Essential Ingredients for an Effective Website

Kristina Stubblefield: Thank you for tuning in to WedPro Business Solutions. I'm your host, Kristina Stubblefield. If you've been listening to any of my episodes, you know I really don't come built with a filter, and when it comes to this topic of websites, I hold a very special place in my heart . For those who don't, I have been doing websites all the way back to the AOL community.

[00:00:25] Now, what in the hell does that mean? That means before they were truly called websites. I was doing it when they were hard coded. When you would go to community.aol. That is what I'm speaking about. So to say that I have years of experience in all different types of websites would be very accurate.

[00:00:45] And I'm always asked about what should I have on my website? What's most important? So that's what this podcast episode is going to be about, the key ingredients that should be in your website. Now, as I mentioned, websites have changed over the years.

[00:01:04] No matter what platform your website is built in, because that is not what we're talking about today. And here's what I want you to remember. No matter what someone tells you, your website is part of the foundation of your business. It is the foundation of your online presence.

[00:01:22] No matter where someone finds you, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Google, I can say with most certainty, they're going to your website. For a business that is listening that doesn't have a website, you must have a website. I'm not saying that it has to be several pages long, but you need to have a website. Some people look up companies and if they don't have a website, they're thrown out immediately from the equation, from even being considered.

[00:01:57] So to set yourself up for the most success, number one, you'll wanna have a website. For those listening that have a website, how often do you review it? How often do you go page by page through your website to make sure it is accurate? Up to date! The best representation of your business. Now, I would tell you do that monthly and for those out there rolling their eyes or saying she's out of her mind, I get it.

[00:02:27] I get it. But it should be something that you review quarterly. That's right. Quarterly. Put it on a calendar and review. Because if you don't time passes so quickly. The next thing you know it's been a year since you've updated and you don't even offer the same services or your pictures are out to out of date.

[00:02:48] So let's just hop right in. This may be one episode that you're gonna come back and listen to over and over again. It may be one that you're gonna pause and take notes, but I'm also going to include a checklist in the notes.

[00:03:01] So whether you're watching this on YouTube or you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, you can get access either by going to my website or in the show notes . So website essentials, key ingredients from me. Number one, does your website represent you? I mean your brand, your personality.

[00:03:27] If someone pulls up your website and then a week later they meet you in person, does it have the same vibe? Now, am I being technical? Heck no. I'm not being technical, I'm saying you want your website to be the best representation of you as if someone was standing in front of you. That's what you want your website to give off that same impression, that same personality, and it can be done.

[00:04:00] It should be easy to read. Yes, easy to read all the animations and moving graphics and all of that's great. But if it is not easy to read the content that's on your website, that's a problem. And I will stop right here. And I will say most of your website traffic is going to be on mobile devices, so your website can look amazing on desktop.

[00:04:30] How does it look on mobile? I have this conversation with our clients on a regular basis. One piece of it, one way they want it to look looks fabulous on desktop, but it looks like shit on mobile. And I don't mean that in a mean way. I mean it doesn't look good from a standpoint of a conversion - easy to read, easy to navigate, and that's a problem.

[00:04:58] And so when I say to people: if you have 10 people, and out of those 10 people, eight of them are for sure using their phones, mobile, tablet, whatever you wanna say. Eight out of 10 people. You have to look at the design, the layout, the functionality on mobile. And yes, you have to look at it on desktop as well, but you have to know where the importance is.

[00:05:26] And I did mention just a little bit about navigation, so let me say something about that before I move on. It needs to be easy to navigate through your website, whether you just have a couple pages or you have a 20 page website. It needs to be easy to navigate and remember, statistics show a lot of people are not leaving the homepage.

[00:05:47] That's right. The page they land on with your website, they're not leaving it. So what does that mean? You have to include just a little bit of information about everything inside your website on your homepage.

[00:06:01] I go off of reporting, and if clients for many, many years, it has shifted, where it used to go to the about page, the services page, the this page. Now, in the last year or two, a lot of visitors to websites are staying on the homepage. You could have the best possible story and experience three pages in on your website.

[00:06:26] If they never go there, how are they ever gonna see that? Something that's really important for your business, make sure there's at least something about it on the homepage. It doesn't have to be the whole thing, but at least something. 

[00:06:41] So that rolls me into my next thing, a call to action. This is a mistake I see a lot of people make. What do you want your visitors to do? And I know I sound stern and I've said, I don't come built with a filter. If you've listened to any of my episodes, you know. I give it to you straight. I'm not here to give you a bunch of fluff about marketing or running your business. Most people don't have time or don't make the time.

[00:07:09] Let me make sure I say that right. They don't make the time to work on their business because they're too busy working in it. So I'm coming to you straight to give you this information. Make sure you have a call to action. Your visitors do not know what to do next. They may be interested in doing business with you.

[00:07:28] What's the next step? You have to literally take them by hand and give them the action. Whether that's book a tour, schedule an appointment, fill out the inquiry form. Please do not assume that your visitors, whoop, if they wanna do business with me, they'll contact me. No, no, no. Give them the next step. Make it easy for them to take action.

[00:07:57] Next up, let's talk about experiences, and that's what I really call this now. You want to take and share with people the experiences that you offer that can be the solutions that your business provides to engaged couples. What do you offer? Make sure that is very clear. Don't leave room for assuming.

[00:08:23] Be clear about it, explain it. You have to take off your business hat once again and put yourself in the shoes of someone who knows nothing about your industry and nothing about your business. The better way you can showcase what you have to offer, especially as a wedding professional, is through your blog, going through and talking about previous events, your past experiences, what you've been through.

[00:08:59] You are an expert in your field. What do you have to share? A blog is a great way to build Know, Like and Trust factor with potential clients.

[00:09:10] Photos and videos... I am here to tell you, for many, many years I've worked with businesses in all different industries. And I know you don't want to hear what I'm getting ready to say next, but letting professionals have the most content to pull from for their website, their social media, their online presence.

[00:09:31] It's true. It's just putting it to good use. So making sure you have photos of events that you've been part of, videos, whether they are short clips or they're fully produced video. This episode is not about how to do those photos or how to do those videos, but it does not have to be super high-end, professionally produced videos.

[00:09:58] Some people even take and put a widget or a piece of code in their website to be able to showcase what's on their Instagram , Pinterest or their Facebook page, and they embed that, that's what it's called. They place it on their website just to be able to showcase more up-to-date information.

[00:10:20] One of the last pieces I'll share with you in regards to sharing your experiences is testimonials. Video testimonials and written testimonials is one of the absolute best things that you can include on your website. If you are not standing in front of a potential client. The second best person is a previous client, and that testimonial, I would say, video testimonials, trump written testimonials, but all testimonials are great. A potential client being able to watch, see the emotion, hear how your business provided a solution, a service, a product for their special day, for their event. There's nothing that can compare to that. So remember that when you think it's such a hurdle to get video testimonials, you may have to ask 10 people, and maybe you only get a couple back, but it is worth the effort in regards to video testimonials.

[00:11:35] Now, I know I'm giving you a lot of stuff kind of boom, boom, boom. But these to me, are essential ingredients to a website that helps convert traffic into leads, and that's the first part of getting them into your funnel. 

[00:11:55] A couple of other points. Statistics show not everyone goes to and about page, but you want to have it there. What's your background? Why do you do what you do? Are you part of any associations or organizations? If you wanna say, what's your credentials? That's a page to really showcase about you and your business. And I think it is a vital part of a website.

[00:12:19] Again, will all of your visitors go to it? Probably not. But for those that specifically look for it, you want to make sure it's there. And go ahead and put links in there, if you're members of Chamber of Commerce or any other associations or organizations, put their logo or their name and link to that website.

[00:12:43] It'll benefit you. 

[00:12:45] There's just a couple other things to touch on reporting or analytics. Some people call it with websites. Make sure that you have some type of tool, Google Analytics is free, attached to your website. Because that gives you very important data. If you start running ads or doing wedding shows or increasing your marketing or advertising.

[00:13:10] That reporting provides really important data to where your traffic is coming from, what pages they are staying on, how long are they staying on your website. And I don't wanna go down that rabbit hole too far because it's really an episode all on its own. And then search engine optimization. A lot of people ask me about this topic, s e o as it is said out there.

[00:13:36] And again, this is an episode I will take on all on its own. But what I will say to those out there, whether you work with a company or you do your website on your own, you wanna make sure that you have good keywords inside your website, whether that be in a blog, your about page, your services page, your homepage keywords are really important to have included in your website.

[00:14:01] And then I will close out with this, if you don't know where your domain is, what company it's with, or your website hosting. That is really important to know. As a matter of fact, I did an entire podcast episode on it, and I'm gonna provide that link in the show notes no matter where you're listening to this at, or you can always go to the website and get the link to that previous episode. Because I'll say this, and I talked about it in that episode.

[00:14:35] When will you need that information? When there's something wrong? When your website's not working? Don't wait until that time comes, and then you're scrambling trying to figure it out. It's really important to know where your domain resides, is it in your name and where your hosting account is? And make sure you have login information to that.

[00:14:56] Really important so I will link to that episode. Now I was just quickly touching on essentials that are really important to be in all wedding professionals websites. And again, all of these topics I talked about can really be a podcast episode on its own. But in the fast-paced world that we are in and the shift that is going on with social media channels and this the big push with so many engaged couples utilizing Google to look up vendors for their special day.

[00:15:33] It has never been more important to make sure your website is up to date. And the right contact information is there and the next step for potential clients to take. 

[00:15:46] So I hope that you find this information helpful. I'd love to hear your feedback. Would you like for me to take a peek at your website?

[00:15:54] Send me a message, go to my website and hit the contact form and give me your website address. And I also offer consultations in regards to websites. I do a lot of different things in regards to business and marketing, coaching and consulting, and one of the things that I do a lot of is reviewing websites and giving feedback.

[00:16:20] Now it's gonna be honest and raw feedback, but that helps you spend your time where it best should be. If there's changes needed to be made to your website, whether you work with a company or not. And if you're someone out there that you haven't had your website updated in many years, and you're looking for a trusted company to work with you, because it's a collaboration, designing and implementing a website.

[00:16:52] Let me know, that is a service that we offer. I thoroughly enjoy websites. It's been a passion of mine, as I said, for many, many years. I won't even mention how many, but you can always connect up with me, and I am here to help you make sure your online presence is on point to get the most out of the traffic and help convert those into leads and sales. 

[00:17:19] Thank you so much for tuning in, and until next time, take care.