In a survey conducted by Hostway, 70% of participants said that would not likely purchase from a website that annoyed them and would never return for a second visit. Brides are short on time, low on patience and have far too much going on to be bothered with websites that make things hard on them. So if you want to maximize your potential for getting more bookings online, avoid these 7 common barriers to the sale:

Below are the top 7 biggest website pet peeves listed by the survey participants, along with the percent of respondents that noted the item as an irritation. Below to each pet peeve is my take-home lesson. Read More

It's a funny thing, getting complimented on your website. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about its beautiful design and keeps you believing that you did it right this time. Read More

Dear Website,

I write this note with hesitation because it's only 1 day after Valentine's and I really don't want to fight...but I especially don't want to have to start over. (You and I both know how tough it is getting out there.) I'd like to believe that you and I will have a long, happy life together, but as of right now, things just aren't working out.

A few years ago, when we first hooked up, I thought you were the answer to my prayers. You were cheap, simple and promised to help me get more brides so that I could pay the bills and have some freedom in my life too. It all sounded so perfect. Read More

Recently, one of our wedding pro friends commented on a recent blog post about how to get brides to spend more time on your website, asking what social media widgets are and whether her website should have them? It was such a great question that I decided to create a series of video tutorials in response. In this first video, I'll define what a social media widget actually is and then explore whether it's a good fit for your unique wedding business. Enjoy! Read More

You've heard it from me before, social signals matter. If you care about your seo ranking and your overall bridal traffic, then you've got to focus on your social engagement just as much as your optimization efforts. That means making sure your content and your website inspire involvement and social sharing.

Naturally, one of the easiest, most automated ways to improve the interaction from your followers is by giving your website visitors social sharing buttons they can use when they want to share you and your ideas with others. When a "tweet" or "like" button is readily available to your visitors, they will be far more likely to share your website pages and blog posts with their own social network; increasing your social signals as they do. Read More

These are the exact words used by numerous clients of mine who are at an end with their website. You've done everything you can think of to get your ideal bride's attention, but she's still not hanging around. Sadly, your bounce rate is slipping past the 50% marker and you just know you're losing potential clients. Read More

I talk to wedding professionals every week who are struggling to put together that magical formula for creating a website that generates more inquiries and bookings. Sometimes their site is beautifully designed, sometimes it's not. Sometimes there is a strong level of traffic, other times there is not. Either way, although design and traffic are important, these are usually not the root cause of a website that's lacking results.

Sure, your site might need an overhaul and, yes, maybe you could use a boost in bridal traffic, but one thing I want you to realize, above all, is that these adjustments cannot fix the root problem. When you focus only on design and traffic, it's kind of like treating the symptom, not the cause. Read More

As a techie who works with wedding business websites day in and day out, I'm sometimes guilty of overlooking all the little details that go into (selling) wedding services online. I forget that there was a day when I was first getting my bridal business off the ground that I didn't know all this online selling stuff it all and had to learn it all from scratch.

Well, today, one of my clients reminded me of one of those such details. Namely, getting set up to accept payments online.

So for those of you who have been considering taking wedding payments or deposits online from your couples, but aren't sure how the whole thing works, this post is for you. Read More

One of the common themes I see among wedding professionals is having a landing page as the starting point for visitors coming to their website. Typically it has a logo with a tagline and a big "Enter" link or button. In other words, it's a total waste of space. Read More

Having badges from wedding associations or directories like Wedding Wire is a good thing. They are great tools for establishing credibility with your brides and showing that you’re an active and legitimate member of your industry. However, when it comes to your website, there is a right and wrong place for these logos. Read More