I’ve been noticing that new wedding planners are making similar mistakes on their new wedding business websites that may be hurting their chances of attracting brides.
Here are 6 of those mistakes and what you should do to avoid them:
Mistake #1 – They use a template website that has Flash
I’ve always suggested wedding planners stay away from using Flash to feature montages of photographs. Now it’s more important than ever not to use Flash because iPads cannot read Flash sites. When a bride goes to a website that is all Flash, she’ll get a message that she needs to view the content on a computer or device that supports Flash Player. This means she may never get to see your site.
There is other technology that allows rotating photographs to be seen on an iPad but beware, the website can look very different from what you might see on your computer. If you don’t have an iPad, ask someone to check it for you.
The bottom line is before investing money in a web design, be sure it is compatible on a variety of devices and that it looks the way you want it to on every device.
Mistake #2 – They post a calendar showing when they are and aren’t booked
The trouble is, when you’re new, you may not have very many bookings and if it looks to a bride that no one is hiring you, she will not want to hire you either.
When your calendar does get booked, a bride may believe that you are too busy to take her on and not contact you, even if her event is something you may be able to do in the time that you have.
You should be in control of when you can take a client and when you cannot. You don’t need to tell the world when you don’t have very many clients or when you are really busy.
Mistake # 3 – They talk about planning their own wedding
Brides want wedding planners who have had experience planning weddings for other brides, not just themselves. They know planning a wedding for yourself is very different from planning it for another bride. Instead, talk about how you have helped other brides have the weddings that they wanted.
Mistake #4 – Their website photographs are stock photos and photos from their own wedding
I’ve seen the same wedding photos on a few different websites, and so have brides. You want to feature photos from weddings and events that you have planned, even if you have planned them for free.
Mistake #5 – Music plays as soon as you get to their site
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s still being done. Brides often open a website at work or in a public place and don’t want everyone to know what they are doing. If you must have music, make sure the button to click to turn it off is very prominent on each page and, of course, don’t use copyrighted music which you have not paid for.
Mistake #6 – Navigating around the site is confusing
Many new planners set their sites up so brides can click on photographs to go to another page on their website, for instance a page which lists their services or an “About Me” page. The problem is it’s not always clear that the photographs are links.
If you want to use something other than tabs as navigation, make it clear how to do it. Also, make sure that once the bride has gone to another page, she can return to the home page or go to other page on your site without closing down and typing in your web address again, because she probably won’t do it.
You send brides to your website to learn more about your business so make sure it is accessible, easy to navigate, and presents you as the wedding planner who can help them have the weddings they want.
