Do I Need a Website? | Christa Rene Education

I recently received this question in my inbox: “Did you find that having a website helped your business more than not having one?”

The answer is a hands down YES! And I wanted to break down why!

But first of all, last year I made one of the best investments I’ve ever made for my business. I hired With Grace and Gold to create my website & logo! And the best news is, they’re now offering a REALLY affordable template collection, and you can get an additional 10% off by using the code CHRISTA10! I had used custom websites before like Squarespace, but wanted more and knew my time and knowledge for this was limited. I kept the former site looking nice, but it didn’t clearly express my brand or vision!

But back to the question I was asked, here’s why I believe every photographer should have a professional website!

First of all, a website is a great place to have potential clients see your work, and learn about you! You can send them there and know they’ll see the best of the best of your images right away, and give them a chance to quickly see what your style is.

Second, it’s a great place for potential clients to contact you! I have a form under the contact tab where potential clients can just put their name, wedding date, and how they found me, and a little about them. This means when I get the inquiry, I already know a little about them and can already see if I’m free their date or not! I can refer them to other photographers right away if I already can see I’m not available instead of having them go through my guide, then realizing I’m not free their date. It saves us BOTH time in the end! It also let’s me get a feel for their vision within the first message from them. The contact form goes right to my email where I do all client correspondence!

Third, it builds credibility. I’m WAY more likely to shop online from a certain store if they have a website (instead of just having an Instagram or Facebook to buy from), and one that’s professional and easy to navigate. There’s something that makes it appear as a credible business when there’s a professional site for me to go to! I also love it when it’s a well done website! If it’s a non-professional looking site that looks poorly done, I get a little wary about putting my credit card info in to buy something. This is SO true with photography! It’s so important to look credible and professional from the beginning if you want people to trust you with their wedding! Instagram has become HUGE in the last few years. And I definitely think it’s so important to spend time building a consistent Instagram. However, I also use Instagram often to not only show the best images, but point people to my website and blog! Hopefully people will like my Instagram so much they’ll go to the link in my profile that brings them straight to my blog. And if they still are liking what they see and want to get in touch, it’s going to be way easier and professional to correspond over an organized email from a professional form on my site, instead of shooting DM’s back and forth!

And last, it makes it easier to find you on an internet search! My blog is connected to my website as well, and that’s a great way for Google to pick up key words and boost traffic to my site and blog! WordPress makes it easy to put in the key words to build your SEO. This is something Facebook and Instagram can’t do anywhere near the capabilities a website can!

So if you’re on the fence about a website, take the leap and go for it! With Grace and Gold walked me through the process SO well, so be sure to check out their template collection (and don’t forget the code CHRISTA10!)!

As always, I hope this was helpful, and if you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email at christarenephotography@gmail.com!