Looking for a list of website must-haves for florists? You're in exactly the right place.
Y'all heard me preach about how important your website and I believe that down to my bones. Particularly now, with the continued increase in online ordering and more and more customers getting comfortable connecting with florists online.
Your website is the easiest way to make your sales process super simple as well as making marketing way more streamlined.
But it's also really easy to get overwhelmed sorting out website must-haves for florists. The additional layers of tech, trying to troubleshoot and getting totally confused by the possibilities, add-ons and additions is totally normal.
In fact, I just saw another ad from Shopify, celebrating how easy it is to get a shop set up on their platform. I think these ads actually make the issue even bigger for us.
Yeah, it is easy to get it set up and started but getting the products uploaded, looking the way you want it to look, getting the delivery date picker sorted, and the checkout streamlined in a way that suits the needs of your customers is a totally different game.
So, I thought it would be helpful to put together a list of my 8 website must-haves for florists.
Website Must-Haves for Florists – Tip 1: Your Website Is Your Flower Business.
One of the biggest changes to come out of the last two years of upheaval is that more customers are shopping online than ever before. In fact, the world of online shopping is expected to exceed $5.5 trillion dollars in 2022. That's a big number, right? (Check out this article from Cloudwards.net.)
No longer is having a brick + mortar shop the benchmark for success as a floral designer. In 2022, your website is your flower business.
So, the goal is to translate the in-store shopping experience, the expert status of being a professional florist into your flower business website, creating an easy-to-navigate online experience for your clientele and a money-making asset for your business.
Tip 2: Find a Restaurant Theme For Your Website.
If you are going to use one of the DIY platforms like Shopify or Squarespace, when you're looking for a theme to use, focus on restaurant and cafe themes.
In the early iterations of my website, I made the mistake of paying for a portfolio theme (yes I totally got sucked in by the prettiness of the templates). But then I had to back to the beginning, figure out how to add heaps of new content, set up new page layouts from scratch and add on extra plugins and widgets.
Learn from my mistake and save yourself a giant headache on Day 1: focus on finding a theme that works for a cafe, a bakery or a restaurant.
There are so many crossovers and similarities between floristry and restaurant services that you'll be able to repurpose a lot of the default theme templates and layouts to really fast track your progress.
It's one of the easiest shortcuts to adopt when you're sorting through florist website must-haves.
Tip 3: First Impressions Matter.
Particularly in our industry. We're selling a luxury service and marking up our designs at a hefty premium. That demands that we put our best foot forward in terms of our marketing and the first impression we present to our customers.
So, be intentional with your visuals, the flow on your website and the level of sophistication you put out into the world. As crazy as it sounds, your customers are going to use your website as a placeholder for your ability to design. That means those first impressions really do matter.
If you don't want to figuring all things florist website, be sure to join us inside Flower Boss Bootcamp – we give you the templatest to follow, the words to use on each page and give you the tools to make it easier to build a better flower business website. Click here to join us today.
Tip 4: Use Simple, Direct Words.
One of the common mistakes I see florists make is trying to be uber creative with the words they use on their website. Yes, there are SEO implications with our word choice but just as important is that we need to make our language as simple as possible for our customers to understand.
Most customers are incredibly intimidated and overwhelmed by the prospect of talking to a florist and if we use too much industry jargon, designer speak and just make it all too fancy and complicated, they're going to run screaming the other direction.
So, when it comes to things like 'Order flowers', just say that. You don't need to get fancy and go with 'fill your basket' or 'spread joy'.
The general rule I like to follow with website words is to stick with the language your seven-year-old nephew would understand. Keep it simple AF.
Tip 5: Set up an About Me Page
I spent years hiding behind the facade of our business because I was worried I'd get called out as a fraud or not good enough. Turns out, I lost customers because they didn't know there was a real person, a real family behind this business.
So, don't be shy about telling your story.
Share with your clients why you LOVE flowers, how you first fell in love with this work and what your mission is. In turn, you'll notice your clients will fall in love with you even more because they'll be able to see your passion and your drive.
The brand Toms is a great example of this. We can buy a pair of slip-on shoes from thousands of different businesses around the world.
But we buy Tom's because we know their story and want to support their mission.
Your flower business is no different. Embrace the discomfort and start to share your mission and passion with the world!
Tip 6: Integrate Your Instagram Feed
This has got to be one of my favourite shortcuts for making your website look good. Integrating your Instagram feed into a few pages on your website keeps the content looking fresh, but you don't have to spend any time going in and updating image galleries or uploading new photos.
And, rather than just having it on one page on your website, don't be shy about doubling up. I suggest having it on your homepage, your about me page and your main services page.
This one tip has got to be one of my favourites when it comes to website must-haves for florists.
Tip 7: The Top Navigation is More Important Than You Realise
I didn't realise this but there is actually a lot of thinking that goes into setting up that top navigation on your website.
The goal with the navigation is to make it easier for your customers to navigate themselves through your customer experience. You want to serve up the experience and your content one step at a time.
So, put yourself in your customer's shoes and map out the process you want your clients to experience – from the moment they land on the page, to where they want to go next, second and last. And go through it all step by step (better yet, have a trusted friend do it for you and give you an honest opinion.)
HOT TIP: One of the best lessons I learned is to NOT have your wedding enquiry form linked in that top navigation. Yes, it lead to lots of enquiries but most of them were a waste of time.
Tip 8: Take It One Step At a Time
The thing about getting a kick-ass website stored is it is a lot of work. And what seems like a simple idea (thanks to Shopify), ends up leading you down a whole path of solving lots of itty bitty problems, constantly running into roadblocks and then taking the time to figure out how to overcome it.
One of the reasons getting a florist website sorted is complicated is because we need to have lots of layers of tech. For example, when your customers are ordering flowers, there are some very specific plugins we need to include (i.e. card message, delivery date picker).
This is what makes florist business websites different to other websites (and much more complicated than Shopify pitches it to be).
One of the best things you can do is get off your computer and grab a pen + piece of paper. Map out the process. Go step by step and really think about the stages your client needs to go through.
You can even look at florists in other cities, heck even head on over to Interflora or Petals just to see the steps in the process. And then start to sort it out for yourself.
I find drawing myself a diagram and going through it in detail to be really helpful.
In my experience, of all the website platforms available, I like WordPress the best. I've found it to be the most flexible, SEO-rich and cost-effective option for florists.
I know the initial set-up on WordPress can be overwhelming so check out this YouTube video where I walk you through the process step by step.
So, when it comes to sorting through website must-haves for florists, remember to take it one step at a time.
My #1 Tip for Streamlining Your Approach
Your website can be one of your best allies in growing your business. All the struggle and frustration we experience in trying to sort out the tech and getting it working is 100% worth it. It's one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and our business.
One of the biggest reasons I've been such an advocate for getting a kick-ass website sorted is that it saves you thousands of hours of time. Literally.
And it doesn't even need to be the fanciest, most sophisticated solution out there. I'm not talking about the sexiest plugins and latest widgets. And I'm definitely not saying you need to spend $$$$ on it.
On this week's podcast episode, I'm sharing heaps of helpful shortcuts, tips and tricks and ideas to help you use your website to streamline your approach.
Spending a little bit of time now can free up so much time and energy in the future, giving you more flexibility and allowing you to spend more time flowering and less time admin-ing.
Inside This Week's Podcast Episode:
✓ Simplifying the website building experience for florists
✓ My go-to strategy for getting your website sorted
✓ The five layers of every flower business website you need to pay attention to
✓ What to focus on first when you next evaluating your own website and making planned updates
Listen to the full episode here
Full Episode Transcript
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