First thing’s first, you guys. I want to thank you all for being so kind and supportive about my new website. The response has been overwhelming and I’m grateful for each and every one of your sweet words. There are still a few tweaks to be made but there is nothing wrong with celebrating where we’re at, can I get an amen?!

Today’s For Photographers blog post is all about Showit and how it’s changed my online presence and really, my entire business.

What is Showit, you ask? Showit is the company that I design and host my website and blog with. While I could go on and on about Showit, I’m going to keep this (relatively) short and share my top 5 reasons photographers should switch to Showit 5.

1 – My website is MY website – This is a big one for me, friends. Knowing that I have full access to my website 100% of the time is priceless. I can add, delete or change anything within my website and blog at any time. I can update my portfolio without having to contact a designer, I can change text and design within seconds and not have to wait for someone to code it for me. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand why this is so important unless you’ve been mistreated by a web designer. Trust me when I say that not having full access to your site can be very troublesome.

2. Creative FREEDOM and NO Coding – I don’t know about you, but I know very little about HTML coding and between running and business and raising 3 children, I don’t have the time (and let’s be honest, the desire) to learn it. With Showit, you drag and drop your design, images, text, icons, links ETC and all of the coding work is magically done for you (seriously, it’s magic). The options are endless. When you subscribe to Showit, there are a handful of beautiful, free design templates to start with, and you can also upgrade to a Premium Design if you wish. Did I mention that you can design your wordpress blog within Showit as well? Ya…magic. I have a love/hate relationship with wordpress so having the ability to design my blog within the Showit interface is a godsend.

3. SEO – Within 6 days of launching my new website, my traffic had more than TRIPLED. There was also no lag time in regard to showing up in local search results. It was really simple to add SEO titles, descriptions and keywords to each page of the site. I can’t wait to see how my analytics look in a month!

4. Mobile Design Made EASY – 50.05% of the visitors to my website each month are from mobile devices. That means that HALF of my potential clients were having a sub par experience because my mobile site wasn’t wonderful. I can’t even begin to imagine how many potential clients I likely lost because the mobile experience I was giving them wasn’t impressive. Within the Showit 5 interface, you design your mobile site right along with your desktop site. It’s one simple and cohesive process that leads to an on point representation of your brand. #winning

5 Community – Friends, being a photographer is hard. It’s a ton of work and can be isolating at times. One of my favorite things about Showit is the community that I get to be a part of! Being a #showiteer means that I have people all over the country rooting for me, that I have shoulders upon shoulders to cry on, that I have a sounding board of supportive and wise creatives to bounce ideas off of. No one can hug it out like a Showiteer can!

SO – are you ready to take the leap? You are?! HOORAY! I can’t wait to see you on the other side. Join the community HERE.

Much love, friends.