Are you a stylist, makeup artist or other professional in the wedding industry? If so, you might be wondering how to plan your hair and makeup website and launch. The good news is that there are websites that make it easy for you to build a website without knowing any coding or programming languages—and they don’t cost very much either. In this post, I’ll go over 6 steps to plan your hair and makeup website.
Step 1: Set goals for your website
Before you begin, it’s important to clarify your goals. Your website is an investment, so make sure it’s going to be worth your time and money. It’s also important to note that while these first steps will give you a good idea of what kind of website might suit you best, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to building your online presence—everything depends on the specific purpose of your business and how much time and energy you’re willing to put into making it work for you.
So don’t let anyone else tell you how big or small your business should be; focus on what works for YOU!
Write out the goals for your website. How do you want people to feel when they land on it? How do you want them to move through the site, what actions do you want them to take, and what do you want your website to showcase? Do you plan to update your site yourself, or do you plan to hire someone? What is your budget for your website (build-out and hosting)?
Step 2: Figure out what you need to launch your hair and makeup website
Just like how you need clothes to dress yourself up and make-up to get ready, these are the basic elements of a website. You can’t expect to find everything at one place, so choosing the best provider for each item is crucial. Let’s go over each part in detail.
- A domain name – www.domainname.com
- Web hosting – where your website lives on the internet
- A website builder (like Showit or Squarespace)
- Themes and designs for your site – make it beautiful
Step 3: Purchase a domain
Before you can create your website, you need to purchase a domain name. This is the name that people will type into their browser to reach your site—for example, www.oaklynstudio.com
Your domain name should be easy to remember and spell (this helps people find your website) and not taken by anyone else. It should also match up with the brand of your business or product so that potential customers will know who they’re dealing with when they visit.
To purchase a domain name, head over to Hover, GoDaddy, Google Domains, etc. and search for available domains.
Step 4: Find the perfect web host
Hosting is the service that provides the server space for your website. It’s different from domain registration, which is where you buy the name of your website. Hosting isn’t free; it’s a monthly fee and one of the most important elements of having an online presence.
If you are using a site builder like Showit or Squarespace, you can purchase hosting through them. This is a great option, and one I recommend. However if you plan to host your own site on a platform like WordPress it gets a little more complicated.
1. Shared hosting is one of the most common types of web hosts. It’s also very affordable, which makes it a great way for new businesses to get started online without breaking the bank.
2. A VPS is the next step up from shared hosting, and it has all of its same benefits plus more. You’ll get better performance when visitors come to your site because there are fewer other websites sharing the same server space as you. And while many VPS hosts charge a little bit extra for this flexibility, there are plenty of companies out there that offer great deals on these types of hosting packages.
Some hosting sites (outside of builders like Showit) could be purchased through Dreamhost or GoDaddy.
Step 5: Choose the best website builder for your hair and makeup business
When you are building a new website, it can be overwhelming to choose the right platform. There are so many different platforms out there, with tons of features and options that aren’t always easy to understand. Choose the best website builder for your hair & makeup business based on three key factors: 1) Ease of Use 2) Mobile Friendliness 3) Customization 4) Cost
Ease of use
The best website builders are easy to use. We recommend finding a platform that has drag and drop features so you can customize your website without knowing how to code. This will let you add images, edit text, or even move content around on your website with just a few clicks.
Mobile Friendliness
Your hair and makeup business needs a mobile-friendly website. That means it’s optimized for smartphones and tablets so that your customers can find the information they need quickly and easily. Mobile-friendly websites are easy to use and won’t be slowed down by their internet connections, which is important because many people will be accessing them on the go!
Customization
While there are many website builders out there, we recommend Showit as the best one for your hair and makeup business. It’s easy to use with drag and drop features, mobile-friendly, customizable, and robust SEO tools for your site and blog.
Cost
There are a lot of options so don’t hesitate to shop around and see what works best financially for your business. Some easy-to-use builders you can look into are: Showit, Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress
Step 6: Pick your theme and design
You will want to make sure that the theme is easy for clients and customers to use and navigate around, reflects your branding, and showcases your work beautifully.
There are a surplus of themes for many builders like Showit and Squarespace. Browse free and to-purchase options and find one that reflects the three key factors from above.
We have a Showit Website Template library full of great wedding creative themes, including those for hair & makeup artists. So don’t forget to check those out!
Plan your hair and makeup website? Easy!
We hope this guide has helped you get started on the right foot with your new website. There are so many options out there, so it’s important to take time to find the best ones for your business and needs. If you follow these six steps, we know that you will be able to launch your website in no time!
Don’t forget to check out my free resources page. There I have tons of free content going over planning your website content and launching your new site.
xo,Hannah
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