able to do? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? Do you need to be able to display stats? Show the game schedule? Accept camp registrations? Showcase highlight reels?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. What do you need to spend money on, and where do you need to cut back?

How does this football website contribute monetarily to your club, camp, team, etc.? Can you quantify its impact? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth – can a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made football templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your team(s), event schedule, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or sports organizations? Do you already have established social profiles?

Knowing what you bring to the table with help keep you from getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website nowadays.

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most football websites, especially due to its integration capabilities (more on that in a minute).

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a football website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made football website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember is that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small football organizations to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many sports software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site (like Hudl).

3. Choose & Setup Your Football Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom football website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress, and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Football Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made football template for your website. When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with all of your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Football Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for football organizations that want to sell tickets, memberships, merchandise, etc. directly on their website.

Specialized Functionality

Now what you’ve been waiting for – sports-specific functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you do that, check out these excellent resources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Sports Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration (again, see Hudl). Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of sports functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel, it might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Football Website

Ahh, now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Flower Shop Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a flower shop website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a flower shop website with a flower shop website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your flower shop building search based on existing building layouts.

Sure – a good existing building layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, lease terms, greenhouse space, and expansion options do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right flower shop website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a flower shop template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a brochure site, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your floral arrangements & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to integrate it with ordering apps? Do you need to offer deliveries?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your physical business location. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a new, repeat customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth – can a good website help them?

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made flower shop templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be looking at mock-up photography, colors, fonts, logos, etc. that you’ll be replacing with your own assets. So what do you have and what do you need?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, flowers, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

It’s important to know what you’re bringing to the table before getting swayed by nice mock-ups that you’ll be replacing anyways.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website nowadays:

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most flower shop websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a flower shop website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made flower shop website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember about these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small flower shops to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Flower Shop Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom flower shop website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Flower Shop Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made flower shop template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing all of this with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Flower Shop Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for flower shop.

Specialized Functionality

If you need specialized functionality beyond what WordPress offers, there are a few great resources to browse for plugins. However, be sure to write down your needs first. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you’ve done that, check out these sources for specific functionality:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Flower Shop / Florist Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For flower shops, your floral menu and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices, so keep content scannable and navigation simple.

Marketing Your Flower Shop Website

Ahh, now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing — you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Vacation Rental Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a vacation rental website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

In the competitive, rapidly digitizing travel industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a vacation rental website with a vacation rental website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Why? Because starting with a template or pre-made design tends to pigeonhole business owners into choosing a certain website platform just because they like the template that platform offers.

But here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

Which means if you find a template you love on, say, Wix, you’re actually not tied to using Wix. In fact, you should only choose that website platform if it meets your business needs, because that template can be created anywhere!

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right vacation rental website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a vacation rental template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What does your website actually need to be able to do? Is it simply a brochure site, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your rentals, location, pricing, available, etc. (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take reservations?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters.

Again, there are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made vacation rental templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, rentals, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting – and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website on the Internet nowadays.

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most vacation rental websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a vacation rental website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made vacation rental website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember about these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which, brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small vacation rental companies to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many vacation rental software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Vacation Rental Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom vacation rental website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Vacation Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made vacation rental template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with your own anyways.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Vacation Rental Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for vacation rental companies.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – vacation rental functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Vacation Rental Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For vacation rental companies, your available rentals, location, and booking pages are the top priority. Make sure you keep mobile visitors in mind when deciding on functionality (AKA no annoying pop-ups or slow loading pages).

Marketing Your Vacation Rental Website

Ahh, now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Car Repair Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 28, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a car repair website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a car repair website with a car repair website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your search for the perfect shop location based on existing garage layouts.

Sure – a good existing garage layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, land, lease terms, and expansion options don’t make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right car repair website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a car repair template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take service requests? Sell small parts directly to your customers via your website?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

What is a new customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth – can a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made car repair templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re looking at templates, you’ll be seeing mock-up creative assets (like photography, colors, fonts) that you’ll be replacing with your own. So what do you have and what do you need?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your services, location, experience, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to at least through what you’re bringing to the table before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website on the Internet nowadays.

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its supporters and its detractors. But it’s still the go-to solution for most car repair websites.

Why? Because WordPress is like the 4 door sedan of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a car repair website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made car repair website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember when looking at these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software. And speaking of software…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small repair shops to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many specialized software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Car Repair Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom car repair website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Car Repair Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made car repair template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing all assets with your own.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your repair shop location based solely on the garage. Better to choose a location that fits all of your needs and spend money renovating the garage.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Car Repair Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

With that said, WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for car repair shops.

If you need specialized functionality, there are a few great resources you can use to find plugins that fit your needs. Just be sure to actually define your needs first. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you do that, check out these sources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Car Shop Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For car repair shops, your services and location pages are the top priority. Keep in mind your visitors are likely on mobile devices, and that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Car Repair Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Library Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a website for your library, and you have a certain “look” in mind. Maybe you’ve even been searching for library website templates.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a library website with a library website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your library building search based on existing reading area layouts.

Sure – a good existing reading area layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, etc. don’t make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right library website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a library template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your information & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to offer library cards directly on the site? Showcase what books are available? Share information about events?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your physical location. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a new, repeat customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth, and can a good website help them?

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made library templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be looking at mock-up assets (like photography, fonts, colors, etc.) that you’re going to be replacing with your own. So what do you have, and what do you need?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, dishes, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Again, no right answers. It’s just a good idea to have an idea of what you’re bringing to the table so you don’t get swayed by nice mock-ups that you’ll be replacing anyways.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most library websites.

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a library website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made library website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember about these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left primarily to software, which brings us to..

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small libraries to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many library software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Library Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom library website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Library Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made library template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your library building or location based on a pre-built reading area layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the reading area.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Library Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

If you need specialized functionality, there are a few excellent sources (listed below) to check out. However, write down your needs first. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Library Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Library Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Print Shop Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 25, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a print shop website, and you have a certain “look” or “style” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building your print shop website with a print shop website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your print shop building search based solely on your printing equipment.

Sure – you need a layout that works with your equipment. But it doesn’t really matter if the shop is in a poor location or the lease terms don’t work for your budget and growth potential.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right print shop website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a print shop template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What does your website need be able to actually do? Does it need to be interactive, or is it a brochure site? Do you need it to be easily edited? Do people need to be able to place orders? Request a quote? Submit designs to be printed?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about what functionality your website needs before reading template sales features.

Budget

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made print shop templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your services, location, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be looking at mock-up photography, fonts, colors, etc. that you’ll be replacing with your own assets, so it’s important to know what you have and what you need before getting swayed!

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website on the Internet nowadays.

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options. But for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most print shop websites.

Why? Because WordPress is like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes — it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, that’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a print shop website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made print shop website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. However, there is one thing to remember about templates — they should be focused on design, layout, and content presentation… not functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small print shops to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Print Shop Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefiting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom print shop website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Print Shop Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made print shop template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing these assets with your own.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your print shop building based solely on whether your equipment fits. It makes no sense if the location and lease terms don’t work for your business.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Print Shop Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

That being said, WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for print shops.

If you need specialized functionality, there are a few excellent sources (listed below). But before you start browsing for plugins, it’s important to write down what you really need. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you’ve done that, check out these sources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now for the fun! When it comes to designing and adding content to your website, the important point is that whether your site is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel, it might be frustrating for visitors.

For print shops, your services and location pages are the top priority. Keep in mind your visitors are likely on mobile devices, so keep content scannable and navigation simple.

Marketing Your Print Shop Website

Ahh, now the real fun. There are no right answers here, but here’s the thing: You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Financial Advisor Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 24, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

You’ve most likely landed here because you need to build a financial advisor website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. In the high-churn, cutthroat, and rapidly digitizing finance industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a financial advisor website with a financial advisor website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your office building search based on existing conference room layouts.

Sure — a good existing conference room layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, and expansion options don’t make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right financial advisor website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a financial advisor template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

What does your website need to be able to do? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services & location (i.e. PDF or HTML)? Do you need potential clients to be able to contact you directly through the website?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

What is a new, repeat customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth, and how much will getting your website right save time?

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to have a budget in mind before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made financial advisor templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, certifications, services, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or financial organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

When you’re shopping for a template, you’ll be looking at mockup assets that you’ll be replacing. So it’s important to have an idea of what you’re bringing to the table before you get swayed.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most financial advisor websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes, it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much.

If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, it’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are true… but also not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a financial advisor website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole world of pre-made financial advisor website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember when evaluating these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Functionality should be left primarily to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small financial advisor firms to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many financial software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Financial Advisor Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom financial advisor website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Financial Advisor Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made financial advisor template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind”

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing those assets with your own.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your office building or location based on a pre-built conference room layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the conference room.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Financial Advisor Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – financial advisor functionality.

It’s important to emphasize writing down your needs here. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need, so make sure you’ve got a good idea of what you really need to have on your site before you start browsing.

Once you’ve done that, check out these sources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Financial Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For financial advisors, your services and location pages are the top priority. Keep in mind that several visitors browse on mobile, so make sure your design is equipped to handle mobile traffic (i.e. scannable content, no annoying pop-ups, etc.)

Marketing Your Financial Advisor Website

Now for the real fun! There’s no “right” way to get started with your marketing, but here’s the thing:

You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Dry Cleaning Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a dry cleaning website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Luckily, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Pre-made templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a dry cleaning website with a dry cleaning website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Why? Because business owners tend to get pigeonholed into using a certain website platform just because they like a template on that platform. But here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you were to find a template on, say, Wix that you love, you’re not tied to using Wix — in fact, you should only use that platform if it meets your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right dry cleaning website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a dry cleaning template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services, prices, & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to showcase customer reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Again, there are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made dry cleaning templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, pricing structure, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Remember that when you’re shopping for templates, you’re looking at mockup photography and creative assets that you’ll be replacing, so take an inventory of what you have and what you’ll need before getting swayed!

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most dry cleaning websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan of website software.

Yes, it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, that’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a dry cleaning website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made dry cleaning website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember when evaluating these templates is that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Functionality should be left primarily to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small dry cleaners to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Dry Cleaning Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom dry cleaning website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Dry Cleaning Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made dry cleaning template for your website. Keep a few things in mind while shopping:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with your own assets anyway.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Dry Cleaning Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Now, WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

If you need specialized functionality, there are a few excellent sources (below) that can help you find the right plugin. Just be sure to write down your needs first — it’s too easy to add a bunch of functionality to your site that neither you nor your visitors need.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel, that might be frustrating for visitors.

For dry cleaners, your service menu and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices — that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Dry Cleaning Website

Ahh – now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Yoga Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 18, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

You’ve most likely landed here because you need to build a yoga website for your studio, and you have a certain look or style in mind. Perhaps you’re even looking for a yoga website template to use.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years with free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders that allow anybody to get their business online.

In the high-churn, cutthroat fitness industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a yoga website with a yoga website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your yoga studio building search based on existing locker room layouts.

Sure, a good locker room layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, studio space, lease terms, etc. do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my brief 6 step guide to choosing the right yoga website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a yoga template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

What does your website actually need to be able to do?

Is it simply a “brochure site”, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your class schedule & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to sell memberships directly on the site? Allow students to sign up for a class?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your physical studio location. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made yoga templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. After all, you’ll be replacing all of the mock-up photography, fonts, colors, etc. with your own assets. So… what do you have?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your instructors, location, class types, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or yoga organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

It’s important to think through what assets you have and what assets you’ll need before getting swayed by nice mock-ups!

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most yoga websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes. those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a yoga website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made yoga website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember about templates, however, is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small yoga studios to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many yoga studio software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Yoga Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Disclosure -I receive customer referral fees from companies mentioned on this website. All data & opinions are based on my professional experience as a paying customer or consultant to paying customers.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion Hosting here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom yoga website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Yoga Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made yoga template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your studio or location based on a pre-built locker room layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the locker rooms.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Health & Wellness Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Yoga Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for yoga studios who want to sell memberships/class packs directly on their website.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – yoga studio functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you’ve done that, check out these resources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Yoga Studio Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For yoga studios, your class schedule, sign up/membership, and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices, so keep content scannable and navigation minimal.

Marketing Your Yoga Website

Ahh – now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Cleaning Service Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a cleaning service website, and you have a certain “look” or “style” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years!

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

In the competitive cleaning service industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a cleaning service website with a cleaning service website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Why?

Because starting with a pre-made template tends to pigeonhole business owners into sticking with a website platform just because they like a template, when in reality…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that if you find a template you like on, say, Squarespace, you can recreate it on whatever web platform fits your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s a brief 6 step guide to choosing the right cleaning service website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a cleaning service template with a little editing, templates are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

Think about what your website actually needs to accomplish. What functionality does it need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services, prices, & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take booking requests or integrate it with scheduling apps?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your cleaning supplies — what do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to at least have an idea of budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made cleaning service templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be looking at mock-up photography, fonts, colors, etc., which you’ll be replacing with your own assets. So… what do you have?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your services, locations you serve, pricing, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

It’s important to know what you have to use on your site (and what you may need to get) before getting swayed by mockups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most cleaning service websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Sure, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a cleaning service website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made cleaning service website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to keep in mind when looking at these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Functionality should be left primarily to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small cleaning service companies to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Cleaning Service Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom cleaning service website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Cleaning Service Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made cleaning service template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Cleaning Service Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. And while that can be great, it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for cleaning services who want to offer packages directly online.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – cleaning service functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you’ve done that, check out these sources to find plugins that have the functionality you need:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Scheduling Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For cleaning services, your service menu and location pages are the top priority. Make sure you keep content scannable and navigation minimal for those using mobile devices.

Marketing Your Cleaning Service Website

Now for the real fun! There are no right answers here, but here’s the thing to remember:

You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go, but you own your website.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Summer Camp Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 17, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a summer camp website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a summer camp website with a summer camp website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your camp location search based on existing dining hall layouts.

Sure — a good existing dining hall layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, cabins (for sleepaway camp), building (for day camp), etc. do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right summer camp website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a summer camp template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your camp schedule & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take booking directly on the site? Do you need campers to be able to download paperwork before attending?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your camp location. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a new, repeat camper worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth – can a good website help them?

Again, there are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think through budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made summer camp templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re looking at templates, you’ll be seeing mock-up photography, fonts, etc. You’ll be replacing all of this with your own assets. So… what do you have?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, schedule, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Make sure you know what assets you’ll be using in the template to avoid getting swayed by mockups!

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most summer camp websites.

Think of WordPress as the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes — it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes — those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a summer camp website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc,), which we’ll cover in this guide.

Website Templates

As we’ve already covered, templates are simply pre-made HTML & CSS (the computer languages that browsers use to yield a webpage). While not 100% necessary, mobile devices and different browsers make good design nearly impossible to do well from scratch. All good web designers use some sort of template/framework to start.

There is a whole universe of pre-made summer camp website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember is that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small summer camps to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Summer Camp Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefiting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom summer camp website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Summer Camp Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made summer camp template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your summer camp location based on pre-built dining hall layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the dining hall.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Summer Camp Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

With that said, WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for summer camps who want to take payments directly on their site.

If you need more specialized functionality, there are a few excellent sources that cover all industries (listed below). Just be sure to write down your needs before you start browsing — it’s too easy to add functionality to your site that neither you nor your visitors need.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Summer Camp Website

Ahh, now the real fun beings! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Nail Salon Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 16, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

You most likely landed here because you’re looking to build a nail salon website and you have a certain look or style in mind. Maybe you’re even looking for a “nail salon website template” to help you with your site.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building your website with a nail salon website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or premade design is like starting your nail salon building search based on existing waiting area layouts.

Sure — a good existing waiting area layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, etc do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right nail salon website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a nail salon template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site”, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take appointment bookings directly through the site?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your physical salon location. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

Again, there are no right answers, but it’s important to at least have an idea of budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Premade nail salon templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be seeing mockups that you’ll be replacing with all of your own assets. So… what do you have?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your services? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

It’s important to know what you have to use on your site to keep from being swayed by mockups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most nail salon websites.

Think of WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes — it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes — those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a nail salon website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made nail salon website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to keep in mind when looking at these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small nail salons to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many salon software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Nail Salon Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom nail salon website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Nail Salon Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made nail salon template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your salon building or location based on a pre-built waiting room layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the waiting area.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Nail Salon Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for nail salons who wish to sell things like gift cards directly on their site.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – nail salon functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Salon Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For nail salons, your service menu and location/hours of operations pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices — that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Nail Salon Website

Ahh, now the real fun begins. There are no right answers here, but here’s the one thing to keep in mind:

You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Dance Studio Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you’re looking to build a dance studio website. Chances are, you have a certain look or style in mind, and you’re checking out dance studio templates, right?

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a website with a dance studio website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your studio building search based solely on mirrors.

Sure — it’d be great if your building already had mirrored walls. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, lease terms, and studio layout don’t make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right dance studio website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a dance studio template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

What does your website need to be able to do? Should it be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your class schedule & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to sell class packages directly on the site?

There are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think through these questions before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your studio space. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

Again, we’re not looking for the “right” answers, because there aren’t any. The goal is to at least have an idea of budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made dance studio templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be seeing mockup photography, colors, fonts, etc. You’re going to be replacing all of these mockups with your own assets. So… what do you have?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, classes, credentials, teaching staff, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or dance organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

It’s important to know what assets you’ll be using so you don’t get swayed by mockups!

2. Understand Terminology & Options

So many companies mix, match, and misuse website jargon to sell their product. To make it easy, I’m going to break down the 5 core things you need to have a website on the Internet nowadays.

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most dance studio websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes — it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes — those criticisms are true… but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a dance studio website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

As we saw in the introduction – templates are simply pre-made HTML & CSS (the computer languages that browsers use to yield a webpage). While not 100% necessary, mobile devices and different browsers make good design nearly impossible to do well from scratch. All good web designers use some sort of template/framework to start.

There is a whole universe of pre-made dance studio website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember about templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small dance studios to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Dance Studio Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom dance studio website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Dance Studio Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made dance studio template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your studio space solely on there being mirrors in the rooms already. Better to find a great location and suitable building and renovate the mirrored walls / add them in yourself.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Dance Studio Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for dance studios who want to sell class packages or sessions directly on their website.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – dance studio functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs (i.e. display weekly class schedules). It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For dance studios, your classes, schedule and location pages are the top priority. Remember that many visitors will be on mobile, so keep content scannable, navigation minimal, and functionality mobile-friendly (i.e. avoid annoying pop-up schedules that don’t fit on a mobile screen).

Marketing Your Dance Studio Website

Now for the real fun! There are no right answers here… but here’s the truth of the matter:

You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Locksmith Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

You most likely landed here because you need to build a locksmith website and you’ve got a certain “look” or “style” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building your website with a locksmith website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Why?

Because starting with a template or pre-made design tends to pigeonhole business owners into choosing a specific website platform just because they like a template from that platform.

But here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you find a locksmith website template on, say, Wix, you’re actually not tied to using that website platform because that same template can be recreated anywhere. In fact, you should only use that platform if it fits your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right locksmith website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a locksmith template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you have credentials you’d like to showcase? Reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Again, there are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least have a budget in mind before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made locksmith templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. After all, while your shopping for templates, you’ll be seeing mockup photography, fonts, colors, etc. You’ll be replacing all of this your own assets. So… what do you have?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, services, credentials, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Be sure you nail down exactly what you’re bringing to the table before you get swayed by mockups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to get your website up and running:

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most locksmith websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes — it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes — those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a locksmith website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made locksmith website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

But keep in mind that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality. Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small local businesses to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Locksmith Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom locksmith website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Locksmith Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made locksmith template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this anyway with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Locksmith Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

Now if you’re looking for specific functionality, there are a few excellent sources (see below). Just remember to write down your needs first — it’s too easy to add a bunch of plugins to your site that neither you nor your visitors need.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Locksmith Website

Now for the real fun! Again, there is no “right” answer here… but here’s the deal:

You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go, buy you own your website.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build an Advertising Agency Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

You most likely landed here because you need to build a marketing / advertising agency website, and you have a certain look or style in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

In the high-churn, cutthroat, advertising industry, this shift has been significant for both agencies and clients.

But starting the process of building your website with an marketing or advertising agency website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your agency building search based on existing conference room layouts.

Sure – a good existing conference room layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, and expansion options don’t make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my brief, 6 step guide to choosing the right advertising agency website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a marketing/advertising agency template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services, location, and portfolio? Do you need to take pitch requests through the site?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Premade advertising agency templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your services, location, previous work, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or advertising and marketing organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews? Have you won awards you’d like to showcase?

Again, there are no right answers here. The goal is to nail down what assets you have. After all, when you’re shopping for templates, you’ll be looking at mockup photography, fonts, colors, etc. It’s important to not be swayed and remember you’ll be replacing all of this with your own assets.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most marketing and advertising agency websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes — it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure — those criticisms are true… but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a marketing agency website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made advertising agency website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates: Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation, and not on functionality. Functionality should be left to software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small ad agencies to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Advertising Agency Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom advertising agency website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Advertising Agency Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right premade advertising/marketing agency template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing those assets with your own.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your agency building base on pre-built conference room layouts. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the conference rooms.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Advertising Agency Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

If you’re looking for specialized functionality, there are a few excellent sources (listed below). Just be sure to write down what you actually need first so you avoid adding random plugins to your site that neither you nor your visitors need.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For advertising and marketing agencies, your services and portfolio pages are the top priority. Make sure you think through how you showcase your work and remember not to sacrifice clarity for creativity.

Marketing Your Advertising Agency Website

Ahh — now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But as you likely already know, you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Pet Sitting Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a pet sitting website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a pet sitting website with a pet sitting website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Why?

Because starting with a template tends to pigeonhole business owners into choosing a platform just based on a template they like. But here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform!

So if you were to find a pet sitting website template on, say, Wix, you’re actually not tied to using Wix as your website platform. In fact, you should only use that platform if it fits your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right pet sitting website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a pet sitting template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you choose a website platform and start shopping for templates.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site”, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services, rates, breeds you pet sit for, and service location? Do you need to take online bookings?

There are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think through your needs before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters.

Again, no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Premade pet sitting templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of the types of pets you take care of, your services and rates, your experience, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Remember that when you’re looking at templates, you’re looking at mockup photography, fonts, colors, etc. You’ll be replacing these with all of your own assets, so it’s important to do a quick inventory so you don’t get swayed!

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most pet sitting websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

It’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a pet sitting website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of premade pet sitting website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to keep in mind when evaluating these templates is that they should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality. Functionality should be left to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow small, local businesses to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Pet Sitting Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefiting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom pet sitting website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Pet Sitting Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right premade pet sitting template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’re going to be replacing it with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Pet Sitting Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Now keep in mind that WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for pet sitters who want to take payments directly on their site.

If you’re looking for specialized functionality, below are a few excellent sources to check out. Just remember to write down your needs before you start looking at plugins. It’s too easy to add a bunch on functionality to your website that neither you nor your visitors need.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For pet sitters, your services and pricing pages are the top priority. Keep in mind your visitors are most likely on mobile devices, so keep content scannable and navigation minimal.

Marketing Your Pet Sitting Website

Ahh — now for the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Museum Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 14, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

You most likely landed here because you’re looking to build a museum website and have a certain “look” or “style” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years!

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online and create a website that looks the way they want it to.

However, starting the process of building a website with a museum website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your museum building search based on existing gift shop layouts.

Sure – a good existing gift shop layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, space for exhibits, building lease terms, and expansion options don’t make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right museum website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a museum template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping for templates

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your location, exhibits, and hours? Do you need to sell tickets?

There are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think about what your site really needs before reading template sales features.

Budget

Again, no right answers here, but it’s important to at least have an idea of budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made museum templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. After all, the templates you’ll be seeing will be full of mockup photography, colors, fonts, etc. You’re going to be replacing all of this with your own assets. So, what do you have?

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, exhibits, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

It’s important to know what you’re bringing to the table before you get swayed by mockups you’ll be replacing anyway.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most museum websites.

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan of website software.

Yes, it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a museum website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made museum website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The key is to evaluate these templates based on design, layout & content presentation — and not on functionality.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both. Functionality can be taken care of by software, which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small local businesses (like a new museum!) to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Museum Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom museum website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Museum Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made museum template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mockup photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mockup photography, and you’ll be replacing mockups with your own assets
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your museum building based on a pre-built gift shop layout. It’s better to choose your building and spend money renovating the gift shop.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Museum Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for museums.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – museum functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of museum functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It doesn’t have to be time-consuming, but a good website has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For museums, your exhibits and location/information pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices, so make sure content is scannable and navigation is minimal.

Marketing Your Museum Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But at the end of the day, you can’t do long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go, but a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Real Estate Agent Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 13, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a real estate agent website, and you have a certain look or style in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

In the high-churn, cutthroat, rapidly digitizing real estate industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a real estate agent website with a real estate agent website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting a home search for a client based solely on bathroom layouts.

Sure, a good existing bathroom layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if the location, price, number of bedrooms, and school district don’t make sense for the family.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that any website template can exist on any good web platform.

Let’s say you find a realtor template on Squarespace that you love. You aren’t actually tied to using Squarespace for your website platform, because that template can be recreated on any platform. The goal is to find the platform that works best for your business needs and the template style that fits as well.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right real estate agent website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since website templates are just HTML & CSS that can be customized, this means any generic template can transform into a real estate agent template with a little editing. This makes templates very easy to market… and to mislead. So before you shop, it’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your listings and neighborhoods you cover (ie. PDF or HTML)? Do you need customers to contact you online? Book a time to tour a listing?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your physical marketing assets, like signage, flyers, business cards, etc. Where do you spend and where do you save?

What is a new customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How much exposure do you need your listings to get online? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth, and how much will getting your website right save time?

Again, there are no “right” answers here, but it’s important to have an idea of budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made real estate agent templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours.

What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your experience, neighbors you cover, listings, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or a real estate organization? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Remember that the templates you’ll be looking at will have mockup photography, colors, fonts, etc. — so don’t get swayed! You’ll be replacing these with your own assets.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating, especially with so many companies mixing, matching, and misusing jargon to sell their product. To make it simple, here are the 5 core things you need to have a website:

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options. For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most real estate agent websites. Why?

Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

It’s very popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, that’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a real estate agent website (i.e. ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made real estate agent website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember when evaluating them is that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow real estate agents to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many real estate software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Real Estate Agent Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom real estate agent website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Real Estate Agent Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made real estate agent template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Remember to ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing these anyway.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc. template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like starting a home search based solely on a pre-built bathroom layout. It’s better to choose your home or location and spend money renovating the bathroom if possible.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Real Estate Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Real Estate Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

As we’ve already discussed, when a theme has too much functionality built-in, you’re pretty much locked into that template. By separating out design & functionality, you get to edit both easily without affecting the other too much.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – real estate functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Real Estate Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For real estate agents, your listings and location pages are the top priority. Keep in mind visitors are likely on mobile devices, which means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Real Estate Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Life Coach Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 12, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a life coach website, and you have a certain look or style in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years!

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. However, starting your website building process with a life coach website template can lead to some bad website coaches.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you see a life coach website template on Squarespace you love, you’re not actually tied to using Squarespace — you can recreate that template on the web platform that’s best for your business. It also means you’re not tied specifically to a life coach template, because almost any template can be edited to be used for a life coaching business!

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Any generic template can transform into a life coach template with a little editing, which makes website templates very easy to market (and easy to mislead). Before you start shopping around, it’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site”, or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services, location, pricing, etc. (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to sell coaching packages directly on your site? Do you need to upload resources? Capture emails?

There are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think through these questions before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters.

What is a new customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time?

Again, we’re not looking for the “right” answer, because there isn’t one. The goal is to have an idea of budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made life coach templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your certifications, services, pricing, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or coaching organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Keep in mind that templates will be showing mock-ups, so don’t be swayed by the photography. You’re going to be replacing all of those creative assets with your own.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating, especially with so many companies mixing, matching, and misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website:

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most life coach websites.

Why?

Because WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

It’s extremely popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. Some people say things like, “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast.” But that’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are valid… but also not. And as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a life coach website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

We’ve already established templates are simply pre-made HTML & CSS (the computer languages that browsers use to yield a webpage). And while they’re not 100% necessary, mobile devices and different browsers make good design nearly impossible to do well from scratch. All good web designers use some sort of template/framework to start.

There is a whole universe of pre-made life coach website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The goal when evaluating these templates is to focus on design, layout, and content presentation — and to remember that almost any template can be adapted for a life coach website. The thing you shouldn’t focus on is functionality… that’s where your software comes in. Speaking of software…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small businesses to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Life Coach Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here:”self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom life coaching website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Life Coach Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made life coach template for your website.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’re going to be replacing it with your own assets anyway.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc. template, it’s better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Life Coach Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for life coaches who want to sell coaching packages directly on their site.

Specialized Functionality

Now, what you’ve been waiting for… life coaching functionality.

Before you start downloading plugins left and right, it’s important to write down what you actually need. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need!

Once you have your functionality needs written down, check out these awesome resources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Coaching-Specific Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Life Coach Website

Ahh, now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Wedding & Event Planner Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

You probably landed here because you need to build a wedding planner website, and you have a certain “look” or “style” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years!

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online and create a website that looks exactly how they want it.

But starting the process of building a wedding planner website with a wedding planner website template can be a shortcut to some poor website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your wedding venue search based on dance floor space.

Sure – a good dance floor is crucial, but it’s not the end-all-be-all. In fact, if the venue can’t accommodate the number of guests, or doesn’t make sense for the bride’s budget, or won’t work with the chosen caterer, then the dance floor really doesn’t matter, right?

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you find a wedding planner template on Wix that you love, you’re not actually tied to using Wix. In fact, you should only use Wix if it’s the best platform for your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right wedding planner website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a wedding planner template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own before you start shopping for a template.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your prices & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take quote requests?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about when you’re planning a wedding for a couple. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a new customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time?

Again, there are no right answers here. The goal is to think about where to spend money and where to save before you start thinking about design/designers/etc.

Assets

Pre-made wedding planner templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your experience, process, pricing, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or wedding brands? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Keep in mind that when you’re looking at template, you’re looking at mock-ups. You’re going to be replacing all of the photography, font, colors, etc. with your own assets, so don’t get swayed!

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting, especially with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. What do you really need to create a site?

Here are the 5 core things that are essential to getting your wedding planner website up and running:

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most wedding planner websites.

Why? Because WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

It’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, that’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll seem, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a wedding planner website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made wedding planner website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to keep in mind when evaluating these templates is to focus on the design, layout, and content presentation — not functionality. A template is really about a certain type of appearance you can customize, while functionality is left to software. Which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even new wedding planners to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many wedding planning software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Wedding Planner Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

When you self-host WordPress, you get complete freedom but also have complete responsibility. It’s like owning your own house. You can do whatever you want… but you’re also the one to call the plumber.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

If self-hosting WordPress is like owning your own home, then using WordPress.com is like leasing an apartment. You can do what you want “inside” your apartment, but the maintenance and boring bits are not your responsibility.

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom wedding planner website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Wedding PlannerWebsite Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made wedding planner template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Remember to ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’re going to be replacing this with your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, you wouldn’t choose a venue based solely on the dancefloor, right?

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Wedding Planner Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for wedding planners.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – wedding planning functionality.

Now before you start randomly adding things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need, write down what you actually need. It’s easy to get carried away by all of the great plugins out there.

Once you’ve done that, check out these excellent sources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Wedding Planning Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For wedding planners, your services, reviews, and pricing pages are the top priority. Remember that your visitors are most likely on mobile, so keep your content scannable and your navigation minimal.

Marketing Your Wedding Planner Website

Ahh, now for the real fun! There are no right answers here, but here’s the thing — you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Pest Control Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a pest control website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a pest control website with a pest control website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like looking for a place to store your pest control equipment best solely on shed design.

Sure – a good existing layout is great and necessary. After all, you’ve got to be able to fit your equipment in there. But it doesn’t really matter if the storage location, lease terms, and expansion options do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that any website template can exist on any good web platform.

So if you find a template on, say, Squarespace that you love, you aren’t tied to using Squarespace as your website platform. You can, but only should if it meets your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right pest control website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a pest control template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your rates, services & service radius (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take service requests?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters.

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made pest control templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your services, service-radius, rates, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most pest control websites.

Think of WordPress as the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it’s popular, and that’s because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a pest control website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made pest control website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. However, it’s important to keep in mind that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality. Functionality should be left to plugins / extensions. Which brings us to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small restaurants to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many restaurant software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Pest Control Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom pest control website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Pest Control Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made pest control template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’re going to be replacing this photography and other assets with your own.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Pest Control Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

You can also check out WordPress.org Repository and ThemeForest for specific functionality plugins. And since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration — if all else fails, do a Google search!

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for pest control businesses who want to take payments online.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For a pest control business, your services and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Pest Control Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Travel Agency Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a travel agency website, and you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. And in the competitive and rapidly digitizing travel industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a travel agency website with a travel agency website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like trying to find a house based solely on a bathroom layout.

Sure – a good existing bathroom layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, nearby schools, number of bedrooms, etc. doesn’t make sense for you and your family.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

Let’s say you find a travel agency website template you love on Wix. This doesn’t mean you have to use Wix as your website platform. You can, but you should only go with it if it’s the best choice for your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right travel agency template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a travel agency template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). So before you shop, it’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services, rates, trip packages, etc. (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take reservations or allow customers to submit requests?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your actual business. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made travel agency templates can go a long way.. .but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, services, trips, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with certain destinations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most travel agency websites.

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a travel agency website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made travel agency website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The important thing to remember is that templates should focus on design, layout, and content presentation — not on functionality. Leave functionality to…

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small, boutique travel agencies to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many travel software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Travel Agency Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom travel agency website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Travel Agency Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made travel agency template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and you’ll be replacing this and other assets in the mock-up with your own.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Travel Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Travel Agency Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for travel agencies.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – travel functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Travel Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel, it might be frustrating for visitors.

For travel agencies, your services, destinations, and booking/quote pages are the top priority. Keep in mind you’re competing with apps, and your visitors are most likely on mobile. Keep content scannable and navigation minimal.

Marketing Your Travel Agency Website

Ahh, now the real fun! There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Coffee Shop Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a coffee shop website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the high-churn, highly competitive coffee shop industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a coffee shop website with a coffee shop website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your shop building search based on existing coffee bar layouts.

Sure, a good, existing bar layout makes a building more enticing. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, etc. don’t make any sense.

When it comes to your website, here’s an open secret among professional designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means any website template can exist on any good web platform. So if you find a coffee shop template on Wix that you love, you’re not actually tied to using Wix — you can recreate that look on the right website platform for you.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right coffee shop website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a coffee shop template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). Before you shop around, you’ll want to take stock of what you need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your menu & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you want to sell anything directly on the site (i.e. coffee, t-shirts, etc)?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about your needs before reading template sales features.

Budget

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made coffee shop templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, menu, where you get your coffee, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Again, we’re not looking for “right” answers — the goal is to get organized and know what you have and what you need before you get swayed by templates full of mock-up photography, fonts, etc.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options, but for our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most coffee shop websites.

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true… but not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a coffee shop website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made coffee shop website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember when you’re shopping is that a template should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small coffee shops to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many hospitality software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Coffee Shop Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom coffee shop website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Coffee Shop Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made coffee shop template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography. Remember that you’ll be using your own assets (fonts, colors, photography, etc).
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your shop building or location based on pre-built coffee bar layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the bar.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Restaurant Themes – easily adapted to coffee shops :).
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Coffee Shop Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great, but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – this includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for coffee shops.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – coffee shop functionality.

Before you start searching for plugins, it’s important to write down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you’ve done that, check out these sources:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Hospitality Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For coffee shops, your menu and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices, which means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Coffee Shop Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Private Investigator Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 11, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a private investigator website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online.

But starting the process of building a website with a private investigator website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your search for an office space based on existing office layouts.

Sure, a good existing layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, lease terms, and expansion options don’t make any sense (i.e. you get an office space that can’t accommodate a business partner should you decide to scale).

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means any website template can exist on any good web platform. In other words, you don’t have to have a Squarespace website JUST because you like a Squarespace template.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right private investigator website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a private investigator template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your services & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to accept contact requests online, or have push-to-call functionality??

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

What is a new customer worth? How many new customers can you handle? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time?

Again, we’re not looking for a “right” answer. Our goal is to figure out the trade-offs before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made private investigator templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your procedure, service area, privacy policies, pricing, etc? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting — and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, & misusing jargon to sell their product. Here are the 5 core things you need to have a website on the Internet nowadays.

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most business websites.

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – those criticisms are true… but are also not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a private investigator website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made private investigator website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

Keep in mind that website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

3. Choose & Setup Your Private Investigator Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom private investigator website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Private Investigator Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made private investigator template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, and at the end of the day, you won’t be using those assets… you’ll be using your own.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Private Investigator Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Here’s the deal: WordPress works out of the box and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better (you’ll avoid slowing down your site and creating a poor user experience).

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects. You can also check out WordPress.org Repository, the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality. ThemeForest is also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

The bottom line here is to be specific about what you actually need. Don’t get plugin happy and start installing things you and, more importantly, your clients don’t need.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup, the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Private Investigator Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Catering Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a catering website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the rapidly digitizing hospitality industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a catering website with a catering website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like basing your entire catering business solely on van sizes.

Sure, a good van is going to be crucial — you need to be able to transport tables, chairs, food, etc.. But it doesn’t really matter if your service radius, pricing, menu, and other business elements don’t hit the mark.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right catering website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a catering template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your menus & service radius (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take quote requests? What about giving customers the ability to book directly online?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your actual business. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a new customer worth? How much growth can your business handle? How much is your time worth, and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth, and how an a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made catering website templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your menu options, event types, pricing, etc? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Again, there is no “right” answer here. The goal is to think through these elements before you get swayed by nice mock-ups. At the end of the day, a template looks how you make it look based on your own assets — not mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating given so many companies mix, match, & misuse jargon to sell their product. Here are the five core things you need to have a website on the Internet nowadays.

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most catering websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

It’s extremely popular — but that’s because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” , it’s like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes, those criticisms are true…but also not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a catering website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made catering website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates: website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation — not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small catering businesses to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many hospitality software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Catering Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom catering website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Catering Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made catering template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography. Remember that you’ll be using your own assets.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Catering Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for catering businesses.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – catering functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Catering/Hospitality Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For catering companies, your menu, event, and pricing pages are the top priority. Make sure their optimized for mobile (scannable content, easy to navigate, etc.).

Marketing Your Catering Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Brewery Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a brewery website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the rapidly growing, competitive brewery industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a brewery website with a brewery website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your brewery building search based on existing building layouts.

Sure – a good existing layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, and expansion options do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right brewery website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a brewery template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your beers & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to sell tickets or take reservations?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made brewery templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, brewing process, etc.? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most brewery websites.

Here’s the thing: WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes, it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast”, that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes, those criticisms are true…but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a brewery website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc.).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made brewery website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small breweries to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many hospitality software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Brewery Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here: “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom brewery website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Brewery Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made brewery template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your brewery building or location based on pre-built layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the space.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Restaurant Themes – easily adapted to breweries :).
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Brewery Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for breweries that want to sell something online (think merch, tickets, etc.).

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – brewery functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Hospitality Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of brewery functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For breweries, your beer selection and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Brewery Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Dating Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a dating website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the rapidly digitizing dating industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a dating website with a dating website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like filling out your dating profile with the template provided.

Sure – a the profile template helps guide you, but it’s not what gets you the date. You still need to add in your own personality, photos, fun facts, etc.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right dating website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a dating website template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? If you’re building a dating website, you most likely need it to be interactive + member-based. Aside from that, does it need to be easily edited? How much customization do members need? Do you need to accept online payments for membership? Do you need chat functionality for members to talk to one another?

It’s important to know what you need before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters.

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made dating templates can certainly get the job done for your website… but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of how your dating site works, what membership looks like, success stories, etc.? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most dating websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Sure, those criticisms are true… but also not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a dating website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made dating website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. In fact, many dating software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Dating Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here : “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom dating website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Dating Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made dating template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Dating Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – dating functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Dating Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, tons of dating website software providers offer specific plugins that integrates with WordPress (see here). Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that the maintaining, revising and editing is never done — especially for a membership-based site like a dating website. It doesn’t have time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For dating websites, your information and membership pages are the top priority. And with dating apps increasing in popularity, remember your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means a mobile-optimized website, or even an app version (which some software providers provide with their plugin).

Marketing Your Dating Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing: you can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to building a minimally viable website.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Moving Company Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 10, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a moving company website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the competitive moving industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a moving company website with a moving company website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your moving company based on truck size.

Sure – a good-sized truck is crucial to your business, but it’s not the end-all-be-all. Your location, pricing, scalability, etc. all matter, too.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right moving company website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a moving company template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your rates & service radius (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to be able to submit a quote request? Post user-generated reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your physical business assets, like trucks, labor, boxes, etc. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made moving company website templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, insurance policies, service radius, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most moving company websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes, it is popular… but it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Sure, those criticisms are true… but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a moving company website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made moving company website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small, local companies to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Moving Company Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom moving company website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Moving Company Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made moving company template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind:

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like structuring your moving company solely on truck size and ignoring other crucial business factors like location, ROI, etc.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Moving Company Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for moving companies that want customers to be able to book and pay online.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – moving company functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For moving companies, your service and location pages are the top priority, as well as the ability to request a quote. Keep in mind that a lot of customers will be browsing on mobile, that means you’ll want scannable content and minimal navigation

Marketing Your Moving Company Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Bank Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a bank website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the cutthroat, rapidly digitizing banking industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a bank website with a bank website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like looking for your branch location search based on existing building layouts.

Sure – a good building is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, lease terms, and expansion options don’t make sense. You wouldn’t lease/buy a building right next door to a large, competing bank would you?

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right bank website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a bank template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need online banking capabilities? What security requirements do you need to meet? Do you need to be able to handle customer service inquiries?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your physical bank location. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a new, repeat customer worth? How much do you want to grow? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth – can a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made bank templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, policies, etc? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most bank websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a bank website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made bank website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small banks to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many bank software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Bank Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom bank website, especially one that needs online banking functionaility.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Bank Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made bank template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your branch building or location based on pre-built building layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
My round-up of WordPress Bank & Financial Institution Themes
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Bank Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – banking functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need. On the other hand, banking is a very specialized industry that requires extensive security measures if you’re planning on enabling online banking capabilities. With that said, here are a few excellent sources to find the banking website functionality you need:

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Banking Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For banks, your location pages and online banking capabilities are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content, easy log in, and minimal navigation (or app functionality).

Marketing Your Bank Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Bakery Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Build a Bakery Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup Guide

So you need to build a bakery website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the high-churn, cutthroat, rapidly digitizing food industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a bakery website with a bakery website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your bakery building search based on existing kitchen layouts.

Sure – a good existing kitchen layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, and expansion options do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right bakery website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a bakery template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your menu & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to integrate it with ordering apps? Allow reviews to exist on the site itself?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made bakery templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, menu options, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most bakery websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a bakery website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

As we covered earlier, templates simply pre-made HTML & CSS (the computer languages that browsers use to yield a webpage). While not 100% necessary, mobile devices and different browsers make good design nearly impossible to do well from scratch. All good web designers use some sort of template/framework to start.

And there is a whole universe of pre-made bakery website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small bakeries to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many food and hospitality software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Bakery Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefiting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom bakery website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Bakery Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made bakery template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your bakery building or location based on pre-built kitchen layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the kitchen.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Bakery Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for bakeries if you’d like your customers to be able to place online orders.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – bakery functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Food and Hospitality Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of bakery functionality, especially if you seat people and need reservations – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For a bakery, your menu and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Bakery Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build an Auto Parts Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build an auto parts website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the rapidly growing and digitizing auto parts industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building an auto parts website with an auto parts website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your auto parts business based on on just one vehicle

Sure – getting specific is great. But it doesn’t really matter if you can’t expand or the cost of those parts doesn’t make sense for the pay off.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right auto parts website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into an auto parts template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? Do you need to be able to upload new parts regularly? Should customers be able to purchase directly on the site? How do you want to display parts and information? Do you need to integrate with your shipping provider?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about how you select which auto parts to sell. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made auto parts templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, physical location (if applicable), part descriptions, etc? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most auto parts websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building an auto parts website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made auto parts website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small auto parts providers to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, manye commerce software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Auto Parts Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom auto parts website that needs ecommerce functionality.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Auto Parts Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made auto parts template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented, as well as checkout page customization .
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your auto parts offerings based on a single vehicle. It’s better to choose your products based on need, ROI, etc and then narrow down from there.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Ecommerce Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Auto Parts Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for auto parts websites.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – auto parts functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For auto parts websites, your product pages and checkout are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means high quality images that load quickly, scannable content, minimal navigation, and an easy check out process.

Marketing Your Auto Parts Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning an ecommerce marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

9 Reasons Why You Should Use WordPress for Your Business Website

Updated June 27, 2018 By ShivarWeb Staff

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

You’re likely here because you’re considering using WordPress for your business website, but you’re not sure. With all of the platforms, site-builders, and other options out there, it’s better to do your research than hop in and end up with a site you can’t manage or keep secure.

According to Alignable’s SMB Index, WordPress is the most trusted software for small business. And while it does have a learning curve, it’s flexibility and versatility make this website platform a great choice for long-term projects.

Here are 9 reasons WordPress would be best for your business:

[Read more…]

Build an Interior Design Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated March 13, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a website for your interior design business. And like the homes you design – you have a certain “look” in mind.

Years ago, you’d have to hire a designer to build everything from scratch.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the high-churn, cutthroat, rapidly digitizing interior design industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building an interior design website with a interior design website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your interior design process based on existing objects rather than the actual room.

Sure – good existing objects are great. But it makes more sense to start with the room structure, the lighting, the functionality and go from there.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right interior design website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into an interior design website template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your portfolio? Will it need ecommerce features? Are you not sure – but want to keep you options open?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your design projects. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design /designer / template.

Assets

Pre-made interior design templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have case studies and a fully developed portfolio? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most interior design websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most business’ needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not really.

Additionally – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its massive advantages for building an interior design website (ie, ownership, marketing, content types, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made interior design templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins.

These allow even small interior design firms to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many interior design software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

For example, Houzz has an entire section of widgets that integrate seamlessly with WordPress.

3. Choose & Setup Your Interior Design Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a “hosted service” run by the originator of WordPress software. It’s an all-in-one service that bundles a limited version of WordPress software with hosting, software, support, and services all into one monthly plan.

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom interior design website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and some design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Interior Design Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made interior design template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your interior design “look” based on a single object rather than fitting the objects to the space.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Designer Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Interior Design Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for design firms that also retail products.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – interior design functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Interior Design Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of designer functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For interior designers, your portfolio and about pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Interior Design Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy – which you can amend with specialized services like Houzz and Pinterest.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here – see my step by step setup guide.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Education Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated March 6, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build an education website. Whether it’s for a school, extra-curricular, career advancement – you have a certain “look” (and functionality) in mind. There’s not a lot of budget or defined scope for a professional design firm – so you’re going DIY.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their website & educational material online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the high-churn, cutthroat, rapidly digitizing education industry, this shift has been incredible (think about the rise & domination of MOOCs).

But starting the process of building an education website with an education website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like choosing an office building search based on existing office layouts.

Sure – a good existing office layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, and expansion options do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right education website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design and functionality that your website needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into an education template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? Do you want to present lessons, quizzes & tests on the website? Should their be a forum or social network functionality? How many people need to be able to edit the site or add content?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your household budget. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a successful project worth? How much do you want to grow? How long do you expect this website to last? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your staff’s time worth – can a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made education templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? What content have you written? What brand assets do you have (logos, fonts, colors, etc)?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most education websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building an education website – especially its “plugin” functionality.

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made education website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Many educational website templates try to do too much. When they bundle functionality with design, you can get boxed in when you go to tweak the functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small educational websites to have very advanced functionality on their websites. You can build everything from interactive courses to social networks to tests – to anything you can dream up.

3. Choose & Setup Your Education Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom education website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches. You also have the option to export and migrate to a self-hosted version in the future.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options – which is one thing to double-check with specialized education functionality.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Education Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made education template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your office building or location based on pre-built office layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the kitchen.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress School & Educational Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Education Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

If you want a social network, you can install plugins like BuddyPress or bbPress for forums.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for schools.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – education functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
WPMUdev – a premium plugin provider that started out focused solely on schools. Excellent course building software.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For education websites, your content & navigation are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Education Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Band Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated February 5, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a band website. And you have a certain “look” in mind…but you don’t want to spend money on a ground-up custom web design job.

Fortunately, DIY website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business / project online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the noisy, fast-changing music industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a band website with a band website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your recording studio search based on existing acoustics and recording setup.

Sure – a good acoustical setup is great. But it doesn’t really matter if the producer, engineer, costs and scheduling do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right band website template on the right website platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your band needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a band template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a digital “information flyer” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your tour schedule, merchandise, and discography? Does it need to integrate with 3rd party apps like Spotify, Facebook, BandCamp, Genius, etc?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your band’s equipment. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

What is a new, repeat fan worth? How do you get attention? How do you want to grow your band’s revenue? How much is your time worth – and how much will getting your website right save time? How much is your manager’s time worth – can a good website help them?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made band / musician templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a artwork? Do you know your typography and band colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, tours, albums, press, etc? Do you have partnerships with other bands, promoters, venues or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most band / music websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” or “WordPress is hard” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line” or “well, your Honda Accord needs an oil change every $5k miles.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not really. The upsides of WordPress outweigh any disadvantages.

Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a band website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made band / music website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small band to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many music software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Band / Musician Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website builder platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

If self-hosting WordPress is like owning your own house, then using WordPress.com is like leasing a pre-built apartment. You can do all the customizations that you want “inside” your building, but the maintenance and boring bits are not your responsibility.

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full (free) directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom band website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Band Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made band template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your recording studio based on pre-existing equipment setup. It’s better to choose your studio or location and spend money on supplementary equipment / instruments.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Band / Musician Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Band Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like portfolios, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for Ecommerce like WooCommerce that work well for bands or musicians that sell music or merchandise.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – band / musician functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Music Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of band / musician functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For bands, your music and tour pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Band’s Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy – which has a lot of crossover to musician & bands.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here – see my step by step setup guide.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Personal Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a personal website. And you want to truly express yourself online. You want to be unique…but you are not a professional web designer in any way.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their own website online. You can own your space on the Internet instead of just shacking up on Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn’s digital “land.”

In the modern digital world, this shift is huge. Even if you don’t plan on making a living online – your digital life is in many ways more real than your offline life. It makes sense to control & own it.

But starting the process of building a personal website with a personal website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like choosing a house search based on solely on the existing paint job.

Sure – a move-in ready paint job is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, and living options do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – all web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

In other words – you aren’t limited to “Squarespace templates” or “Wix templates” or “BrandYourself Templates.”

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right personal website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that you need for your personal & professional life.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a personal website template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what “assets” (ie, content, photos, PDFs, etc) you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “resume website” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you want to blog and add to it? Do you want to be experimental? Do you want to host a portfolio of work?

Do you want to integrate with other platforms (ie, feed in your Instagram)? Do you want to make money – sell ads or partner with brands?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading the sales page of [brand name website builder].

Budget

Price is powerful, but it’s important to not only pay for value but to also pay for what matters. Think about your personal budget. What do you spend money on and where do you cut back?

Is your site as valuable to you as your monthly NetFlix subscription? Will it help you get your next job? Is it a core part of your goals for the future?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template. You might be excited about the project now – but price usually determines whether you keep your site for a month or 10 years.

Assets

Pre-made personal templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. I mean – thats’ the whole point, right?

What photography do you have? Do you have a pre-written content? Do you have documents, PDFs, or video that you want online? Do you have typography and colors that you love? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by beautiful mock-up templates.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most personal websites (yes, and that includes the non-stop Squarespace advertising).

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not.

Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate / eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a personal website (ie, ownership, accessible, expandable, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made personal website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality or pre-made photography.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

Possibly the biggest advantage of WordPress is how “extensible” it is. WordPress has a whole universe of free & premium plugins. These allow even small personal to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many small personal websites can make money & go viral because of all the options open via plugins.

3. Choose & Setup Your Personal Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress** Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

**if you want to know exactly why – I wrote an extensive comparison between Squarespace and WordPress based on my experience.

Option #1 Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

That said, installing WordPress with a good shared hosting company makes all the difference. A good hosting company can provide the support, security & services that can minimize the risks of maintaining your own self-hosted WordPress.

For personal websites, I use & recommend Bluehost for a few reasons. I wrote a length comparison of Bluehost here.

Bluehost is extremely affordable to get started.
Bluehost has a clean, fast “onboarding” process built for personal websites.
Bluehost is the go to name-brand for starter self-hosted WordPress website.
Bluehost has plans to grow with and they run servers on cPanel…so it’s simple to transfer if/when you ever want to leave.

See Bluehost’s current promotional discount here.

Downside: You are in charge of technical aspects. Sure – Bluehost provides support and consultants can provide expertise, but you are ultimately in charge of everything. For anyone who doesn’t want to deal with technical issues at all – self-hosting WordPress is not ideal.

Option #2 WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a “hosted service” run by the originator of WordPress software. It’s an all-in-one service that bundles a limited version of WordPress software with hosting, software, support, and services all into one monthly plan.

If self-hosting WordPress is like owning your own house, then using WordPress.com is like leasing a pre-built condominium. You can do all the customizations that you want “inside” your building, but the maintenance and boring bits are not your responsibility.

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Personal Plans are accessible AND predictable.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows a ton of functionality…and it’s future-proof if you ever need to leave – which is huge for a custom personal website.

See WordPress.com’s Plans here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Personal Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made personal template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your house based on pre-built kitchen layout. It’s better to choose your house or location and spend money renovating the kitchen.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

With a WordPress.com Personal Plan, you can not only upload template choices from sites listed above – you also get unlimited access to WordPress.com’s premium templates. These all have advanced customization options so that you can edit them.

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Personal Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for galleries and portfolios like Envira Gallery and JetPack.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – unique functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

Note that with WordPress.com Personla Plans also have lots of interesting functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a personal blog or a resume site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Using WordPress + a good template should make this process straightforward and WordPress.com’s Customizer tool allows for simple click & edit customization.

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your readers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

Marketing Your Personal Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best readers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to generating content ideas and my guide to Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a hosting plan with WordPress auto-install here – see my step by step setup guide.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Build a Restaurant Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated January 29, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you need to build a restaurant website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Fortunately, website design has come a long way in the last few years.

Free templates, ready-made designs, and website builders allow anybody to get their business online. It allows professional designers to think more about brand voice rather than counting pixels.

In the high-churn, cutthroat, rapidly digitizing restaurant industry, this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a restaurant website with a restaurant website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your restaurant building search based on existing kitchen layouts.

Sure – a good existing kitchen layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, building, lease terms, and expansion options do not make any sense.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers – web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. This means that…

…any website template can exist on any good web platform.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right restaurant website template on the right web platform so that you can build the design & functionality that your business needs.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a restaurant template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). It’s important to take stock of what you truly need, what your budget is, and what website assets you already own.

Needs

What functionality does your website need? Is it simply a “brochure site” – or does it need to be interactive? Do you need it to be easily edited? How should it display your menu & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take reservations or integrate it with ordering apps?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before reading template sales features.

Budget

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made restaurant templates can go a long way…but the site still needs to be yours. What photography do you have? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, location, dishes, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

There are no right answers, but it’s important to at least think about them before getting swayed by nice mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

There are hundreds of thousands of website software options.

For our purposes, we’ll be looking at WordPress.

WordPress powers more than 25% of the Internet. It has its critics and its evangelists. But it’s still the go-to solution for most restaurant websites.

Here’s the thing. WordPress is kind of like the 4 door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is popular. But it’s popular because it fits most people’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress gets hacked” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans get broken into more often than semi-trucks” or “well, your Honda Accord can’t beat my Ferrari off the line.”

Yes – those criticisms are true..but not. Plus – as we’ll see – there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a restaurant website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made restaurant website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services.

There is one item to remember about templates. Website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality.

Website Plugins / Extensions

Plugins / extensions / apps are specific pieces of software that work with your website software to add functions or features to your website.

3. Choose & Setup Your Restaurant Website Platform

There are a lot of excellent website platforms. There are infinite ways to combine, mix & match the 5 different pieces you need for a modern website.

But this guide would be worthless if it did not actually help you find a template & build a website that works.

We’ve already narrowed the website software down to WordPress. Now we need to pick where your WordPress software will live & how it will work with your templates & plugins.

There are two main options here – “self-hosted” WordPress and WordPress.com.

Self-hosted WordPress

WordPress is free, open-source, community supported software. You can download it, install it anywhere, and use it however you like.

For businesses, I use & recommend InMotion Hosting for a few reasons. I wrote a full review of InMotion here.

InMotion provides excellent support services via phone, chat, email & knowledgebase.
InMotion operates at a slightly higher price point to focus on businesses (not hobby bloggers).
InMotion provides WordPress auto-install at checkout in addition to an (optional) free, drag & drop design tool called BoldGrid.
InMotion can provide custom web design services to minimize the search for a random freelancer.

See InMotion Hosting’s current Business Hosting Plans here.

WordPress.com

For businesses, I use & recommend WordPress.com for a few reasons.

WordPress.com takes care of *all* speed, security & technical concerns while still benefitting from the advantages of WordPress software.
WordPress.com’s Business Plan is expensive, but it is predictable. There will never be a big consultant’s fee for maintenance.
WordPress.com provides a full directory of premium design templates with simple installation.
WordPress.com still allows you to install vetted 3rd party plugins – which is huge for a custom restaurant website.

See WordPress.com’s Business Plan here.

Upside: If you use WordPress.com, then you get most of the upside of WordPress software without any potential technical headaches.

Downside: You have a limited version of WordPress – and will inevitably miss out on some functionality and design options.

Your Next Steps

Remember that there is no wrong choice. It all depends on your goals and needs.

4. Choose & Setup Your Restaurant Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made restaurant template for your website.

When you are shopping, keep a few things in mind.

Ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography.
Focus on the layout of a given template.
Look beyond the homepage. Look at how the subpages and unique pages are presented.
Remember that any template can be reproduced as a WordPress Theme or template. If you see a Squarespace, Weebly, Wix, Drupal, etc template, it is better to convert that template to WordPress than to lock into that platform simply for the design. Again, that would be like choosing your restaurant building or location based on pre-built kitchen layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the kitchen.

Self-hosted WordPress Templates

With a self-hosted WordPress install, you have a basically unlimited choice of templates. Here are a few places to look for high-quality options.

My round-up of WordPress Restaurant Themes – self-explanatory :)
My round-up of WordPress Theme Frameworks – basically amazing foundational templates that can produce great websites with good photos & colors.
ThemeForest – a huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
MOJO Themes – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
TemplateMonster – another huge marketplace for premium themes & templates. You purchase, download and install.
WordPress.org Repository – the official marketplace for WordPress themes & templates. All templates are free to download & install directly into your WordPress website.

WordPress.com Templates

You can browse them here.

5. Choose & Setup Your Restaurant Website Functionality

Many template & theme makers bundle functionality with design. That can be great – but it can also have downsides.

If your theme has too much functionality built-in, then you are locked into that template. But if you separate out design & functionality, you can easily edit both.

Either way, WordPress allows additional functionality via plugins.

Everyday Functionality

WordPress works out of the box – and needs very little installed on top. In fact, generally the fewer plugins you have, the better.

If you are using a self-hosted site, then I’d recommend installing the JetPack plugin to provide security & backups (along with other fun things like sharing buttons, contact forms, etc).

I’ve also written a round-up of “must have” WordPress plugins here – that includes things like Google Analytics & Redirects.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for restaurants.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – restaurant functionality.

Here it is important to emphasize writing down your needs. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

There are a few excellent sources.

WordPress.org Repository – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality. Be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality.
ThemeForest – also an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.
Restaurant Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of restaurant functionality – see this example.

6. Refine Your Design & Content

Now that you have your design & functionality setup – the fun begins.

The important point here is that whether your website is a brochure or informational site – or an interactive & constantly updated site – maintaining, revising and editing is never done.

It does not have to be time-consuming, but a good website is one that has regular updates and edits.

Editing Your Design

Here’s a guide to how WordPress Themes work – along with a tour of the WordPress Dashboard.

When planning & editing your site, be sure to keep the features that your customers want in mind. Even if you like a certain look or feel – that might be frustrating for visitors.

For restaurants, your menu and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Restaurant Website

Ahh – now the real fun. There are no right answers here.

But here’s the thing. You can’t do real, long-term brand building without a website. Social networks come and go. But a good website is something that *you* own.

If you lock onto your best customers and identify how they find you, you’ll be able to position your site for whatever comes.

I cover this topic in my guide to planning a local marketing strategy.

Next Steps

Walk through your budget & needs.

If self-hosted WordPress fits your needs, purchase a Business Hosting Plan with WordPress auto-install here – see my step by step setup guide.

If bundled WordPress services fit your needs, purchase a WordPress.com Business Plan here.

Keep Exploring & Learning!

Must Have WordPress Plugins: The 6 Essential (Free!) Plugin Types

Updated January 12, 2018 By ShivarWeb Staff

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

In many ways, plugins are a killer feature for using WordPress. They can add nearly any imaginable functionality to WordPress – from eCommerce to social networking to dancing unicorns. But what are the truly must-have WordPress plugins?

There’s a balance. Since the most popular and needed features get added to core WordPress, WordPress already comes with tons of functionality out of the box.

And as a general rule of thumb, the fewer plugins you have, the better. Plugins add a lot of overhead to your installation and can be a drag on performance. Always try to use WordPress’ core features or manually add snippets to the functions.php file instead of adding yet another plugin. This is why any post that has more than 6 “essential” plugins isn’t really helping things.

That said, there are 6 must-have plugins for WordPress that provide functionality that nearly every website that wants to grow traffic will need in some form or fashion.
Disclosure – this website receives customer referral fees from companies and products mentioned on this website. All data & opinions are based on ShivarWeb staff’s independent research and professional judgment.

[Read more…]

How To Start a Fashion & Clothing Blog (and Make Money)

Updated May 17, 2017 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

So you want to start a fashion blog and make money from it. Well, you’re in the right place. This guide covers exactly how to create your own fashion/clothing blog and get paid for your fashion sense. But it isn’t as simple as throwing your ideas out on the Internet.

[Read more…]

How To Create a Website Like Facebook with WordPress

Updated May 15, 2017 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

This guide covers exactly how to create a website like Facebook (or any social network) using WordPress and the BuddyPress plugin.

WordPress + BuddyPress allow you to build a beautiful website with key social networking features such as user profiles, groups, mentions, activity feeds and more.

You’ll be able to build your site “out of the box” step by step with a couple bits of free, open-source, quality software that’s meant to empower anyone to start a social network for their meetup, school, community, hobby – anything you can imagine (without hiring $$$ developers to write all the code from scratch).

WordPress started more than a decade ago as a simple blogging software, but it has grown and evolved into the most widely used “content management systems” (aka CMS) on the Internet. It gives you the tools to build & manage any type of website.

WordPress has “Plugins” or bits of software that adds features & functionality…such as social networking features.

In other words, WordPress provides the foundation of a website that’s adaptable to build any type of website. It’s going to allow you to build a website like Facebook with no real programming knowledge by just installing bits of software that work together.

Capabilities & Expectations

Before we get started, there’s a couple things to clarify. First (and most obvious) is that there are a million different ways to build a social network website like Facebook – just like there are a million ways to build a house. It comes down to the key features that you want, and what it takes to get them.

I’m a fan of WordPress + BuddyPress because:

It works out of the box
It’s supported by a very active community
It has all the key features of a social network
It has options & a community of developers who can easily add anything on top of the platform
It’s open-source, free & standardized so you are not “locked in” if you ever need to develop a custom solution

However, it’s also not:

Supported by billions of dollars of investment (aka Facebook)
Specifically built from the ground up with social network features
Drag, drop, click & done.

It requires a bit of thought, setup, and planning. But that is what this guide is for! Let’s dive into how to create a website like Facebook with WordPress.

Getting Started – Hosting & Installing WordPress

Your absolute first step will be getting a domain name (an address for your site) and a hosting account (a server where your website will live) with WordPress installed on that server. If you want exact details & screenshots on this process –> pause and read & follow my guide to setting up WordPress from scratch here.

Your choice of domain name provider doesn’t matter directly as much as hosting. I like to keep domain & hosting separate if only for costs & flexibility. As mentioned in the setup guide, I’m a fan of NameCheap for clean dashboard and better long-term pricing (see their plans here). I wrote a long review of Namecheap and GoDaddy here.

Social networking sites are going usually start off small resource-wise, but can quickly grow to have a large database with heavy PHP memory and storage requirements.

To start off, a well-provided for shared linux-based hosting account will do fine for a while. The ones I recommend in the setup guide are all solid because they all provide more then 256M of memory (something not featured by many hosting companies) and provide unlimited storage. In the setup guide, I recommend the following hosting plans to start off a WordPress + BuddyPress site:

HostGator (see their plans w/ 45% off here). Great host overall when factoring in great pricing, solid service & complete features. I use them for most of my personal projects, including this website.
InMotion Hosting (see their plans w/ 53% off here). A strong, independent hosting company. A bit more expensive than HostGator but with impeccable service in my experience. See my full comparison here.

If you are planning on starting out with hundreds of active users, you will want to start out with a service that either has dedicated server resources OR a staff that actively manages your WordPress installation and server resources for you.

That will mean purchasing a Virtual Private Server (VPS) through InMotion (actually the exact plan ShivarWeb.com uses), which will give you lots of dedicated server resources for a large site. If purchased with cPanel, it will be a similar setup process as with shared hosting.

Or it will mean getting a plan with someone like WP Engine (also a company I have used for some projects) which focuses specifically on WordPress hosting and actively manages your installation & server resources for you (see their plans here)

All companies mentioned have a straightforward quick-install WordPress process (again, detailed in my setup guide here).

Once you’ve got WordPress installed and you are familiar with the Dashboard and backend setup, it’s time to create a website like Facebook (or any social network).

Introduction to BuddyPress

As I mentioned earlier, WordPress is the content management system that “powers” your website. What makes it so versatile though is that you can install plugins for WordPress to add additional functionality that isn’t included in the main package.

BuddyPress is one such plugin. It’s a plugin that adds user profiles, activity streams, user groups, and other social network type functionality to your WordPress-powered website. Unlike many plugins that are developed by third parties, BuddyPress is actually one of the plugins developed directly within the WordPress community.

It’s built to work hand in glove with WordPress and it has the same type of documentation. It’s also operated under the same principles as WordPress.org software – it’s open-source (aka not proprietary to a corporation); it’s GPL licensed (aka you can use it and modify it as you wish); and it’s free and supported by the community and users around it.

Because it’s open-source, any site you build with BuddyPress + WordPress will be yours. There’s a lot of plug and play social network platforms, but if you develop a site with their software, it will not be truly yours.

Since it’s part of the growing WordPress ecosystem, it has a strong community of developers (they actually just raised $51,000 to let a developer focus solely on speed optimizations for BuddyPress). And since there’s so much interest in BuddyPress, it’s easier to find developers who can work with WordPress/BuddyPress platforms.

Now that you know a bit about what you’re working with, let’s actually get it installed.

Install the BuddyPress Plugin

To install the BuddyPress plugin, navigate to Plugins –> Add New from the WordPress Dashboard. Then search for BuddyPress. Click install, then click Activate.

After activating the plugin, you’ll be redirected to the BuddyPress welcome screen with next steps.

Now before you dive in setting up different components and features, it’s a good time to stop and envision the functionality of your site without the design.

What exactly do you want your members to be able to do? It’s one thing to “be like Facebook” or “be like Twitter” but in reality their core features have been around since the dawn of the web – peer to peer communication, organization into groups, links, profiles, etc.

Configure Your Social Network Features

Now that you have an idea of exactly what you want to achieve, let’s go ahead and start configuring the functionality of BuddyPress to fit what you’re looking for.

Head to Settings –> BuddyPress and check out the default Components tab.

You’ll get to decide on:

Extended Profiles

Even without BuddyPress installed, WordPress allows people to register as users. BuddyPress lets you enable this option to expand the user profiles, so they can make it into a true Facebook/Twitter/Google+ style profile page.

Member Account Settings

Allows users to customize their settings without contacting the owner of the social network (ie, you).

Friend Connections

This is exactly like the Facebook friending or Google+ Circling functionality. Your users customize who they keep up with in their feeds.

Internal Messaging

Think Facebook/Twitter mentions and/or direct messages. Allows users to message each other directly within your network.

Notifications

Enables notification functionality both within the site with a user toolbar and with email. Users can customize their alert options.

Activity Streams

This component generates customized streams (aka the Facebook Newsfeed or Twitter feed). It’s fully customizable and comes with RSS/Email support if you want it.

User Groups

If you want something like Facebook Groups, then here’s your component. This allows your users to organize public, private or hidden activity groups to talk about whatever they want to discuss.

Site Tracking

If you want BuddyPress to organize site usage statistics – then there you go.

That’s all of BuddyPress’ built-in functions. However, the huge advantage of BuddyPress is the fact that it’s an open-source platform, so anyone can build a plugin to extend it even further (and yes, that does mean there are plugins for plugins – so awesome). We’ll cover additional ways you can extend functionality in a separate section.

But first, let’s finish setting up internal settings & fields.

Configure Your Settings & Fields

The next tab in BuddyPress settings is the Pages tab.

BuddyPress has several required pages – such as member page and activity page. It will automatically generate them.

If you want a specific sign-up & activate membership page (ie, if users can sign up without you assigning username/password), then you’ll need to create a Page and then “assign” it to these roles respectively.

The next tab is actual Settings. These are fairly self-explanatory with the defaults being the norm.

For an overview of where everything relate to BuddyPress is from the WordPress Dashboard:

Now you have a fully functional social network site just like Facebook, Twitter or Google+. However, as you can tell, functionality is only part of the battle. The real wins are going to be with design. So let’s dive into that next.

Get a BuddyPress Compatible Theme for Design

In WordPress, plugins handle functionality and themes handle the design & layout of the website.

Since BuddyPress is a WordPress sub-project, it integrates quite well with all default WordPress themes. It uses similar classes and templates, and will keep your design across all page types.

However, default WordPress themes look like, well, the default. They aren’t unique (without heavy customization) and don’t have the beauty or attention to detail that premium themes made by third party professional designers do. Here’s the Default Twenty Twelve Theme with BuddyPress:

When shopping for a premium theme (or theme framework) that you love, you can either look for BuddyPress specific themes OR look for themes that have the ability to add BuddyPress support (ie, adding extra classes, templates, etc).

For example, my favorite theme framework (ie, a theme with a base layout and classes that you can easily add skins, aka “child themes” to) is Genesis by StudioPress. It has a simple plugin that adds BuddyPress support to all themes, so you can install Genesis and select any child theme you like and apply it and it will look consistent across your social network.

There’s also plenty of incredible themes custom built specifically for BuddyPress. You can check out premium themes at ThemeForest here, BuddyPress free themes here, or more premium themes at MOJO Themes here.

Either way, just keep in mind that while your theme should integrate well, BuddyPress does have extra classes and templates that a theme will need to account for.

Additional resources are my breakdown of WordPress theme frameworks, and how to install a WordPress theme here.

Now you officially have a beautiful, functional website just like Facebook!

However, just as sites like Facebook and Twitter are always adding features, BuddyPress allows you to keep adding features and customizing the experience for your members.

Customize & Extend The Social Network Experience

BuddyPress is a WordPress plugin that adds social network functionality to WordPress. But BuddyPress itself can accept plugins as well to add more functionality.

BuddyPress’ free plugins can be found here. Some are interesting, especially for smaller functionality. However the BuddyPress market is not that large, so sometimes free BuddyPress plugins are not kept up to date. I would strongly recommend looking at premium BuddyPress plugins by WPMU to start. They have a great selection and, since they are paid plugins, are well maintained.

BuddyPress also plays well with other WordPress plugins to make all sorts of fun combinations.

bbPress is WordPress’ other sub-project that creates forums. It deserves it’s own setup guide, but keep in mind that adding forums on top of BuddyPress is a very interesting combination.

And since BuddyPress is an open-source platform, developers are straightforward to find. Your imagination is really the only limitation.

Next Steps & Resources

First, you’ll need a domain name for your website. I recommend NameCheap (register for a domain here & read my comparison with GoDaddy here).

Second, you’ll need to sign up for hosting. If you are starting small, check out either Bluehost (see their plans here), InMotion (see their plans here) or HostGator (see their plans here).

If you are going to be more than +100 users right off the bat, then I’d recommend using WP Engine (see their plans here) – a managed hosting service that specializes in WordPress. They may seem pricey, but they have great customer service and will dedicate the resources your site needs. For a growing resource-intensive site, they are worth every penny. They are even investing money in making BuddyPress even better.

Third, you’ll need to install WordPress. See my WordPress website setup guide for step by step walkthrough. If you are using WP Engine, it’s already set up.

Fourth, install BuddyPress plugin & define your components.

Fifth, get a compatible theme. I recommend checking out Themeforest (see here), Genesis theme framework with BuddyPress connect, or customizing a default WordPress theme. See BuddyPress’ free theme directory here.

Sixth, learn WordPress & BuddyPress and explore the options. Start with my intro video guides here.

Seventh, start signing up users, adding content, and growing your website! Good luck!

More Resources:

BuddyPress official documentation

Official BuddyPress Plugin & Support Listing

BuddyPress on Wikipedia

WPMU Beginner’s Guide

WPMU BuddyPress Plugins

Effective About Us Page Design: Best Practices & Examples

Updated February 5, 2017 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

If there’s one thorn in your side when it comes to website content, it’s the humble About page. Whether you’re a company trying to win big business or a freelancer looking to nail your first gig, chances are your About page could be better than it is.

Think about you own Internet behavior. What page do you click to when you are interested in a website, but have never heard of the brand – the About page.

But designing an about page can be daunting. After all, how do you strike the perfect balance between selling your capabilities and getting so self-promotional that you actually drive clients away (or boring them that they are underwhelmed)?

Don’t worry, it’s easier than it seems. Here are six best practices your About Us page should perform, from what content you need to what the design should include (with examples)!

Your About Us Page Should… [Read more…] about Effective About Us Page Design: Best Practices & Examples

13+ Useful WordPress Theme Frameworks For Developing Websites

Updated January 2, 2017 By ShivarWeb Staff

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

Are you looking for a WordPress Theme design, but just can’t find the perfect “pre-built” theme out there? Or maybe you’re a designer or developer looking for a good foundation to use for the majority of your client base?

You’ve come to the right place. As I’m sure you already know, WordPress is just the software that helps store, organize and manage your website content in a database – and WordPress Themes give you the look or design that visitors see. Even though there is a huge market for free and premium themes, you can’t always find the perfect fit – especially if you’re developing a custom website.

But building a theme from scratch can be time-consuming and not-so-economical for most clients.

And that’s where theme frameworks come in. They do the heavy lifting of the theme so that you or the designer/developer can focus on features and design. It’s like buying the foundation and frame of a house that’s already got the rough electrical and plumbing done. But when you use a WordPress theme framework for developing a website, the framework has all the hooks, filters, grids, etc so that you can quickly apply your custom design elements or snippets of code to make the site look just right.

It’s a win all around. You get the well-written code that you need from the beginning, faster site development, flexibility to make modifications to your own site – all without compromising on the actual design that you are looking for.

Another thing that you might find useful: a WordPress theme framework generally means one of two things:

It’s an internal theme framework developed by a specific theme seller or marketplace like Divi by Elegant Themes. All of Elegant Themes’ themes are built on the same solid foundation – so practically all of their functionality will be the same. Note – you may or may not be able to purchase a framework like this independently…it just depends on the particular company or developer.
It’s an independent framework that anyone can use as their project foundation. For example, you can purchase a framework like Genesis by itself and build up your own design/theme. Or you can buy Genesis along with a theme and go from there.

All that said, frameworks are brilliant and incredibly useful for everyone. Here’s a collection of 13+ Premium Theme Frameworks for WordPress (with paid support) so you can design a custom website quickly without breaking your budget. [Read more…] about 13+ Useful WordPress Theme Frameworks For Developing Websites

How To Create a Beauty Blog & Makeup Website from Scratch

Updated July 14, 2016 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

This guide covers how to create a beauty blog and/or makeup website from scratch. It will be a website/blog that you own and control – one that’s not controlled by any service and that lives on your own domain (aka web address).

[Read more…]

How To Create a Food Blog & Cooking Recipe Website

Updated June 23, 2016 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure: ShivarWeb may receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. All data & opinions are based on our experience as customers or consultants to customers.

How to Create a Food Blog or Recipe Website

So you want to share your culinary ideas with the world? Here’s how to create a food blog & recipe website from scratch!

We’ll use screenshots and walk-through to your own fully featured, well-designed food blog / recipe website.

How To Create a Food Blog in 4 Steps

Setup a site domain (ie, your very own www address)
Setup web hosting (ie, the server – where your website lives)
Setup a content management system (ie, WordPress – your organizer)
Make it your food blog & recipe website (ie, make it look and do what you want)

Quick Disclosure: I receive customer referral fees from any companies mentioned in this post. All of my opinions are based on my experience as a paying customer or consultant to a paying customer.

Setting Up A Food Blog Domain

To save money and make things easier for yourself in the future – I highly recommend purchasing your domain separately from your hosting. Hosting and domain selling are two different activities – and usually companies only do one well (and at a good price).

I recommend NameCheap (see plans here & review vs. GoDaddy here) for purchasing your domain name due to cheaper long-term prices and an excellen interface.

Go to NameCheap and search for the name you want, and proceed through the checkout. You do not need any upsells. You can get everything you’ll need from your hosting company.

*Note if you already have a domain with GoDaddy – then that’s cool. The instructions below will work for them as well.

Setting Up Hosting for Your Food Blog

Choosing a good web hosting company is critical for your website. Web hosting companies tend to make things way too confusing with useless feature overload, short-term discounts (then expensive long-term prices), and over-promising customer service.

There at hundreds of web hosting companies on the Internet. There is no such thing as an “overall best” – only the best for you & your situation. Since you are reading this guide, I’ll make a few assumptions (ie, performance needs, budget parameters, etc). If you want to take a quiz – you can do that here.

Otherwise, here’s the 3 companies that I usually end up recommending to DIYers. You can also read my full hosting reviews, including ones for HostGator, InMotion & Web Hosting Hub if you’re interested.

HostGator – Very affordable all-around plans, especially if you plan on installing many small WordPress websites. Good customer service & performance. I use them for my smaller, personal sites. See their plans w/ 45% off here.
Web Hosting Hub – Independently-owned with beginner-focused customer service. Very well-priced plans with deep long-term discounts and good performance. See their plans w/ current discount here.
InMotion Hosting – Independently-owned with great customer service & 90 day money back guarantee. Well-priced plans (with some caps) that have great performance, and can grow as your site grows. This site actually uses a hosting plan with them. I’ll also use their site for screenshots. See their plans w/ 53% off discount here.

The purchase & setup steps in this guide work for all three companies mentioned (and others), but will come from InMotion Hosting if you want to follow along exactly. HostGator has a few more ads/upsells but is otherwise the same. Web Hosting Hub is almost exactly the same.

Step 1. Choose the hosting plan that fits your current goals.

Go to InMotion Hosting’s plans, and view their ‘Shared Business Hosting Plans’. Then select the plan you want. The Launch Plan is great if you have just one or two website ideas. The Power Plan is good if you have several you want to run, plus maybe some test websites on subdomains. The Pro Plan is good if you want no limits.

Next, fill in your domain name and continue.

Step 2. Purchase your plan & select your hosting options.

Confirm your plan and fill in the checkout page fields. The Max Speed Zone determines whether your website physically lives in California or Virginia (which can shave a little bit when you are updating the site), but the default selection should be correct.

The Content Management Installer can be useful, but I’ve found it better to select “No, Thanks” and install it after purchasing the hosting product (which we’ll be doing).

Step 3. Access your account & technical details.

It takes a couple minutes for your account to get ready. When it’s ready, you will get an email from InMotion Hosting that looks like this…

Once you are in your account management panel, head to the Account Technical Details.

Scroll down, and you’ll see two “Nameservers” – copy them. These will “connect” your domain name to your hosting server.

Step 4. Add Nameservers to your domain name & confirm the connection.

Copy the 1st and 2nd Nameserver, and go log in to where you bought your domain names.Then navigate to your Domain’s DNS area. Then, replace the current DNS with the ones provided by HostGator.

In GoDaddy: Go to My Account –> Launch Domains –> Manage Domain –> select Set Nameservers –> Select ‘I have custom nameservers’ –> Paste in 1st and 2nd Nameserver provided by InMotion.

In NameCheap, Login –> Manage Domains –> Select Domain –> Select Manage –> Under NameServers, select Custom and place your nameservers there –> Save Changes.

That’s how to setup hosting for your food blog! Now all that remains is to install blog software, which we will cover in the next section. It can take up to 24 hours for the Domain Nameservers (DNS) to switch over completely, but it usually goes fairly quickly (usually less than 10 minutes if you’re in the USA).

How To Install and Configure Blog Software

So now that we have an address and a place for our website to live, we can dive into how to setup a WordPress website on the server. WordPress is going to be the software that powers your website. But before it can power your website – it needs to be installed on your hosting server.

Here’s how to install and configure WordPress…

Installing WordPress With QuickInstall

While you can certainly install WordPress manually, InMotion (and others mentioned) has an excellent, free, secure tool to quickly install WordPress onto your new hosting account.

Step 1. Access your hosting control panel (cPanel).

Head back to your InMotion Account Management Panel. Click the link to go to your cPanel (control panel). It should automatically log you in to cPanel.

And yes, there is a link to “Install Popular Software” – that link just ends up going to cPanel anyway through a different login screen. Easier to go directly to cPanel.

Step 2. Find the WordPress installer script.

Now that you are logged into hosting cPanel – you’ll need to go looking for an icon called “WordPress” and/or “Softaculous” and open it. You’re looking for this:

Step 3. Run the WordPress install script.

Open the WordPress auto-install script opened and then continue.

Step 4. Enter website information into installer.

Now you will just fill out your information, and click Install. Be sure that your email address is correct. Leave the field after / blank – that is for only if someone already has a website on the main domain that they want to keep running. Enter your Blog Title – you can change it once you’ve installed WordPress.

Step 5. Confirm installation and log into WordPress Dashboard!

After a few seconds… Congratulations! You’ve got yourself a new WordPress website – and now you know exactly how to set up a WordPress website on your own server.

Be sure to copy your username and password in a safe place (it will also be emailed to you).

And go login to your new WordPress site at http://[yourdomain.com]/wp-admin! You can also check your email to get links & login information.

When you first login, be sure to set your permalinks in addition to your time zone and basic settings –

All your initial settings are now taken care of! Let’s move on to the design features.

Creating Your Food Blog and Recipe Website

So you have your own website on your own domain. But how do you make it your own food blog / recipe website? Well, I break it down into 3 issues to solve.

First, you need a design that tells the world that this is a food website.

Second, you need some website functionality so that you can present your food / recipe content exactly how you want it – full of rich imagery, printable recipes, etc.

Third, you need visitors that are interested in food, recipes and your unique take on the culinary world.

Let’s look at each in turn.

Themes & Design

The great thing about using WordPress as your content management system is that you can create any design you can imagine since it’s code speaks the language of browsers (HTML/CSS). BUT you don’t have to write all that. WordPress allows you to easily install an off-the-shelf “theme” – a pre-made design – that are customizable to your taste.