Are you a passionate photographer looking to take your business to the next level? Well then you are in the right place, having an online presence is essential for achieving success in today’s world. In fact, 98% of consumers used the internet to find information about local businesses in 2022.
Building a website for your photography business is a great way to reach a larger audience and increase your sales. Your website is the place to showcase your work, offer information about your services, and get new and returning clients on your email list without you having to lift a finger. Why not save yourself time answering the same questions in your DMs on Instagram? Trust me! You’ll thank me later 😉
Why Do You Need a Website?
A website is one of the most important tools for growing your business and helping you achieve success. A website is an investment that will pay off in the long run, and last you years if done right! A website is essential for building your photography brand and reaching out to a wider audience. It’s the best way to stay connected with your clients and potential clients. Even if your clients don’t hire you after visiting your website for the first time, they still get value, they most likely admired your best wedding or maternity shots and if your website is optimized to its full potential – it definitely left a lasting impression. If your first impression falls flat…. well they may not be coming back for more. Your website is your first impression, 24-hour-a-day salesman, and a tool that allows you to connect with your customer on a more personal level! Why not put your best foot forward? Your website is an essential marketing tool because it allows you to connect with customers on a more personal level.
Is Your Website User-Friendly?
First and foremost, building a website for your photography business is as much about listening to your potential customers as it is about expressing yourself. You want to create a website that is easy to navigate and builds trust with visitors through simplicity. Start by asking yourself this one question, “What do my customers want to see?” This question helps you construct your website with your audience in mind. Your website is a reflection of your business, it should be something that makes your customers excited to work with you. A user-friendly website has a well-organized layout, clear navigation, and high-quality content. For example, you want your contact information to be easily accessible at all times. Your website should also be quick to load, with no major issues. Navigating your website should feel intuitive and natural. Your website should be easy to navigate, and visitors should be able to find the information they’re looking for without any issues. A user-friendly website will help you build trust with potential clients and encourage them to buy from you.
Choosing the Right Website Platform for You
A website platform is a type of software that powers your website. I’m sure you may have heard of WordPress, Showit, Wix, or Squarespace, those are website platforms and there are many others out there too. The website platform you choose will affect the functionality, SEO, load time, and integrations you can use on your website. It’s definitely an area where you should consider looking at the big picture before making your decision. Consider the question below:
-Where will your business be in 5 years?
-Do you plan to offer more services/options a few years down the road?
-What do I need my website to offer now?
-Do I need to integrate a CRM (client relationship management) system?
-What factors are most important for my website?
-What is my budget? and the cost of hosting? – What platforms can grow with my business?
This is something you will want to educate yourself on a little before speaking to a designer. You can also ask your designer which platform they think is the best fit for you and your business.
Book a no-cost discovery call with me here, as your designer I will guide you through every step of the process, you’ll even come away with video tutorials so you can make simple edits to your website every time you have new photos to showcase. As a photographer and business owner, I believe you should have the chance to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to your website.
Your Website Content
The layout and design of your website are important, but equally as important is the content you choose to include on your site. The content you include on your website acts as your sales pitch. It’s your chance to showcase your skills and expertise. Before you start writing the copy for your website, ask yourself these questions: What do you do? Why do you do it? How do you do it? Who do you do it for? Your website content should reflect your brand, your skills, and your expertise. It should also be written in a way that is easy for potential clients to understand. Your website content should be clear, direct, and to the point. You don’t want to confuse your readers and send them running. In fact, 75% of visitors will just be skim reading! So don’t overwhelm them with paragraphs of information they don’t NEED to know. When it comes to content, less is more.
Sometimes figuring out what content should go on your website can be tricky…. that’s why as your website expert you’ll get a custom website outline when you hire me to help you with your website. This is a detailed overview of what should go on each page of your website. This will take the guesswork out completely, and you can simply follow the outline or hand it off to your copywriter.
Hiring a Designer for Your Photography Website
Website design and development is a complex process and can be a big investment of money if you hire a designer. Though it can take up a HUGE amount of your time if you decide to go the do-it-yourself route. Building your website from scratch can be a very tedious task if you don’t know what you are doing, you may find yourself getting stuck, ripping your hair out, and wanting to scream! Hiring a designer like me can help you build a beautiful, functional website in a short period of time. Wayyy less hassle and frustrating, I promise! You stick to booking photoshoots, I’ll handle the rest.
Using Your Website to Grow Your Client List and Make More Money
Now that you have a website for your photography business, it’s important to start driving traffic to it. You want to make sure your website is easily discoverable to your ideal clients who are searching for photography services in your area. You can do this by creating a strong presence online and by making sure your website is listed in relevant online directories.
Bonus Tip!— Creating a Google My Business account in your local area with your website linked to it is a great way to help you drive traffic to your website & book more clients. You can even ask clients to leave a Google review there, building your know, like, and trust factor that is the secret sauce to booking more shoots, and becoming the expert photographer.
A great way to grow your client list is to sign up for an email marketing platform, (I like Mailerlite for a simple & free option, but Flodesk & ActiveCampaign are great options too.) you can then integrate that into your website. I’m sure you’ve subscribed to someone else’s email list on their website before, right? This is a great way to stay in contact with new & returning clients. Say you’re having a slow month but found a great new location you want to try out, then send out an email blast to your email list! Your email list is a valuable tool you OWN, even when the Instagram or Facebook algorithm changes and you find your posts aren’t getting as many views…. 🙁
Bonus Tip!— Not having much luck getting people on your list? You can even offer a cool incentive for clients to join your list like get $20 off your next session when you sign up for my email list. Or hop on my email list before X date and get entered in a drawing for a $15 Starbucks card. Who doesn’t love coffee?
Photography Website Tips and Best Practices
- Contact information should be easily accessible at all times.
- Easy navigation with simple and clear page titles like- Home, Services, Portfolio, FAQs, Contact
- Make sure it loads fast (less than 3 seconds is best!) and is mobile-friendly, with no wording or buttons cut off on mobile.
The Benefits of Having a Photography Website
I’m more of a bullet person so let’s summarize the benefits here.
-Make more money!
-Grow your client list!
-Build an email list!
-Answer your audience’s questions so you can SAVE yourself time!
-Show up on search engines!
-Showcase your work! (we all know that’s how you get noticed 😉
-Let people know what you do and do NOT offer!
-Give clients a way to contact you directly with your contact form!
-WOW your audience & leave a lasting impression that will leave them eager to hire you!