Do you ever feel like it’s getting a little cozy in the wedding photography industry? It seems like everywhere you turn there’s a new photographer popping up or anyone who gets their hands on an entry level DSLR suddenly think they are a professional photographer. So how do you stand out in a saturated market where everyone is essentially offering the same thing, at similar prices?
If you’re wondering how your website can help you stand out from the rest, you’re in the right place.
In this post I will show you the five things you need to pay attention to on your wedding photography website to stand out from your competition and turn your website into a conversion machine.
Less is more
Unless this bride-to-be has been following along with your work and already knows she wants to book with you, your website is likely one of the first impressions she gets of you and your business. Planning a wedding can be stressful and overwhelming, and your job as a photographer is to help the bride sort through all this stress, not make it harder to figure things out.
Your website should be clear and to the point and easily help the bride answer the biggest question: are you a good fit to cover her wedding?
As you are writing the copy and choosing the photos to display on your website, you should keep that one question in mind. Will what you are putting on your website help the bride answer that question, or will it confuse her? Be very conscious of the information you decide to put on your website and make sure every word or sentence serves a specific purpose in helping your bride figure out that big question.
Easy to navigate
Going along with the less is more approach, your website should also be easy to navigate. As you are setting up your website, each item that makes the menu of your website should be carefully considered. The menu is prime real estate on your site, and should be reserved for what is truly necessary for the bride to be to know in order to decide to book with you. Going back to the question above, consider how your menu items help the bride make her decision.
Consider the following common menu items, and their purpose:
Investment:
Helps the bride see if your packages align with her budget. No need to waste anyone’s time if your prices are way out of what she is able to afford. You can totally do an “average bride spends $XX” or “investments starting at $XX” but it can be a good idea to at least let the bride in on your range.
Galleries/Portfolio:
This is where you can showcase some of your favorites. It’s a known fact that you typically will get more work of the kind you’re showcasing, so be picky about what you put on your gallery/portfolio page. Not every wedding is going to be your ideal client or ideal experience and that’s ok, but only add the work that you truly love and would love to do more of in the future to this page!
Blog:
A blog of your weddings or sessions is a great way to showcase more of the story you tell through your photography, help with SEO, and also help future brides get a better idea of how you work and share their story. Calling your blog a blog instead of “journal,” “thoughts,” or something similar is also important in keeping everything simple and straightforward.
Contact:
Obviously one of your big goals is to get these brides to contact you so you get a chance to sell them on why you’re the perfect fit for their big day. Make it as easy as you can for these brides to get in touch – the more difficult it is to find your contact form, the more likely they are to simply move on to the next one!
Clear call to action
Going along with less is more and ease of navigation, it should be easy for your bride-to-be to understand what the call to action is. There should be no confusion on what you as the website owner wants the visitor to do next.
As you are building or tweaking your website, always be mindful of what the next step is. For instance, if the potential bride is on your investments page, chances are she is considering hiring you or at least inquiring about your open dates if your packages fall within her budget. It should be super easy for her to get in touch with you from that specific page, so including a button stating “get in touch today” or “reserve your date” or something along those lines linking to your contact form is a great way to make it clear what you want them to do!
Photo Size and Site Speed
As a wedding photographer, your photos are part of what you are trying to sell. Because of this you want to pay particular attention to the photo size you are using when uploading your galleries to your website to make sure your site doesn’t slow down.
For Squarespace users, it is recommended that your files sizes are less than 500 KB to get the best results. Additionally your images should not be less than 1500px to make sure they don’t look blurry! If you’d like to learn more about image sizes, you can head over here.
Custom vs Template Website
When it comes to the decision to hire a web designer to create a custom website for you or use a template like Flo Themes or a Showit template, there are a couple of things you should consider.
Regardless of your decision, the end result should be similar: a website that is easy to navigate and converts visitors into leads which turns into bookings on your calendar.
One of the con’s of using a template website is that you risk looking a lot like everyone else. Not only are you competing with other photographers in terms of pricing and availability, but if your websites look too similar you risk potential brides not because of who you are, but simply picking the one with the lowest rates. Obviously not what we are going for in our business!
While a template website can help you get your business up and running faster (and often more affordable) it is always beneficial to have a website that is tailored specifically to your business and your ideal brides!
If you’re looking to work with a web designer to create a stunning & strategic website for your business, look no further! I help creative entrepreneurs in the wedding industry create beautiful websites that help you stand out from your competition and communicate your value.
Sound good? Stop by the services page, and let’s get started!
* this is an affiliate link, which means I may get some benefit at no extra cost to you!
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