www.levelupyourwebsite.com

by Katrina Legault, Planit Canada Marketing Coordinator

It all seems very obvious. You purchase the domain, you build it up, you hit publish and you move on. Maybe you make sure there’s a pop up that prompts any visitors to submit their email address. Maybe you have a blog section. Maybe there’s a great story about you and your company’s background. So what makes your website stand out? What differentiates you? What tools are you teaching your audience? There’s endless potential to turn a good website into a great one.

I geek out over a good website. There’s just something so appealing about beautiful photos, solid product descriptions, a great blog and an easy to navigate website that make the customer experience THAT much greater, no matter which industry you’re in.

There’s a lot of inspiration out there, and woodworkers are seriously setting the bar for websites that are beautiful, useful, and easy to navigate. You could spend hours perusing awesome Canadian kitchen and millwork sites because there certainly is no shortage of them. Our clients have some beautifully curated websites, and we want to share some with you!

In this installment of our #BeSocial series, we’re looking at all kinds of website content options across the industry that can help you take your own website to the next level!

Blog

I love a good blog. It doesn’t have to be long. It can be filled with visual assets. It can link back to a video that you made, or a video that you saw. It can talk about your story or teach your audience a thing or two about how your product is manufactured, your eco-friendly practices or even how you’re building your company to be more sustainable. It can be a how to, a design guide, a list of your finishing options, your top hardware recommendations or a success story that you’re dying to tell.

Blogging comes with endless possibilities to impress, and it’s a great way to pool all of that knowledge, all in one place, on that website that represents all that you stand for as a company.

Kitchen Art Design has no shortage of incredible blogs and resources for prospects to read through when planning their home improvement project. They have pooled pretty much all of the information that one could need in order to get the project done right, and they truly take pride in guiding the reader through the steps while covering all of the bases.

They also provide helpful downloads, offer design inspiration and walk us through buying guides. It’s all there.

If you’re curious to see for yourself, you can visit the Kitchen Art Design website here.

Call to Action

Based on my own experience here at Planit Canada, calls to action have been very effective, whether on your website, email campaigns, blog posts or websites. You always, no matter what, want to be inviting your audience to take a next step. You want them to discover more of your awesome content, you want to start a conversation with them, and you want them to see all of the great things that you have to offer.

• Are you curious about your Cabinet Vision options? Talk to a sales representative here.
• Do you want to learn more about WEB-CAB’s Production Assistant? Learn more here.
• Want to learn how to migrate to a new version efficiently? Click here.

Giving your audience an easy opportunity to reach you and contact you with their questions is always the right way to go.

Project Gallery

This one is a no brainer, and it’s the sexiest part of this whole thing, if you ask me! Everyone likes to look at pretty pictures. So, when you’re pulling your website together, you want to make sure that you’re showcasing the best of the best, to make sure that your customers see what you’re capable of.

My tip for this is to make sure you’re covering all of the bases. If you do kitchens, closets AND commercial millwork, make sure you have some pictures for each category so that your potential clients get a sense of the scope of work that you offer. Further more, you can even level up your categories by featuring different design styles and options. Perhaps showcasing a modern selection on one page, and a classic selection on another really allows any prospective clients to narrow down the aesthetic that they’re looking for.

Now, this part is worth spending a little extra on. Pro photos always make a big difference, and this is where you want to be showing your best photos. It’s a worthy investment when you think that you can use it on your website, on marketing materials, in blogs, on social – and you can send them out for any media opportunities and press releases. I love an opportunity to recycle photos to get as much bang for my buck. I mean, who doesn’t?

Marvel Cabinetry + Renovations does a fabulous job of outlining specific projects and using high quality photos. They show a wide range of styles and design options that really give the audience an idea of the opportunities they can look for when working with the Marvel team. Each project comes with several images and a brief description. Easy and straightforward, and an absolute feast for the eyes.

To discover more of Marvel Cabinetry + Renovations’ projects, visit their website here.

To learn more about picture perfect content, check out our last #BeSocial blog here.

Options & Services

When making such a large investment, and important design decisions, people enjoy exploring their options. The more information you give them on your website, the more they will be able to plan away and envision getting their project come to life with your team.

Additionally, having products and services outlined on your website can be a huge time-saver, as it makes it easy for a prospective client to decide if you are what they’re looking for, and saves some time for all parties involved.

Lucvaa Kitchens outlines all the options. When I say all the options, I mean decor elements, door styles, hardware, cabinet interiors and every single other part of your dream cabinetry that you can think of. This shows the attention to detail that your team brings to the table, and demonstrates that when you choose them for your project, they really will be able to make your exact vision come to life.

If you want to explore more of Lucvaa Kitchens’ design elements, visit their website here.

Story

I saved the best for last, because storytelling brings a lot of meaning to the work that we do. Your website is an easy way to give your audience, your clients and your prospective clients a good sense of who you are as a company and what you stand for.

The thing about story telling is that it gives your audience direct access so they can get to know you better.

Sharing your company values and making a personal connection with your audience humanizes the experience and gives them a better idea of who you are, and what you stand for. GCW Kitchens and Cabinetry really embodies their humble beginnings, by highlighting a snippet of their story, and sharing what the company stands for, and what they thrive to offer. They may have started off in a garage, but look at just how far they’ve come!

If you want to learn more about GCW Kitchens and Cabinetry, you can visit their website here.

If you made all the way here, thank you so much for reading, and I hope that you learned a thing (or 5!) It’s always a pleasure to read through your work, and look over your beautiful pictures, and I hope that this blog will inspire you to create even more awesome content to add to your beautiful websites this year.

In case you missed our previous #BeSocial articles, I talk about crafting a vision statement here, and taking picture perfect content here!