Why I Love Using Showit to Design Websites for Creatives and Service Providers

To my clients, it’s no secret how much I love using Showit as a web design platform. Some clients have heard of it, and some haven’t, but in our initial calls, I always talk through the design process and why I prefer using Showit for client web design projects. I have used Showit, Squarespace, WordPress, and Wix, and I strongly feel that Showit is nicely situated in the *sweet spot* of balancing ease of use and creative freedom. 

Before we get into specifics, I’d like to introduce a caveat to my statements. All of my clients are service providers in some sense – whether they are creatives, wedding professionals, therapists, designers, writers, real estate agents, etc. Because I have structured my business around serving people who are service providers, my goals and web design preferences may be different from other designers. Many designers who serve product-based businesses like to use Shopify, or another online store builder, for example. Showit is extremely well suited to service providers, so that’s a big reason why I began using it and now love it for client projects! 

The main takeaway is this – when you are designing a website, or working with a professional designer, the first thing that should be done is coming up with goals. If your website design platform does not meet those goals, it’s time to jump ship and consider a different platform. For example, my biggest goals have always been 1) To design in a platform that’s easy to use, so my clients feel empowered to make their own tweaks/edits/updates in the future if they choose; and 2) To have the creative freedom to efficiently and intuitively create gorgeous, unique layouts that creative clients will appreciate. 

So let’s get into my top two reasons why I love Showit so much:

1. Ease of Use

If you are unfamiliar, Showit is a drag-and-drop website building platform that allows a business owner or web designer to design both the mobile and desktop versions of their websites. It was initially created for photographers, but nowadays SO many service providers and small businesses use it. There are no grids/columns that you have to snap to, or strict templates that you have to follow. In fact, you can completely customize your entire site! 

Once you finalize a section of a page (in Showit, a section is called a canvas), you can easily duplicate that section onto a different page and adjust the content a bit – so every time you create a layout or section, you can copy/paste it, which is amazing and definitely a feature I utilize. I also absolutely love that when my clients or I want to make tweaks, it’s as easy as logging in, changing something, previewing it, and publishing it. 99% of the time, there’s no need to involve a developer (this is why some people don’t like WordPress) unless it’s a super complex project or problem. I also equip my clients with personalized, step-by-step video tutorials so by the time the website has launched, they know how to add or edit text, images, videos, galleries, etc. Of course, I’m also here to complete website updates if they prefer; it’s just nice to give them the choice and not force them to spend money every time they want to update something. 

2. Creative Freedom 

Showit allows you to completely customize the desktop and mobile versions of your website, and encourages creative layouts that creative/artistic service providers really value. When a Showit website is created, it looks and feels truly unique and special. This is something that I needed, and is a huge bonus to my creative clients! 

Also, you don’t have to know ANY coding if you want to create some cool effects, like asymmetrical layouts, or overlapping images, or embedding videos. When I was working in Squarespace when I first started my business, I realized pretty quickly that I would need to use coding to design some creative layouts; so I switched to Showit and never looked back! As a designer, Showit affords me so much freedom to create layouts that truly fit my clients, and it’s so intuitive (once you get the hang of it). You can even integrate buy buttons from Shopify Starter, or use WooCommerce for selling products, so if you have some digital downloads or a shop, you can still use Showit! I truly appreciate how much Showit has created a platform that creatives love to use.

How to Know if Showit is a Good Fit

If you are a service provider or creative professional, and you’re designing a new website or working with a professional web designer, I’d highly recommend Showit! It has different pricing tiers so that if you don’t have a blog, your subscription will be cheaper. If you do want to start a blog, Showit integrates a WordPress blog into your website (so cool!), so you can use WordPress for your blogging. And if you need even more features, such as WooCommerce, advanced blogging features, or other custom plugins (there is a huge list!), the top pricing tier is for you. It’s a great fit for you if you highly value a drag-and-drop platform, are comfortable learning how to complete simple tweaks/updates, and prefer a super unique-looking and ~aesthetic~ website. 

How to Know if Showit May NOT Be a Good Fit

If you do not need your website to look super unique, Showit may not be a good fit. Also, there is a learning curve when designing from scratch, so if you are brand new in your business and cannot afford to hire a professional designer, it may be best to get a quick/simple website up and running first, and then wait a year or two and save up for a time when you can hire a professional web designer to design your Showit website.

Also, if you have a large online store that sells a lot of products (like 150+), you could potentially still use Showit (you’d need the WooCommerce plugin), but you should weigh the pros and cons of using WooCommerce vs. Shopify. In some instances, if you sell hundreds of products, you may prefer a Shopify website – which is a personal preference, and if it’s a platform you prefer, I’d say go for it! I don’t design in Shopify, but I do integrate WooCommerce into Showit, so if you sell products along with your services, don’t worry! There are many ways to successfully approach an online store, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention doing your homework on platforms and being sure before diving in. 

Got More Questions?

Reach out to me! If you’re a creative or service provider considering a website design or redesign, I’d love to chat with you about your goals, preferences, questions, etc. Reach out to me using my contact form, and we’ll jump on a call to discuss your project!