*Note: Bra~vo intimates is a bra fitting store, and the website images reflect this.*

Bra~vo intimates website before makeover; clck to view full-size

Bra~vo initmates after makeover; click to view live site

About Bra~vo intimates

More than just another bra shop, Bra~vo intimates specializes in the custom fitting of everyday bras, sports bras, maternity bras, and special needs/post surgery bras.  Because of the owner’s dedication and expertise, Bra~vo intimates has earned a reputation for being the best bra fitting store in the area.  People travel several hours just to be fitted by Rebecca Aughton and her staff.

Reason for Makeover

Rebecca contacted me because she was ready for a professional website.  She had created the website herself and had done the best she could, but she knew that it did not present her business in the best light.  She was ready for, as she put it, “a big girl website.”

Solution for Bra~vo intimates

We decided the Information Blogsite package (this package is no longer available) was right for her.  Moving her website to the WordPress platform would allow Rebecca to easily update the site herself.  We also decided it was high time for her website to have better functions, like a contact form, prominent newsletter signup form, and a calendar of events.

A New Design

After installing and configuring the WordPress platform on a test domain, the next step was to create the custom WordPress design. Rebecca knew she wanted to use the pinks and golds in her logo, and she wanted something clean yet soft and feminine.

I added to the curves in the logo to create a soft, flowing shape in the header. I also added a soft curving background decoration. The website font was chosen to match the logo font, and the headline colors and backgrounds were also based on the logo colors.

Rebecca had tons of great pictures for me to incorporate into the website. The images that were used were chosen to enhance the words they related to.  The final effect was a personable and inviting website.

Clear Navigation

At the old site, information was lumped together, making it difficult for visitors to find what they were looking for. At the new site, I made sure that each type of information had its own page (Contact, Services, About, etc.) and that site navigation was clear and easily accessible.

The Phone a Fitter feature was important since Rebecca would soon be receiving national attention, and I incorporated into the header a click-able banner about that feature. The phone number and location were also added to the header to make sure they were easily available on every page.

I created a sidebar to feature important information that did not belong in the navigation bar.  The newsletter signup was made more attractive with a custom newsletter image and a listing of the benefits received by newsletter subscribers. The sidebar also included a short commercial showing more about Bra~vo intimates, a map and link to get driving directions to the store, and a section to allow visitors to connect with Rebecca on Twitter and Facebook.

Home Page

Rebecca and I decide the home page content area would be best used to funnel people to specific areas of the website and to show her expertise as a bra fitter.

The slideshow is used to announce ongoing events (like The Incredible Bra Sale from January 18 – 23, 2010) and to direct people to informative pages on the site: About the Expert Bra Fitters, Bra Fitting & Services, and Jeunique Custom Fitting.

To establish Rebecca’s expertise, the area beneath the slideshow features excerpts from 3 articles containing bra fitting tips and 1 article containing bra shopping tips.

Goal Accomplished – Another Satisfied Client

Once the design was complete and the content was in place, I moved the site from the test domain to the live one.  The transition occurred without any problems at all, and Rebecca was more than pleased with the completed website.  She stated that she had not even imagined that it could look that good, and she was very pleased with how the information was arranged.

How is your website working for you? We can transform your site just like we did Rebecca’s.
Click here to view our Custom WordPress Website Solutions

Why Your Business Needs a Blog

As small business owner you might ask yourself  “Why should my business invest in a blog?” A very good question indeed, but let’s turn it around and ask:

• “How can a blog help my business?“
• “What are the benefits of having a business blog?”
  and most importantly
• “How can a blog help my business grow and make me money?”

The real answer is that as a small business owner you need all the help you can get to spread the word about you and your business. Blogging is one way of promoting your business, and by now you should have grasped that you get what you pay for.

3 benefits of having a business blog

A blog offers businesses three very important benefits.

1. It will increase the awareness of your brand and make it easier for potential customers to find you.
Do a search for your company or the services you sell and see how easily you can be found. If  the result isn’t very good, a blog or website can help change that.  Self-hosted WordPress is pretty search engine friendly out of the box, and when you add on a plug-in specifically designed to help with SEO, your blog can become a powerful tool to help you rank better in the search engines.

2. It will help you build credibility.
It will help your potential customers to trust you.  The more you write, the more they trust you – if you give them the right information. Use your blog to inform and educate your customers so they understand what you offer. It is a fantastic opportunity to show what you have to offer without being too “pushy”.

3. It will help you with your marketing efforts.
A Blog is a viral marketing tool: it will make it easy for people to talk about you and your services. A blog makes it easy for others to link to you and to talk about what you’ve written. This will result in more sales opportunities. The time you spend on your blog can be substituted for various other marketing efforts you are doing and still give you a better result.

Visitors know if you are investing in your blog

When you are in business you quite quickly start to understand that you get what you pay for and the best is often worth paying for. Here at Berries and Cream, we like to use free and low cost services whenever possible, but when it comes to making the investment in a website or blog we tell it to you straight: Having your own domain name and paying for hosting is a must if you are serious about your business and about your blog.

Too many times have we seen, and still see daily, small business owners starting a blog on a free platform service without a custom domain and then complaining that their blog is not giving them the results they had hoped for. This goes together with the credibility point above: make your customers trust you by showing them you are a serious business owner.

Using a free blogging platform without a custom domain name (like myblog.blogspot.com or myblog.wordpress.com) often creates a first impression of unprofessionalism. A custom domain name, on the other hand, lets people know that you are serious enough about your blog to invest in it.

Our Recommendations

Hosting: We recommend and use BlueHost and HostGator. Very easy and reliable and to work with. Have your site hosted for a small monthly fee.

Self-hosted WordPress: WordPress is easy and very flexible to use; all of the available add-ons (plugins) make it a great Content Management  System.

A custom design: Make your blog or website unique and memorable. Having a custom design made for you will help enhance your brand and make it easy for your visitors to remember you.

Have questions?

Now let’s go back to the question: “How can a blog help my business?” If you need help to figure that out, sign up for a consultation on how a blog can help your business.

If you have not yet have a blog, it is about time to get one. Need help? Ask us and we will guide you in the right drection!