Let’s start by defining what effective means. Here’s the definition from the Oxford Dictionary “effective is producing the result that is wanted or intended”
In other words, a website is effective when it’s achieving the expected result, which brings me to my 1st point: “What are you expecting from your floral website?”
Wedding Florists will answer this question based on many factors such as their current business goals, their level of experience, their long-term aspirations, their wedding packages, etc
Listing all the criteria would take time but you get what I mean. The reasons vary from one florist to another. But there are still similarities and I’m gonna discuss them in this article.
We can chat for hours and talk about your website goals for as long as we want but it all boils down to this main concern: “Is your website bringing you any money?”
I cannot enumerate ALL the metrics we could track to measure your online success but here are the basics you shouldn't neglect. A floral website is effective when:
1°It represents your business’ standards and you’re proud of it
Your site is useless if you have it for the sake of just having one. You will be judged by your site design. Your visitors will put a label on you and your services by how your website is designed. It usually starts from the colors then the overall layout and ultimately they’ll mentally process if what they saw match your rates. So if they think that your branding looks average, they’d be surprised if you’re charging high. On the other hand, if your site looks impeccable, they won’t be shocked when they discover your pricing.
Your floral website is supposed to work for you, not against you. That’s why it’s not recommended to go the DIY route. But if that’s what you can afford with your budget, then it’s okay. Make sure you switch to a professional one when it’s doable.
2°The bounce rate is low, people are taking their time to browse your site
The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who land on your site and leave without taking any action, i.e. navigating on your site. People will stay on your site when the visual is appealing and the content is interesting. Failing to satisfy these 2 needs will result in a high bounce rate. I’m going to use the 2 examples above.
The DIY site will most likely have a high bounce rate whereas a professional one will be optimised for a good user experience. No need to tell you which one is effective here.
3°You’re getting regular site traffic
Having a website that gets no traffic is pointless. You want people to visit your site. Don’t waste hours building your site or hiring someone to do it, just to leave it dusty hanging in your Instagram bio. Check out your site stats and do something to improve your traffic.
I get it, driving traffic requires effort and you’re busy but it should be part of your routine as a business owner. You’ll have to do the work unless you have someone in charge of your marketing.
I’ll write an article about site traffic soon. Stay tuned and subscribe to my mailing list to be in the know before anyone else.
4°It’s converting your visitor to a client
As I said in the intro: your site should convert and make you money. Conversions depend on your goals and site structure. I’m going to share 4 examples for a typical florist site without an online store.
A conversion could be:
1)a visitor reading your blog posts which made them call you
2)another one spending time viewing your portfolio and deciding to enquire through the contact form
3)an hesitant bride in need of reassurance that was pleased to read a few testimonials on your homepage and ended up emailing you
4)someone who wanted to know more about you so they read your About Page and clicked the button to schedule a call
Those actions can be tracked and you should be able to see them in your stats. If not, then create a Google Analytics account and analyse the Behaviour Flow report.
Look closely at each pattern I described.
The visitor takes action on your site because 1)they like what they see and 2)the content made them stay longer. I wrote an article on how you should optimise your About Page. Give it a read, you’ll thank me later.
Your blogging consistency build trust and show that you care which prompted your visitor to call you.
Your optimised portfolio caught their attention and they’re enquiring.
The testimonials carefully sprinkled through the homepage worked in your favour.
The way you presented yourself made them fall in love with you.
To sum up, your floral site is effective when it’s optimised enough for your visitor to spend time on it and eventually choose you as their wedding florist. Your site is effective when it helps you reach your business goals.
You may or may not know it but I’m a Web Designer building websites for florists and I love sharing web design tips to my blog readers. So here are my best recommendations to help you launch your (new) site effectively:
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