When I’m chatting with fellow designers and potential clients alike, one of the most common questions I receive is What website platform do you recommend for creatives? With so many fantastic options out there, it can be challenging to navigate which option is right for you. Are you a WordPress boss lady? Is Squarespace more your speed? Or are you opting for platforms like Blogger or Wix? Although I have experience designing in both WordPress and Squarespace, a little over a year ago I decided to switch to offering only one type of website option for my custom branding clients. I’ve found this enables me to serve them better through a streamlined process, and allows me to constantly improve my experience and my insight into this platform so I can offer the best solutions for their specific brand. What platform is that, you ask? It’s Showit 5, of course!

One of the primary point points I hear many of my clients share is that they don’t feel comfortable updating their websites in the backend after a design goes live. So often, I work with creatives who have made due with the same website for years on end simply because they didn’t have the time, know-how, or patience to make the needed updates to keep their site current. In my opinion, that just won’t do, boss lady! My goal with every website I turn over to my clients is that they feel comfortable making updates as needed. Whether they need to swap out a headshot for something more recent, or their pricing has changed, they should be able to log into a platform that’s easy to navigate, intuitive, and gives them full creative control.

That’s one of the reasons why I recommend Showit to clients who don’t have prior HTML or CSS knowledge, or who simply don’t have the time or energy to familiarize themselves with a totally new (and complicated!) platform. Showit is a truly drag and drop platform that gives my clients the ability to make any edits over the years as needed. They can have a beautiful website that will serve them well for years to come that requires absolutely no coding, no complex backend work, and no reaching out to me every time they need to update copy or swap out photos! This means my clients can spend less time trying to finagle their websites and more time connecting with potential clients online.

And while we’re talking about reaching potential clients online, more and more users are visiting websites on mobile devices or tablets these days. With that in mind, it’s crucial that your website be responsive! The websites I design should truly work for my clients on every device, so Showit’s easy user interface makes it a breeze to create a mobile site that includes all the features and functions of the desktop side. In fact, Showit allows you to design both your mobile site and your desktop site side-by-side, ensuring that you are creating something truly consistent at every turn! 

Other website platforms boast a drag and drop design feature, but I’ve never encountered one quite as refined as Showit. You have the ability to drag and drop literally any element, resizing it to your desired dimensions, and layering elements for a totally one-of-a-kind look. While other drag and drop platforms limit you to content blocks, Showit allows you to design to your heart’s content. This gives me endless design options when I’m creating for a client, and I love being able to offer something that is truly custom and totally meshes with my client’s brand!

But a beautiful design isn’t all that matters when I’m creating for my sweet clients. I need to be sure they can access a robust blogging platform that will help them share their own unique content on a regular basis with their audience. Showit offers an optional WordPress blog which gives you the convenience of a well-rounded blog that supports a myriad of plugins, and makes it easy for your posts to get out in front of your audience in a SEO-friendly way. With it’s easy-to-use dashboard, I can rest assured that my clients will be able to blog as much as they need while taking advantage of WordPress’s tagging and categorizing features to organize posts in a readily searchable way.

For as much as I strive to educate my clients about their new Showit sites before we launch, it’s important that a friendly, accessible customer support team be available to them on the rare occasions where I’m not. I love Showit’s customer support which clients can easily access through a chat feature right in their Showit account. Or, they can always reach out via email. The Showit team is always eager to provide any help you might need, and they’re been known to reply with a fun gif or two, as well! It’s clear to me that Showit actually cares about their subscribers, so I can feel confident that I’m recommending a platform (and a brand!) that my clients can depend on.

Your website is your brand’s online home, and it should tell your story well and inspire authentic connection with your ideal clients. Over the past two years, I’ve loved offering Showit sites for my custom branding clients as part of our work together, and I can’t wait to dive into new design projects in 2018 alongside the sweet creatives I serve!

If you’re longing for a beautiful website that represents your brand well, I’d love to chat! I just have one branding spot open in my calendar for 2017, and I’m already booking for 2018 start dates. Be sure to get in touch to schedule your free consult today!