Hey there! I am so excited to be guest posting on Bri's blog today! To begin, let me introduce myself; my name is Kim and I am the owner of Clementine by Design, where I design custom websites and blogs for a variety of industries, (blogs being a favorite - but we'll keep that between us). Since the age of 14 I have been fascinated by website design. Over the years, as the internet and online business world have evolved, I've found myself living in the perfect time for cultivating this passion of mine.
I'm not going to go into all the details of how website design has evolved for me, but it certainly has been a personal evolution. One of which found its form in the blogging world early on. That has continued to be one of my favorite kinds of websites to world on.
Bri has been a friend of mine and so I've followed her for a while and loved the content and posts she has created. When I began to launch my freelance web design business as more than just a hobby I was itching to do a project that I could really sink my teeth into. So, I reached out to Bri to see if she would be interested in collaborating. I was so relieved by her enthusiasm which made me even more excited to begin on her website. Bri has always produced such quality content, so I knew her site was going to be a dream to work on. And it definitely lived up to that expectation.
We began by sitting down and discussing what her style was. She showed me a couple of websites and blogs she liked as examples. Then we discussed color palette and font styles. From there it was pretty easy. She really gave me free range to be creative and see what we could come up with. I mocked up a logo with the fonts that would be used throughout the site and that really helped the initial design begin to take shape. Part of what made this project so much fun was playing with the new backend abilities in Wix, which allowed me to create the fun, custom blog feed featured on her home page. All in all, the final site turned out beautiful.
I had such a blast doing Bri's site and it was fun talking with her about it after the fact. She said something along the lines of, "if you could put me into a website, that would be it, and you created it!" Which was a huge compliment. But that conversation really brought it home for me why I love what I do so much. So, I wanted to give you my top 3 reasons why websites are play such a vital role in the world of brands and businesses today.
Clementine by Design's Top Three Reasons For Why Your Website Is Vital To Your Business
1. Your website is the face of your brand or business
Part of why I love what Bri said so much, is because it is the number one thing I feel the strongest about when it comes to websites. When people want to see what your brand or business is about they'll usually find your social media, but then click on your link to your website to gather more information. As informative as information is, the design, look, and overall feel of your website is going to give them the most information in those first two seconds they are looking at your site. You want it to portray who you are and what you're about through the design within those two seconds to get your visitors to stay long enough to take in the content and hopefully create a lead out of that by subscribing to whatever call of action it is you are hoping to draw them in towards.
2. The "hub" of marketing happens through your website
The reason to consider your website as the "hub" of your marketing is because it's essentially where all your social media outlets, your content, your SEO integration, email campaigns, and more all come together and are listed in this one central spot. If you think about it, even marketing materials will usually list your website in hopes to draw people there for more information and have a spot to reach out. Your website itself is a marketing tool.
3. Your website is informative
Of course, we all know websites are informative. But I think it's easy to overlook how important this component is. In websites we have content, calls to action, links to our social media, stores, and the list goes on. But what every website usually begins with, is an informational component; and it is so necessary for your website or business. This information can give location, if applicable, contact information, other resources - like your social media, testimonials, reviews, pricing, and for some industries - portfolios. Most importantly, your website gives you the opportunity to share what it is you do and what you are about.
So there you go, my top three reasons for why websites are so vital! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like to discuss working on a project together. You can visit my site here to learn more about the custom designs I do or here to get a beautiful template to help kick start your business.