Building Better Websites That Visitors Love & Make Money

A website is more than just HTML that pops up in visitors' browsers. It's the full experience that goes from the server to the business model. It's about making sure your marketing fits with your content. And that your content fits with your imagery and infrastructure. Building and running a useful website that your visitors love (and makes money) is an ongoing effort that requires coordinating a lot of pieces. That is what this category is all about. Explore!

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

Updated September 24, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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

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 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

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

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 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).

*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.

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.

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 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.

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 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

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, 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 - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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 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 Cafe Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Chances are you landed here because you need to build a a cafe 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 food and beverage industry, this shift has been incredible.

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

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

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

Let me let you in on 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 cafe website template on, say, Wix that you absolutely love, you actually aren’t tied to using Wix. In fact, you should only use it if it’s the best website platform for your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right cafe 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 cafe 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

Start by thinking about what your website actually needs to do/achieve.

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

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

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 cafe templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. When you’re shopping for a template, you’ll be seeing mock-up photography, fonts, colors, etc. Don’t get swayed by them — you’ll replace all if that 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, beverages and dishes, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Nailing down what you’ll be using on your site (and what you still need to get) will help you evaluate templates for how they’ll actually look vs. how they look with mockups.

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 cafe websites.

Why?

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

It’s fits most people’s need, which makes it a popular choice. 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 also not.

Plus, as we’ll see in this guide, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a cafe website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made cafe 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 — 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 cafes to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many cafe software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your CAFE 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 cafe 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 Cafe Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made cafe 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 cafe building or location based on pre-built 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 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 Cafe 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 cafes.

Specialized Functionality

Now what you’ve been waiting for — cafe 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 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.
Cafe 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 cafe 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 cafes, your menu and location pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices so make sure you have scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Cafe Website

Now for the real fun! Again, 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.

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 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 an Animal Shelter Website and Pet Shop: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 17, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

So you need to build an animal shelter 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 animal shelter website with an animal shelter website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

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

Sure – a good existing office layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, kennels, yard size, 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 animal shelter 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 animal shelter 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? How do you want to share information about adoptable animals? Do you want to accept donations through the website?

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

Budget

How can the website help with finding homes for more animals? What is that worth? 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 aren’t any right answers here, but it’s important to at least think budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made animal shelter templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. After all, when you’re looking at templates, you’re seeing mockups. You’ll be replacing all of the 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 history, location, adoption policies, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or animal organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

It’s important to know what you have before you get 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 animal shelter 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 animal shelter website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made animal shelter 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 local animal shelters to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Animal Shelter 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 animal shelter 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 Animal Shelter Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made animal shelter 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 shelter building based on a pre-built adoption office layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the offices.

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 Animal Shelter 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 – animal shelter 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.
Animal Shelter Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration for functions like donations, adoptable animals, etc. 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 animal shelters, your adoptable animals and location pages are the top priority. Keep in mind that many visitors are likely on mobile devices, which means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Animal Shelther 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 Summer Camp Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

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 - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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

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?

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.

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 a Consulting Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a consulting 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 consulting industry, this shift has been incredible.

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

Starting with a template or premade design is like looking for an office building or coworking space based solely on conference room design.

Sure – a good existing conference room layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, actual working space, 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 consulting 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 consulting 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 (ie. PDF or HTML)? Do you need to allow visitors to contact you through your website or request a quote?

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 consulting 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, pricing, 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 here. The goal is to understand what you have before evaluating templates. After all, templates are made with mockup photography, fonts, colors, etc. — all of which you’ll be replacing with your own assets.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Domain Name

Website Hosting

Website Software

A modern website typically consists of a lot of different files. While not 100% necessary, websites usually need software (ie, a “content management system”) to manage all of those files, and to make it easy for you / your web team to edit and maintain.

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 consulting 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.”

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 consulting website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of premade consulting website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. However, 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 consulting firms to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Consulting 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 consulting 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 Consulting Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right premade consulting 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’re going to 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 Consulting 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) to use. Just remember to write down your needs first. It’s way too easy to add a bunch of plugins to your site 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 Consulting 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 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

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 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 - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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 Construction Company Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you’re looking to build a construction company 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 the process of building a website with a construction company website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Why?

Because templates tend to pigeonhole business owners into choosing a specific platform just because they found a look they like.

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 construction company website template on, say, Wix, you’re actually not tied to using Wix as your website platform. In fact, you should only use it if it makes sense for your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s my 6 step guide to choosing the right construction 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 construction 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 before you start shopping for a template and website platform.

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, & portfolio (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do customers need to be able to contact you directly on 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 construction project worth? How many can you reasonably take on? 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 have an idea of your budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made construction company templates can go a long way… but the site still needs to be yours. After all, you’re going to be replacing all of the mockups in the templates (like photography, colors, etc.) with your own assets.

So what assets do you have? Do you have photography? Do you have a digitized logo? Do you know your fonts and exact colors? Do you have descriptions of your history, services, successful projects, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or organizations? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Get an idea of what you have before looking at templates so you don’t get swayed by mockups you’ll be replacing anyway!

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 in order to get your construction company 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 construction company websites.

Think of WordPress as the 4-door sedan 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 construction company website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

As we’ve already covered 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 construction company website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. The thing to remember when looking at them is that 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 construction companies to have very advanced functionality on their websites. .

3. Choose & Setup Your Construction 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 construction 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 Construction 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 construction company template for your website.

Here are a few things to keep in mind while you’re shopping:

Remember to ignore the mockup photography and logo designs. Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the photography, and you’re going to be replacing that 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 Construction 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.

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.

If you’re looking for specialized functionality, check out the following 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.

Just remember to write down what you need first! It’s really easy to add a bunch of functionality to your website that neither you nor your visitors 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.

For construction companies, your services and portfolio pages are the top priority. Make sure to keep mobile visitors in mind by keeping your content scannable and your navigation simple.

Marketing Your Construction 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 Real Estate Agent Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 13, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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 Law Firm Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a law firm 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 law firm website with a law firm website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your firm’s 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 individual office space setup 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.

If you find a law firm website template you like on Wix, you aren’t tied to using Wix. 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 law firm website template on the right law firm 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 law firm 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 your 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 practice areas, team of lawyers, and location? Do you need to potential clients to be able to contact you through 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, and how can a good website help them?

Again, we’re not looking for “right” answers here, but it’s important to have an idea of budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made law firm 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, practice areas, successful cases, 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 website templates, you’re going to be seeing mock-up photography, colors, fonts, etc. Don’t be swayed! You’ll be replacing those items with your own assets.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating with so many companies mixing, matching, and 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

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 and 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”/CMS) to manage all the files and make it easy for you/your website team to edit & maintain.

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 the go-to solution for most law firm websites.

Why?

Think of WordPress 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. 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 law firm website (ie. ownership, marketing, integrations, etc.).

Website Templates

There is a whole universe of pre-made law firm 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 design, layout, and 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 law firms to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Law Firm 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.

That said, installing WordPress with a good business hosting company makes all the difference. A good hosting company can provide the support, security, and 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.

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 law firm 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 Law Firm Website Template

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

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

Often, a template will only look a certain way due to the mock-up photography, so ignore the mock-up photography and logo designs. You’ll be replacing these 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. Again, that would be like choosing your building or location based on pre-built conference room layout. 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

With a WordPress.com Business Plan, not only can you upload template choices from sites listed above… you can 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 Law Firm 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 – law firm functionality.

It’s important to start by writing down what you actually need before diving into specialized functionality. It’s easy to just randomly add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors need.

Once you’ve written those down, 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.
Law Firm 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 law firm, your practice area pages, contact pages, and reviews are the top priority. Make sure you keep your target customer in mind when writing these out — use this website copywriting guide to help you.

Marketing Your Law Firm 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 Life Coach Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 12, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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 an Event Planner Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

You’ve most likely landed here because you need to build an event planner website, and you’re looking for specific event planner 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 your website with an event planner website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices. In fact, it pigeonholes business owners into choosing a specific template and website platform just to get a certain look.

Here’s the open secret among professional web designers: web pages are made of HTML & CSS with a few scripts thrown in. That’s Internet jargon for saying any website template can exist on any good web platform.

Is there a “personal stylist template” you like better than an “event planner” template? It can be edited! Do you like a template on Squarespace but want to use WordPress? You can recreate that same template on WordPress!

The goal is to figure out what your business needs are and then find the right website template on the right web platform so you can build the design & functionality that your business needs. Here’s my 6 step guide to doing just that.

1. Define Your Needs, Budget & Assets

Since any generic template can transform into a event planner 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 do your 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, prices, etc. (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take quote requests? Showcase other vendors?

There are no right answers here, 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 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, no right answers here, but you’ll want to think through budget before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made event 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 services, pricing, location, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or vendors? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Remember that when you look at templates, you’ll be seeing mock-ups. You’ll actually be replacing all of the photography, font, colors, logos, etc. with your own assets, so don’t be 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 event planner websites. Think of WordPress 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. 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 also not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a event planner 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). They’re not 100% necessary, but 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 event planner 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 they 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 event planning businesses to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts specifically for event planners that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Event 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.

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 event 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 Event Planner Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made event planner 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, which you’re going to be replacing 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 Event 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 event planners.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – event p;anning 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.
Event 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.

Marketing Your Event Planner 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 Counseling Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

You’ve most likely landed here because you need to build a counseling website, and are looking for a specific template to help you design 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 with the “look” they want.

Unfortunately though, this approach tends to pigeonhole business owners into choosing a specific website platform just for the template.

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 template you like on, say, Squarespace, this doesn’t mean you have to set up your entire website on Squarespace. In fact, you should only use a platform if it fits all of your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right counseling 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 counseling template with a little editing, which means it can be a little misleading when you’re shopping around. Instead of looking for a “counseling” specific template, start by taking 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, or can it be a brochure site? Do you need it to be easily edited and updated? How should it display your counseling services, location, credentials, etc. (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take appointment requests?

There are no “right” answers here, but it’s important to have an idea of what your site actually needs before you start looking at template designs & website platforms.

Budget

What is a new client 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 at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made counseling 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, credentials, etc? Do you have partnerships with other local businesses or associations? 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 counseling websites.

Think of WordPress 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” – 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 counseling website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

As we discussed in the introduction, templates are simply pre-made HTML & CSS (the computer languages that browsers use to yield a webpage). They aren’t 100% necessary, but 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 counseling 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, and content presentation — not on functionality. After all, the way in which a website functions depends on the platform and 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 counseling offices to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Counseling 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 counseling 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 Counseling Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made counseling 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 all of 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.

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 Counseling 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’re looking for specialized functionality, you’ll want to look at 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.

Keep in mind that it’s very easy to add a bunch of plugins you don’t need to your website. Start by writing down your needs, then search through those resources.

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 counselors, your services, location, and contact pages are the top priority. Make sure they’re optimized for mobile by keeping content scannable, navigation simple, and contact methods easy (you could even include a click-to-call button so visitors can call directly from your website).

Marketing Your Counseling Website

When it comes to marketing your counseling website, there is no “right” way to dive in.

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 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 Plumbing Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

You’ve probably landed here because you need a plumbing 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.

With that said, starting the process of building a plumbing website with a plumbing website template can lead to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like buying a home solely based on the bathroom layout.

Sure – a good bathroom is crucial. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, school district, number of bedrooms, 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.

So if you were to find a plumbing template that you like on Squarespace, you’re actually not tied to using Squarespace — you/a designer could recreate that look on the website platform that best fits your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right plumbing 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 plumbing template with a little editing, they are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). 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, service-radius & pricing (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take service requests or accept online payments?

We’re not looking for a “right” answer 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, there are no right answers here, but it’s important to at least think about them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made plumbing 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, pricing, location, 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 plumbing websites.

Think of WordPress 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 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 they’re also not. Plus, as we’ll see, there are ways to mitigate/eliminate WordPress’ disadvantages while keeping its advantages for building a plumbing 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). And while you don’t have to use a template, 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 plumbing templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. But one thing to keep in mind when evaluating these templates is to focus on design, layout, and content presentation — not functionality. That can be left to software and 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 beginning plumbing companies to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

3. Choose & Setup Your Plumbing 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 plumbing 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 Plumbing Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made plumbing 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 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.

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 Plumbing 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.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for plumbing websites.

Aside from that, you can find specific functionality by using the WordPress.org Repository and ThemeForest — both of which are an excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

The key here is to write down your needs before searching. It’s easy to just randomly . add things to WordPress that neither you nor your visitors actually need, so make sure to jot down your true needs first, then check out those resources.

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 plumbing websites, your service. location, and service request pages are the top priority. Remember that most visitors are most likely coming from mobile, so keep your navigation simple and your content scannable.

Marketing Your Plumbing 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 Hair Salon Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a hair salon 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 with that said, the process of building your site with a hair salon website template can be a shortcut to some bad website choices.

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

Sure – a good layout is great… but it doesn’t really matter if your location, 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.

So if you find a salon template on Wix that you love, you aren’t tied to using Wix. You can, but really, you should use the website platform that makes the most sense for your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right hair 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 hair 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 pricing & location (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

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 hair salon 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, reviews, 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 here, but it’s important to keep your own assets in mind and not get swayed by mock-ups.

2. Understand Terminology & Options

Website terminology can be daunting and frustrating, especially 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 hair salon websites.

Think of WordPress as the 4-door sedan or light SUV of website software.

Yes – it is 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 hair salon website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made hair salon website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. One thing to keep in mind here though — 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, boutique salons to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many hair salon software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Hair 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 hair 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 Hair 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 hair 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.
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 pre-built layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the layout.

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 Hair 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.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – hair 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.
Hair 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 hair salons, your menu and location pages are the top priority, as well as booking capabilities. Keep in mind that most visitors are likely on mobile devices, so keep content scannable and navigation simple.

Marketing Your Hair Salon Website

Now the real fun begins!

There aren’t any “right” answers when it comes to marketing your salon site, 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 Hotel Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a hotel 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, rapidly digitizing travel industry… this shift has been incredible.

But starting the process of building a hotel website with a hotel template can lead to some bad website choices.

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your hotel building search based on an existing lobby layout.

Sure – a good lobby is great and something you’ll certainly need. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, lease terms, building, number of rooms, etc. don’t make any sense.

When it comes to building a website, here’s an 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 like a hotel website template you found on Wix, you/a designer can recreate that template on any website platform — they key is to find the right one for your business needs.

With that in mind, here’s brief 6 step guide to choosing the right hotel 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 hotel template with a little editing, templates are very easy to market (and easy to mislead). Before 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 rates, rooms, & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to take reservations? Showcase availability?

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 them before shopping for a design/designer/template.

Assets

Pre-made hotel 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 rooms, amenities, location, etc? Do you have marketing partnerships with other local businesses or a larger hotel chain? Do you already have established social profiles & reviews?

Remember that when you’re looking at hotel website templates, you’re looking at mock-ups. You’ll be replacing photography, logos, fonts, colors, etc. with your own assets, so it’s important not to be 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 hotel 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 hotel website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made hotel website templates that range from free templates to paid to bundled with custom design services. Remember, website templates should focus on design, layout & content presentation – and not on functionality. Functionality comes with additional software, such as…

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 hotels to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many hotel software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Hotel 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 hotel 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 Hotel Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right premade hotel 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 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 hotel building or location based on a pre-built lobby layout. It’s better to choose your building or location and spend money renovating the lobby.

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 Hotel 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 Hotel 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 hotels.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – hotel functionality.

Here it’s important to emphasize writing down your needs before you start browsing for specific hotel plugins. 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.
Hotel 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 hotel 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 hotels, your rooms, rates, and booking pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Hotel 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 – 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 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 - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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 – 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 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 Gym Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a gym 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 and cutthroat fitness industry, this shift has been incredible.

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

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your gym building search based on existing 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 gym 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 gym 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 & group fitness schedule (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to have a member portal?

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 member 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 gym 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 location, membership options, group fitness classes, personal training opportunities, 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 gym websites. Think of WordPress 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 gym website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made gym 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 gyms to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many gym software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Gym 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 didn’t 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 gym. You can do whatever you want… but you’re also the one to call the electrician or 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 gym, 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 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 gym website that needs specific functionality (more on that in a bit).

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 Gym Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need, you can dive in finding the right pre-made gym 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 gym 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 Fitness + Personal Trainer 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 Gym 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 – gym 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, which could slow down your site, create a poor user experience, etc.

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.
Gym 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 gyms, your location and membership information pages are the top priority. Make sure your visitors can easily access this information, especially from a mobile device.

Marketing Your Gym 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 Zoo Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated September 10, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

So you need to build a zoo 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.

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

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

Sure – a good existing property layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, amenities (for both visitors and animals), lease/buy 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 brief 6 step guide to choosing the right zoo 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 zoo 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

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 zoo 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, exhibitions, animals, 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 zoo 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 zoo website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made zoo 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 businesses to have very advanced functionality on their websites. In fact, many software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Zoo 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 zoo 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 Zoo Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made zoo 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 Zoo 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. 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.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for zoos that want to sell tickets directly online.

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of specific 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 zoos, your hours/location, tickets and information pages are the top priority. Keep in mind that site visitors are likely to be on mobile devices, which means your content should be scannable and navigation minimal.

Marketing Your Zoo 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 Timber Company Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

So you need to build a timber 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.

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

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like basing your entire timber business based on truck size for hauls.

Sure – a solid truck is going to be crucial. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, tools, labor, and scaling 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 brief 6 step guide to choosing the right timber 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 timber 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 services & location (ie, PDF or HTML)? Do you need to accept quote 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 actual business. 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? 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 timber company 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, service radius, pricing, 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, let’s look 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 timber 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’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 timber company website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made timber 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.

3. Choose & Setup Your Timber 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 timber company website that requires advanced functionality like online booking/quote requests/payment processing/etc.

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 Timber 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 timber 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 basing your entire timber company on the truck you use.

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 Timber 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.

Breaking Down 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 – the official source for plugins. Do a search for specific functionality and be sure to note the number of installs, rating, and other notes of quality. There’s also ThemeForest, another excellent source for premium plugins in every industry.

There are also options for eCommerce like WooCommerce that work well for timber companies who want to process 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 timber companies, your location and service pages are high priority. Keep in mind that customers might also want to pay online or request quotes.

Marketing Your Timber 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 Moving Company Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

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 – 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 – 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 – 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 - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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…]

How to Start an Online Boutique

Nate Shivar Updated June 21, 2018 By ShivarWeb Staff

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

I get a ton of questions from shop owners who thinking through how to start an online boutique. How do I get sales? How do I grow my customer base? Which social media channels should I be on?

But what’s interesting is, so many boutique owners are asking these questions after they’ve already secured their inventory and paid an annual subscription to Shopify or BigCommerce. What they haven’t done is audience research, product research, or any sort of validation and testing.

Before you start your online boutique and focus on getting customers, you need a solid foundation. As such, this guide will walk you through the step-by-step process for creating that foundation and then move into the actual set up of your online boutique.

Definitions + Goals

Before you decide to do anything — and that includes buying inventory and setting up your ecommerce platform — you first need to figure out who you’re marketing to, what you’re selling, and what you’re trying to achieve.

This is where boutique owners get hung up, or they skip it entirely and move directly into the build and sell phase. While getting your shop out there is great for getting data, you need a balance. It’s just as important to shoot in the right direction as it is to pull the trigger once you’re generally right.

There are three things you absolutely need locked down before you dive into setting up your boutique:

Who you’re selling to (your audience)
What you’re selling (your product)
How much you can spend on promotion (your revenue)

Your Audience

Audience research is the foundation of marketing. You have to know who your people are, what they want, and how you help them before you can actually start providing products and selling to them.

The first step to starting your online boutique is creating 2-4 personas (marketing jargon for a profile of your target audience) that outline your ideal customers. Be as descriptive as possible by including things like job title, favorite device, pay scale, main frustrations and problems, end goals, what they do in their spare time, etc. Use this detailed guide by Moz to guide you through the process.

Remember that your personas don’t have to be the end all be all. The focus here is to define your initial target market that’s small enough you can effectively reach them but large enough to get sales and feedback to polish your product(s) and overall online boutique.

Your Product

Since you’re starting an online boutique, you most likely already have an idea of what you’re offering. But your product isn’t just what you’re selling — it’s how you’re selling it.

What is it that you’re actually offering? What’s your brand? What are you providing that’s different in any way?

Remember, this is your product offering — not your life’s mission. It needs to be clear, simple, and straightforward. And it needs to be different. A competing boutique shouldn’t be able to copy and paste and be you.

For example, don’t sell men’s shirts that “look great and are affordable”. Instead, sell men’s shirts that are lightweight and wrinkle-free. Sell the tangible benefit.

You should also be validating your product offering before you stock up on inventory and build out a full online boutique (more on that in a minute). Getting feedback early prevents wasted time and money promoting a product that doesn’t resonate with your ideal audience.

Your Revenue

One of the biggest mistakes I see new business owners make is underestimating the time it takes to really get things moving. Building a successful online boutique isn’t an overnight thing — in fact, in the first year, you can usually expect to see very little traction.

Which means you have to put real money goals in place for your online boutique. Even if you don’t plan on spending money on ads, building this thing is going to take time.

Outline all of your product costs, profit margins, and what kind of marketing spend gives you a positive return. Here’s a more extensive post on “quant-based marketing.”

And most importantly, don’t quit your day job! But do get going as soon as possible and do one thing to keep building your boutique every single day — even if it’s something small. The goal is to keep momentum. 1% improvements rapidly add up to significant gains.

Planning Your Website Content

Once you’ve got your definitions and goals set, it’s time to start thinking about the actual content of your boutique. No matter which ecommerce platform you use to set up your shop, you need three main content pieces to launch:

An About Page
Category/Focus pages
Product pages

About Page

An About page is one of the most crucial pages on your website — especially if you’re a new brand. Think about your own online behavior. Where is the first place you go when you’re checking out a new brand? Their about page.

The About page is the perfect place to tell your brand story and detail your product offering (which if you’re following this guide, you’ve already defined) and build customer trust by featuring customer testimonials or your top product reviews. For a detailed guide to creating your about page, check out my guide here.

Focus Pages

Next, you need to create enough high-quality landing pages to get some sales.

When I say “landing pages” – don’t think of anything too complex. I’m simply referring to pages that visitors can land on and make a purchase.

Why set up landing pages?

Because here’s the cold hard truth: nobody cares about or even sees your homepage. Seriously. Your homepage is for people who already know you and are just navigating around.

Landing pages are for new (or returning) visitors to land on and convert. Before you build out all your boutique pages, you should develop focused landing pages that sell to one or all of these buckets:

Persona specific – These pages are all about the product benefit for who you are selling to. They might be a product page. Think “Aerodynamic Swimcap for Ocean Swimmers.” But they also might be a category page or specific landing page for a bundle. Think “Swimcaps for Women Distance Swimmers” or “One-piece Swimsuits for Ocean Swimmers.”

Offer specific – These pages are all about the product information. They might be a product page. Think “Blue Stripe Lycra Two Piece Swimsuit.” But they also might be a category or specific landing page for a bundle. Think “Blue Oceanwear” or “Lycra Swimwear.”

The goal here is to sell to people at the very bottom of the marketing funnel – the customers most likely to convert.

They already know what they want and are ready to buy. These people will be more expensive to bring to your site, but if you can get them there, will give you the best data and most money quickly.

I touch on this idea in my post on keyword mapping, because it plays into SEO as well.

Product Pages

In order to sell a product, you’ll need a product page. As mentioned above, this might also serve as a focus page. Either way, you need a page that clearly outlines what you’re selling and why someone should buy.

Your product page should be clear, concise, include high-quality product photos, and nail your value proposition (AKA why buy from you vs. a competitor). For more on how to create a great product page, check out my product page best practices here.

Creating a Promotion Plan for Early Validation

Now, before you go all-in on your boutique, you need early some early validation. This means data and feedback — and in order to get it, you’re going to need some traffic to those key pages you’ve set up.

This is where online boutique owners tend to get way too detailed way too fast.

Not all marketing channels work the same, so throwing all of your eggs into one basket doesn’t make much sense… and neither does focusing only on getting sales, sales, sales.

Instead, think of all marketing channels as supplements and complements to one another. It’s all about how to make them work together to bring customers to your boutique so that you can get feedback and data on your site, products, and positioning.

Here’s a channel-by-channel breakdown to help you create your promotion plan for early validation.

Direct Outreach

I call this channel direct outreach, but other people would call it just hustlin’. This channel consists of all the tedious and tough pitching that you know you need to do…but don’t want to do.

This means emailing and Facebook messaging people that you know might be interested in what you’re selling and sending them to your focus pages, product pages, or About Page to learn more, buy, or subscribe to an email list (for discounts, etc).

Check out this case study for more detail.

Paid Advertising

Paid advertising encompasses a whole host of options, from Google search ads to display ads to Facebook ads.

For the purposes of starting an online boutique, I’m going to focus on two main paid advertising approaches: Facebook Advertising and Google Search Ads.

For a deeper dive into online advertising platforms, you can read my two-part series on online advertising here and here.

Facebook Ads

Facebook allows for some hyper-targeted audience advertising. Everyone on the network self-defines themselves into neat little marketing packages. They tell you exactly what they like!

So if someone says they like hiking, chances are they’ll like your boutique store that sells hiking t-shirts.

If you’ve done your audience research (see the beginning of this guide), then you most likely know a decent bit about the audience you’re trying to target, which makes Facebook a great paid advertising approach.

Here’s an overview on how to start with Facebook ads and a deeper dive into how to advertise your site online.

Google Search Ads

Running search ads is a great way to show up for customers who are already searching for what you’re selling. With that said, AdWords can be expensive for a good return on investment, especially for the close to converting keywords that you should try to buy.

But your goal is slightly different.

You are buying data. Lots of data. And spending some money to acquire this data is a lot more effective than spending tons on an ecommerce content strategy right out of the gate.

You should be doing a few things with your new traffic:

Look at what keywords are driving sales. AdWords gives you this information.
Look at what landing pages are driving sales — is it your product pages or another focus page?
Optimize your landing pages.
Test ad copy and figuring out the right messaging.
Test things like free shipping and other theories.
Testing related products to try to increase average order value.
Set up retargeting campaigns – not generic “buy, buy, buy” campaigns but interesting retargeting ads that you can afford to do when your traffic is small. If you want to divert some paid budget to Facebook, follow this guide.
Once you have retargeting campaigns going, look and see where your audience goes online. We covered this topic on this podcast episode.
Improving your ad campaigns in general.

Now that you have some sales and some data, you should have some sense about where to head next with your online boutique.

Organic Search (SEO) Traffic

Organic traffic (SEO) might not be the best next channel to pursue after paid traffic, and it especially isn’t the best for early validation, as it takes some time to grow. There’s a great big wide world of paid and organic traffic sources.

And yet, most online boutique owners do have a strong sense of the sheer volume of traffic that Google organic search can drive. For most, a successful SEO campaign would be a huge win. They just need to execute in the right context.

Google processes 3.5 billion queries per day. And for most queries, most of the clicks go to an organic result. And you’ll know from your AdWords campaigns that clicks for commercial keywords can be quite expensive. That’s a cost you don’t have to pay if you rank in the organic results.

So I won’t hide my enthusiasm for SEO. It’s my specialty and is the giant battleship that will keep on going once it’s headed in the right direction.

When you are working on getting customers to start and grow your online boutique, you just have to know what it takes to get organic traffic and what it will take on your part to get it done.

SEO boils down to 3 components:

The first component is technical SEO.

Technical SEO is all about ensuring that Google/Bing bots can crawl and index your website effectively. It’s about making sure you’re not generating tons of duplicate content. Here’s “Technical SEO for Nontechnical Marketers”

The good news is that if you choose a platform like Shopify, Bigcommerce or a self-hosted store with WordPress + Woocommerce, then you’ll have already solved most all technical issues.

If you are already using a different platform, a technical audit might be the one SEO thing worth paying for. Mentioning a “stand-alone technical audit with recommendations” to an SEO expert can be valuable if you’re on a proprietary platform or something like Magento or Volusion.

If you are running WordPress, install WordPress SEO by Yoast and run through my guide for using it effectively.

If you are using Shopify or Bigcommerce, then your technical issues are 90% solved if you have it set up by the book (Shopify’s guide and Bigcommerce’s guide). You should just be sure to use their SEO-related toolset to implement your on-page content, which happens to be the second component of SEO.

The second component of SEO – on-page content and optimization – is all about “targeting” the right keywords and ensuring that your website is laid out in a coherent way that is understandable by search engines and users browsing your website.

I wrote about the concept of keyword mapping and some basic on-page SEO concepts (like keyword research, title tags and meta descriptions, and using Google Search Console) previously.

But on-page content means more than just optimizing your pages. For ecommerce, there are a ton of different pieces of content that can bring in visitors. From Buying Guides to How Tos to Product Comparisons to niche topic ideas to even coupon page – there is near infinite potential to create content around your product and how your target market buys it.

The goal is to bring in new people AND support sales. Don’t create keyword-stuffed pages that won’t help customers on your website make a decision. Make the authoritative content that addresses problems, questions, etc. of your market.

The great part about creating the absolute best content that you can find about everything your target market cares about related to your store is that it will naturally drive the third component of SEO – off-page factors.

Pro-tip: If you want to see on-page content done right, look at REI.com.

“Off-page factors,” the third component of SEO, is SEO-speak for getting links, with the caveat that links are not all considered equal.

Sketchy links, the type that you buy for $5, can harm your website. However, quality links placed on a related or well-known website are the primary factor for getting better visibility in search results.

There are a lot of ways to get links. But the best ways that I’ve found for ecommerce are:

Creating content that no one else has done well, and then promoting it. I wrote this guide to creating prequalified content. I’m a fan of this guide for the promotion angle as well
Hustle PR promotion – Find the blogs they read. Find the news websites they follow. Find the social media feeds they are involved with. Research and stalk every single one until you can craft a manual email pitch.
Get even more ideas in my guide to Ahrefs

Social Media

Social media can be a great way to show off your products and get customers to your boutique, especially for early validation. However, boutique owners tend to make it way more complicated than it needs to be. Getting customers from social media isn’t rocket science. Unless you started a business you know nothing about, you should know where your audience hangs out online.

And if you know where your audience hangs out, don’t think that you have to be 110% present on every single social network. The key to social media is direct interactions where you build relationships and learn more about your audience.

Sure, claim and put your branding across all the various social networks, but choose the one or two that will generate an outsize impact on sales, links, and awareness of your store. Run a flash sale, test your products and pages, gather data and feedback, then move on to improving both your boutique and your presence on these channels.

Learn how to automate the other profiles so that you have a presence even if you aren’t interacting. Set up alerts so that you can “listen” even when you aren’t actively participating.

And remember, you can pay to jump to the front of the line on social media (see Facebook Advertising above).

Setting up Your Online Boutique

Here’s the thing – there are a lot of online store builders out there. There’s a lot of choices across the entire spectrum of ecommerce. You could spend all your time looking for the *right* choice.

But all that time spent looking does not really matter if you keep delaying getting sales. For a successful boutique – you need to be less concerned about initial design than about initial selection & audience.

Write out what you want / need the software to do. Decide on your budget and think through what you are comfortable with.

The go-to choice for most boutiques is Shopify. I reviewed Shopify here. They are a “hosted” service that bundles all the technical elements of an online store into a single subscription. They also do a lot of integrations and do well with offline inventory.

BigCommerce is also solid for online-only stores who don’t want or need some of the complexities of Shopify.

I wrote about the tradeoffs of Shopify vs. BigCommerce here.

Either way, they both have excellent “onboarding” with solid out of the box designs.

If you are comfortable with handling hosting & want either more options or to save on costs, you can setup a store with WordPress + WooCommerce. It’s a great choice, I’ve consulted on several boutiques that use this option. Follow my setup guide here.

If you are still not sure, take my ecommerce platform quiz here to find out more.

Takeaways and Next Steps

Setting up a successful online boutique is more than picking ecommerce software and having a nice logo.

Those are actually later steps. Start by setting your online boutique apart with unique selection, strategy, and most importantly – a unique audience.

Once you have that settled, build a minimally viable site on a platform that matches your needs & budget and go from there!

Build a Wedding Venue Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated March 29, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

So you need to build a wedding venue website. And you have a certain “look” in mind.

Your venue has a certain ambience – a certain feel – and you want to make sure that comes across in your website design.

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 wedding industry, this shift has been incredible.

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

Starting with a template or pre-made design is like starting your physical venue build-out based on existing building layouts.

Sure – a good existing building layout is great. But it doesn’t really matter if your location, purchase 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 wedding venue 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 venue 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, photography & location)? Do you need to take reservations or integrate it with wedding planner or event apps?

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 (who actively provides future referrals) 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 wedding venue 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, services, recommended vendors, guest services 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 wedding venue 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’s needs. It’s versatile, manageable and suitable for so much. If you hear people saying that “WordPress is complicated” or “WordPress is not fast” – that is like someone saying that “sedans are more complicated than go-karts” 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 wedding venue website (ie, ownership, marketing, integrations, etc).

Website Templates

And there is a whole universe of pre-made wedding venue 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 wedding venues to have very advanced functionality on their websites.

In fact, many wedding planner software providers make WordPress plugins & compatible scripts that can drop right into a WordPress-powered site.

3. Choose & Setup Your Wedding Venue 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 wedding venue 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 Venue Website Template

Now that you know what you have and you know what you need – you can dive in finding the right pre-made wedding venue 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 location based on pre-built building layout. It’s better to choose your location & landscape and spend money renovating the building.

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 B+B, Hotel & Resort Themes – self-explanatory :) but many work well for wedding venues as well.
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 Venue 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 venues that sell merchandise, services, or reservations.

Specialized Functionality

Now – what you’ve been waiting for – wedding venue 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.
Wedding Planner Software Providers – since WordPress is such a popular CMS, your favorite software providers probably have an integration. Do a Google Search!

Some great plugins that I’ve used are the Envira Gallery plugin for beautiful landscape photography, the Appointments+ Plus for reservations, and WooCommerce for ecommerce & checkouts.

Note that with WordPress.com Business Plans also have lots of wedding venue functionality – see this example for VR photography and this example for EventBrite integration.

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 venues, your Tour and Services pages are the top priority. Your visitors are likely on mobile devices – that means scannable content and minimal navigation.

Marketing Your Wedding Venue 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. You might also be interested in my Pinterest Analytics post.

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 Interior Design Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated March 13, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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!

How To Start A Podcast In 5 Steps

Updated March 8, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

How To Start A Podcast In 5 Steps

I’ve known plenty of people (including myself) who wanted to have their own radio show, but no one ever gets one, mainly because that would require an audition and a job or something.

That’s way too much trouble. Why not just have your own podcast? Be your own producer and presenter and get known according to your content rather than connections.

Besides, more people than ever are listening to podcasts (as opposed to traditional radio).

Back when my brother and I tried to start our own podcast – we found the resources a bit technical at first, so here’s how to start a podcast in 5 easy steps.

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Build a Education Website: Templates, Design & DIY Setup

Updated March 6, 2018 By Nate Shivar

Disclosure - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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 – 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 - I receive a commission when you purchase from companies mentioned on this site. Data & opinions are based on my experience as a customer or consultant to a customer.

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.