Impressions are everything. In this day and age optimizing your website isn’t something to just put on the back burner. Instead, every business owner should invest time and money into it. With 34% of shoppers shopping online at least once a week and the number of online purchases continuously growing year after year, having a strong website design AND strong, optimized website content is crucial to a business's success.

I’m covering what the heck the term lead generation means and why it’s SO important for small businesses. Plus, I’m sharing my favorite way to generate leads online — spoiler: it’s freebies. The dos and don’ts of creating a valuable freebie for your audience and six proven lead-generating freebie ideas for you to take and implement on your own!

Your website photography plays a crucial role in showcasing your products effectively, communicating the look and feel of your brand, and driving those sales! Quality product photography can make or break your store's online success, especially as a small business. Standout imagery will not only showcase your goods in the best light possible but it also creates a sense of trust and credibility for potential customers — all of which will influence those buying decisions.

It’s 2023 so whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, you need a website. If you’re still on the fence about starting a website, you’ll want to give this post a read. We’ll chat through the benefits of having a website, how soon you should create one, and which website platform you should use. Plus, we’ll cover the importance of hiring a website designer vs. taking a DIY approach too. With so many things to consider, this is the first step.

When I’m designing a custom website, I have three go-to tips I always take into consideration. These three tips will help create an action-based site that’s going to quickly resonate with your audience and help you convert leads to sales.

Let’s just start by saying this applies to ANY social media platform and any time you’re going to use text to create a graphic anywhere. Think of these rules when you go to create the cover of a PDF for example, a business card maybe, a thank you — you get the point. These three simple rules for formatting text are going to have your back time and time again no matter what you’re designing on and for.

So, why do I recommend Squarespace? Honestly, because it’s the easiest platform to get a professional-looking website without hiring a developer to code things. Now, notice I said developer, not designer. You’d still benefit from a website designer to help you turn your branding elements into a website reality.

Depending on the type of business you’re running using a DIY brand or website can be detrimental to your success! Cutting corners because you’re trying to save money can actually COST you money as you start losing out on leads and sales without a proper design strategy. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the three major things you’re risking if you’re taking a DIY approach to your brand design.

It’s no secret taking the leap to extend your retail brand online or diving into e-commerce right from the start can be SO intimidating. From Shopify and Etsy to Drupal, NopCommerce, WooCommerce, and even Squarespace, there are sooo many options and platforms to consider as you’re getting started. The first step is to take a look at two top contenders and see how they stack up against each other. So, what’s the better option, Shopify or Etsy?