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What are the best event website designs?

Senior stylish woman taking notes in notebook while using laptop at home on what are the best event website designs

Do you have an events website that is in need of an update? Or have a flourishing events business but not sure how to build a website? Then look no further! Here we are going to give you the best web design inspiration for your events website. 

Often when businesses start creating a website they start with a website builder. Website builders are a great way of easily building a website for a low monthly price. Go Sitebuilder has a wide range of templates and design ideas to help you decide what is right for your event management website. 

With technology becoming increasingly important in marketing events, having an up to date website is vital. In 2019 52.6% of event professionals increased their spending on technology, proving how important investing in technology is. 

Large professional event website: Telegraph Events

Source: Telegraph Events

This beautiful website is for events hosted by the Telegraph. The layout is simple and easy to navigate using a header as the main navigation tool. The use of dark colours and white writing creates a striking web design. The use of the large picture below the header gives a sense of the type of events they hold as soon as you enter the website.

Foodie festival: The Big Grill Festival

Source: The Big Grill Festival

This bright web design is extremely effective at communicating the spirit of the event and clearly showing what the event is about. The cartoons at the top of the homepage show music, chefs, drinks and bright colours. The simple header allows visitors to easily navigate around the website and simple icons for each social media platform is also very effective. 

Music Festival: Coachella

Source: Coachella

As one of the biggest festivals in the world Coachella has a professional well designed website. The image above is what the homepage looks like once the headings are clicked. As you can see the menu then drops down and there are simple headings to follow. 

However, what is really effective is the small drawings that accompany each menu dropdown, this one being sunglasses. The subtle colours and minimalist design create an aesthetic that matches what you envision when you think of coachella. 

Conference event: Circles Conference

Source: Circles Conference

This homepage for Circle Conference is highly effective and creates a significant impact on the visitor. Immediately you are struck by the bold blue colours and large writing. All the key information is displayed on the homepage, giving a date for the event and the type of conference. Although the menu is somewhat hidden, the two lines in the left hand corner indicate there is more to find out. 

Best use of colours: Image Festival

Source: Image Festival

This bright bold design is slightly different from those mentioned before. This website for an art festival in Rotterdam has a creative slightly vintage feel, with pastel shades and a typewriter style of font. Although the website is slightly crowded with information the menu is clear and the side bar allows more information to be shown. 

Key points to think about for your event website:

So now that you have seen some great examples of web design for events websites you may be thinking about designing your own or updating a current website. Before you do, consider the following points:

  • What style of website do you want? – a minimalist approach or more content on the homepage.
  • Make sure visitors to your website know immediately what kind of event you are holding.
  • Consider the fonts and colour scheme – these must match with the aesthetic of your event and also show visitors what kind of event you are having. Take a look at our blog on how to make your website more visually appealing. 
  • Consider what kind of photographs/drawings you want to showcase your event. 
  • Ensure you have all the key information on your website and that visitors can find the information easily. 
  • Find a website builder that is easy to use and has a wide range of customising options.

For more information, check out our blog on how to create a successful events website.

If you are ready to start building your events website, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder. With a wide range of features including a range of design templates, our simple website builder design means you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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How do I get my new website noticed?

Male photographer on a laptop making a website

There are few things more upsetting than spending the time to make your website look beautiful and then realising that nobody is visiting it! But don’t worry – this happens to the majority of small businesses as they find their feet in the digital world, and there are multiple ways to get your new website in front of as many eyes as possible. Using a website builder like Go Sitebuilder can help you create a professional-looking website simply and easily, so you don’t spend too much time on the web design and can focus on the more important parts of your business. 

Unless people have your domain name noted down somewhere, the way they are most likely to find your website is through a search engine. Google is by far the most popular, with over 70% of the world’s online searches going through their site, and we are going to look at some Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tricks that will help Google both see your new site and rank it higher than others. 

Get your new website indexed by Google

When you first click “publish” on your site, you might find that it doesn’t come up when you Google it. This is because Google’s crawler bots (which read your site and decide where it should rank) haven’t got round to indexing your site yet. This means the only way to find it is to put in the exact domain into the search bar on your internet browser. 

There is no set deadline that Google says it will index your new site by when it has first been published, but the average time is from four days to four weeks. However, there are a couple of things you can do to make it easier for Google; you can verify your site on Google Webmaster Tools, and submit your site to Google. We are going to look at other ways to make your site rank better on Google below. 

Research and use keywords on your new website

What is your company about? Brainstorm some words that accurately represent your company and the products or services you provide, so that when Google indexes your site, it will be easy for it to know what your new website is about. It’s a good idea to focus on a niche here, rather than something very broad, as it makes it more likely to stand out against the competition. 

Research the keywords you’ve come up with and run them through Google Keyword Planner; you want to use keywords that are high in search volume (so lots of people search them) but low in competition (so not many other websites are using them). This way, Google’s crawler bots will see your site as more relevant and rank you higher for those specific keywords. 

Create unique content

The content you have on your site, whether that is your web copy or your blogs, has to be unique and not copied from another site. This may seem like a no-brainer, but Google has indexed hundreds of millions of websites and can immediately tell if you’re copying and pasting from another source, and will penalise you for it. 

The best way to do this is to create a blog. This is a double win, because if you publish content regularly, then Google will re-index your site regularly, and rank you higher for being up to date. It is also a good opportunity to get backlinks, which is where external sites link back to your website because they value your content. Look for fresh, interesting ideas and unique ways to approach common issues, and put in the time to create content that is valuable both for your new website and your audience. 

Get your own url and publish it everywhere

This is not a moment to hide under a bushel! Take your new website’s domain and add it to your email signature and your business cards. Upload it on your Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin profiles, and get friends to link their contacts to it as well. 

Although it may be tempting to start your new site with a free website builder, they are unlikely to give you your own domain name, instead giving you a long and complicated url like this: www.websitebuilder.com/yourname/yourwebsitename. Difficult to share and even harder to remember, this is a sure-fire way to show potential visitors that you are not committed to your new website. With Go Sitebuilder, we not only give you your own domain, but we also give you five personalised email addresses to make you look even more professional. 

Getting your new website noticed can be difficult because there are so many sites out there! But if you do your keyword research and put some time and effort into creating high quality unique content, you are well on your way to having a Google friendly website. And don’t forget to advertise your site wherever you can!

If you’re still looking for a website builder with excellent web design that needs no coding experience, we designed Go Sitebuilder especially for you! Our ready to go web design templates mean you can have a stylish and professional new website up and running in moments. Why not try our 14-day trial today to see what we can do for you and your business? 

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What are the different navigation options for a website?

A male and a female sat at desk, looking at a laptop. The male is wearing a red hate and pointing to the laptop. The female is looking at the male.

Navigation is an incredibly important aspect of web design. Navigation refers to how visitors move around your site, whether this is through links or a menu. If the navigation on your website is too complicated visitors can be put off exploring further around your website. If you need more convincing check out our blog on why navigation is so important.

There are a few different options when choosing the type of navigation you want. Often this is a choice between menu styles, but there are other ways in which good navigation can improve your website. With such a range of templates and layouts that come with many website builders, it can be difficult to choose the right one. With Go Sitebuilder we want this choice to be easy, so read on to find out the best navigation style for you. 

Header Menu

Website builder homepage showing video and navigation bar
Source: GoSiteBuilder

The first, and most popular, style of navigation is using a header menu. As you can see on our website this is the style we opted for. A header menu gives the visitor a clear range of options as soon as they enter the website. This means that there is no additional searching for a menu option, making this style the most simplistic. A recent study found that header menus are 22% quicker to navigate than other menus. 

Some header menus are static (meaning that they stay at the top of your page as you scroll), whereas others move off the page as you scroll. Neither option is better or worse, but having a static menu means visitors can change pages easier. Often these headers have between 5-7 options to click on, more than that and the web design starts to look cluttered.

Pros of a header menu: 

  • Visitors can easily find your menu
  • Easy to organise your website into specific categories 
  • Gives structure to your website 
  • Allows visitors to quickly move between web pages 
  • A very popular web design trend – for more web design tips read our blog on the latest web design trends

Cons of a header menu:

  • Takes up space on your website
  • Can be difficult to translate into a mobile format 
  • Some prefer a more minimalist homepage with a smaller menu

‘Hamburger’ Menu

Event website homepage showing a hamburger menu]
Source: Circles Conference
events website showing drop down menu
Source: Circles Conference

The ‘hamburger’ menu is often represented by 2 or 3 lines. When the lines are clicked on, the menu opens into the website, as you can see above with the Circles Conference website. Although this option is used less, there are still positive aspects to this design. 

The main reason this is chosen over a header menu is that this design is more minimalist and takes up less room on the homepage, which leaves more room for a bold header, as seen in the images above. Also, as this menu opens out there is more space and there can be more sections of the website. If you have lots of navigation options, a header menu can look cluttered, so a hamburger menu could make your web design look more streamlined. 

Pros of a hamburger menu: 

  • A more minimalistic look
  • A larger range of menu links 
  • Easily transferable to mobile websites 

Cons of a hamburger menu:

  • May be harder for a visitor to find the menu if they don’t know what the symbol means
  • Visitors have to spend more time finding your menu

Drop Down Menus

Source: Asos

This option is often used for online shops as visitors may want to find a specific item. This example of the Asos website essentially has three menus. The first is the option between Women and Men, then they categorise the product by general product type such as clothing, then more specific fits or clothing types. This allows for multiple options when organising your website. 

However, unless you need lots of options an overly organised menu may distract from the content of your website. For example an accounting firm would not need as many options as a site such as Asos. 

Pros of a drop down menu:

  • Site content can be organised into more specific categories
  • A good way to organise for e-commerce sites
  • Gives structure to your website 
  • Visitors can easily find the menu and navigate through your website 

Cons of a drop down menu: 

  • You may be tempted to make too make categories and over complicate your website navigation
  • Not every website needs this many categories 

Whichever type of navigation you choose, remember these 5 assets of good navigation:

  • How quickly can visitors change pages? 
  • How easy is your menu to use?
  • Does the style fit with your web design?
  • Is it too complicated?
  • Can your navigation be translated to a mobile site?

If you are ready to start building your website, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder. We offer a wide range of features including a range of design templates, which give you multiple navigation options. Our simple website builder design means you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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Do I need terms and conditions on my website?

Caucasian male with a long beard is sat at a desk in front of a laptop editing photos with camera equipment surrounding the laptop

If you’re building a website for the first time, it can be easy to get distracted with creating a beautiful web design, or creating a colour scheme that compliments your logo. We still find it hard to choose between our professional and stylish ready to go templates on our website builder!

But you need to be aware that there are some boring-but-important pages that you must include in your website. We’ve already written a blog on making sure you have a privacy policy on your website, but what about terms and conditions?

What are terms and conditions?

Terms and conditions are the small print that explain how your company works. They set out your rights and responsibilities as a business, as well as the rights and responsibilities of your customers. 

Ideally, a terms and conditions page should be no longer than two pages, and it should include:

  • The products and services you provide
  • The price and manner of payment accepted
  • Any guarantees or warranties you offer
  • Limit liability if there are any errors in your web content
  • Copyright and trademark information
  • Information on what happens when the customer wants to terminate service with you
  • Where your website is operating from and what the governing law is. 

Although terms and conditions are known for being difficult to read, you want to make sure that yours are plain and intelligible, so that both you and your customers can refer to them if any issue arises with your services or products. 

Do I need terms and conditions?

Although for many basic websites it is not completely necessary to have a terms and conditions page on your website, it is wise to have them, as it protects you from being held responsible for things that aren’t your fault. However, a terms and conditions page is required if you collect user data. Even if you just use your website for marketing purposes, there are still multiple reasons why you should think about having a terms and conditions page. 

Prevent people abusing your site

The terms and conditions page sets out the rules and guidelines your users need to follow to access your website and use your services. This can help prevent users writing harmful language or spamming other users on your comments or forum section. 

Make it possible to ban users if necessary

For websites that allow users to register to become part of the community or to access certain services, then it is a good idea to have a clause in your terms and conditions that allows you to ban them temporarily. This could occur if a user is being abusive on your website and is insulting other members. 

Make sure you own your content

The Intellectual Property clause is often included in a terms and conditions page, and this stipulates that you own the logo, content, and web design, and that this ownership is protected by international copyright law. This makes sure that nobody can copy anything from your website to replicate on their own site,  claiming that they weren’t aware that it was protected by law. 

Limit your liability

However many times you edit and reread the copy on your website, there are likely to be a few errors that slip through the gaps. That’s why many terms and conditions sites include a clause that makes sure that the owner of the website can’t be held responsible for errors in the content, or if there are accidental inaccuracies in the information presented. 

How to write terms and conditions

It might seem daunting to have to write the small print for your website, but you don’t have to do it yourself! Although many terms and conditions pages are very similar, don’t be tempted to copy and paste another company’s page and put it on your own. As likely stipulated in their terms and conditions, that would be classed as intellectual property theft. 

If you have a basic website that you are using as a marketing tool and that doesn’t take users’ personal information or payment details, then you can use an online terms and conditions generator where all you have to do is fill in certain information fields and it is created in a matter of moments. 

If your company is slightly more complex, for example if you have an ecommerce website or a subscription service, then it may be worth hiring a lawyer to write up your terms and conditions for you. This can be done fairly inexpensively using an online lawyer who specialises in this field, and will save you a lot of hassle in the long term. 

If you still haven’t decided on the best website builder for you, why not give Go Sitebuilder a try? We have an integrated ecommerce platform, and give you a personalised domain name and five email addresses, as well as many other benefits that make creating a website simple, fast and fun. Try our 14-day free trial today to see how beautiful your website could look. 

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What’s the difference between local and global web design?

Pleasant conversation. Pretty young woman holding her kid while having telephone talk about the difference between local and global web design

If you’re building a website for the first time, or want to improve the web design of your site, you’ll need to work out whether you want to target a local or global market. Whilst it might be tempting to create a web design that falls into both of these categories, if you’re building a website from scratch for a brand new business, then it might be a good idea to focus your web design on just one of these categories. 

Go Sitebuilder offers ready to go sites which are completely customisable, so that you can build your website with a web design that perfectly suits your business, whether you’re aiming to keep it local, or to make it global. We take a look at some of the differences between local and global web design to help you decide which is the right web design for you. 

Colour scheme 

The psychology behind the colour scheme of your website is more important than you might think. According to TrueList, 42% of shoppers base their opinions of a website on the overall web design, and colour is an incremental factor when it comes to forming these judgements. When selecting the colour scheme for your site, think about what emotions you want to evoke, and what emotions the colours might inspire. 

If you’re building a website with the aim of targeting local customers or clients within your area, consider if there are any colours you can use that resonate with your locality. For example, if your town or city has a renowned sports team, you may choose to select a colour scheme which slightly mirrors the colours of that team. However, you also want to have a distinctive colour that resonates with your own brand – see if you can incorporate a colour which is unique to your business into your web design. 

On the other hand, if you’re building a website with the purpose of selling your products or services globally, you’ll want to pick a colour scheme which is more general. For example, some colours have negative connotations: in South Africa red is the colour of mourning, so you might want to opt for a more neutral colour scheme to ensure your web design is appealing to your global audience. 

Images 

Images also play an important role in the aesthetic appeal of your web design, as they not only add to the overall appearance of your site, but they help to convey a message. Using images is one of the quickest ways to communicate with your target audience – according to MIT, the human brain can process images in 13 milliseconds. That means it’s crucial to choose the right image for your website, as it is a great way to capture the interest of site visitors. 

If you’ve created a web design targeted at a local audience, one of the best ways to boost your image as a trusty, local business is to use local images. This doesn’t mean uploading a few snaps of some local landmarks onto your site – try snapping images of your products being used in a local area, or maybe upload a picture of your business collaborating with another local business. 

For a global web design, images of your local area are much less important: you don’t need to use images to highlight the fact  that you are a local business targeting local audiences, so you have more freedom in choosing which images to add to your web design. Use more general photos: stock images are a good way to add a professional touch to your website, without the cost of hiring a photographer. At Go Sitebuilder, we offer a huge range of stock photos to choose from, helping you build a website perfect for a global market within a few clicks. 

Content 

When building a website, your content not only conveys a message to your audience, but it also plays a big role in SEO, which affects your ranking on Google. You’ll need to decide how you want to structure your content for your web design: if your aim is to build a website for the global market, then you might want to focus mainly on keywords referring to the the products or services you sell, so that Google’s algorithms rank you higher on its search page results when someone searches for a specific item or service. 

If you’re a local business, you’ll still want to use keywords for your product, but you can also capitalise on local keywords, as it is fantastic for SEO: if you incorporate your location within your content on multiple pages then Google will rank you higher when someone searches for your products or services within the area. 

Whether you’re building a website for a local or global market, it’s important to find a website builder that is easy to use, but also offers quality services; Go Sitebuilder offers ready to go sites with completely customisable web designs, so that you can build a site that’s perfect for you. Our 14-day free trial gives you all the freedom you need to try our services, completely free of charge – try it today!

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What are the steps involved in building a news website?

Portrait of handsome young man using his mobile phone in the kitchen finding the steps involved in building a news website

With the amount of website builders available on the market, starting up your own news website has never been easier. Local newspapers are bearing the brunt of the rapid decrease in revenue for print journalism, and as they sadly start to shut down they create a gap in the market for online hyperlocal news sites.

In fact, between 2016 and 2018, there was a 50% increase in membership to LION, a US-based hyperlocal website association. It doesn’t have to be local news though; there is also a market for nationwide or global news, as long as you find an original angle to take your news website. To make the website part easier, Go Sitebuilder is a website builder that can have your news site up and running in a few minutes – but you need to do more than just find a website builder that works for you! Here are the steps you need to take to set up your own news website. 

1. What will your publication be about?

There are thousands of news websites out there on the internet; you need to make sure yours is unique if you want it to stand out. This is easier with hyperlocal news, as you’re unlikely to have too much competition, but if you’re planning on a more global approach, what will your publication have that will make it different? 

It’s a good idea to focus on a “mission statement”, where you define what you want your publication to achieve, and who your target audience is. Maybe you want to focus on sustainable technology, long form analysis of current affairs, or just short and snappy pieces on your local area for residents to stay informed. 

2. How will you make money?

Starting a news website is not a way to make fast cash. Although online news can be lucrative, you’ll have to commit your time to creating high quality content regularly and gather a decent following before you start to see a significant return on your investment. However, it’s good to think about the way you plan to make money as you start, so you can drive your site in the right direction.

There are multiple ways to earn money from your news website. Advertising products on your site is easy, especially using a platform like Google Adsense, but you may find you are advertising products completely unrelated to your site, and it can make your site look a little cluttered.

Sponsored content is another possibility, and as you start gaining traction with your site you’ll probably find that you will receive multiple emails from content creators wanting to pay you to publish their content on your site. This seems like a win-win situation, but you should be careful that their content doesn’t devalue your site as a whole; only accept content that is genuinely relevant and interesting to your target audience. 

Another way to get revenue from your site is to create a subscription model. This is risky, as you risk losing many readers who don’t want to pay for their news content, but it can be very valuable if you have a loyal audience. There are two ways to do this; either by blocking all of your site content unless the visitor has a subscription, or allowing unpaid views to your site, but a subscriber gets extra benefits, like a weekly email with the latest news or access to long form investigative journalism that took more time and money to create. 

 3. Choose a platform

When you start looking for a platform for your news site, it can get overwhelming trying to choose between all the website builders available to you. The best way to choose is to create a list of things you’ll definitely need for your news website, and go with a website builder that provides all of them. 

You want a website builder that is both flexible and scalable; the last thing you want is to start making some headway with your news website and then have to change to another platform. Check that it doesn’t have a limit to the amount of pages you can create, or images you can upload. Many people check their news on their phone, so having a responsive web design is paramount, as well as having an integrated SSL certificate and being SEO friendly. Before you ask – Go Sitebuilder has all this and more.

4. Create your content

This is the fun part! Make sure your content is high quality and original, and embellish it with images, infographics and videos to make it more dynamic. This is also a good test period when you start, and will help you decide whether you can create all of the content on your own or whether you will want to hire other writers or editors. 

Make sure you are writing and producing content on a regular basis to improve your chances of people seeing your articles. 

5. Create a digital marketing plan

This isn’t as scary as it sounds! Seeing as many people get at least some of their news from social media (in the US it can be as much as two thirds), creating a social media strategy is a great way to get your content in front of your target audience. For hyperlocal news websites, join local Facebook groups and publish your content there, or for wider reaching news, make the most of hashtags on Twitter. 

If you’re ready and raring to go with your online news site, then why not register for a free 14-day trial with Go Sitebuilder today? Our platform offers ready to go web designs, unlimited blog posts, fully responsive design and more – and it only takes minutes to set up. Spend your time creating quality content, and let Go Sitebuilder take care of making sure your news website looks stylish and professional. 

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What is the most important page of a website?

How to make sure your legal business's website is secure online

Although all pages of your website are important in showing information about your business, there are certain web pages that you need to get right. Using a website builder such as Go SiteBuilder you can create multiple pages for your website centred around different topics. 

Once you have the structure and web design of your website set up, the next phase is to consider which pages you need to optimise the most. Certain pages are more important than others due to factors such as ability to give visitors key information and SEO results. 

What are web pages?

So to start off this blog; a quick round up of what a web page is. If you are new to website building you may be feeling confused over the different terms for different aspects of a website. A web page refers to the different sections that a website may have, often to find these pages there is a menu which allows visitors to navigate around the website. 

The most important pages are:

  • Home page – generally this page shows what kind of website you have and gives an overview of the type of content 
  • About page – has content about your company or the kind of work you do. If you run a firm with multiple people this can be a good page to introduce your team. 
  • Contact/Key Information page – without this page visitors will not be able to use your services or engage with you 
  • Blog page – blogs can be a great way to boost SEO and give visitors more information. Check out our post on the benefits of a blog for SEO.

For some businesses/websites there will be pages that are more applicable to them. Such as:

  • Gallery page for a photography business 
  • E-commerce page for an online shop
  • Menu pages for a restaurant or bar 
  • List of services for a beauty salon or hair dressers 

Which page should you focus on?

When deciding your strategy on how to create the most effective website, regarding webpages, there are a few aspects to consider. Generally consider which web pages have:

High visitor numbers/interest – which of your pages have the highest likelihood of creating interest? Is it your online shop or is there something unique on your blog page?

Strong first impressions – which page shapes new visitors’ opinions on your website the most? Studies show that it takes visitors less than two tenths of a second to form an opinion of your brand once they enter your website, therefore creating a strong first impression is incredibly important. Generally this relates to your homepage. 

An ability to sell your brand – any page which allows you to inform visitors what your brand is all about is incredibly important. Ensure that pages such as ‘About’ and ‘Contact Us’ are filled with key information. 

How do I optimise my web pages?

You may now have one or a few pages that you want to change to achieve better results. By following some of these tips you will create a more effective website that attracts a higher number of visitors. 

Homepage:

As your homepage is the first page visitors see, creating a good first impression is incredibly important. Consider the following:

  • Use a large header – this could be an image, text or video. But ensure that this is eye catching and shows your logo or brand name.
  • Do not overload with information – if your homepage is too content heavy visitors will be put off reading through all the text. Try and break it up with pictures or videos. 
  • Make a clear menu – your menu should be eye catching and easy to find to allow visitors to navigate your website easily. Read our blog on why navigation is so important to find out more. 

About page: 

This is the page visitors go to in order to find out more information about your business. Ensure you have:

  • Relevant information – readers do not want an essay, stick to the relevant information. 
  • Special commendations – do you possess any awards or glowing reviews? Consider including a few to make your business stand out.

Contact/Key information page:

  • Include links – where you can have links to Google Maps (for your address) and email links to make contacting you easier. 
  • Stick to the information – you do not need paragraphs on this page, just a simple layout.

If you are ready to start building your website, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder. With a wide range of features, our simple website builder design means you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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How do I find a niche for my online store?

Asian woman using smartphone with happy mood smile face in shopping mall niche market

An online store can help you make some cash on the side, or it can be the start of a great new business venture. Either way, to make the most of your online store, you’ll need to put some research in at the beginning to make sure that you are supplying a product that will sell! If you’re still looking for a website builder, make sure you do your research and choose one like Go Sitebuilder that doesn’t have any hidden fees for selling products online. 

What is a niche?

Choosing a niche can mean several things, but the aim remains the same; providing a product or service that is different from others. Choosing a niche in general means deciding on the area you want to specialise in; that is, instead of DIY products in general, choosing kitchen DIY products, or painting products. This comes down to the old adage of being a jack of all trades and a master of none; if you specialise in an area, then people are more likely to trust you and your knowledge than if you sold many different products. 

This concept applies to a niche product – where you choose a specific type of product to specialise in (think leather shoes rather than all shoes) and to a niche market. A niche market is when you design a product for a specific market and then focus your marketing efforts on that small community. 

Why do I need a niche for my online store?

If you don’t choose a niche then you’re setting yourself up to disappear among the thousands of other online stores that are selling the same things as you. In 2020, competition is fierce in the ecommerce industry, product markets are saturated and consumers are becoming more and more demanding in terms of the convenience and speed of service. 

Choosing a niche product means that you won’t be in direct competition with huge competitors, who will be able to provide a faster, more convenient service. Because of their infinitely larger resources, this is not a competition you will be able to win. If you have a niche, however, you are more likely to appear higher up on a search engine results page when a user is looking for a specific product. More clicks – more revenue!

How to choose a niche product

Many niche products are unique, handmade products that cannot be replicated, so if you make jewellery or ceramics then this is a good area to move into. You’ll still need to focus on a niche though – in handmade industries it’s a good idea to focus on your brand to help you with this. Is your jewellery made with precious stones from a certain area? Do you have a certain glazing technique that makes your ceramics stand out? This is what you’ll have to rely on to set you apart from others. 

Other niche products are designed due to personal experience. Is there a gap in the market that you think needs to be filled? For example, Hatch is a clothing brand that was created by a mother who was looking for dressy maternity wear for events such as weddings and parties, but couldn’t find anything she liked. This company focuses on two niches; maternity wear and formal wear, making it a great example of a niche product. 

How to choose a niche market

A niche market, on the other hand, focuses on the consumer rather than the product itself. This makes your marketing easier, but also gives you more freedom in the items that you want to stock and sell. A niche market can be defined by its own unique needs, identity or preferences in comparison to consumers in general. 

A good example of this is conscious buyers. These are people who want to make less of an impact on the environment by reducing their waste and plastic use, and are looking for more sustainable solutions. Once you’ve decided on a niche market, it can help you decide on other things that are important for your ecommerce strategy. 

For example, how much would you charge for your products and how old are your audience likely to be? People are more likely to spend more on sustainable goods rather than traditional ones, and Gen Z and millennials are more eco-conscious than baby boomers. Once you’ve decided on a niche market, everything slots into place. 

Other considerations when choosing a niche

Make sure you carry out research when deciding on your niche; you don’t want to spend ages elaborating your ecommerce plan and then find out someone has already had the same idea! It’s also a good idea when you’re starting out to choose a product that will have high profit margins, as otherwise you might not make any profit at all after subtracting your time, website builder costs, delivery fees and potential return fees. 

There are lots of things to think about when choosing a niche for your ecommerce business, so why not have one less thing to worry about? Choose Go Sitebuilder as your website builder; we’re one of the cheapest website builders with a free integrated ecommerce platform, and no limits on the number of products you can sell. Try our 14-day free trial today to see how quick and easy it is to get your website up and running. 

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What should be on a cocktail bar’s website?

Group Of Female Friends Enjoying Night Out At Rooftop cocktail bar

Having an effective website for your cocktail bar is vital in increasing brand awareness and giving potential customers more information about your cocktail bar. Website builders such as Go Sitebuilder will allow you to create a professional website with simple templates and a range of features you can customise. 

Creating a website can be daunting as there are so many different options regarding navigation, web design and content. Therefore, when creating a website you must consider some key aspects. In this blog we are going to outline what you should include in a cocktail bar’s website! 

Information on your cocktail creations 

Whether you have a set cocktail menu or one that changes regularly, having a menu on your website is incredibly important. There are a couple of ways you could create a menu:

  • Either write a menu on one of the pages on your website
  • Or create a separate file that you can attach to a webpage. If you are looking for an easy way to create a pdf menu then check out the templates for cocktail bar menus on Canva for some inspiration. 

Generally try to think about the following factors when designing your menu:

  • The colour scheme – does the design fit with your website and brand image?
  • Use of images – do you want to use photographs or infographics to enhance your menu?
  • Font choice – ensure this is in keeping with the rest of your web design.
  • Can you use the same menu in your bar as on your website? This gives continuity and makes the customer experience easier. 

Stunning photographs 

The best way to market your cocktail creations is to have beautiful photographs. Try to have a range of photographs, some which focus on individual cocktails and some which show the atmosphere and decor of your bar. With each photograph ensure to include a caption, especially if the photo is of one specific cocktail so that visitors know which drink they are looking at. 

Images can help portray your brand image as well as boosting visitor numbers to your website; if you want to find out more about how you can use images to get your website noticed, check out our blog post on how images can enhance your website. Also ensure you link any social media accounts to your website, but make sure the photographs you post on social media are also high quality and in keeping with your brand. 

Key information 

Having a beautiful website doesn’t mean much for your business if it doesn’t have the vital information that visitors need in order to find your bar in person. When you are creating your website ensure to have a page dedicated to key information such as:

  • Contact information – phone number, email address etc.
  • Location – an address and a Google maps link (many website builders have this as a feature you can add.)
  • Opening times – ensure to include any special times such as bank holidays.

Many websites will have this information in a footer at the bottom of the website but having the information on a separate page is useful as well.

Special events 

Another aspect you may want to consider for your cocktail website is having a section on unique experiences or aspects of your business. This may be in the form of:

  • Cocktail masterclasses 
  • Hen or stag parties 
  • Themed nights
  • Music nights 
  • Guest Mixologists 
  • Being part of an event or festival 

However, you choose to differentiate your business, having a unique selling point can be a great way to separate yourself from the crowd. 

What makes your bar stand out from the rest

When a visitor is looking at your website is there a unique part of your bar that stands out? If not that needs to change! With many cocktail bars in competition with each other having a unique selling point is vital. Take a look at these Unique Bars in London for inspiration. 

Some bars focus on their decor or theme. For example, the Alchemist cocktail bars have a clear theme on mystical creation and a black and gold colour scheme that is clear throughout their website.

Others may focus on particular cocktail Mixologists that they have in their team. For example the cocktail bar White Lyan’s selling point is master Mixologist “Mr Lyan”.

Whatever your main selling point is, ensure that visitors can clearly see this on your website and can find out as much information as possible. 

If you need a great website builder to create your cocktail website, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder. With a wide range of features such as an image editor and the ability to add your menu to your website, our simple website builder design means you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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What should you put on your personal website?

Young Asian man using the laptop in the living room thinking about what he should you put on his personal website

A personal website is a great tool to help you present yourself on the internet. Invaluable if you’re job hunting or if you’re a freelancer (or just starting out as one), a personal website is potential clients or recruiters’ first port of call when they start researching you – so you want to make sure you stand out. 

Website builders like Go Sitebuilder can help you have a beautiful and professional-looking website out in minutes, but when you’re customising your website, there are certain things you need to make sure you include. 

The most important thing to bear in mind is the goal of your website. Are you looking for a job? Or on the hunt for clients for your next freelance project? Either way, focus on your personal website so that it will help you achieve this goal, rather than uploading swathes of information about your cat and your favourite pair of socks. Now, let’s talk about what you should include in your personal website. 

Your elevator pitch

This is paramount! Your elevator pitch should be one of the first things a visitor sees when they reach your website, and should say what you do, and what makes you different. Imagine that someone arrives on your website and only reads your elevator pitch; will they have a good idea of what you do and why you’re better than the competition?

Things you could include in your elevator pitch are your most important career moments, what you’re most proud of, and what you’d say is your “superpower” as a professional. It shouldn’t be any longer than two to three paragraphs – shorter if possible, but make sure it shows a little of your personality – you want to hook them in!

Your bio 

You can put this on an “About Me” page, and is longer and more informative than an elevator pitch. Give details of both your education and your expertise in work; if you have a long work history, it might be a good idea to visualise it in a timeline to make it easier to digest. 

Make sure that you are showing a bit of your personality here as well. The main aim is to highlight your professional achievements but you also want to humanise yourself, making yourself both more likeable and more memorable. Many companies screen potential candidates for company culture fit, and this is a way you can show your personality. 

It’s also a good idea to have a downloadable CV in this section, for recruiters who have stumbled across your page. Normally you’ll optimise a CV for a particular job, but for this general one make sure you include a wide range of your skills and achievements so it could work for multiple different roles. 

Samples of your work

It’s very easy to think you need to upload all the work you’ve ever done here, but in reality nobody is going to look at it. Only add your very best work to this section. You might find it difficult to do this if you aren’t in a visual industry, but if you work in marketing for example, you can outline the best campaigns you’ve created. 

One tip is to make sure you quantify your work. Saying that you’ve managed “multiple successful campaigns” is vague and open to interpretation, so it’s better to be clear and say exactly how many you managed, and what results it had. Why not use a free infographic creator like Canva or Venngage to make this more engaging? 

Blog

Creating and maintaining a professional blog does require a bit of time investment, but it is worth it. It shows that you are committed to your career path, that you’re knowledgeable about the industry and engaged in how it is evolving. You’ll need to update your blog at least a couple of times a month – there’s nothing more off-putting than an outdated blog that obviously hasn’t been added to in a while!

Be aware that this is also an opportunity for you to show off your communication skills and style, so make sure that you proofread your work for errors!

Contact information 

What is the point in having a beautiful personal website showing off all your skills if there is no way to contact you? Make sure your contact information is visible and easy to find, and give multiple ways for people to contact you. It’s also a good idea to link to other professional platforms as well; the more times you are mentioned on the web, the more credible you appear. 

Testimonials

Testimonials from people you’ve worked with are a great way to lend credibility to your online persona. Linkedin is a good way of sourcing these – if you don’t already have some, contact some former colleagues or clients to ask them to do so. Make sure they give details, not just saying that you’re a great person, but what exactly makes you good to work with and why? 

Now you know what are good things to put on your personal website, it’s time to create one! Go Sitebuilder has a simple website builder with professional web design in the form of hundreds of customisable templates. On the go? Our website builder can be used from a laptop, tablet or smartphone, so you can create a professional website from wherever you are. Why not try our free 14-day trial today?