1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:04,240 Hello and welcome to episode 50 of Design Curious Podcast. 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:06,600 I'm your host and mentor Rebecca Ward. 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,600 Today on the podcast I have another great interview with 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,240 Robin White of RDW Design Studio. 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:20,080 She is a wonderful website designer who specializes for 6 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:23,540 interior designers. So you're going to really love 7 00:00:23,540 --> 00:00:26,180 today's episode. Before we get into that though, 8 00:00:26,180 --> 00:00:29,380 I want to remind you if you didn't go back and listen to 9 00:00:29,380 --> 00:00:33,140 last week's episode to do that. Because I have developed a new 10 00:00:33,140 --> 00:00:36,740 quiz just for you, the listener, to find out what type of 11 00:00:36,740 --> 00:00:38,460 interior design you should be doing. 12 00:00:38,460 --> 00:00:41,500 And I kind of go into detail about the four different 13 00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:43,900 possible responses you might end up getting. 14 00:00:44,540 --> 00:00:47,820 And I would love to know your results as you take the quiz. 15 00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:51,060 So go check that out. The link is in the show notes. 16 00:00:51,650 --> 00:00:54,370 And now let me tell you a little bit more about Robin White. 17 00:00:54,930 --> 00:00:59,410 She is the owner and founder of our DW Design Studio, a boutique 18 00:00:59,410 --> 00:01:02,210 website design studio located in Cape Cod. 19 00:01:02,530 --> 00:01:06,370 Robin offers a refined website design experience for clients 20 00:01:06,370 --> 00:01:09,970 who value quality and want a strategic, sophisticated and 21 00:01:09,970 --> 00:01:13,530 simple website design so they can book more premium clients. 22 00:01:13,530 --> 00:01:17,170 Doesn't that sound good? Robin specializes in helping 23 00:01:17,170 --> 00:01:19,370 interior designers, architects, and builders. 24 00:01:19,490 --> 00:01:23,470 Stagers elevate their websites so it reflects the high quality 25 00:01:23,470 --> 00:01:27,110 work they provide, and so their business has the online home it 26 00:01:27,110 --> 00:01:29,710 deserves. Through her impactful and 27 00:01:29,710 --> 00:01:32,790 strategic website design, she positions her clients as the 28 00:01:32,790 --> 00:01:35,870 premium choice by making the right first impression online. 29 00:01:36,470 --> 00:01:39,630 She helps her busy clients go from overwhelmed to overjoyed 30 00:01:39,630 --> 00:01:42,550 with their websites by taking care of all of the techie stuff 31 00:01:42,550 --> 00:01:45,300 without the techie talk. Through her supportive, 32 00:01:45,300 --> 00:01:48,780 streamlined and stress free design process, Robin designs 33 00:01:48,780 --> 00:01:51,580 websites that are not just beautiful, but allow her clients 34 00:01:51,580 --> 00:01:54,500 to show up online with confidence and attract their 35 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:57,740 ideal clients. That's exactly what interior 36 00:01:57,740 --> 00:02:00,500 designers are looking for, so let's hear from Robin. 37 00:02:04,180 --> 00:02:06,540 You're now listening to Design. Curious. 38 00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:10,740 A place where you, Creative One, are here to learn about what it 39 00:02:10,780 --> 00:02:13,060 really is like to be an interior designer. 40 00:02:13,650 --> 00:02:16,330 And I'm your host and mentor, Rebecca Ward. 41 00:02:17,010 --> 00:02:21,050 If you're worried about how to succeed in a creative career, if 42 00:02:21,050 --> 00:02:23,890 you're ready to learn your next steps to become an interior 43 00:02:23,890 --> 00:02:28,250 designer, and if you want the satisfaction of doing something 44 00:02:28,250 --> 00:02:31,730 you love every day you are in the right place. 45 00:02:32,090 --> 00:02:36,130 Grab a coffee, a notebook and let's dig into today's episode. 46 00:02:37,930 --> 00:02:40,450 Hi, Robin, welcome to Design Curious Podcast. 47 00:02:40,450 --> 00:02:42,500 Thanks for coming. Hi, Rebecca. 48 00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:44,340 Thank you so much for having me on today. 49 00:02:44,420 --> 00:02:47,780 I'm super excited. So am I, and it's a very 50 00:02:47,780 --> 00:02:52,100 important topic, especially for people starting out, but also 51 00:02:52,100 --> 00:02:55,180 for season designers. So before we get into all the 52 00:02:55,180 --> 00:02:59,700 ins and outs of website design and all the things that you do, 53 00:02:59,700 --> 00:03:02,460 want to give us a little story about how you got into this 54 00:03:02,460 --> 00:03:04,220 career. Oh, sure. 55 00:03:04,220 --> 00:03:07,580 That's a great question. I actually owned a previous 56 00:03:07,740 --> 00:03:10,300 business. It was a dog walking business 57 00:03:10,340 --> 00:03:14,280 and. We needed a website and we 58 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,000 didn't have the funds to hire a professional to do it for us. 59 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,840 So I took a lot of time and learned how to do it and built 60 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,160 our first website and actually found that I enjoyed doing it 61 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,400 and went back to it probably, you know, twice a year and kind 62 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,350 of updated it and redesigned it. Really started enjoying it. 63 00:03:36,590 --> 00:03:39,630 A friend reached out to me and was like, I'm starting this 64 00:03:39,630 --> 00:03:41,790 business, can you do a website for me? 65 00:03:41,830 --> 00:03:45,430 And I was like, sure, why not? And it sort of just evolved from 66 00:03:45,430 --> 00:03:50,230 there and I was looking to wind down the dog walking business 67 00:03:50,230 --> 00:03:55,110 and move into something else that could be done that was not 68 00:03:55,110 --> 00:03:58,670 location specific. I was like, well, why not web 69 00:03:58,670 --> 00:04:02,230 design? And started it and it just took 70 00:04:02,230 --> 00:04:03,800 off. Wow. 71 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,440 Just from starting on doing it on your own, yeah. 72 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:12,080 Things happen for a reason. So it's yeah, it's really funny. 73 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,040 It just kind of morphed, morphed into a business for me. 74 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,959 Wow. So that is kind of a shift. 75 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:23,080 Did you have any experience designing graphic design or 76 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,200 anything like that before you just kind of jumped in? 77 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,480 None whatsoever. I am completely self-taught and 78 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,240 I have to say I am a learner at heart. 79 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:40,160 So I am forever signing up for courses and learning more about 80 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,280 ways that I can do things better. 81 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:48,280 So yeah, just you know, completely self-taught nowadays. 82 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:53,080 There's so much out there on YouTube and classes that you can 83 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,230 take. You know, just trying to improve 84 00:04:55,390 --> 00:04:58,830 every day on what I'm doing since, you know, we talk a lot 85 00:04:58,830 --> 00:05:01,070 about career development on this podcast. 86 00:05:01,510 --> 00:05:05,390 How were the steps as you started your career in website 87 00:05:05,390 --> 00:05:07,790 design, because that's very adjacent to interior design, 88 00:05:07,790 --> 00:05:11,230 being a designer And what were the steps that you took to kind 89 00:05:11,230 --> 00:05:13,590 of grow your business? Sure. 90 00:05:13,590 --> 00:05:18,030 So when I was first starting out, and I think this happens to 91 00:05:18,270 --> 00:05:21,390 people in all different industries, you don't know what 92 00:05:21,390 --> 00:05:24,560 you don't know. Because I was coming at this as 93 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,720 a career change, I was fortunate enough to have income from my 94 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,200 previous business. So I hired a coach from the very 95 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,680 beginning because I know how important coaches and mentors 96 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:43,560 are, and they can just get you to where you want to go so much 97 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,680 faster. Sometimes when you're right out 98 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,280 of school, that's not necessarily a possibility for 99 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:51,710 you. But because I had an income, I 100 00:05:51,710 --> 00:05:54,550 was running both businesses for you know, side by side for a 101 00:05:54,550 --> 00:06:00,190 while, I was able to to do that. So that really helped me move 102 00:06:00,190 --> 00:06:03,830 forward in terms of all the things that you don't learn when 103 00:06:03,830 --> 00:06:05,870 you're just learning a skill for example. 104 00:06:05,870 --> 00:06:08,750 So how to run a business? You know I had already run a 105 00:06:08,750 --> 00:06:12,630 business, so I understood the legal side of it and forming a 106 00:06:12,630 --> 00:06:15,550 business entity and contracts and everything but. 107 00:06:16,180 --> 00:06:21,020 The marketing and branding part of it was something that this 108 00:06:21,020 --> 00:06:23,580 coach was instrumental in helping me with. 109 00:06:24,060 --> 00:06:29,700 So figuring out niching down was something that was really 110 00:06:29,700 --> 00:06:34,900 important and when I work with my clients now, I always talk 111 00:06:34,900 --> 00:06:37,020 about who is your ideal client so. 112 00:06:37,670 --> 00:06:40,190 You know, my coach actually suggested working with the pet 113 00:06:40,190 --> 00:06:43,510 industry because I had come out of it and she's like, it's low 114 00:06:43,510 --> 00:06:46,470 hanging fruit, you know it. And I really wanted a clean 115 00:06:46,470 --> 00:06:49,550 break and I left it because it wasn't something that brought me 116 00:06:49,550 --> 00:06:53,670 an enormous amount of joy. So I decided I kind of took a 117 00:06:53,670 --> 00:06:57,830 look at things in my life that I really liked doing and. 118 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:00,240 Your audience is going to cringe. 119 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:06,520 I love watching HGTV. I now understand that this is a 120 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,000 completely inaccurate representation of what interior 121 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,080 designers do and how their businesses are run. 122 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,040 But since that was something that I really enjoyed doing in 123 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:20,760 my free time, I was like, well, why don't I niche down into 124 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:25,800 working with interior designers? And I set about basically 125 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,680 learning everything I could about the industry. 126 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,880 Joined tons of Facebook groups that more into your designers 127 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:37,240 and actually spent time in there reading the posts and the 128 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,960 answers so I could figure out what your struggles are, you 129 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,320 know where you need help and really learning about the 130 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,240 different services, what the process is, things like that so 131 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,520 that I could be uniquely equipped to. 132 00:07:53,180 --> 00:07:56,460 Work with you, understand what your website needs, and you know 133 00:07:56,460 --> 00:07:59,340 now when my clients come to me and they're like, yeah, Ioffer 134 00:07:59,340 --> 00:08:02,780 full service interior design. I work with builders and I do 135 00:08:02,780 --> 00:08:05,020 designer by your side. I understand exactly what 136 00:08:05,020 --> 00:08:07,740 they're talking about. I know what those are. 137 00:08:08,180 --> 00:08:13,580 It's definitely helped a lot and because it comes from a place of 138 00:08:13,660 --> 00:08:18,780 interest to me, it's been really kind of fun to learn about it 139 00:08:18,860 --> 00:08:24,010 and niching down. Is really, I believe, what has 140 00:08:24,370 --> 00:08:30,210 grown my business because I know where interior designers are, so 141 00:08:30,210 --> 00:08:33,690 I can be there. I've learned what their 142 00:08:33,690 --> 00:08:36,850 struggles are with their website, so I can address that 143 00:08:36,850 --> 00:08:38,929 in my marketing and my messaging. 144 00:08:39,289 --> 00:08:43,370 You know, I don't need to be on certain social media platforms 145 00:08:43,370 --> 00:08:45,170 because they're not there. I know which ones. 146 00:08:45,650 --> 00:08:49,050 Where they are, I know how they would search for what I'm 147 00:08:49,090 --> 00:08:52,490 offering online so that can help with my own SEO. 148 00:08:52,490 --> 00:08:57,170 So that niching down has really helped grow the business 149 00:08:57,490 --> 00:09:02,010 tremendously. So focusing on my brand has been 150 00:09:02,490 --> 00:09:08,130 huge, You know, understanding what it is, that how it is I 151 00:09:08,130 --> 00:09:10,810 want people to feel when they interact with me. 152 00:09:11,410 --> 00:09:15,370 What is it that I stand for? And having that come across 153 00:09:15,570 --> 00:09:20,570 visually and written as well has been instrumental too. 154 00:09:20,570 --> 00:09:25,330 And it's all a process. It's not something that you 155 00:09:25,330 --> 00:09:28,010 know, you wake up one morning and you know it. 156 00:09:28,050 --> 00:09:32,890 It takes time figuring out what makes me unique from all the 157 00:09:32,890 --> 00:09:35,050 other website designers out there. 158 00:09:35,630 --> 00:09:38,270 That was a hard one for me. And then once you finally come 159 00:09:38,270 --> 00:09:39,750 up with it, it's great, you know. 160 00:09:39,750 --> 00:09:42,710 But these are all things that I went through myself to grow my 161 00:09:42,710 --> 00:09:46,310 business and I work with my clients on, because I can't 162 00:09:46,310 --> 00:09:49,910 design A strategic website for you without that. 163 00:09:50,430 --> 00:09:53,430 Foundational work, right. Right. 164 00:09:53,430 --> 00:09:55,350 Yeah. So you had to do that work 165 00:09:55,350 --> 00:09:58,750 yourself, and then also your clients need to be doing that 166 00:09:58,750 --> 00:10:00,110 work. So they need to work like a 167 00:10:00,110 --> 00:10:03,090 brand specialist or someone who's going to have them dig 168 00:10:03,090 --> 00:10:06,970 down deep and really answer what their core values are, What's 169 00:10:06,970 --> 00:10:10,010 their mission and why are they doing design? 170 00:10:10,010 --> 00:10:14,130 What makes them stand out from other people so that you can 171 00:10:14,130 --> 00:10:16,370 convey that through the website? Yeah. 172 00:10:16,450 --> 00:10:19,930 Exactly, exactly. And also knowing who's their 173 00:10:19,930 --> 00:10:24,090 target audience and you know, let's just take an age bracket 174 00:10:24,130 --> 00:10:27,570 for example, which is just sort of one of the things you want to 175 00:10:27,570 --> 00:10:30,690 look at when you're defining that if I'm designing a website 176 00:10:30,690 --> 00:10:35,300 for. 20 somethings. It's going to need to look and 177 00:10:35,300 --> 00:10:40,540 function very differently than if I'm designing for 55 plus. 178 00:10:40,540 --> 00:10:45,500 So let's say it's a interior designer who is working with 179 00:10:45,900 --> 00:10:49,740 older people whose kids are grown and out of the house and 180 00:10:49,780 --> 00:10:53,340 they are moving and downsizing. You know, if we want to drill 181 00:10:53,340 --> 00:10:56,270 down and get that specific. The website's going to need to 182 00:10:56,270 --> 00:10:59,230 look and function differently than if it's for somebody who's 183 00:10:59,230 --> 00:11:02,190 right out of college. That's a really good point. 184 00:11:02,190 --> 00:11:06,230 Yeah, because a lot of maybe designers might come to you and 185 00:11:06,230 --> 00:11:09,790 be like, I want a beautiful website to set off My Portfolio. 186 00:11:09,790 --> 00:11:12,590 But they're not necessarily thinking about their client, 187 00:11:12,590 --> 00:11:14,550 they're thinking about what their peers are going to say 188 00:11:14,550 --> 00:11:18,190 when they come visit for a website, You know, because they 189 00:11:18,190 --> 00:11:20,870 wanted to, to impress their peers. 190 00:11:20,870 --> 00:11:25,080 But really, it needs to be talking to your client, and if 191 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,880 you have older clients, they might not navigate the website 192 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,040 the same fashion that a 20 year old would, yeah. 193 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,960 Absolutely, absolutely. And to that point, I would just 194 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,640 say it doesn't matter or what your colleagues think of your 195 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:41,240 website. Oh yeah, they're not who's 196 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,640 hiring you exactly. What matters is what your ideal 197 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:50,120 client thinks of your website. I'm of the mind that your 198 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:55,250 website should be. Beautiful and also a strategic 199 00:11:55,250 --> 00:11:59,010 marketing tool for you. So while we want the design to 200 00:11:59,010 --> 00:12:03,450 be stunning and to highlight the beautiful images of your work, 201 00:12:03,930 --> 00:12:08,370 also want to make sure that it's delivering a fantastic user 202 00:12:08,370 --> 00:12:12,330 experience that we're guiding potential clients on a journey 203 00:12:12,330 --> 00:12:15,530 from curiosity to conversion. So we have a strong call to 204 00:12:15,530 --> 00:12:20,370 action and we want to make sure that the content, the words, the 205 00:12:20,370 --> 00:12:23,980 copy. On the website is going hand in 206 00:12:23,980 --> 00:12:28,140 hand with the design and speaking directly to your target 207 00:12:28,140 --> 00:12:30,420 audience. A beautiful website alone is 208 00:12:30,540 --> 00:12:33,340 great. It's a great starting point, and 209 00:12:33,340 --> 00:12:37,300 often I think that's what happens when you first start out 210 00:12:37,380 --> 00:12:40,700 and then when you're ready to move on to the next iteration of 211 00:12:40,700 --> 00:12:43,460 your website. That's where the strategy can 212 00:12:43,460 --> 00:12:48,620 start to come in Really good. So what are the must haves for 213 00:12:48,620 --> 00:12:51,980 an interior design website then? If someone's starting out and 214 00:12:51,980 --> 00:12:56,060 they're like, OK, putting my shingle out there, I've got very 215 00:12:56,100 --> 00:13:00,180 limited photos, but what? What should I put on my website 216 00:13:00,180 --> 00:13:03,860 that's going to draw my client? So when you're just starting 217 00:13:03,860 --> 00:13:08,380 out, I think there are 5 pages that your website should have. 218 00:13:08,460 --> 00:13:13,220 So a home page and about page, a services page. 219 00:13:13,770 --> 00:13:16,490 A portfolio page and a contact page. 220 00:13:17,090 --> 00:13:24,370 So you want your home page to be clear and concise and share what 221 00:13:24,370 --> 00:13:28,490 you offer, how it's going to make your client's life better. 222 00:13:28,490 --> 00:13:31,770 So how you help them, What problem are you solving for 223 00:13:31,770 --> 00:13:34,930 them, and what do they need to do to buy it? 224 00:13:34,930 --> 00:13:39,290 Like, what's the next step? You want your About page to be 225 00:13:39,450 --> 00:13:43,650 unique to you. What sets you apart? 226 00:13:43,970 --> 00:13:48,290 What makes you unique and special and share a story. 227 00:13:48,770 --> 00:13:52,210 And I would just say everything that you're writing on your 228 00:13:52,210 --> 00:13:55,490 website, you want it to be about your ideal client, so 229 00:13:55,490 --> 00:13:58,370 positioning you and how you help them. 230 00:13:58,890 --> 00:14:02,290 To that end, on your services page, you don't want to sell the 231 00:14:02,290 --> 00:14:06,210 service you want to sell, the transformation that your service 232 00:14:06,530 --> 00:14:10,090 provides, and your portfolio page. 233 00:14:10,460 --> 00:14:13,980 You want to highlight your best work now, when you're first 234 00:14:13,980 --> 00:14:17,780 starting out and you don't have jobs under your belt. 235 00:14:18,020 --> 00:14:21,180 My suggestion is take photos in your home. 236 00:14:21,220 --> 00:14:25,260 You designed your home. Create mood boards, layouts, 237 00:14:25,300 --> 00:14:28,980 renderings, Maybe they're for make believe projects. 238 00:14:28,980 --> 00:14:31,100 Nobody has to know that in the beginning. 239 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:35,480 If you have a client and you have like a coming soon project, 240 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:37,800 maybe you can do something around that. 241 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,080 And then as you start to get projects under your belt you can 242 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:45,720 start adding those into your portfolio and taking out you 243 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,920 know the earlier. And then you want to contact 244 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:53,960 page that has your contact information, location 245 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:58,280 information I would say testimonials you want to have 246 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,040 splattered throughout your website. 247 00:15:01,580 --> 00:15:05,940 And if possible, I always recommend professional 248 00:15:05,940 --> 00:15:08,500 photography because it really does make a big difference. 249 00:15:08,500 --> 00:15:11,700 It really does. Yeah, early days I would take 250 00:15:12,020 --> 00:15:17,100 some of my own photos and we had to take photography as part of 251 00:15:17,100 --> 00:15:20,500 our major, but it just wasn't the same. 252 00:15:20,540 --> 00:15:23,460 I mean, a professional isn't. Yeah. 253 00:15:23,540 --> 00:15:27,540 And I always say with everything in your life, business and 254 00:15:27,540 --> 00:15:30,090 personal. You're either going to spend 255 00:15:30,090 --> 00:15:32,210 money or you're going to spend your time. 256 00:15:32,690 --> 00:15:37,330 So you can spend money and hire a professional photographer, or 257 00:15:37,330 --> 00:15:42,330 you can spend your time and learn how to do it yourself. 258 00:15:42,450 --> 00:15:47,570 But even then, they're coming in with that special equipment and 259 00:15:47,570 --> 00:15:51,090 the lighting and like the amazing camera that you're not 260 00:15:51,090 --> 00:15:54,210 going to invest in. And it's always going. 261 00:15:54,790 --> 00:15:59,190 To be a higher quality. So I realize in the beginning 262 00:15:59,190 --> 00:16:03,310 that's not an option, but as time goes on, it's definitely 263 00:16:03,310 --> 00:16:06,310 something to invest in. And the same goes for a website. 264 00:16:06,710 --> 00:16:11,430 You can invest your money and hire a professional, or you can 265 00:16:11,430 --> 00:16:15,070 invest your time and learn how to do one yourself, like you 266 00:16:15,070 --> 00:16:16,790 did. Exactly. 267 00:16:17,550 --> 00:16:18,390 Exactly. And then you're. 268 00:16:18,430 --> 00:16:20,590 Always. You're always trading one or the 269 00:16:20,630 --> 00:16:22,390 other, yes. Yeah, yeah. 270 00:16:22,390 --> 00:16:27,230 No, I did a DIY website starting out now because I'm, you know, 271 00:16:27,230 --> 00:16:29,830 turning into a dinosaur now. I feel like I've been dating for 272 00:16:29,830 --> 00:16:32,790 a long time. But you know, 15 years ago, I 273 00:16:32,790 --> 00:16:37,750 felt like a lot of the designers who were established in my area. 274 00:16:37,750 --> 00:16:41,470 And then we had some of them had white websites, but not all of 275 00:16:41,470 --> 00:16:45,390 them had great websites and websites was just becoming a 276 00:16:45,390 --> 00:16:48,630 more mandatory thing. So I used a template and had 277 00:16:48,630 --> 00:16:52,010 very basic layout and I had a lot of people say, wow, your 278 00:16:52,010 --> 00:16:54,570 website was great. Like, it really showed me a lot 279 00:16:54,570 --> 00:16:57,090 of information. And I think just because I was 280 00:16:57,090 --> 00:17:00,610 younger, I had the advantage of like really knowing how to 281 00:17:00,810 --> 00:17:03,410 manipulate a website and what I was looking for. 282 00:17:04,130 --> 00:17:07,970 But now it's just like you need to have the next level that 283 00:17:07,970 --> 00:17:10,290 website. I feel like you just can't get a 284 00:17:10,290 --> 00:17:13,930 template and plug and play. I think it's really worth having 285 00:17:13,930 --> 00:17:16,490 the professional do it for you, Yeah. 286 00:17:16,690 --> 00:17:20,210 I think so too, but I think there is a time. 287 00:17:20,770 --> 00:17:25,410 For that, again, when you're just starting out and you don't 288 00:17:25,410 --> 00:17:29,610 have an enormous amount to invest, I think a template or 289 00:17:29,610 --> 00:17:34,210 DIY can be a great way to get something up there in the 290 00:17:34,250 --> 00:17:35,970 beginning because you need something. 291 00:17:36,210 --> 00:17:40,650 I mean a website today is like the Yellow Pages 3035 years ago. 292 00:17:40,650 --> 00:17:44,850 Like you have to have one I think if you don't. 293 00:17:45,470 --> 00:17:48,310 Potential clients question why you don't. 294 00:17:48,310 --> 00:17:52,070 They might think that maybe this is a hobby for you and not an 295 00:17:52,070 --> 00:17:56,910 actual serious business. So I do think it's important to 296 00:17:56,910 --> 00:18:00,790 have something out there. Hiring a professional I think to 297 00:18:00,790 --> 00:18:03,190 do a custom website for you is something to. 298 00:18:04,030 --> 00:18:06,750 I mean, it's great if you want to do it first thing. 299 00:18:07,170 --> 00:18:10,410 But I will generally recommend waiting a little bit because 300 00:18:10,410 --> 00:18:12,930 again, like what I said before, in the beginning, you don't know 301 00:18:12,930 --> 00:18:16,130 what you don't know. And oftentimes, so much about 302 00:18:16,130 --> 00:18:19,810 your business and your brand can change in those first two years 303 00:18:20,090 --> 00:18:24,410 that sometimes it can be smarter to wait, hold off and invest in 304 00:18:24,650 --> 00:18:28,050 a custom design a little bit later on when when you have the 305 00:18:28,050 --> 00:18:30,010 clarity. That's a really good point. 306 00:18:30,010 --> 00:18:33,170 Yeah. Do you offer some advice for 307 00:18:33,170 --> 00:18:35,410 people who are trying to DIY their website? 308 00:18:35,410 --> 00:18:38,800 Like can you do you do any consulting in that area for? 309 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,360 I do, yeah. So there's three different ways 310 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:44,160 that my clients can work with me. 311 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:49,160 So one is custom website design, the other is ioffer website 312 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,520 template customization. So I have templates that I've 313 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:58,000 designed and rather than just selling the template what I do 314 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,600 is I have a resource library in Google Drive that the clients 315 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:07,240 get access to and it has. Sort of video guides and written 316 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:11,240 guides and forms to fill out. And then they submit all of 317 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:16,320 their content to me and I upload and format everything into the 318 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,160 template for them and launch it for them so they don't have to 319 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,280 worry about any of the technical things. 320 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:24,680 So that makes it a little simpler. 321 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,640 And then ioffer web strategy boosts are what I call them, so 322 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:35,040 it's a 90 minute zoom call where we can discuss. 323 00:19:35,410 --> 00:19:39,490 Any aspect of website design that they need help with. 324 00:19:39,490 --> 00:19:45,890 So that's really more for either the Diyer or somebody who's got 325 00:19:45,890 --> 00:19:48,290 a website on a platform that I don't work with. 326 00:19:48,290 --> 00:19:52,210 So I specialize in WordPress. But if you have a website on 327 00:19:52,210 --> 00:19:55,610 Squarespace, for example, what your website needs is exactly 328 00:19:55,610 --> 00:19:59,570 the same across all platforms. So we can go over everything, 329 00:19:59,570 --> 00:20:01,810 but you would then implement it yourself. 330 00:20:02,090 --> 00:20:04,930 OK. So yeah, on that 90 minute call, 331 00:20:05,210 --> 00:20:10,010 do you do like a website audit to like if they are had 332 00:20:10,010 --> 00:20:12,890 something already and they want you just kind of cast your eye 333 00:20:12,890 --> 00:20:16,250 over it? I sort of take the lead from my 334 00:20:16,250 --> 00:20:20,530 client so we can do you know if they are stuck on their 335 00:20:20,530 --> 00:20:24,210 homepage, we can spend the whole time on their homepage if they 336 00:20:24,210 --> 00:20:27,970 want, you know, a quick audit of all the pages of their website. 337 00:20:27,970 --> 00:20:31,930 We can do that if they want suggestions on how to improve 338 00:20:31,930 --> 00:20:38,890 their layout on colors or fonts. On copy on, you know anything we 339 00:20:38,890 --> 00:20:41,210 can talk about search engine optimization. 340 00:20:41,210 --> 00:20:45,490 So it's really wherever they're struggling and they need the 341 00:20:45,490 --> 00:20:49,690 most support and they can schedule as many sessions as 342 00:20:49,690 --> 00:20:51,770 they want to. Nice okay. 343 00:20:52,330 --> 00:20:55,410 What would be some of the common mistakes that you're seeing? 344 00:20:55,410 --> 00:20:57,890 Maybe that pop out on these sessions. 345 00:20:57,890 --> 00:20:59,650 Oh yeah. That's such a great question 346 00:20:59,650 --> 00:21:04,810 because I do see the same mistakes over and over again. 347 00:21:04,810 --> 00:21:10,770 So the first one I would say is making your website all about 348 00:21:10,770 --> 00:21:13,570 you and not about your ideal client. 349 00:21:13,570 --> 00:21:16,850 I'm going to say that's the number one mistake I see and 350 00:21:16,850 --> 00:21:19,850 that's really more of a. Content mistake. 351 00:21:19,850 --> 00:21:22,690 Not a design mistake, but it's so important. 352 00:21:22,970 --> 00:21:29,210 There's so many times where it's all I, I, I and it's all about 353 00:21:29,450 --> 00:21:34,410 where you went to school and your why you love interior 354 00:21:34,410 --> 00:21:37,170 design. And that's important to have in 355 00:21:37,170 --> 00:21:40,570 there. But what's more important is to 356 00:21:41,250 --> 00:21:44,850 find something about. Your background, your 357 00:21:44,850 --> 00:21:49,650 experiences, personal or work, whatever it may be that makes 358 00:21:49,650 --> 00:21:53,170 you unique, that will resonate with your ideal client. 359 00:21:53,330 --> 00:21:58,290 What's more important is showing how you solve whatever problem 360 00:21:58,290 --> 00:22:02,290 they're struggling with, selling the transformation of your 361 00:22:02,290 --> 00:22:07,930 services, so making it all about them and not all about you, 362 00:22:08,490 --> 00:22:10,170 right? That's number one. 363 00:22:10,670 --> 00:22:13,230 Not being consistent with your brand. 364 00:22:13,590 --> 00:22:17,750 Let's say you've got a great low and a logo is not a brand. 365 00:22:17,750 --> 00:22:19,630 I'm just talking brand visuals here. 366 00:22:19,750 --> 00:22:23,710 So let's say you've got a lovely logo and it has some colors in 367 00:22:23,710 --> 00:22:27,110 it and some fonts in it. And then you go on your website 368 00:22:27,110 --> 00:22:30,390 and you use all different colors from your logo and all different 369 00:22:30,390 --> 00:22:32,070 fonts. And then you go on social media 370 00:22:32,070 --> 00:22:34,350 and you use all different colors and all different fonts. 371 00:22:34,350 --> 00:22:36,470 And in your print it's all different colors. 372 00:22:37,220 --> 00:22:41,500 That's so inconsistent and what clients are looking for is 373 00:22:41,500 --> 00:22:44,660 consistency that helps build trust. 374 00:22:44,660 --> 00:22:49,740 So using the same color palette across all of your marketing 375 00:22:49,740 --> 00:22:52,900 platforms, using the same fonts across all of your marketing 376 00:22:52,900 --> 00:22:56,020 platforms, being consistent with your brand and your website 377 00:22:56,020 --> 00:23:00,420 design is super important. Another big one I see is not 378 00:23:00,420 --> 00:23:05,260 having a clear call to action. And call to action, it's also 379 00:23:05,260 --> 00:23:08,860 called a CTA if anyone's ever seen it referred to like that. 380 00:23:08,860 --> 00:23:13,140 But I like to explain that as think about what the primary 381 00:23:13,300 --> 00:23:16,420 goal of your website is. What is the number one action 382 00:23:16,420 --> 00:23:18,900 you want visitors to take? There's no right or wrong 383 00:23:18,900 --> 00:23:21,180 answer. It's unique to your business. 384 00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:24,060 For most interior designers, it's going to be to contact you, 385 00:23:24,740 --> 00:23:26,500 schedule that initial discovery call. 386 00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:29,420 So you want to have a clear call to action. 387 00:23:29,930 --> 00:23:34,170 Pretty much on every page and post of your website, gently 388 00:23:34,170 --> 00:23:36,490 guiding visitors to take that action. 389 00:23:36,490 --> 00:23:40,450 Because if we don't politely let them know what we want them to 390 00:23:40,450 --> 00:23:43,850 do, they don't know what to do, right? 391 00:23:44,130 --> 00:23:47,450 So that's something really important to do in a mistake 392 00:23:47,530 --> 00:23:49,970 that I see a lot. I'll just say on that call to 393 00:23:49,970 --> 00:23:55,770 action, it's even outside of the website, it's hard to remember 394 00:23:56,180 --> 00:23:59,220 to do that because like you need to have like I didn't have it in 395 00:23:59,220 --> 00:24:03,380 my lead magnet, just be like send my lead magnet out and then 396 00:24:03,660 --> 00:24:05,420 the end is like just tied up with the bow. 397 00:24:05,420 --> 00:24:08,700 But there's no, like if you want to work with me, you know, now 398 00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:13,180 you can schedule a call or even interacting with my clients too. 399 00:24:13,180 --> 00:24:15,500 Like you kind of have to put those things in there like 400 00:24:15,540 --> 00:24:19,020 asking for a review or asking for a referral and things like 401 00:24:19,020 --> 00:24:21,460 that. You can't just assume the client 402 00:24:21,460 --> 00:24:25,380 is going to automatically, willfully take the next step. 403 00:24:25,810 --> 00:24:28,530 They might not know what it is. So yeah, having that clear and 404 00:24:28,530 --> 00:24:32,370 concise CTA on your website, so. Important. 405 00:24:32,410 --> 00:24:34,850 Yeah. And to add on to that, Rebecca, 406 00:24:34,850 --> 00:24:37,210 you know, having a call to action in all of your social 407 00:24:37,210 --> 00:24:42,370 media posts, which ideally is driving traffic back to your 408 00:24:42,370 --> 00:24:44,930 website. Yeah, that's right, Robin. 409 00:24:44,930 --> 00:24:48,490 Yeah, super. Super important a couple of 410 00:24:48,490 --> 00:24:52,570 technical things is. Some other mistakes not being 411 00:24:52,570 --> 00:24:57,330 mobile responsive, meaning that the design shifts to fit 412 00:24:57,450 --> 00:25:01,330 different screen sizes. So it works on a desktop, 413 00:25:01,330 --> 00:25:05,210 laptop, tablet, cell phone. That is very very important and 414 00:25:05,210 --> 00:25:09,890 a mistake I see. Having your pages load slowly is 415 00:25:09,890 --> 00:25:11,850 another mistake I see, and that's. 416 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,480 Really important to have a quick page load time. 417 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:20,400 Tucson's Google likes it, so it's good for SEO and your 418 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,920 clients will like it because we're all impatient, we're all 419 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,680 in a rush and nobody's going to sit there for 10 seconds and 420 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,600 wait for your page to load. So that's a really important 421 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,160 technical thing. You want your fonts to be 422 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,560 legible. That's a really big mistake. 423 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,720 I see Script fonts are wonderful. 424 00:25:39,340 --> 00:25:41,900 But some of them are hard to read, so they need to be used 425 00:25:41,900 --> 00:25:44,620 really sparingly. You want to make sure, 426 00:25:44,620 --> 00:25:47,660 especially in your body text, that it's dark enough. 427 00:25:48,140 --> 00:25:51,220 Don't use like a light Gray on a white background so we can't 428 00:25:51,220 --> 00:25:53,420 really read it. Make sure we're big enough, you 429 00:25:53,420 --> 00:25:55,300 know, think about those sorts of things. 430 00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:59,220 Finally, I would say confusing navigation. 431 00:25:59,540 --> 00:26:04,460 And by navigation I mean your main menu at the top of the page 432 00:26:04,500 --> 00:26:08,330 and. How your whole page is laid out 433 00:26:08,330 --> 00:26:10,810 with buttons linking to other pages. 434 00:26:10,810 --> 00:26:16,050 You want to make it as simple and easy for visitors to find 435 00:26:16,050 --> 00:26:18,530 the information they're looking for. 436 00:26:18,530 --> 00:26:23,330 So don't have you know, 10 items at the top. 437 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:26,760 Of the website in your menu. It's too confusing. 438 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,640 You can have a secondary menu down at the bottom of the page 439 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:33,720 and the footer for the less important the non money making 440 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,320 pages. You know, if you have a 441 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,240 resources page that can go at the bottom of your website, you 442 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,680 know that's just something nice to have. 443 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,660 But that's not making you money. Services should be up there. 444 00:26:45,940 --> 00:26:49,700 Also, don't be cute in the words that you're using to name your 445 00:26:49,700 --> 00:26:52,020 pages in your menu. If you have a blog, call it a 446 00:26:52,020 --> 00:26:54,100 blog. Don't call it thoughts or 447 00:26:54,100 --> 00:26:56,980 journal. Make Use what's conventionally 448 00:26:56,980 --> 00:26:59,860 known just to make it super easy. 449 00:26:59,860 --> 00:27:02,620 Because again, everyone's in a rush and they're going through 450 00:27:02,620 --> 00:27:05,420 quickly and they just want to find the information they want. 451 00:27:05,660 --> 00:27:08,260 Yeah, that's good to remember because sometimes I think 452 00:27:08,820 --> 00:27:13,490 interior designers might get board of the conventional and 453 00:27:13,490 --> 00:27:17,410 they want to, you know, make it look better or spice up a little 454 00:27:17,410 --> 00:27:21,330 and and really you're doing it. So my suggestion for that, 455 00:27:21,610 --> 00:27:26,690 Rebecca, is let's say you want to call your blog journal, call 456 00:27:26,690 --> 00:27:32,010 it blog in the menu, but on the page you can call it journal. 457 00:27:32,170 --> 00:27:33,490 Oh, OK. Yes. 458 00:27:33,570 --> 00:27:36,370 Right. Same with your About page. 459 00:27:36,530 --> 00:27:39,970 Call it About. In the menu and if you want it 460 00:27:39,970 --> 00:27:44,890 to be meet the team on the page, that's fine, but about is 1 461 00:27:44,890 --> 00:27:48,330 short word and meet the team is 3 words, so it takes up a lot 462 00:27:48,330 --> 00:27:50,650 more space. In the menu. 463 00:27:50,650 --> 00:27:55,010 So just think about that. You can still be creative, but 464 00:27:55,010 --> 00:27:58,090 use conventions in the navigation. 465 00:27:58,610 --> 00:28:03,450 OK, well, that's helpful. Give us a little more liberty to 466 00:28:03,770 --> 00:28:08,510 be creative. OK, well what are some questions 467 00:28:08,510 --> 00:28:12,750 that a designer starting out to maybe ask before hiring a 468 00:28:12,790 --> 00:28:16,350 website designer? Yeah, that's a great question. 469 00:28:16,670 --> 00:28:20,630 I think it's important to realize that to get a really 470 00:28:21,150 --> 00:28:26,470 strategic website, you're going to be investing your time and 471 00:28:26,470 --> 00:28:29,270 your money. It's not going to be a twoweek 472 00:28:29,430 --> 00:28:32,350 turnaround time. So you want to make sure you're 473 00:28:32,430 --> 00:28:35,790 asking potential website designers really good questions. 474 00:28:36,170 --> 00:28:38,530 Because you're going to be spending a couple of months with 475 00:28:38,530 --> 00:28:42,050 them, so you want to make sure that they know what they're 476 00:28:42,050 --> 00:28:44,570 doing, but also that you have a good rapport with them and you 477 00:28:44,570 --> 00:28:46,570 like their personality because you're going to be working 478 00:28:46,570 --> 00:28:49,490 closely together. Because for it to be successful, 479 00:28:49,490 --> 00:28:51,730 it really needs to be a collaborative effort. 480 00:28:52,130 --> 00:28:54,290 Same like with interior design projects. 481 00:28:54,290 --> 00:28:56,650 You know you need the feedback from your clients. 482 00:28:56,650 --> 00:28:58,490 You need information from your clients. 483 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:02,960 Same thing for web designers, but some of the questions and 484 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,280 things to ask them when you're doing like an initial discovery 485 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:10,320 call with them is what platform do they specialize in. 486 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:15,520 Your audience has probably heard of Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, 487 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:20,000 their Shopify web flow show it. There's lots of different 488 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,920 platforms out there. Some designers will use several 489 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:28,120 of them, some will specialize in just one. 490 00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:32,620 Some platforms are more DIY friendly, Some platforms are 491 00:29:32,620 --> 00:29:36,140 more difficult because with that difficulty comes more 492 00:29:36,140 --> 00:29:41,020 customization and flexibility. So you really want to ask about 493 00:29:41,140 --> 00:29:42,940 that. You want to know what their 494 00:29:43,220 --> 00:29:48,620 process is, and that's a really telling question because if they 495 00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:52,780 stammer and don't have a process, I think that definitely 496 00:29:52,780 --> 00:29:56,040 says something. The same way most interior 497 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,680 designers have a pretty set process of how they work, 498 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:00,720 website designers should as well. 499 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,840 You want to find out what the timeline is, you know? 500 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:06,440 How does this all fall into place? 501 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:10,920 You know when you contract with them, how far out then are we 502 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,920 launching the website? So asking about the timeline, 503 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,560 obviously you want to find out what the cost is and what's 504 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:20,310 included with that? Some website designers are going 505 00:30:20,310 --> 00:30:23,510 to include an awful lot of support, A lot of calls, a lot 506 00:30:23,510 --> 00:30:25,270 of emails. They're going to hand hold you 507 00:30:25,710 --> 00:30:29,150 through the process, and some will not be available. 508 00:30:29,390 --> 00:30:33,190 Some are going to include certain aspects of SEO or search 509 00:30:33,190 --> 00:30:37,310 engine optimization, some are not, so that's really something 510 00:30:37,430 --> 00:30:40,070 to think about. Some might include branding and 511 00:30:40,070 --> 00:30:42,830 copywriting, some might not. So you really want to find out 512 00:30:43,030 --> 00:30:46,270 exactly what's included. How many pages does that 513 00:30:46,270 --> 00:30:48,880 include? All those sorts of things. 514 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,600 You want to have a look at their portfolio. 515 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,680 Website designers have portfolios just like interior 516 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,760 designers, and you want to see what's their style like. 517 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,400 And just like interior designers, what website 518 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,800 designers are putting in their portfolio is A their best work 519 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,240 and B the kind of work they want to attract more of. 520 00:31:10,810 --> 00:31:13,730 So take a look carefully at that and see what their design 521 00:31:13,730 --> 00:31:16,090 aesthetic is. Does it fit in with what you 522 00:31:16,170 --> 00:31:20,570 think you want for your website? And also read testimonials. 523 00:31:20,650 --> 00:31:22,210 They should have them on their website. 524 00:31:22,210 --> 00:31:25,250 They should have them on their Google Business profile. 525 00:31:25,490 --> 00:31:29,530 So definitely read through those and you know you'll see certain 526 00:31:29,570 --> 00:31:32,010 words will appear over and over again. 527 00:31:32,130 --> 00:31:34,290 You know, something that my clients say about me all the 528 00:31:34,290 --> 00:31:36,750 time is organized? Process, because those are 529 00:31:36,750 --> 00:31:38,710 really important things to me. Yeah. 530 00:31:38,710 --> 00:31:41,270 Are those things important to you, right? 531 00:31:41,270 --> 00:31:43,310 Like see what's coming up over and over again. 532 00:31:44,150 --> 00:31:46,670 Have they worked with your industry before? 533 00:31:47,030 --> 00:31:50,070 That's a really important one. I think that too. 534 00:31:50,190 --> 00:31:53,030 You know, there's some website designers like me who specialize 535 00:31:53,030 --> 00:31:56,550 in a specific industry, and there's others who will work 536 00:31:56,550 --> 00:31:58,750 with anybody. So then realize you're going to 537 00:31:58,750 --> 00:32:01,590 have a bit of a learning curve with them if they don't have a 538 00:32:01,590 --> 00:32:04,270 really good understanding of your industry. 539 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,400 It doesn't mean they can't do a great job for you, but it's just 540 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,560 something to think about. And another thing to ask is what 541 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:15,120 are they going to need from you? What do you need to provide to 542 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,160 them? I always tell my clients, like 543 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:21,920 I'm not a mind reader, so like I don't know what your services 544 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,320 are. You know you need to tell me. 545 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:24,960 I don't know who your ideal client is. 546 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:29,440 So I do a lot of strategy and very close work with my clients 547 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,280 in my beginning strategy and prep phase. 548 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,320 Then I'm equipped to actually take. 549 00:32:34,740 --> 00:32:38,900 All that information and design something that they'll love, 550 00:32:38,900 --> 00:32:41,420 that their ideal clients will love, that will be strategic for 551 00:32:41,420 --> 00:32:43,540 them. Okay great. 552 00:32:43,660 --> 00:32:47,500 Well, a lot of parallels to a client hiring a designer, an 553 00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:50,420 interior designer, and a designer hiring a website 554 00:32:50,420 --> 00:32:52,580 designer. Huge number of parallels. 555 00:32:52,740 --> 00:32:55,140 It's funny because. I hear a lot from my clients. 556 00:32:55,660 --> 00:32:59,670 I love your welcome packet or. I love the way you do your 557 00:32:59,670 --> 00:33:01,590 process. Can I take that? 558 00:33:01,590 --> 00:33:06,630 And I'm like, sure, yeah, just modify it for interiors. 559 00:33:06,630 --> 00:33:09,510 Yeah, exactly. That's great. 560 00:33:09,990 --> 00:33:14,150 So much great information. So where can people go to find 561 00:33:14,150 --> 00:33:15,750 you if they want to work with you? 562 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:19,240 Sure. So you can find me on my 563 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,880 website, which is our DW designstudio.com. 564 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:29,280 I'm also very active on Instagram and that is our DW 565 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,720 Design Studio. And if you follow me, you'll see 566 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:37,040 I post at least one tip every week on Tuesdays. 567 00:33:37,420 --> 00:33:41,220 And I often do an awful lot more than that, because I just love 568 00:33:41,300 --> 00:33:43,740 sharing the knowledge. So you have it. 569 00:33:43,740 --> 00:33:46,220 If you decide to hire someone, you kind of know what they 570 00:33:46,220 --> 00:33:48,060 should be doing. And if you decide to do it 571 00:33:48,060 --> 00:33:50,780 yourself, you know what to do. Great. 572 00:33:50,860 --> 00:33:54,620 Well, thank you so much Robin for coming on the show today and 573 00:33:54,620 --> 00:33:58,460 just sharing all of your great insight about websites so 574 00:33:58,460 --> 00:34:03,500 important for new designers and seasoned designers. 575 00:34:03,540 --> 00:34:06,540 I mean, we all, it's something. How often do you think that you 576 00:34:06,540 --> 00:34:10,060 need to update your website? That's a really good question, 577 00:34:10,060 --> 00:34:16,659 so I would say there isn't really in my opinion 1 clear 578 00:34:16,699 --> 00:34:19,940 answer to that. A lot of it's gonna depend on. 579 00:34:20,570 --> 00:34:24,929 How timeless of a design you've used or your designer used. 580 00:34:24,929 --> 00:34:29,210 So it's one of the reasons I stay away from trends, so that 581 00:34:29,210 --> 00:34:33,090 it can be a timeless in classic design that's going to stand 582 00:34:33,090 --> 00:34:37,810 this test of time. So probably every five to six 583 00:34:37,810 --> 00:34:42,409 years you're going to want to do like overhaul, but websites 584 00:34:42,409 --> 00:34:48,650 should be updated on a very regular basis and things that 585 00:34:48,650 --> 00:34:51,880 you should look at. To know whether it's time to 586 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:55,760 make some updates. Are has your ideal client 587 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,840 changed? Have any of your services 588 00:34:57,840 --> 00:34:59,800 changed? Do you have new projects that 589 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:01,640 should be added to your portfolio? 590 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:03,640 Do you have new client testimonials? 591 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,640 That should be added in. Do you have new photos of 592 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,720 projects, Things like that? Is the photo of you on your 593 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:13,080 website up to date? So you want to take all of those 594 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,920 things into consideration? And Rebecca, I would love to 595 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,040 offer your audience a gift if I Oh yes, and that. 596 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,080 Great. Yes, wonderful. 597 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,440 I have something called an instant website upgrade and 598 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:28,680 since you mentioned lead magnets before, it's naturally my lead 599 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,240 magnet. If your listeners send me a link 600 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:36,320 to their website, I will actually do a personalized video 601 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,480 giving them two changes that they can make on their website 602 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:43,480 that will have the biggest impact to transform their 603 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:46,370 website. And they can sign up for that on 604 00:35:46,370 --> 00:35:48,610 my website. So if they go to 605 00:35:48,610 --> 00:35:56,690 rdwdesignstudio.com/website Dash Upgrade, they'll see a little 606 00:35:56,690 --> 00:35:59,770 form to fill out, and a couple days later they'll get a video 607 00:35:59,770 --> 00:36:01,650 for me. Fabulous. 608 00:36:01,650 --> 00:36:03,930 That's a really great offering. Wow. 609 00:36:03,930 --> 00:36:06,010 I hope everybody takes advantage of that. 610 00:36:06,420 --> 00:36:09,140 That's very generous, Okay. Well, thank you, Robin. 611 00:36:09,140 --> 00:36:12,060 I'm so glad we thought those last few things to talk about. 612 00:36:13,060 --> 00:36:13,460 Me too. Yeah. 613 00:36:14,700 --> 00:36:16,940 Okay, Thank. You so much, Rebecca. 614 00:36:16,980 --> 00:36:19,300 Yeah. Thanks for coming on and we'll 615 00:36:19,300 --> 00:36:20,700 talk to you soon. Thanks, Robin. 616 00:36:27,980 --> 00:36:30,140 So I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. 617 00:36:30,140 --> 00:36:34,140 I actually did get a lot of good information from her, and 618 00:36:34,140 --> 00:36:39,390 following our interview, I did sign up for her website audit, 619 00:36:39,390 --> 00:36:43,070 and she gave me some great feedback information and things 620 00:36:43,070 --> 00:36:46,070 that I could implement immediately and it was really 621 00:36:46,070 --> 00:36:49,670 useful to have. So go check out her offer, which 622 00:36:49,670 --> 00:36:54,430 I think is really generous and you're going to get so much from 623 00:36:54,430 --> 00:36:56,350 that. And then if you're looking for a 624 00:36:56,350 --> 00:36:59,790 great professional website, I would definitely look at Robin 625 00:36:59,790 --> 00:37:02,550 as a source for that. Like I said, all of the 626 00:37:02,550 --> 00:37:07,510 information for contacting her is in our show notes, as well as 627 00:37:07,950 --> 00:37:12,310 all of the links that you need to take the design quiz to see 628 00:37:12,310 --> 00:37:15,230 what type of design you should be doing or download those 629 00:37:15,230 --> 00:37:18,870 freebies that Ioffer of information about the things I 630 00:37:18,870 --> 00:37:22,270 wish I'd known before starting my career and the road map to 631 00:37:22,270 --> 00:37:24,950 interior design. So a lot of great information 632 00:37:24,950 --> 00:37:26,550 for you. So you're going to go to my 633 00:37:26,550 --> 00:37:31,630 website rwardesign.com, check out the podcast section, and 634 00:37:31,630 --> 00:37:35,810 then get all of the links in this episode's show notes. 635 00:37:35,810 --> 00:37:37,770 There's so much valuable information there. 636 00:37:38,010 --> 00:37:41,690 If you've never gone, you should go and check it out because my 637 00:37:41,730 --> 00:37:44,890 podcast manager includes almost every single thing that I talk 638 00:37:44,890 --> 00:37:47,090 about. Anything that I mentioned, a 639 00:37:47,090 --> 00:37:50,890 link or two and it's all there in one place for you very 640 00:37:50,890 --> 00:37:53,050 conveniently. So go check out the show notes 641 00:37:53,050 --> 00:37:57,570 are more design.com/podcast. And also would love for you to 642 00:37:57,570 --> 00:38:01,890 leave a rating and review of the podcast on Apple Podcast and 643 00:38:02,230 --> 00:38:05,990 help me really know that I'm reaching the topics that you 644 00:38:05,990 --> 00:38:08,630 would like me to cover on the podcast. 645 00:38:08,630 --> 00:38:11,950 So do all of that and stay around for another great 646 00:38:11,950 --> 00:38:14,990 interview next week and until then stay creative. 647 00:38:16,790 --> 00:38:19,830 Thanks for listening. If you love this episode, please 648 00:38:19,830 --> 00:38:22,590 leave a rating and a review. This helps me reach other 649 00:38:22,590 --> 00:38:26,310 curious creatives like you. If you have a topic request or 650 00:38:26,310 --> 00:38:29,630 would like to contact me, simply head over to my website 651 00:38:29,830 --> 00:38:35,980 ourwarddesign.com or e-mail me at podcast at R wardesign com.