The saturation is real.
Just when it feels like you’ve mastered your local wedding market, a new crop of vendors roll in and start booking many of your bride leads. It doesn’t help that most brides are price shopping, and since you aren’t the most affordable option (for good reason!), they continue browse for other vendors.
What gives?
You might be their best choice but you have to win their attention first. You’ll have some extra work in proving your value.
Although the wedding market is becoming more saturated every year, you don’t have to worry about competition when you have a website that:
- showcases your unique client experience before (and on) their wedding day
- clearly defines who you are and who your ideal bride is
- gives them a small taste of your personality and tugs at their heart strings
- shows them what it’s like to collaborate and work alongside you and your team
Put yourself in your ideal bride’s shoes (no matter if they are pumps or Converse high tops). As they research wedding vendors, they are greeted with dozens if not hundreds of possible options. It can be overwhelming! The best way to counteract the overwhelm is by guiding them through your website to your contact form.
Why invest in a professionally designed website
Your website’s job is to make your ideal bride’s hiring decision as easy as possible. This can only be done if you are building a strategic, optimized website with a punch of personality.
You may already know you need a website refresh (or even a complete rehaul), but finding the time to do it yourself feels like a stretch.
With the seasonality of working in the wedding industry, it can feel impossible to juggle bride inquiries, current bride communication, wedding day timeline creation, and post-production tasks (especially for wedding photographers).
Instead of adding website development to your already full plate, you might want to think about hiring a website designer. Not only will you be able to access the mind of a website marketing expert, but you’ll also have more time to focus on what you do best within your business.
5 tips to help wedding vendors search for a website designer
Since your website is often one of your biggest lead generators, it’s worth investing in. Just like any other business investment, you want to make sure you choose the right partner. Here are a few things to look for so you can assess what website designer will be a good fit.
See if you like their website
One of the first things to look at when you are trying to decide which website designer you should work with is their own website. If they are a website designer, their website should be well-designed and easy to read.
If you don’t like their website, chances are you won’t like the style of the websites they create. After scrolling through their website, you should feel connected to them through their website content, visual style, and overall layout.
Ask yourself these questions as you browse their website:
- Can you easily find what you are looking for?
- Are there clear call-to-actions?
- Do you get a feel for their personality and unique style?
- Is their visual branding cohesive and consistent?
- Does it look like they invested time and energy into their own website?
If you answer yes to most or all of these questions, you’ll want to keep them in the running. Complete this process a few more times so you have a range of options.
Look at their portfolio to see if you like their work
Once you’ve done some preliminary research and determined they know what they’re doing with their own website, it’s time to take a peek at their portfolio. This is where you’ll be able to see the full range of their work.
What happens if you really like the designer’s website but nothing on their portfolio fits your style? You may want to go back to the drawing board and choose a website designer that has a more cohesive style in their portfolio. Then you can feel confident in how your website will look before you get started.
If you do like the websites in their portfolio, that’s an awesome sign that they could be a good fit. I also recommend clicking into the website links so you can view the websites in action. Although it’s nice to look at screenshots of the website’s design, it’s even better to interact with the website to see how well it functions. After all, you are looking for a website that isn’t just pretty but also gives visitors a great user experience!
Choose someone who has expertise in working with wedding pros
When you scroll through the website designer’s portfolio, did you see any websites that were created for wedding professionals? Although it’s possible that they have worked with wedding businesses before, most designers put their best and most notable work in their portfolios.
There are so many benefits to working with a website designer that has a lot of experience designing for entrepreneurs in the wedding industry. Just to name a few:
- You can eliminate a lot of the back and forth communication about what your website needs in order to attract brides (because they already get it).
- They will understand how to market specifically to brides because they know how brides interact with websites.
- They can consult with you on their best recommendations and suggestions based on what has worked for wedding business clients in the past.
(Psst… if you are looking for some examples of wedding websites, you can find them here.)
See if their timeline and budget is a good fit for your project
Okay, it’s a done deal: you love their website, the websites they create, and the depth of their knowledge about your industry. It sounds like you are a match made in heaven!
Before you sign on the dotted line and make this partnership official, there are a few other things to look for. Although you might like the look of their website and their work, it’s important to ask some follow up questions about their process.
First, you need to see if their timeline fits with yours. If they book out six months in advance and you can only wait three months, you might have to look for another alternative. If their projects normally take eight weeks but you’d like to be done in four weeks, it might take you back to the drawing board.
It’s not that their process is wrong or even that your needs are wrong! It just may not be a natural fit with your difference in timelines. If you really like their work, you may be willing to be flexible on the process but if not, no sweat. You’ll be able to find another website designer that can fit your needs.
If their timeline is a good fit, then you can determine if their budget is also a good fit. You may look on their website and see a starting at price for custom projects or even a direct price for specific packages. Other website designers may require you to contact them by email or on a consultation call to get access to their pricing.
Everyone works in a different way and thus displays their pricing differently. It’s best to have a number in mind for how much you’d like to invest before you reach out so you know where you’re most comfortable. If they are a bit outside of your budget, maybe you can ask if they have any available payment plans.
Ask about what their website strategy and design process looks like
Your last step is to research or ask for more information on their design process. Every website designer’s process is a little bit different so it’s smart to get this information up front so you know what to expect. It will also help you understand their timeline.
Many website designers require you to have website content written and questionnaires filled out before you start working together. Keep this mind when you start planning out how to prepare for your collaboration. Don’t worry, the website designer should guide you through this process seamlessly.
Feeling more confident about outsourcing your web design?
I hope so! You are now armed with a list of questions and things to look for when deciding who you want to collaborate with. Since your website drives so much business, it’s important to be intentional about your hiring decision.
If you found yourself nodding along with the tips above as you scrolled through my website and portfolio, I’d love to be in the running for your website project! Let’s schedule a time to chat about your vision and goals through a coffee chat.
I’ll be ready with iced coffee in hand!
