Frequently Asked Questions - A Round Up of My 6 Best Website Tips
The more I talk about websites and how important they are, I get a lot of questions from women looking to learn more about how to create a beautiful website that helps them serve their clients or customers!
Here are 6 of my most frequently asked questions and the answers.
1. What are ‘branding elements’?
Think about your logo, brand voice, tagline, color pallet, imagery, hashtags, fonts, patterns and textures you use.
Essentially it’s all down to how you present your business to the world!
These little details should be present in everything you put out there in your business - your social media posts, the documents and presentations you create, especially your website!
When people see something they should know it looks like it’s from you. But remember, it takes time to build all of this from scratch - unless you’re a branding expert or hire one!
2. How do I get ‘social proof’ on my website?
Proof that people like working with you is invaluable! One of the easiest ways to get this proof is to get testimonials from your clients.
All you have to do is ask!
In my business I do this in two different ways:
I send an email with some specific prompts to clients when we’ve either completed a project or have been working together for a month or so and give them a little bonus incentive to send a testimonial that I can use on social media and website (tip tip: also ask if they’ll provide a photo)
After someone finishes a program or a course of mine, they receive a Typeform questionnaire to provide some easy and quick feedback. I make it so one of the questions on the form asks for permission to use the feedback as a testimonial!
These kind words show potential customers that I...
am great at what I do.
can be trusted with their businesses that they’ve grown from nothing.
people enjoy the process of working with me.
So what are you waiting for? Go get some testimonials from people that you know have loved your product or service.
3. How do I know where to start when building a website?
Through working with clients I’ve developed a system!
Decide what web pages you’ll need (suggested: home, about, services/product, work with me, testimonials, free resources, contact page)
Start writing your text to go with each page - remember that this can AND should evolve, it doesn’t need to be perfect!
Collect your branding elements (logos, fonts, colour schemes and photos) all into one place.
Buy your domain name! This should be your name, your business’ name or related to it.
Pick a place to host and build your website. I highly recommend Squarespace, it’s easy to use and makes beautiful websites even when you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.
Build your website (and use YouTube to help you when you get stuck).
4. How will I know my website is ready?
Your website doesn’t have to be perfect! There I said it.
I’m firmly in the camp that websites should be a ‘living’ thing. As I’ve learned and developed my expertise I’ve needed to update my website. As my business evolved and I got to know my client's needs better I’ve needed to make shifts to the way I speak to people on my website. As I’ve invested more in my branding (my logo, professional photos, copywriting, etc.) I’ve changed my website.
Long story short, I’ve tweaked my website again, again and again over the past 3 years. Even when I was new to Squarespace, it was so easy to make these changes!
It can be a lot easier to get started when you remember that you don’t have to get it *just right* from the get go!
5. What are the most common mistakes people make when creating a new website?
Tutorial overload as a means of procrastination (I mean who hasn’t gotten a bit lost in the YouTube rabbit hole before?)
Not setting a distinct call to action (what do you want the website visitors to do?)
Trying to achieve perfection prior to launching your website (as I said above, a website should evolve with your business)
Choosing the wrong website platform (choose something low-tech and very user-friendly)
Not promoting your website once it’s launched (how are people going to know about your website if you don’t tell them about it?)
Not inviting people to join your newsletter (or stay in touch via social media)
6. What are the must-haves for getting started with a website?
I’m not ‘techy’. I hear this ALL THE TIME from the people I work with. It can be easy to get overwhelmed with where to start in building your own website, but the thing is your website is the only place you have full control of how people interact with your brand and your message.
Through my work with client’s I’ve developed an easy to follow 6-step system above.
