Sometimes, when we run our own handmade business, we try and do it all. Everything from designing and making products, to designing our own branding. Press releases to packaging. There’s the assumption that if you’re a “creative type” then you can do anything that’s tenuously related to your main skill, including when it comes to revamping your handmade business website.
The problem with trying to do it all yourself is that often when we go outside of our primary skillset the results can be very lacklustre. And when it comes to the website that is designed to sell you and your product that can be something that really harms your business (and your profits).
Revamping your handmade business website
It’s a smart choice to think about having someone else design your website for you. Many small business website design service providers offer quality services at reasonable rates. So, if you’re actually going to opt for externally provided services, you should provide a few recommendations of what you want included in the site as well as the things you want to avoid. In addition, how you want it to should be clear, as should the needs you want it to fulfil. This gives the web designer the guidelines and ideas to work with. With the right help, you don’t have to spend too much time getting stressed out about creating the perfect platform.
Hiring a digital agency who can design and maintain your website for a low monthly cost might not have been something you’ve thought about before. Perhaps you thought that the price would be out of your monthly business budget or it would just be too much hassle. But I’m convinced it’s the right solution for many small handmade businesses out there.
Instead of hiring an in-house team or investing in expensive software and tools, you can outsource the work to a digital agency for a fixed cost. Does that surprise you? The thing is, hiring a cheap web design agency can help you allocate your budget more efficiently and focus on other aspects of your business. Hence, you can spend more time doing the thing that you do really well – running your business. You’re the only person who can do your job, so you should spend as much of your time as possible during work hours actually doing what you’re good at!
Making it cost-effective
When you avail web design services Red Deer (if that’s where you’re based), you should be specific about what you want added to your website to have a great start. For instance, you could screenshot and save examples of websites you love to convey your ideas to the agency. It could keep the costs down and help quicken the process of revamping your website as there wouldn’t be as many trials and errors.
Also having your branding sorted out before you consider web design services will go a long way to keeping the costs down. If your brand designer has produced a set of logos, colour guidelines, and small details that match your brand then the digital agency can use this information as their starting point.
Lastly, make sure you have your content ready to go. That means you’ll need things like your ‘about me’ information typed up, your product descriptions, information on custom orders; anything that could be its own page on the website. The web designers can then use your text rather than having to create it themselves or hire a copywriter. And don’t forget to have some great photos taken too!
The more organised you are in advance, and the more you know what you want, the more cost-effective it will be when it comes to revamping your handmade business website. Having everything clear in your mind and in a format you can share with your new team (even if it’s just on Pinterest) will really help the collaboration go smoothly.
