You know what they say about first impressions? When it comes to your business, 9 times out of 10, a potential client’s first impression of you is your website! You only have a matter of seconds to interest them in clicking around and learning more about your services. That’s why it’s so important to ensure your website is professional, informative and up-to-date. Here are a few tips for impressing the couples who are interested in hiring you before you even meet!
Let’s start with professionalism. Nothing is more of a turn off than a website that screams “amateur.” This can be caused by anything from the images to the design itself or even the written content. While you might be very good at what you do, if your website looks unprofessional, clients might think you are, as well.
I know, that’s not particularly fair, and we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it – the wedding industry is incredibly competitive. If you don’t have a professional website, there are plenty of other vendors out there who do, and they will get those potential bookings instead. You don’t even have to hire a professional web designer (though I highly recommend it); there are plenty of website templates out there that are affordable, easy to install and look great!
So, what makes a website professional? For starters, a fast-loading, clean and mobile-friendly design with quality images and working links. Working links? Isn’t that a no-brainer? You’d think so, and yet I often visit websites where many of the links don’t work. Talk about frustrating!
I also don’t recommend having music automatically play on your website; it’s a pet peeve for many visitors and can slow down your web performance. Since so many people are using mobile devices instead of desktops now, it’s imperative that your site works (and works well) in mobile, especially since Google is starting to penalize websites that aren’t responsive!
Creating an informative website for your business is every bit as important as offering visitors a pretty, professional aesthetic experience. When a couple visits your website’s home page, they should immediately be able to determine what you do, where you are located and how to get in contact with you. I can’t tell you how many wedding vendors’ websites I’ve visited where I have no idea where they are located! You will lose bookings if couples can’t find this information quickly.
Lastly, keeping your website up-to-date is critical because it shows couples you are present and conscientious of your business’ online reputation. Make sure the copyright date in your footer is current, and verify that your contact information is correct.
If you have a blog and social media accounts linked to your website (and you most definitely should), keep them fresh! If your last blog post is from three years ago, a couple is going to wonder if you fell off the face of the Earth. Bottom line, outdated content doesn’t instill a lot of confidence. Your blog posts don’t need to be novel-length, and your social media updates don’t need to be hourly. Just let clients know what you’re up to on a regular basis!
If you’ve been meaning to update your website and keep putting it off, now’s the time to make those changes. Making your business web presence the best it can be will definitely pay off!
Originally published on the HoneyBook blog.
