Today I am talking with the amazing Arianne Foulks from Aeolidia, with whom I discuss the essential website design and content elements that will ensure your site invites people in and encourages them to want to shop with you.

Arianne has a wildly successful web and graphic design studio, and directs a team of people who craft gorgeous websites for creatives. I invited her on the show because she knows what works! In this episode we talk about logo design, photography, content, and more – all the things which a great website needs to get right.

It’s so important to have your own home on the internet – somewhere that represents your business to the world and tells your business story. But it can be hard to know what to focus on when creating a website, as there are so many possibilities!

Listen in for Arianne’s top tips for making sure your business’s online home is the best it can be.

 

Quotes and highlights from this Episode:

* “Have your own domain name even if you have other web presences.” {Arianne}

* Get your domain name and point it to your primary online presence (e.g. Etsy)

* Having your own domain belongs to you and nobody else unlike Facebook and Etsy when your shopfront belongs to those companies.

* People want to go at their leisure and find out about you online before getting in contact.

* It’s like having a menu in a restaurant, it’s a way to see what’s on offer before you sit down to eat.

* Your about page is the most important thing to get done first on your website.

* “People want to know who made it, why they made it and what their story is.” {Arianne}

* Big beautiful photos are so important.

* Tell a story with your products through styling.

* “Learn a little bit about what makes good photography. Less of the technical stuff and more of what makes a great photo.” {Arianne}

* Make sure you tell people your name so they feel they know you a little more.

* Contact information is vital.

* “It’s an important for searchability to keep your website up to date and relevant” {Jess}

* It can be important to have both their own website and other online stores if possible.

* It’s not enough to rely on Etsy or another platform to send them buyers.

* “Relying solely on a company who is not under your control to send you customers is not ideal.” {Arianne}

* Build up an audience on your own website.

* “I can sell in Australian Dollars on my own website but in American Dollars on Etsy.” {Jess}

* StitchLabs: A way to keep your inventory up to date on multiple platforms without having to do it manually.

* It’s still very important to blog even when you have an ecommerce site.

* “Those who have been in the blogging world for ages think it’s a no-brainer. But for newbies I understand the confusion about why you would blog.” {Jess}

* You need to enjoy blogging to want to blog.

* Blogging brings traffic to your site – partly through Google and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

* Blogging gives you keywords which will eventually list on Google and traffic will come to you over the years.

* “Having a blog can really humanise your brand.” {Arianne}

* Establish yourself as an expert in something.

* Once you start blogging it makes all your other marketing efforts easier.