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Ready to build your own website, but don’t know where to start? Start with a stylish website template! A template provides a foundation to work with when establishing your web presence and makes building and maintaining a site easier than starting from the ground up.

The complex task of building a website because easier once you pick out a goos starting point. Check out our tips for how to choose the best website template for your business.

1) Determine the Goal of Your Website

A business website can serve a variety of purposes:

• Growing your email list
• Gathering leads with free content
• Selling products and services
• Acting as a “virtual business card”
• Providing useful information to customers

Ask yourself what you want visitors to do when they arrive on your site. A good template combines a layout designed to fulfill this specific purpose with tools to make setup and maintenance as easy as possible.

The purpose of your site should be clear to your customers from the moment they click through from searches or ads. If your template doesn’t align with your goal, visitors are likely to be confused about what actions you want them to take.

2) Consider the Content

Your website content should guide you on your journey to picking out the right website layout. Look for templates with enough space to display a variety of content without crowding the screen or overwhelming customers with too much visual information per page.

Think about where and how you want to display:

• Text
• Images
• Blog posts
• Videos
• Calls-to-action
• Product descriptions, if applicable

Every page also must have room for the all-important business “NAP.” Short for name, address and phone number, this contact information should appear prominently in at least one universal spot so that visitors have no trouble getting in touch with you.

3) Look for Inspiration Everywhere

Think about the websites you enjoy visiting and those to which you keep going back. What aspects of the layout, colors, navigation and other elements attract you? What did the site designers do to make the experience so enjoyable?

Make a list of three to five websites with features you’d like to mirror on your own site. Write down why they appeal to you and which elements you want to see in a template. This gives you a starting point when looking for layouts and can help you weed out templates with too few or too many features.

If you can’t find a template with the right combination of design and usability, take your notes to a designer. Professionals have the skills to bring together all the elements you want in a realization of your vision for your site.

4) Check the Level of Customization

When thinking about how to choose a website template, the amount of customization you can perform is important. Consistent branding plays a key role in customer acquisition and retention, so a template must offer the ability to change theme colors and add images such as logos and product photos.

However, it can be a hassle if a template requires too many changes to meet your needs. Look for layouts with easy tools, including drag and drop editing, grid layouts and one-click adding of common page elements. These are important options if you’re unfamiliar with code but still want to design an attractive site.

5) Know How Your Audience Browses

Responsive design is a must in modern website templates. The world has gone mobile, and chances are good the majority of your audience is searching, browsing and making purchase decisions using a smartphone or tablet. To accommodate this, a template should:

• Adapt to all screen sizes without compromising layout
• Provide flexible navigation
• Include mobile-friendly form options

Compatibility across browsers is another important feature regardless of what type of device is being used. Make sure the template you choose looks good and functions properly in Chrome, Firefox, Safari and other major browsers.

6) Design for Growth

Where do you picture yourself going in the coming years? Make sure you choose a template designed to grow along with you. A simple template without too many bells and whistles is an attractive choice when you’re just starting out, but it will cost you time in the long run if you have to upgrade in a few months or a year to accommodate changes. From color and design to navigation and expansion options, look for a template with the capability to meet your needs both today and several years from now.

7) Seek a Good Support Team

Professional templates should come with an easily accessible support system. This may include:

• Telephone support
• Email support
• FAQs
• Instructional videos
• Access to detailed documentation
• Direct support from the designer
• An open forum in which to ask questions

The more comprehensive the support system, the better. Good support is most important when you plan to do a lot of custom work on your site. If you make a mistake you don’t know how to correct, it can set you back hours or even days unless support is available to guide you in fixing the problem.

Template designers should also include announcements of updates and how to apply changes to your site. Be wary of designs without any recent updates. An old template may have unresolved security issues or lack the support you need to create a robust layout.

A well-designed website template helps you build your own website with ease and produces a professional finished product to attract and impress your target audience. By making the most of the tools provided with your chosen template, you maximize the customer experience and increase the likelihood of conversions. Templates level out the learning curve involved in website building and give you the power to update and change your website whenever you wish. View liveBooks’ beautiful, responsive templates today, and give us a call to learn more about our design services.

Let’s get started!

Not all websites are made the same, and certainly shouldn’t be! Every company will have a unique set of ideal audiences, branding style choices, and industry standards for web design. And wedding cinematographers are no exception.

If you are a wedding videographer looking to build a brand new site or redesign one you’ve already launched in the past, be sure you follow these simple steps to ensuring your website is engaging and effective in connecting you with engaged couples out there today.

Spotlight Your Favorite Video on Your Homepage

If you have one (or two) wedding highlight films you’ve created within the last year that really speaks to your brand and style, showcase it by placing it within your homepage’s design!

Like many others within the wedding industry, you’ll want to promote your best work up-front, especially the one that most closely aligns with the types of weddings you want to book more of.

Add a Gallery Page for Samples of Work

Instead of placing all of your videos on your homepage, create a gallery page on your website solely dedicated to showcasing your previous work.

Why? First, this is better for search engine optimization (SEO). When potential couples visit your website and explore multiple pages (such as arriving on your homepage and then clicking on the menu to visit your gallery page), this increases your average page per visit (the number of pages website visitors click through on average within one session). A high pageview rating on your website will tell Google that the information on this website is valuable and that visitors are interested in multiple pages you are providing.

It also is a sign to Google that people are staying longer on your website, since they won’t be “bouncing” or leaving right away. And this, too, helps your overall search engine rankings.

And lastly, it makes for a great user experience! Having your top videos in one place makes it easy for website visitors to find and watch (or binge) through.

Embed Videos

It’s important that you focus on embedding videos on your website rather than trying to upload them as normal files, which would otherwise slow your site speed down. Instead, upload your films to a service like Youtube or Vimeo, and then embed the code they provide in order to show it on your own website. If you’re on liveBooks, head on over to this article to learn how to embed videos onto your website!

Include Text Areas to Describe Your Work & Process

Don’t just let the videos do all the selling; be sure you are providing descriptions about your company, your experience and your work process, too!

Add text areas on your Home and About pages to allow potential couples to learn more about who you are, how you started in this line of work, and why they should consider hiring you instead of another videographer out there.

Start Your New Website Design Today

With a liveBooks website, you’ll be able to use our stunning, customizable website templates that look great on any mobile device!

We’ve also got a top-notch support team who’s here to help you every step of the way. Start for free today!

If you’re a wedding professional, then you already understand the importance of marketing yourself in a crowded industry. And one of the most effective marketing techniques to use to help you stand out is blogging.

Blogging has many benefits for wedding professionals, whether you’re a photographer, a florist, or a planner. It helps gain leads, boosts your website’s SEO, and positions you as a thought leader in your niche. And the best part is, you don’t need a special bag of tricks to create content. All you need is the wedding experience and knowledge you already have! With a few blogging techniques in the back of your pocket, your wedding blog game will be at the next level in no time.

Blog with your ideal client in mind

As a wedding professional, it’s safe to say that you are an expert when it comes to weddings. No matter which product or service you provide, whether it’s florals, cakes, video, photography, or something else, you may have plenty of experience in the wedding world. And luckily, blogging on your website is the perfect outlet for sharing that knowledge with your audience.

Think about who your ideal client is and what they may be searching for when planning their wedding. It’s most likely related to tips, inspiration, style guides, or current wedding trends. This is your opportunity to use your own knowledge and experience to create resourceful blog posts on topics that potential clients will be searching for.

Once they stumble upon your website, they will likely find your website resourceful, and will see you as a thought leader in your industry. You can write about your specific niche in the wedding industry as well as the industry as a whole, but either way, be sure to think like your client.

Hyperlink to industry resources

Whenever you’re writing helpful blog posts for your audience, like wedding day tips or inspiration, it benefits both the reader and your business to include links to outside sources.

Adding links to major wedding resources like WeddingWire give your posts more credibility as a trusted resource. Another important reason for hyperlinking to industry resources is that it helps search engines understand what your website is and why it should be categorized with other wedding websites. This helps boost your overall SEO in the long run which will ultimately lead to more clients being able to find your business.

Showcase your work

Once you’ve gotten visitors onto your site through inspiring and informative blog posts, now is the time to showcase your own products or services. It is your business, after all!

Your website is, first and foremost, a portfolio of your work and an overview of your business. That means you want to include plenty of samples of the work you have done to give potential clients an idea of your expertise.

Gather the photos from each wedding you’re a part of and choose the highlights (or the entire wedding) to include in a blog post. Post these highlights after each wedding to showcase your style and skills to potential clients who find your website.

Start Blogging on an Easy-to-Use Website Builder

liveBooks offers mobile-responsive, customizable website templates for creative professionals and businesses worldwide.

We’ve also got a top-notch support team who’s here to help you every step of the way. Start for free here.

A blog is more than just a place on your website to make announcements or post photos of your latest event.

Blogs have become one of the most useful marketing tools available to creative businesses, startups, and corporations alike. They’re an opportunity for your business to create valuable content that’s both helpful and engaging for your audience while also increasing your online visibility, ultimately leading to more brand awareness and potential clients.

Increase Your Website Traffic

One of the major benefits to having a blog for your business is that it can make it easier for people to find you online. In order to be more discoverable, you have to post regularly, think about what your audience is searching for, and use keywords throughout your site and blog. The more relevant content you post consistently on your website, the more likely Google is to push your website to the top of the results.

Writing SEO-friendly content for your blog and then seeding these blog posts to your social media channels increases the chance that your content will land in front of more eyes. To do this, make sure you’re using the most relevant keywords for the audience you’re targeting throughout your blog posts.

If you have a wedding photography business, for instance, you will want to include your city, photography style and anything else that you want your business to show up for in search results. Whenever you share on social media, be sure to find the most effective hashtags, too, to make sure your content is even more discoverable.

This will eventually lead to more web traffic as more people discover your blog posts and become aware of your business and everything you have to offer.

Position Yourself as a Thought Leader

Once people have found your blog, either through a search engine or social media, they’ll need a reason to stay or to come back for more. This is your chance to prove your knowledge about an industry while also providing value to your audience.

By writing about blog posts in your niche or field, you’ll be able to show potential clients that you have credibility: that you are knowledgeable, experienced and are very familiar with the industry.

Showcase Your Work

Now that your ideal clients have found your website, it’s time to show them your work. Through your blog posts, you can include examples of your services, past projects, or products that will give potential clients motivation to contact you. If you’re a creative in the wedding industry, consider blogging about a recent wedding client you had. This way, if a couple stumbles upon your website, they can see the work you do and have a better idea of what you could provide for their wedding.

Get to Know Your Audience

You can also use your blog as an opportunity to learn more about your audience. By using an extensive tool like Google Analytics, you can track your website’s visitor count and see which posts do well so you can use this information to see what topics your audience is most interested in.

Once you’ve figured out what garners the most attention on your blog and receives the most engagement, you can write more posts about that subject and potentially increase your monthly visits.

Start Blogging on a Responsive Website Template

liveBooks offers mobile-responsive, customizable website templates for creative professionals and businesses worldwide.

The best part? Our website designs are ready for search engines and look great on any mobile device!

We’ve also got a top-notch support team who’s here to help you every step of the way. Start for free here.