The Question:
What do you see as key elements to include on a floral design business website?
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The Answers:
I love About pages that include an image of the designer. I want to connect to the person. I want to see the designer. Phone number…I hate when you have to dig through the contacts to call someone. I think that should be on the Home page. Of course the name of the studio and graphics that clearly show the style or brand of the studio.
Always use professional images, and use lots of them. Let people get lost in your work. I do not disclose pricing on my website. We also do not list our address because we are by appointment only.
-Holly Chapple (Holly Heider Chapple Flowers)
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Work on getting a really good Gallery that showcases your work (and when in doubt, select fewer high quality images as opposed to more lower quality images). Your About page (with a good photo of yourself and your background/passions) is really important; many people are looking for someone they feel a connection with. A Testimonials page is really helpful. Also, a good, clear Contact page (aside from the obvious phone # and email, be sure to include your city/region).
-Clare Day (Clare Day Flowers)
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I think the key to a successful floral design website is to have it be visually appealing. When clients are planning a wedding or event they want to see big gorgeous blooms on a website, something that will take their breath away. Choose your favorite photographs of your designs and have them be the spotlight of your website. Including details about yourself so clients can get a sense of who you are, your background and style as well as details about your business are also very important. Once you’ve drawn them in with a portfolio of beautiful photos of your designs they will be more apt to delve further into your site. I have also found my blog to be a very popular part of my site, people like to see recent work so that is something to consider as well.
-Elisabeth Zemetis (Blush Floral Design)
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I think it’s important that a floral design business website is easy to navigate and read. Since we want the flowers to be the stars, a clean but still pretty design is preferred. I think a website should include things like about you/the business, gallery, contact details, information about the areas you offer, prices (shouldn’t be too detailed when every wedding or event is unique, but something like “weddings start at …”), links to social media and a latest press feature (but make sure it’s up to date, don’t include it if your latest press feature was 1999). Also make sure that your gallery is up to date. A gallery with old/not-trendy-anymore bouquets can be very off putting.
-Emelie Ekborg (Svenska Blomsterbloggar)
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I think the main element which should run through the full website is good photography. It will set you apart from other florists who have more “standardized” websites. Our website was not particularly expensive so it does have a few limitations but it allows us to focus on the images rather than be word heavy. We use a company called Blu Domain based in the US who offer fantastic templates at very reasonable prices. They also host our site. You should consider the following pages/sections: “About Us” – this allows your clients to find out a bit more about who they are buying from, particularly if they are spending thousands of pounds/dollars. Different pages/sections for the types of service your offer e.g. weddings, events, corporate contracts, sympathy flowers, retail deliveries. “Gallery” – use your own photographs as well as pictures from professional photographers who have shot your designs (ask their permission and remember to credit them!). Finally, it can be great to include testimonials from previous clients too. We have a lot of this on our Facebook page at the moment but need to include it on our website (as soon as this year’s very busy wedding season quietens down!)
-Nick Priestly (Mood Flowers)
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Thanks Nick, Emelie, Elisabeth, Clare and Holly!
Please don’t hesitate to send your questions to the panel at botanicalbrouhaha@gmail.com. They are so generous with their knowledge, experience and expertise. We love to hear from you!
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Let’s end today’s post on a floral “note”…
Shawna Yamamoto event Design and Scott Clark Photography
Art with Nature and Katelin Wallace Photography
Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by…I love it when you do that!
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Careful too about using flash. If you do, it’s nice what Nick at Mood Flowers did, to have a non- flash option. Google on Android doesn’t support flash.
I also strongly agree with Clare at Clare Day Flowers about listing the region. As a flower enthusiast, I’ve been to far too many sites where I needed to google the area code.
Lastly kudos to Holly, her site is very content rich while still focusing on the flowers!
For inspiration, here’s a list of great flower websites: http://henryhudson.com.au/roundup/our-favourite-websites
My other side of life is actually eCommerce and user experience design. There isn’t anything terribly wrong with anything written but some important dont’s are missed.
Things like music set to default, windows set to ignore the browser, not using alt tags, not setting a brand voice. All sorts of things that really get at the meat of what is needed.