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Tuesday 2 September 2014

new website!



I am so excited to announce that, after months of working away on it behind the scenes, my brand spanking new website is now live! It's been a long time coming - I loved my old website, but there were some issues with it. When I built my first website I used a tutorial I found online to turn a blogspot blog into a basic website. It worked really well for me, but because it was a blog rather than a website, a lot of the information on the website was being trawled by search engines. As my business is growing I wanted people to be able to find me and my products via Google, in order to drive more traffic to my website and shop. So I made the decision to create a 'real' website.


Now I know nothing really about code, so I wanted to find a template that would be easy to use, but that also had an integrated shop feature. Since I started Ladybird Likes I've had shops on Etsy, Folksy, and notonthehighstreet.com, however it has always been a goal to have my own online shop. So I finally bit the bullet. It was a toss up between bigcartel and shopify, however I ended up going with shopify purely because I felt I could customise it in the ways I wanted. I used the free theme 'minimal' and tweaked it.


I tried to keep my design as simple as possible because a) I knew I would have a nervous breakdown trying to recreate my design as an actual website, and b) because I wanted it to look clean, and modern, and be easy to navigate. Most of the website I made myself, and then I got the amazingly talented Kim Lawler to fix a few bugs, and add a few bits of complicated code that I would never have been able to do! I'd TOTALLY recommend her whether you have a few glitches you want ironing out, or you want someone to build you a website from scratch. Girls got serious skills!


One thing I wanted to do was have as much information as possible on my website - I hate it when companies have a website with like two pages, and nothing to read! I am so nosey, the more stuff there is the better! So I added pages with information about wholesale, about craft fairs, business mentoring, custom orders, and about practical things like shipping and FAQs.

I really hope you all like my new website and online shop - huge thanks to everyone who ordered last night, you are all amazing! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new design :)

5 comments:

  1. Looks great Zoe, good work! You must be very proud xx

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  2. A website can have a huge impact to a business. This can help your business be more visible online and drive potential clients your way. So it’s really wise to put a comprehensive business profile, services, and contact information there, so they know how to get in touch. Anyway, congratulations on finishing your website! It is a great step forward in putting your business on the map. Cheers!

    Della Meyer @ Spark Local Marketing

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  3. That’s right. As the business grows, a website will be quite helpful in building a solid and much stronger online presence, as compared to a blog. Though it might require more effort to maintain, since you have to update it all the time and make quality content, to ensure that your visitors be it current or potential clients, would find the information they want. Anyway, congratulations! I hope everything worked out perfectly for you and your business.

    Ed Campbell @ Champion Online Marketing

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  4. I love the new website, Zoe! It looks very adorable, and it really fits your style. It’s great that you’ve decided to create your own website, rather than going for ones that just lets you follow a basic template. Though it may be hard at first, having one made from scratch makes it easier for you to design and change later on. Anyway, thank you for sharing, and good luck on your future endeavors.


    Nichole Duncan @ VTG Business Group

    ReplyDelete

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