It's so nice :) I'm very happy that it is able to fully support my Etsy shop home in the "Shop Online" section as well as display pictures of my work in a way that doesn't require me to build a listing for each one.
PLUS the best part....
..... not as expensive as Volusion.
My website was actually pretty cheap and fairly easy to build. My first website was with Volusion.com - now that company is great for those who are really into having a storefront based entirely on their website. It honestly was just too much for my little boutique's needs.
With the new site, I started with HostGator.com - a simple, cheap hosting site with a pretty easy to understand C-Panel (that's where you build your stuff)! It was super easy to buy the domain www.wildflowersandlace.com for one year and buy the hosting services for three years at only $3.96 per month. I was able to pay for it all up front too, so that relieves me of a monthly bill coming to my inbox.
Next step: Install Wordpress so that I can select from thousands of free themes and easily build my website from a visual point of view instead of trying to learn all of the code and tech talk. Here's how user friendly the dashboard is.
You can easily add new web pages, customize your overall appearance, add pictures and more. I went with a free theme named "Arcade" and love it. It's not very well integrated with social media, though, which is a definite con. However, I wasn't ready to pay for their full version just yet. Maybe in the future I will, but until then this will do just fine.
You are also able to add these neat little forms in certain pages - I wanted a form for my clients to fill out in order to submit a final approval on their proofs as well as a form for potential clients to fill out in order to contact us with information about their event.
The plugin FormGet helped me add in some online forms with a very basic drag and drop system. I could customize my questions, make answers required or not, and then when a client fills the form out, a neat little email pops up in my inbox telling me that, hey, you have a new lead!
Wordpress is completely free to install, the theme was completely free, so the total cost of my website for three entire years is:
($3.96 x 36) + ($12.95 x 3) = $181.41
Hosting + Domain Name = Website Cost
That breaks down to just roughly $5.00 per month... for a website.
As opposed to Volusion, which was charging me $20 per month... for more than I needed.
Don't get me wrong - Volusion is a very powerful online retail tool that has AMAZING features.... it was just too much for my shop. With this, I am able to still sell online while linking to my Etsy shop, link to my social media sites, blog, showcase my previous work, collect new inquiries online, and organize my final proof approvals all within an attractive website for much less.
I call that a SMALL BUSINESS WIN if I ever saw one.
Congrats on your new website! What I really like about Wordpress is that it provides a lot of templates to choose from, and you could tweak them to make them look more attractive or at the very least, fit your needs. But if you want, you can try using CSS. Learning how to code can be a little challenging, but it’s definitely worth the effort, especially if you want to add some personal touch to your site.
ReplyDeleteMasako Gun