Here’s our breakdown of what the switch from Wix to Showit entails so you can say out with the old and in with the innovative.

Wix is a website builder similar to Showit in that it involves virtually no code and has a visual dashboard to bring your website to life. The difference, however, is that while Wix was among the first to enter the visual website builder game—drag-and-drop visual design has advanced a ton. And don’t get us wrong, Wix is great for some (like those just starting out who may need a free option), the builder lacks more tactical features that are readily available in Showit. 

(If you’re grappling with if you should make the switch, refer to this post first!)

Showit empowers users to take control of their website through a visual, no-code, drag-and-drop dashboard that makes creating their vision for their website a reality. Showit is also the website host for your site, creating a hub for your website, all in one place. We have THIS POST, which details why we’re exclusive with Showit, but in this post, we’ll get into how you prepare to switch from Wix to Showit. 

Step One: Purchase your TONIC Design

(not ready to go all-in, check out Showit’s Demo here to get a feel for the visual design dashboard) 

To switch from Wix to Showit, purchase your favorite TONIC Website Template first. No matter your vibe, business, or idea—we have a design for you. Keep in mind that literally everything within your design can be tailored and customized to perfection for your brand, so select the template that most closely aligns with your vision and click *add to cart.*

One note: We recommend keeping your current website live on Wix until your new design is launch-ready. Doing so will minimize any downtime as you customize your new website. Alternatively, you could launch a Coming Soon page as you work on your new website in Showit.

Step Two: Create a Showit Account

Next, you will create a Showit account. Sign up with THIS LINK and get your first month free! Once you have your Showit account, access your unique share key in your TONIC account and load your design into Showit. To do so, copy your share key from your TONIC account and paste it into your Showit account. 

Step Three: Customize your TONIC Design in Showit

Once your design is loaded into Showit, you can customize each page within your design by simply replacing the placeholder content throughout each section. Using the placeholder imagery and copy as a guide, work through each section by swapping out the template imagery for your brand images (or curated stock images) and each section of copy with your website copy. These placeholder elements act as excellent visual guides as you customize your design—like ready-to-use inspo, you can achieve your vision without staring at a blank page. 

One of the most frequently asked questions in our inbox for those ready to switch platforms is how long it will take to get my new site up and running. The answer: it depends on whether your website assets (branding, imagery, and copy) are ready to go. It’s usually not the design aspect that slows people down but the lack of finalized assets ready to be plugged into the new website template! 

Step Four: Manually Migrate Your Blog Content

If you have a blog on your current Wix website, unfortunately, the Showit support team can’t automatically migrate your existing blog content. This means that migrating your blog is a manual process. Essentially, once you’re ready to launch your website, you will let the Showit team know that you want to launch your website with a new blog. Once your website is live and your new blog is set up through WordPress using WP Engine in your Showit account, you can manually carry over your blog content. Here’s how blogging works with Showit x TONIC. 

If you do not have existing blog content that needs migrating, you can follow these steps here to connect your domain and launch your new website. 

And if you prefer to transfer your Wix domain to a domain registrar like GoDaddy, the Showit support team will guide you through pointing your domain’s DNS settings to Showit, once your domain is within your new registrar. This is not a requirement but an option if you’d like to move completely away from Wix for your online presence. 

Conclusion

When it comes to making the switch from Wix to Showit, we hear the same thing over and over again from clients who have been there and done that— “I wish I did it sooner.” When we say TONIC Regulars who make the switch never look back, we mean it.

If you’re considering ditching Wix, know that not all drag-and-drop platforms are created equal! And we can’t wait to see what you create when truly anything is possible. 
Do you have a specific question about whether or not our Showit templates will work for you? Reach out to us and ask—we’d love to help you decide!

The post How to Switch from Wix to Showit in Four Easy Steps appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

Let us be the first to say it: not all website builders are created equal. So, in the sea of website platforms that say they’re easy to use, we know it can hard to determine which one to select and how they all stack up with one another! So, if you’re wondering which platform is better between Showit and Wix, read on; we’ve got you covered. 

Before we get into the basics, you may wonder WHY your platform even matters in the first place. The answer? Your website is the first impression that someone has of your business or brand—and that matters. You need to grab attention, build trust, and convert potential clients in a matter of seconds. To keep your ideal clients on your website, engaged with your content, and scrolling through to your CTA, you need really good design. Your website platform and builder is where you design your website. This makes the decision on where to build it an important decision to make sure you’re showing up online *exactly* as you envision! 

What Is Showit?

Showit is a website host and builder that combines the simplicity of a drag-and-drop editor with the power of WordPress for blogging. It’s the perfect solution for creative professionals because it’s the ultimate online platform where beauty meets function. Meaning: you can have a powerhouse website that also looks damn good.

Showit has easy-to-implement and customize website templates (ahem, where we at TONIC come in), which streamlines the website-building process and simplifies every step. Rather than starting with a blank page, you can quickly and efficiently plug and play with your website template just by swapping out the elements that exist in the design for your own (brand elements, photos, copy, and beyond). If you see it within your template, it can be changed to match your exact vision!

What Is Wix?

Wix is another drag-and-drop website builder designed for easy use. Like Showit, Wix offers many templates to help you get started.

However, Wix has some limitations. Most important among them is that if you ever want to move your site from Wix to another platform, transferring content can be challenging. This is especially true if you have a lot of blog posts, as you’ll have to move them manually, one-by-one.

From a usability standpoint, the builder, while simple to use—doesn’t offer complete creative control and freedom down to the pixel, which like Showit does. 

What Makes Showit better than Wix? 

Technical Set-up

Both Showit and Wix host websites on high-performance servers. However, Showit goes the extra mile by assisting with the initial website launch. If you’re migrating from platforms like WordPress or Squarespace, Showit will transfer your blog for you, making the process smoother.

Although Wix is user-friendly, Showit provides more hands-on support with the technical aspects of launching. Plus, Showit’s in-app chat makes it easy to get quick answers from a fun, human, and caring support team.

Customer Support

Showit offers top-tier customer support for all users, regardless of their plan. You can reach the support team through in-app chat or email, and they’re well-equipped to handle the specific needs of creative professionals like you. 

Wix offers support via phone and email, but their best support is reserved for premium users.

Drag-and-Drop Editor and Templates

Both platforms have drag-and-drop editors, allowing you to customize your website’s desktop and mobile versions. Showit offers more flexibility in designing layouts, while Wix may feel more restrictive when trying to get the look and feel that truly converts potential clients! 

Blogging

Showit uses WordPress for its blogging platform, which is widely regarded as one of the best available on the web. This integration also gives Showit users access to thousands of WordPress plugins, allowing you to easily add new features to your site.

With Wix, you’re limited to its built-in blogging tools and some third-party apps, often requiring additional fees. And if you ever want to leave Wix, exporting your blog content can be a major headache.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Both platforms offer built-in SEO tools, but Showit’s WordPress integration gives you access to powerful plugins like Yoast, which is considered one of the best SEO tools on the market. Furthermore, Showit makes ranking easy with built-in sections for page name, meta descriptions, SEO titles for photos, and beyond. You can also ensure that your website copy is SEO-friendly using Showit’s text tags to indicate H1, H2, H3, and more directly in your design dashboard.

For more help with SEO, check out our library of SEO tutorials.

E-commerce and Integrations

While Showit doesn’t have built-in e-commerce tools, it allows integration with platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify. This approach gives you full creative control over your website design while using specialized e-commerce tools.

Wix has native e-commerce capabilities, which is convenient if you want to quickly set up a store. However, you’re limited to their tools, which may not always meet your specific needs.

Pricing

Wix offers a free plan, but it includes Wix branding and limited features. If you’re a professional, you’ll likely need a paid plan. Showit doesn’t offer a free plan, but it provides a 14-day trial (& you get one month free on TONIC!). Showit’s paid plans are comparable to Wix’s, but you get the same expert level of customer support on all Showit plans. Because you shouldn’t have to pay more to get your questions answered, ya know?

Conclusion

For creative professionals like you, Showit is the go-to platform. It offers unmatched design freedom, seamless WordPress integration, and top-notch support. If you’re ready for a website builder that helps take your online presence to the next level, look no further than Showit x TONIC!

The post Showit vs Wix: Which One is Better? appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

Here’s our breakdown of what the switch from WordPress to Showit entails so you can take back creative control of your website once and for all.

Did you know that WordPress hosts 43% of all websites in the world? If you’re in the camp that opted to build your site on WordPress, you’re clearly not alone! And WordPress is great. Well, as great as your knowledge of custom code goes. No shade on WordPress, but at TONIC, we’re all about helping business owners, creatives, and entrepreneurs work smarter, not harder. And well, if you’ve ever tried to learn code (ahem, while crying into your keyboard), you may resonate with the fact that, in some cases, WordPress is the harder route when it comes to making even the tiniest tweaks to your website. 

Enter: Showit. 

Some, if not most, of your favorite websites are likely on Showit, and you didn’t even know it. Why? It’s the one-stop shop for business owners who are ready to walk their talk online. 

Showit empowers users to take control of their website through a visual, no-code, drag-and-drop dashboard that makes creating their vision for their website a reality. Showit is also the website host for your site, creating a hub for your website, all in one place. We have THIS POST which details why we’re exclusive with Showit, but the goal of this post is to give you step-by-step instructions on how to make the switch. 

Step One: Purchase your TONIC Design

(not ready to go all-in, check out Showit’s Demo here to get a feel for the visual design dashboard) 

To switch from WordPress to Showit, purchase your favorite TONIC Website Template first. No matter your vibe, business, or idea—we have a design for you. Keep in mind that literally everything within your design can be tailored and customized to perfection for your brand, so select the template that most closely aligns with your vision and click *add to cart.*

One note: We recommend keeping your current website live on WordPress until your new design is launch-ready. Doing so will minimize any downtime as you customize your new website. Alternatively, you could launch a Coming Soon page as you work on your new website in Showit.

Step Two: Create a Showit Account

Next, you will create a Showit account. Sign up with THIS LINK and get your first month free! Once you have your Showit account, access your unique share key in your TONIC account and load your design into Showit. To do so, copy your share key from your TONIC account and paste it into your Showit account. 

Step Three: Customize your TONIC Design in Showit

Once your design is loaded into Showit, you can customize each page within your design by simply replacing the placeholder content throughout each section. Using the placeholder imagery and copy as a guide, work through each section by swapping out the template imagery for your brand images (or curated stock images) and each section of copy with your website copy. These placeholder elements act as excellent visual guides as you customize your design—like ready-to-use inspo, you can achieve your vision without staring at a blank page. 

One of the most frequently asked questions in our inbox for those ready to switch platforms is how long it will take to get my new site up and running. The answer: it depends on whether your website assets (branding, imagery, and copy) are ready to go. It’s usually not the design aspect that slows people down but the lack of finalized assets ready to be plugged into the new website template! 

Step Four: Migrate Your WordPress Blog

If you have a blog on your current WordPress website, once you’re ready to launch, the Showit support team will migrate your existing blog content and configure your domain to point to Showit to make your website live! That’s right—the Showit support team does this FOR YOU. 

Once your blog content is migrated to Showit, you will still blog through WordPress using WP Engine (because, hey, they are the best in the biz when it comes to blogs). Here’s how blogging works with Showit x TONIC. 

If you do not have existing blog content that needs migrating, you can follow these steps here to connect your domain and launch your new website. 

Conclusion

When it comes to making the switch from WordPress to Showit, we hear the same thing over and over again from clients who have been there and done that— “I wish I did it sooner.” When we say TONIC Regulars who make the switch never look back, we mean it.

If you’re considering ditching WordPress, know that your once-stifled creativity due to your lack of custom code knowledge is no longer a thing on the other side of Showit. 

Do you have a specific question about whether or not our Showit templates will work for you? Reach out to us and ask—we’d love to help you decide! Or, if you want to compare WordPress vs. Showit further, click HERE.

The post How to Switch from WordPress to Showit in Four Easy Steps appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

BUT when paired with Showit, you get the power of WordPress for blogging alongside the easy-to-use website-building platform to bring your website dreams into reality. This means you can easily customize, launch, and iterate your website as often as you want and whenever you want—without one line of code. Before we get into all of the specifics, let’s start with the basics, shall we? 

What is Showit?

Showit is a website host and builder that combines the simplicity of a drag-and-drop editor with the power of WordPress for blogging. It’s the perfect solution for creative professionals because it’s the ultimate online platform where beauty meets function. Meaning: you can have a powerhouse website that also looks damn good.

Showit has easy-to-implement and customize website templates (ahem, where we at TONIC come in), which streamlines the website-building process and simplifies every step. Rather than starting with a blank page, you can quickly and efficiently plug and play with your website template just by swapping out the elements that exist in the design for your own (brand elements, photos, copy, and beyond). If you see it within your template, it can be changed to match your exact vision!

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that uses pre-designed themes to style your website. However, making updates or customizations often requires knowledge of CSS, HTML, and even PHP or JavaScript. For most creatives, learning to code just to make simple edits isn’t practical. So, that’s where Showit comes in. 

How does Showit use WordPress for blogging?

Showit uses WordPress for blogging (powered by WPEngine), which removes all the need-to-know code from the equation.

It’s simple: You design your blog pages in Showit, just like you would any other page. Showit then converts your design into a dynamic WordPress blog. To create a new post, log into WordPress, add your content, and click publish. Showit handles the rest! (Did we mention the blog templates included within TONIC designs are expertly designed and pre-programmed to work out of the box? No changes needed). 

Ultimately, there is no better pair on the web than the decades-old blogging powerhouse WordPress, paired with the easiest drag-and-drop visual design platform found only in Showit.

Did you catch that? You can update, change, refine, and iterate your website and blog without the help of a developer when you use Showit x WordPress. 🤝

Why TONIC Users Love Showit

Drag-and-Drop Editor

Showit’s editor goes beyond traditional drag-and-drop functionality. Unlike other platforms, where you work with pre-built blocks, Showit lets you design each site section from scratch and position it exactly how you want. You can fine-tune spacing down to the pixel, giving you total control over every layout on your website.

Even better? One of Showit’s best features is the side-by-side desktop and mobile editor. You can easily customize the mobile version of your site without affecting the desktop version. Say goodbye to poorly translated mobile versions of your desktop site. With the amount of traffic driven strictly on mobile devices, the ability to manipulate that design separate from the desktop version is a total game-changer for achieving a website that aligns with your vision—no matter the screen size!

SEO

Showit excels in SEO, with fast page load time, even on image-heavy sites. You can easily edit your SEO settings, including titles, meta descriptions, keywords, slugs, and image alt-tags. Plus, since your blog is powered by WordPress, you get access to powerful SEO plugins like Yoast. Showit helps your website rank well with the built-in, ready-to-use tools accessible directly in your design dashboard.

Styling Made Easy

If you’ve used WordPress before, you know the options are vast…well, as vast as your coding knowledge or ability (& budget) to hire a developer. With Showit’s visual editor, you get incredible simplicity in designing your site just how you want, even the WordPress pages, through drag-and-drop functionality that allows to create, well, anything. 

Customer Support

Showit has some of the best customer support in the business. In an AI bot world, Showit has actual humans on the other end of your questions. And the best thing about humans? They care about you (& we do, too)! Showit’s support team is fun, friendly, and truly cheering you on with every response and GIF sent! 

Is Showit better than WordPress?

TBH, YES! Unless you know how to code, you will find that using Showit for your website gives you creative freedom and ability to achieve your vision—because what you see in your design dashboard is what your live website will show. No more guesswork, fingers-crossed, hoping that *one line* of code doesn’t break your entire website. It’s like a breath of fresh air for every creative everywhere. 

Conclusion

For visually driven creative professionals, Showit is the platform of choice for their website. It offers unmatched design flexibility, allowing you to create unique layouts and make quick updates, all while being aesthetically pleasing. With Showit, you’re not limited to block-style content or rigid themes—if you can envision it, you can build it.

The post Showit vs. WordPress: Which One is Better? And how do they work together? appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

Here’s our breakdown of what the switch from Squarespace to Showit entails so you can ditch being boxed in and design your website with true creative freedom.

“A website makes it real” is Squarespace’s claim to fame. That simple tagline rings in catchy commercials in between our favorites shows and sport events, and it is true! Deciding to take the plunge and turn your idea into a website does make it real. Which is why, while we’re Showit Lifers over here, the Sqauarespace platform is effective, depending on your business! Only you know the ins and outs specific to your online presence, but in this post, we aim to show you how to make the switch from Squarespace to Showit. 

(If you’re grappling with if you should make the switch, refer to this post first!)

Showit empowers users to take control of their website through a visual, no-code, drag-and-drop dashboard that makes creating their vision for their website a reality. Showit is also the website host for your site, creating a hub for your website, all in one place. We have THIS POST which details why we’re exclusive with Showit, but the biggest thing to note is that while Squarespace offers design possibilities through content blocks, Showit offers complete creative freedom free of a grid-backed dashboard.
Now that you have a little bit of insight in to the why, here’s more of the how as you prepare to make the switch from Squarespace to Showit.

Step One: Purchase your TONIC Design

(not ready to go all-in, check out Showit’s Demo here to get a feel for the visual design dashboard) 

To switch from Squarespace to Showit, purchase your favorite TONIC Website Template first. No matter your vibe, business, or idea—we have a design for you. Keep in mind that literally everything within your design can be tailored and customized to perfection for your brand, so select the template that most closely aligns with your vision and click *add to cart.*

One note: We recommend keeping your current website live on Sqaurespace until your new design is launch-ready. Doing so will minimize any downtime as you customize your new website. Alternatively, you could launch a Coming Soon page as you work on your new website in Showit.

Step Two: Create a Showit Account

Next, you will create a Showit account. Sign up with THIS LINK and get your first month free! Once you have your Showit account, access your unique share key in your TONIC account and load your design into Showit. To do so, copy your share key from your TONIC account and paste it into your Showit account. 

Step Three: Customize your TONIC Design in Showit

Once your design is loaded into Showit, you can customize each page within your design by simply replacing the placeholder content throughout each section. Using the placeholder imagery and copy as a guide, work through each section by swapping out the template imagery for your brand images (or curated stock images) and each section of copy with your website copy. These placeholder elements act as excellent visual guides as you customize your design—like ready-to-use inspo, you can achieve your vision without staring at a blank page. 

One of the most frequently asked questions in our inbox for those ready to switch platforms is how long it will take to get my new site up and running. The answer: it depends on whether your website assets (branding, imagery, and copy) are ready to go. It’s usually not the design aspect that slows people down but the lack of finalized assets ready to be plugged into the new website template! 

Step Four: Migrate Your Squarespace Blog

If you have a blog on your current Squarespace website, once you’re ready to launch, the Showit support team will migrate your existing blog content and configure your domain to point to Showit to make your website live! That’s right—the Showit support team does this FOR YOU. 

Once your blog content is migrated to Showit, you blog through WordPress using WP Engine (because, hey, they are the best in the biz when it comes to blogs). Here’s how blogging works with Showit x TONIC. 

If you do not have existing blog content that needs migrating, you can follow these steps here to connect your domain and launch your new website. 

If you prefer to transfer your Squarespace domain to a domain registrar like GoDaddy, the Showit support team will guide you through pointing your domain’s DNS settings to Showit, once your domain is within your new registrar. This is not a requirement, but an option if you’d like to move completely away from Squarespace.

Conclusion

When it comes to making the switch from Squarespace to Showit, we hear the same thing over and over again from clients who have been there and done that— “I wish I did it sooner.” When we say TONIC Regulars who make the switch never look back, we mean it.

If you’re considering ditching Sqaurespace, know that your creativity that was once boxed in due to the grid system of Squarespace’s backend is no longer a thing on the other side of Showit. 

Do you have a specific question about whether or not our Showit templates will work for you? Reach out to us and ask—we’d love to help you decide!

The post How to Switch from SquareSpace to Showit: Four Easy Steps appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

Depending on the size of your online shop, there’s a tool that’s right for you. Here’s a breakdown of the top ecommerce tools that work with your Showit website.

Top Ecommerce Tools That Work With Showit Templates

Shopify

Shopify is our #1 recommendation for selling digital and physical products online with your Showit website

Thrivecart / SamCart / Spiffy (That’s what Amy Porterfield uses!)

These tools allow you to link your visitors to custom checkout pages.

Woocommerce

For serious brands wanting to level up their shop, WooCommerce gives you the most flexibility and customization possible, but not without custom code. 

Shopify

Buy Buttons

Shopify is our #1 recommendation for selling digital and physical products online with your Showit website. Shopify allows you to embed buy buttons on any page of your site that, when clicked, adds a really nice slide out cart. This is great if you want your customers to be able to add multiple products to their cart rather than selling a one off product.

If your products have variants, the options will also show with your buy button. It’s really the easiest way to sell digital and physical products with Showit!

If your online shop is big, or you plan on scaling your shop to more than 30+ products, then I wouldn’t recommend Shopify buy buttons. The reason being is that you have to create each individual product page in Showit and then add the buy button. It’s definitely possible to do this but with a large shop you’re better off using Shopify Collection buy buttons.

Collection Buy Buttons

Shopify also allows you to embed “collections” which are groups of products. This is great if you want to add multiple products to a shop category page with one code snippet.

Shopify collection embeds only allow you to add the product to the cart, show a popup with a cart button, or go directly to the checkout page. The downside to this is that there’s no ability to link out to individual product pages with collection buy buttons.

If you have more than 30+ products and you need individual product pages, then WooCommerce is going to be your best bet!

Checkout Pages: Thrivecart / SamCart / Spiffy

Tools like ThriveCart, SamCart, and Spiffy allow you to sell digital products by linking out to a custom checkout page created for a specific product. They allow you to add upsells, downsells, testimonials, subscriptions and more to these checkout pages making conversion their top priority. They are easy to set up, however, cost significantly more than Shopify. Shopify starts at $5 / month, where Spiffy and SamCart start at $79 / month. ThriveCart is a one time fee of $495.

Checkout pages vs Shopify

Besides price, the main difference between checkout page tools and Shopify is that checkout pages allow you to customize the checkout process (upsells, downsells, testimonials, etc.), however you can’t have a shopping cart on your site. Shopify allows you to have a cart where you can add multiple products, but the checkout page is not customizable.

If having a custom checkout page with upsells, subscription and payment plans, testimonials, and more are important for you, and you have less than 30+ products, then a Checkout page like Spiffy is what you’ll need. Even Amy Porterfield uses Spify to sell her digital products!

WooCommerce

If you’re serious about selling digital or physical products online, then WooCommerce is going to be your best bet. WooCommerce is a robust WordPress plugin that gives you the power to sell 1 to 100+ products online… easily.

Well, it’s easy if you know your way around WordPress and have a bit of coding experience.

Here at TONIC we use WooCommerce to power our online shop, product pages, cart pages, checkout pages, and customer account pages. We have an Affiliate program, payment plans, coupon codes, and more that create a powerful ecommerce experience for our visitors.

If you know your shop is going to make you a lot of money (or it already is) then it’s worth paying a developer who knows WordPress really well. We found ours on UpWork! WooCommerce is free, however there are a lot of add-ons that add up. Expect to pay around $500 – $1000 per year for WooCommerce add-ons, plus $30-$50 / hour for a developer.

Conclusion

Creating an ecommerce site with your Showit template is easy when choosing the right tool. If you’re just starting out, use Shopify buy buttons. This will give you the most flexibility when designing your shop pages.

If you strictly sell digital products and you want to utilize marketing tactics like upsells, downsells, subscriptions and more, then a checkout page tool like Spiffy is great.

If you’re looking for the best, robust online ecommerce experience, then WooCommerce will be the tool for you. However, be prepared to work with a developer who can code in custom functionality that you need!

The post 3 Ways to Create an Ecommerce Shop With Showit appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

You’re not the only one whose website isn’t converting the way they want it to. 

Yep. There are tons of people surfing the Internet right now, frantically typing “how to make my website convert” into Google, scrolling the depths of Pinterest for the “quick and easy ways to improve a website” praying they’ll find a solution for their website woes. 

And, actually, that’s a GOOD thing.

Well… not so good that your website isn’t getting you the results you deserve.

What I meant was: it’s a good thing you’ve made it to this post, because you’re one step closer to improving your website—and because I’m about to tell you exactly how you can fix it with the non-negotiable Showit website must-haves all business owners need in order for their sites to WORK. 

In just a moment, I’m sharing FIVE things that every Showit website needs in order to convert. 

But first, we need to have a quick chat about why you need a Showit website, a quick vocabulary lesson, and then we’ll get to the good stuff. 

Of course, you can scroll past this part—it’s okay, I know you were thinking it—but then you’d miss all the reasons why Showit is the most ELITE website builder, and that would be tragic.

Why do you need a Showit website, specifically?

Oh, you mean other than the fact that Showit is the best website builder for creatives? 

And other than the fact that it’s the most customizable website building platform? 

And that — without a single line of code, or a single stress tear shed — you’re able to transform your website from a blank slate into the exact picture inside your head?

(I feel like Showit should use that last line in their own marketing. I’m going to send it to them.)

If those reasons aren’t enough to convince you to sign up for Showit, that’s fine, I could go on for days.

→ Here’s 10 MORE Reasons Why We Love Showit

→ The Getting Started Guide: What You Need To Know About Setting Up Your Website

→ Showit vs. Squarespace: Which One Is Better?

Now, let’s talk about a website that actually converts.

⭐️ What Does “Conversion” Mean in Marketing? ⭐️

A Showit website that CONVERTS is a website that inspires viewers to complete a desired action, like inquiring to work with you, or signing up for your online course, or downloading your freebie, or purchasing a product. 

…and a website that doesn’t convert is a website that doesn’t do the best job of inspiring those readers to take action.

Instead, it typically means a lot of X-ing out, a lot of browsing then forgetting, a lot of “I’ll do this later”, and a lot of almost-action.

How Do You Get Your Showit Website to Convert?

Before you can start working on improving your Showit website to make sure it converts, you’ll first need to determine why your current site isn’t converting right now. 

The best, most conversion-friendly powerhouses of a website render results like THIS on the regular 👇

✅ Consistent inquiries from ideal clients and customers

✅ Increased positive impression of you, making you look credible and worthy of trust

✅ A high priority on user experience, making it easy for visitors to navigate, find information, and complete desired actions. This enhances overall satisfaction and encourages repeat visits.

✅ Improved Search Engine Rankings (we have an entire series on about Showit Website SEO here.)

And if your website ISN’T doing those things for you? Well, it’s time to consider why the heck not.

ENTER: The 5 Non-Negotiable Showit Website Must-Haves For Conversion

Aka the top five things every Showit website needs in order to convert a viewer into a buyer.

(Or a downloader, or an inquirer, or a follower, or a subscriber… you get the picture.)

If your Showit website has all of these five things, you’ll be on your way to maximize your website traffic and generate more leads — from the right people! — in no time.

#1 — A clear message, right from the jump

The main reason why your Showit website might not be working is lack of clarity, making sharing clear, easy-to-understand details about your brand a top website must-have for conversion. 

No one can make a move — aka take your desired action — if they can’t find these 3 key elements of information: 

→ Who you are

→ What you do

→ What makes you different 

When a new lead visits your Showit website for the first time, it only takes a matter of seconds for them to decide whether or not it’s a webpage worth staying on.

That “back” button is right there, offering them a safety net to get back to solid ground, if your site doesn’t do its job of convincing them to stay.

…and there’s nothing LESS inviting than a Showit website that confuses a reader, or makes them work to find basic information like who is behind the biz, what the biz does, and why the biz is worth continuing to learn more about.

SIDE NOTE: If you need help figuring out exactly who your target audience is, download our FREE Attract & Repel Guide — this in-depth ideal client exercise will help you figure out how to attract the right dream clients, and how to repel the people who aren’t ideal for you + your business. 

#2 — A reason for your readers to believe you’re the best option

Once you’ve given your reader the run-down on the basic information about you and your brand, it comes time for the 2nd Showit website must-have: Give your readers a reason to believe that you are the best person for the job. 

Specifically, answering the question of: why should someone invest in working with you or purchase from you?

Everyone is searching for a solution to a problem, or for a need to be met. That’s the bottom line; the “why” of their website scroll.

And, because you’re hoping to be that solution, or the person to meet that need, it’s YOUR responsibility to tell that website viewer why you’re worth their $$$ (and why you’re worth your salt). 

#3 — A way to back up those claims

After giving your reader a reason to believe you’re worth investing in, it’s time to back up those claims with the 3rd Showit website must-have: social proof.

Social proof is an element of evidence showcasing the popularity, usability, or quality of a brand, product, or service, in an attempt to influence a customer’s purchase decision.

Basically, it’s an easy way to show your readers that other people trust you and like you, so they’ll hopefully take their word for it.

According to Sprout Social, the phenomenon is also called “informational social influence,” and the effectiveness of social proof revolves around the idea that “people copy the actions of others in an attempt to emulate behavior in certain situations.

Translation: people want to know about others’ experiences with a person or a product before they buy it for themselves, so they know how to feel about it.

And, when done right, using social proof is one of the BEST ways to increase conversion on your Showit website, because—thanks to our likelihood to trust reviews from a third party more than we trust the word of the person trying to sell us the thing—makes your readers feel empowered to work with you.

There are lots of different formats of social proof, but our favorites are 👇
→ Testimonials — reviews from past clients or customers sharing the details of their experience working with you and why it’s so great

Here is some real life social proof from our very own social media templates:

→ Stats — nothing works to pique a lead’s interest quite like an impressive stat, so showing off your brand by the numbers is always a great idea.

It’s also why we’ve integrated a [stats bar] into lots of our TONIC Showit website templates, to make showing off a little bit easier (and more fun). 

Here’s a stat bar we implemented on Jenna Kutcher’s Showit website

→ Awards and accolades — want your future clients to feel like they’re working with a winner? Showcase any relevant awards, accolades, certifications, or other impressive distinctions you have by mentioning them or adding a logo badge to your site.

Jenna Rainey does this beautifully with the help of one of our TONIC templates!

Other elements of social proof can include case studies (like these!), or user-generated content (hellooo, affiliate marketing!), or screenshots of customer love (you know when we show you DMs from our TONIC regulars? Yeah). 

#4 — A call to action that people actually feel motivated to take

The 4th Showit website must-have is arguably the MOST important, because you quite literally will not get a single inquiry or sale without it:

ADD SOLID CALLS TO ACTION.

Contrary to popular belief, most people actually aren’t mind readers. They don’t know what they’re supposed to do unless you TELL them what to do and how to do it. 

As the owner of your website, it may seem obvious to you what the next step for your reader should be.

“Well, of course their next step would be to inquire…”

“Obviously they know they need to add the product to cart…”

“They’re for sure gonna download this freebie…”

However, it’s only obvious to YOU because YOU created the site and wrote the copy—and you’re looking at the full picture, as the business owner behind it.

But THEM? They’re just here for a scroll. 

They don’t know what the heck is going to come next unless there is a call-to-action button sending them on their way to that next step, or a clear section of copy that explicitly TELLS them which action to take.

A confused lead never becomes a client, just a missed opportunity.

So, when auditing your own Showit website and determining why you may not be getting the results you’re hoping for, consider scrolling through and taking an extra hard look at your calls to action (or lack thereof?) to see if this particular must-have is missing. 

Amy Porterfield has some awesome examples of solid CTAs 👇

#5 — A way to capture the interest of the reader if they’re not ready for the main action

The 5th and final non-negotiable Showit website must-have? Not letting your hot lead’s journey end with your website.

While getting an inquiry or making a sale is, of course, your most desired outcome when someone visits your Showit website, it isn’t always the case.

In fact, most of the time, people aren’t yet ready to make a decision.

So, you’ll need to find a way to capture their interest, then continue the relationship with that reader. This will allow you to stay connected to — and top of mind for — the people who are interested, but not quite ready to pull out their wallet. 

Here’s how we recommend capturing that interest & keeping that lead close 👇

BLOGGING —

In addition to being the #1 way to attract more of the right people to your website, blogging is also the perfect low hanging fruit for continuing the relationship with your reader.

There’s no commitment (no subscribe or follow button required, like our next 2 suggestions below), making it an easy action to take — but that doesn’t mean it’s not an effective way for your viewers to learn more about how great + qualified you are.

Your blog posts provide an easy way for your readers to connect with you, while simultaneously learning about a subject they likely have questions about / need a solution for.

>> Click here to watch how to create the best SEO-optimized blogs!

>> Click here to subscribe to download our blog-focused SEO checklist!

(And, hey, side note – if you have a Showit website, you basically have a built-in blogging powerhouse, too, because Showit partners with Wordpress — one of the world’s top 3 blogging platforms — for you to blog on, sans confusion or code.)

EMAIL MARKETING —

Not only is building a relationship with a lead via email the best, most effective way to foster personal connections, but email marketing is also one of the easiest ways to skyrocket your revenue. 

>> Click here for our best resource about email marketing!

>> Click here to subscribe to our #longandweird newsletter!

SOCIAL MEDIA —

One of the easiest ways to stay at the forefront of your readers’ mind is to consistently show up on their social media feed. 

>> Click here to read how to grow on Instagram organically!

Just because someone isn’t ready to work with or buy from you right now doesn’t mean they won’t want to invest in you or your offerings in the future. 

Maybe it’s not the right time for them.

Maybe they don’t have the budget.

Maybe you don’t currently have an offer that aligns with their needs.

But who’s to say something won’t change, and they won’t eventually be in the market for exactly what you’re selling?

Don’t sleep on the importance of staying connected to your readers — immediate $ in your bank account isn’t the only positive outcome of a website click.

Curious what else we consider a non-negotiable Showit website must have?!

Then you’re in luck — we’re working on an entire non-negotiable series, to help you make sure every inch of your website is designed, written, and optimized for conversion.

For now, though, here are a few more Showit website resources we think you’ll find helpful:

→ 10 Reasons Why We Love Showit Websites

→ Are Showit Websites Actually Good for SEO?

→ How to Choose the Best Showit Website Template 

→ Learn SEO: 3 Days to Better SEO

The post 5 Must-Haves For Your Showit Website: Non Negotiables For Conversion appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

(You can tell we’re just as excited as you are.) 

Before you can *officially* launch your Showit website and start showing it off to the world, though, there are 7 things to check off your to-do list:

✓ Add and adjust your branding

✓ Write and integrate your website copy

✓ Input your media (images, videos, gifs, etc)

✓ Customize your website design

✓ Optimize for SEO

✓ Test everything

✓ LAUNCH—and market—your Showit website!

And we’re about to give you our best tips for all of those action items, so you can launch the best Showit website in the game.

Before you begin customizing your new website, let us remind you: you chose to use a Showit template so you DIDN’T have to design something from scratch. 

Aka don’t make your own life harder by tweaking and adjusting and moving and redesigning before you even get your content in there. 

If you have a TONIC template, you can be certain that we did everything in our power to give you a solid masterpiece to start from, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel and make an already-almost-finished design back to square one by messing around with it before you even input your content. 

To be clear: this isn’t us saying “don’t customize your site” because we WANT you to customize your site (we do have a Client Showcase we’re selfishly obsessed with updating…) – but what we DON’T want you to do is embark on a new career as a web designer at 3am only to wake up the next day and wish you could click a mass “undo” button to revert back to the original template design you purchased.

Add your content first, then customize. You’ll thank us later. 😉

#1 – Adding and Adjusting Your Branding

You’ll want to make sure you’ve gathered your:

• PNG files of your logo, and all of its variations
• Any and all pattern files used in your branding
• Any and all design elements / icons used in your branding
• Your favicon 
• All of your brand font styles
• Your color palette hex codes

Once you’ve done that, you can update your global design settings panel! This will allow you to automatically change your fonts and colors across your entire site with just a few clicks.

Here’s how to add custom fonts, and here’s how to edit design settings for fonts and colors.

#2 – Writing and Integrating Your Website Copy

No website is complete without copy that captures your readers’ attention, then inspires them to make the leap from website stalker to paying client or customer. 

Our number one piece of advice for adding copy to your website? Write it outside of Showit… preferably in a Google Doc with your template open alongside it. 

How you organize your document is up to you, but we suggest copying the text that comes with your TONIC template, pasting it in the Google Doc, then writing your copy underneath it. When it comes time to paste your copy in, you’ll know exactly what goes where!

Pro Tip: feel free to use the copy that comes with your Showit template as cues for what to write about. It’s there for a reason! Keep it simple (seriously, less is more unless you’re telling a great story), make sure your reader could get the gist of the page if they ONLY read the largest pieces of the text on the page, and remember what you want them to take away from their experience!

We’ve outlined all of our TONIC tips for writing copy that people actually want to read right here, but we also think you’ll find these resources helpful (since they’re from copywriters we know and love):

→ Conversion Copywriting Strategies For Your Website

→ How To Plan And Write Your Website Content

→ 5 Things Every Website Needs To See Results

→ How To Write Effective Website Copy

→ How To Write Copy For Any Page Of Your Website

→ How To Make Writing About Yourself Suck Less

No matter what you do or sell, you’ll want to ensure your website answers these 5 questions for your readers:

1. What do you do?
2. How do you do it differently or better than anyone else?
3. Can you do THAT for me?
4. Why do your clients / customers choose you?
5. What’s the clear next step? (aka where do I go from here once I’ve decided I want to keep reading or take action?)

Pro Tip: Remember, your copy isn’t for you, it’s for your audience. Put yourself in your potential customers shoes—what do they want to know? What are their problems/wants/needs? And how can you solve it for them?

And don’t forget: people don’t want to read generic, boring copy—they want to read stories. Here’s how to write better ones.

#3 – Inputting and Optimizing Your Media

Although you are more than welcome (and encouraged!) to use the stock photos that come with your TONIC template, you’ll want to add some of your own media to help make your website content feel more personal.

We recommend gathering all of your media (brand photos, stock photos, videos, logos, etc) before starting to implement them into your Showit template, whether it’s somewhere online like Google Drive or DropBox, so you can access them easily. 

Then, once you’re ready to add them to your website, you can upload them to Showit’s media library, where you’re able to neatly organize them into folders.

Being able to effortlessly categorize your media is one of the million things we love about Showit, because it makes your life SO much freaking easier when it comes time to customize and update your website. 

Showit also does all the hard work of resizing your images to fit the area and screen dimensions for you, so you don’t have to worry about anything techy when adding your media, except optimizing your images. 

Google—and your website viewers—hate slow websites, which is why we recommend making sure that your images are at least 1500px and no larger than 3500px, in order to avoid any potential page load speed issues.

(Our favorite tool for quickly optimizing each of your website images is tinyjpg.com, which allows you to upload and compress photos in batches of 20.)

Once all of your photos are uploaded and organized, you can start adding them to the various pages of your website by clicking on the image from the template you’d like to replace, selecting “Image” from the settings bar in the top right hand corner, and clicking “swap image.”

(Or, if you’re replacing a canvas background, select “canvas background” and then click on the image—or video—to replace it.)

We suggest adding the SEO title and description when you add the image, so you don’t have to go back and optimize all of your media for SEO later on. Not sure where to start with SEO, here is your official Showit SEO Checklist.

Pro Tip: Showit has curated incredible resources for how to add images in Showit. And here’s Jeff’s image curation guide.

#4 – Customizing Your Website Design

Now that you’ve added all of the things that make your website yours—branding, fonts, colors, copy, media—you have full freedom to further customize as you please. 

If you have questions along the way, feel free to reach out to the (actually-human) Showit support team; they’re on a mission to be deemed the friendliest support team on Earth, and they’d love to help you!

(We’d also love to help you by answering any questions you have about your TONIC template, too – simply send your questions to info@tonicsiteshop.com.

#5 – Optimizing Your Website For SEO

The best websites are the ones your people can actually find. And that’s where search engine optimization comes in: to make you more visible, credible, and click-worthy. 

Here are our favorite (easy-to-understand) SEO resources for beginners:

→ What is SEO and why is it important?

→ How to use Showit SEO tools for your website

→ Everything you need to know about Showit SEO

→ Is Showit even good for SEO…?

→ Your Showit SEO questions, answered

→ Moreno Collective’s Showit SEO Course

#6 – Testing EVERYTHING for User Experience 

A website full of broken links, typos, and wonky design is a website that gets instantly ditched, sworn off, forgotten about, or all three. 

Testing everything is essential in order to create a positive user experience, so readers keep coming back (and search engines keep recommending your website to new people). 

Before hitting “publish” on your site, you’ll want to make sure you triple-check your website preview link for these specific potential mistakes:

Copy → Do you have any “lorem ipsums” still hanging out in your paragraphs? Are there any misspelled words? Repeated sentences? Awkward statements that would make your grammar-loving 8th grade teacher frown? (Feel free to post your site in our TONIC regular Facebook group if you want an extra set of eyes to check it out!)

Links → Do all of your links work? Do they lead your users to the appropriate place? Is everything that’s supposed to be a link actually a link? (Ask a friend to check out your site preview to see if all of your links work—then give them 15% off their own TONIC template with your affiliate link, once they see how gorgeous your site is & inevitably want their own!)

You’ll want to set up Click Actions—aka set the intention for the action you want to happen when someone clicks on an image, button, word, etc—to connect links to pages of your site, social media, etc. Most of the TONIC Click Actions are set for you, but here’s a tutorial about how to navigate Click Actions just in case.

Mobile design → Did you remember that you can make your mobile design look completely different than your desktop design? Does yours look exactly like you want it to? (If not, here’s how to make mobile vs. desktop changes.)

Canvas views → Have you adjusted all of your canvas views, or do some of them still have the template text? (If you’re wondering “um, what the…?” – Here’s more info about canvas views & how they work.)

Social media → If you have social icons on your site, do they send your users to the appropriate place? (Here’s how to set up social media links.)

And, remember: proofread, proofread, proofread. We find that you catch the most mistakes when you wait at least a day in between “finalizing” everything and looking it over. It gives your brain a chance to forget your intentions, so you can’t subconsciously fill in what you meant to do or say. 

#7 – Launching & Marketing Your New Showit Website

Now that you’ve crossed everything off of your new Showit website launch checklist, it’s time for the best part: LAUNCHING!

Here’s how to make it happen.

…but that’s not all. With launching inevitably comes marketing—so you can ensure your new site gets the celebration it deserves—and marketing takes a little more effort than simply telling Showit “hey, I’m ready to go live!” and telling your audience “that new website I said was coming soon? It’s here!”

You’ll never get more traffic to your website than the day of your new website launch, but that won’t happen if you don’t TELL anyone you’re launching!

Here are a few ways you can get those views:

→ Post on Instagram stories with a countdown

→ Email your list and let them in on the BTS of launching a new site so they’re invested in seeing the final product (ahem, a perfect TONIC affiliate marketing opportunity if you ask us!) 

→ Make a before-and-after reel of your old site vs. your new site

→ Write a new blog post and direct people to read it & browse your new site while they’re there

→ Launch a new freebie your audience can only access via your new site (super easy with Showit!)

Or, if you want your launch prep to be *really* easy… get the marketing pack edition of our Canva social media templates – all of the content planning has already been done for you! All you’ll have to do is add your own colors and copy, and you’re ready to invite infinite viewers to your new Showit website. 

With our social templates, launching your new Showit template can look like this…

(For more ‘new website’ launch announcement samples, check out this walkthrough video of our Marketing social templates!)

Now, it’s time to celebrate your Showit website!

You’ve finally done it – your site is live, you’ve told (and excited!) your people, your content is officially on its way to being indexed by Google & recommended to the right audience. YOU DESERVE TO CELEBRATE!

We think you’ve earned a G&T. Here’s some of  our favorite recipes.

Want some extra attention on your new Showit website?

Let us know you’re live! There are few things in this world we love more than seeing new TONIC templates in the wild, so if you’ve used one of our designs to launch your site, we’d love to see how you’ve made your template your own.

Click to join our TONIC regulars Facebook group so you can show off your site!
If you liked this post and want to be notified when the next one goes live, make sure you’re following along with us on Instagram & subscribed to our #longandweird newsletter for updates!

The post The Showit Launch Guide: Your Complete Showit Website Checklist appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

Whether you’re new to website templates entirely, or giving yourself a site refresh, Showit is the best website builder on the market for designing gorgeous websites that convert—which is why we’ve only ever designed templates for Showit.

But we’ll get to all things templates later – for now, let’s start with the basics of what Showit is, why you need it, and how to get all set up.

All Of Your Showit Questions, Answered.

First things first… what is Showit?

Showit is a drag-and-drop website platform that allows you to design gorgeous websites with ease (you’ll never be trapped in a website you can’t edit yourself). You’ve heard of Squarespace and Wix, right? Showit is like that, only more beautiful and 10x easier to maintain.

With Showit, you don’t need to spend hours Googling for CSS codes or troll through developers on Upwork just so you can move a text box a little bit to the left. It’s like the Canva of website platforms—by business owners (who understand the value of marrying ease + design, for business owners (who really freaking want ease + design).

Wait, so what’s the difference between TONIC and Showit?

Think of it like this: Showit is Netflix, and TONIC Site Shop is Emily in Paris.

(Or, you know, Ozark / Selling Sunset / Stranger Things, depending on your vibe…)

Showit is the website hosting platform, and here at TONIC we sell designer website templates for that platform. (AKA we’re the website template shop who makes your site look beautiful, so your site can convert readers into buyers.)

Is Showit easy to use?

Yes! That’s one of the million reasons why we love Showit; it’s really as user-friendly as they say. 

(“They” being the countless entrepreneurs, service providers, and bloggers who are now happy Showit users.)

My template was seamless to plug-in, easy to set up, and TONIC has covered every single angle. Now my online presence feels CONFIDENT, sexy, exclusive, and LUXURIOUS!

JACQUELINE

Showit is super user-friendly and the “how to” videos TONIC made to accompany the templates taught me EVERYTHING I needed. I loved using it – it was so easy and fun! I am not techie AT ALL and I was able to figure everything out easily.

TANIA

No more buying templates that are hard to use or spending hours trying to build out pages only to get stuck and put publishing on hold. The BEST PART is that I put EVERYTHING together over ONE WEEKEND. The download to completion couldn’t be easier.

LIZ

You need a website that instantly exudes CONFIDENCE and COMPETANCE, and Showit + TONIC will help you get there quickly. I got my new site up and running in less than a day, and leads are already rolling in like CRAZY!”

AMANDA

“I spent months working on my old website. I was trying to save money by using price-driven web templates that needed custom coding…. but ended up with nothing to show for it. Because of TONIC + Showit, I had a full customized website up and running in ONE WEEK, y’all! Yes, I said ONE WEEK.”

KYLIE

However, we do have to mention that Showit is a complete blank slate at first—which is amazing for customization and design freedom, but could potentially be overwhelming for someone who isn’t a designer by trade, or has never built a website from scratch before.

So, should I start from a Showit website template, then?

We may be a little biased, considering we are literally a Showit website template shop, but absolutely yes. Why not make an already-easy thing even easier? 

Whether you’re a wedding planner, an SEO specialist, an influencer, a copywriter, or heck, a dog walker —there’s a TONIC template for that. 

(Consider this the official call to all dog walkers with TONIC templates: please email us, we need to see your website ASAP.)

I think I know, but I want to make sure: what is a Showit website template again?

A Showit website template is a collection of pre-designed page layouts that allow you to insert your content—copy, images, media—and create a ready-to-go website, without having to be an expert in design. 

And a good website template is always built with strategy, user experience, conversion, and aesthetics in mind. (Like ours!) 

Showit website templates make it so easy to bootstrap your website, without making it look like you bootstrapped your website. When done right, templates can make your brand’s online home look even MORE designer than actual designer-crafted websites.

When looking for a Showit website design template, you’ll want to make sure you feel like you’ll be able to easily customize it yourself, because nothing is more frustrating than not being able to figure out how to freaking work the dang thing. 

It’s also extremely important to choose a website template that is responsive, and fits the capabilities you’re looking for (do you need options for e-commerce sales? Selling courses? Easy integration of video?) so your template can grow with you as your brand does. 

Is Showit the right website hosting platform for me?

If you’re a creative looking for a platform that allows you to fully customize and optimize every single inch of your site, without any coding (or struggling), then YES, Showit is the best website builder for you. 

Showit gives you total control over every element of your website with its drag-and-drop capabilities, so you can create *exactly* what you’re envisioning.

(If you’re still unsure, though, click here to read about why it’s better than the Internet’s other go-to website builder Squarespace.)

I’ve heard that WordPress is better than Showit, though… What’s the deal?

This is sort of a trick question—because Showit and Wordpress actually work together to help you create the site of your dreams. 

Because Showit is powered by WPEngine, the highest-rated WordPress host on Earth, you’re able to design in Showit, while posting blogs with WordPress.

Best of both worlds, if you ask us.

Is Showit good for SEO?

Yes! We actually get this question all the time, so we wrote an entire post about it. Read more about exactly why and how Showit is good for SEO right here.

Setting Up Your Showit Account and Adding Your Template

We’re gonna give you a step-by-step breakdown of exactly how to set up your Showit website in just a sec, but first: a moment of appreciation for the Showit support team.

They are the absolute best in the biz—they actually care about helping you—and they will help you with anything you need in regards to getting your account up & running. 

When our community has Showit-specific questions, we direct them to one of these 3 places:

• Learn how to use Showit in less than 30 minutes by watching one easy-to-understand “how to” video
• Join the Showit Facebook group where 12,500+ Showit users ask (and answer!) all sorts of website-specific questions 
• Browse Showit’s helpful resource hub to search through their documentation of every feature in Showit, chat with the support pros, or get in touch with the right person in case of a website emergency

Now, for the how-to of it all:

01 — Create your Showit account 

If you don’t have one already, head over to Showit and create an account. Be sure to take advantage of the free 14-day trial. (No credit card required, either—music to our ears!)

When you’re ready to subscribe, use the code “TONIC” to get one month FREE. We typically suggest the basic blog subscription unless you need fancy WordPress plugins.

02 — Choose your Showit template

This is where we swoop in to save the day to provide you with industry-leading Showit website templates, created to make getting your website up and running so much easier.

Our Showit website templates are trusted by more than six thousand creatives worldwide, because they’re exponentially easy to use, designed to help you stand out from your competition, and PROVEN to get you real results. 

We have a completely customizable, strategically-designed Showit template for every aesthetic: timeless, sophisticated, editorial, chic, confident, sexy, bold, striking, neutral, minimal, boho, classic, stylish, spacious, fine art, organic, modern… you get the picture. 

→ Shop our Showit templates

→ See our templates in action on real clients’ sites

→ Take the quiz to find out which TONIC template is right for you

03 — Access your design’s sharekey

After you click purchase, you’ll receive a link to our Getting Started guide in your email. (We love this part, because we’ve compiled all our best Showit tips, tricks, and resources into one place.)

Included in that guide is a unique design share key—AKA, a code of letters and numbers that you can easily copy and paste into your Showit account.

04 — Install your Showit template

To access your TONIC template within Showit, all you have to do is log into your new Showit account via app.showit.co, toggle past the free Showit designs, and click on “your designs.”

Next, select “Add Design to Library” and paste the share key you copied into the box that says “shared design key.” 

(If it’s not your first time, simply log into your account, and click “create a new design.”) 
Once you click “start with this design” – it’s time to get rolling!

05 – Get ready to customize!

Once your template is installed, you’re officially ready to start making your Showit website your own by updating your branding elements, adding your copy, inputting your media, tweaking the design, adjusting your links, and optimizing for SEO.

Head over to Part 2 of this post to learn everything you need to know about successfully launching your Showit website!

Let us know how you’re doing! We love seeing new TONIC templates become your beautiful online home. If you’re in the process of customizing your Showit site, we want to see behind the scenes of what you’re working!

Click to join our TONIC regulars Facebook group so you can show off your site or ask any TONIC template questions you might have.

If you liked this post and want to be notified when the next one goes live, make sure you’re following along with us on Instagram & subscribed to our #longandweird newsletter for updates!

The post The Getting Started Guide: What You Need To Know About Setting Up Your Showit Website appeared first on Tonic Site Shop.

→ Is Showit good for SEO? 

→ Does Showit have good SEO? 

→ Is optimizing your site for SEO easy to do on Showit?

→ Please for the love of God tell me Showit has good SEO so I can feel confident about buying one of your gorgeous Showit website templates? Is it? IS IT???

(Okay, we may have made that last one up. But you get the gist.) 

And we get it, the questions are absolutely valid! We know how important it is to consider the SEO capabilities of a website builder, like Showit, when you’re determining which one to choose. 

So, we’re here to (hopefully) make your decision to choose Showit a little bit easier, by squashing your Showit SEO nerves once and for all. 

Addressing Your Showit SEO Concerns 

We’ve answered a LOT of Showit SEO questions in this post already, but we thought of a few more you may be wondering…

“Does the website platform you choose directly impact your SEO ranking?” (like, is WordPress the best for SEO?)

Not technically, no. 

Your website as a whole doesn’t rank, your individual website PAGES are responsible for getting you that ‘ranking’—aka that #1 spot on the front page of Google. 

…which, if you ask us, is great news – because this means that you have the power to put as much (or as little!) effort into optimizing your website as you want, and your results will be directly related to the content you decide to add to each webpage. 

And when you’re a Showit user, adding, optimizing, and designing content couldn’t possibly get easier. 

For our visual learners, here is a quick 8-min video by our very own Showit SEO expert, Ryan Moreno:

“I know you just said no, but… tell me the truth: are there other website building platforms that are better for SEO than Showit?”

While a lot of website builders look different when using them, no matter what builder you use—it will spit out code that your browser converts into a nice looking website. And while the quality of the code does matter, what matters more is the valuable content on your website.

This means that a Showit website will have the same potential to rank as a full SquareSpace, WordPress, or Wix website.

But if you’re curious about how Showit measures up to other website builders, check out this post about whether or not Showit is better than Squarespace, or this post about whether or not Showit is better than WordPress.

“Which elements of SEO can you customize in Showit?”

All of them! We recommend consulting our friend (and go-to Showit SEO expert) Ryan Moreno’s Showit SEO Guide—or take his Showit SEO course!—for more in-depth info, but we’ll give you the Sparknotes version of which SEO elements you can adjust in Showit. ⬇️

Page titles: (alternately referred to as “title tags”) the name of your page, used to help readers and search engines appropriately navigate your website. Keep in mind this title doesn’t show up anywhere on your Showit website, just in Google search results pages! 

Meta descriptions: the short blurb (usually no more than 150 characters) that describes the content of your page, and shows up below the title tag on search engines
(These two elements together make up your site’s metadata.)

Shared images: the image that appears in connection with the link when you share a webpage on social media

Media: all of the images and video you share on your site (which you’ll want to make sure you optimize by always adding both a title and description for in your Showit settings)

Text tags: the techy HTML stuff—aka the hierarchy of text that indicates to search engines which elements of your copy are most important (with H1 being the most prominent headlines, H2 a close runner up, H3 as subheadings, p as paragraph text, div as design-focused elements, and nav as your navigational links)

Why is Showit good for SEO?

#1 – It makes editing your SEO settings easy

And we’re not just saying that. It’s extremely simple and intuitive to figure out where and how to update your SEO settings in Showit, because it’s conveniently located in the same tab as all of the design settings you’re already using, located on the right of your screen.

(We can’t say the same for other platforms…) 

See for yourself:

#2 – It uses WordPress integration, with the support of SEO plugins 

WordPress is an extremely powerful platform, which is why it’s practically been the industry go-to for blogging since blogging started. 

And because SEO goes wayyyy beyond titling your pages, writing meta descriptions, and optimizing your images/videos, blogging is a huge element to consider when selecting the right website builder—and, in this case, its convenient integrations!—for you.

There’s nothing search engines love more than fresh, new content being regularly published to your site, and thanks to the support of WordPress, and its seamless integration with your Showit site, writing content and optimizing it for SEO is as straight-forward as it gets.

With WordPress’s blogging platform, you’re able to use special SEO-specific plugins, like Yoast, which handles all of the technical optimization of your site and assists you with performance, allowing you to rank higher on Google and other search engines.

#3 – All of your metadata optimizations are done on a page-by-page basis 

This may seem like a pain, but it’s actually exactly what search engines want from you. Having duplicate title tags and meta descriptions for your various web pages is a big SEO red flag, signaling “hey, something’s up here, not sure if this site’s user-friendly or if it has a bunch of repeat content!”

(SEO tip: make sure your title tags are less than 65 characters, your meta descriptions are under 150 characters, and that your shared image is visually appealing! This will help your site be more searchable and your content more click-worthy. For more *easy* to understand resources that will help you go from invisible online to page #1 of google check out our SEO resource hub.)

#4 – Mobile site quality is amazing

In fact, we’d even go as far as saying that Showit’s mobile-friendliness is superior to any other platform on the Internet. 

You may not realize this, but your mobile design and responsiveness actually has a LOT to do with how well your website does in the SEO department.

Because the vast majority of your website traffic comes from people viewing your sites on their mobile devices—usually more than 70% of your site visits—paying attention to user experience on mobile is so important to the health of your site.

…and you know who deeply cares about UX and the health of your site? Search engines. Because search engines don’t want to send anyone to a website that isn’t going to give them a good experience.

So, thanks to Showit’s ability to allow you to customize your mobile design independently of your desktop design, you’re able to ensure that everything works perfectly for the users who prefer scrolling your site on their phone.

Ps. did you know that many times Google search results are different on mobile and desktop? That means you can rank well with your desktop site, but not with your mobile site. And if 70% of your website traffic is using a mobile phone to search on Google, you might be missing out on a lot of traffic!

#5 – Automatic SSL certificate included

When you sign up for Showit, you’re automatically granted an SSL certificate, which is a must-have for ensuring search engines that your website is safe to browse. It’s very rare a website with no SSL will make it to page #1.

(In fact, when you don’t have an SSL certificate, search engines will flag your site as unsafe and pop a big, fat ‘error’ message in its place.)

#6 – Option to customize your 404 error page

You know by now that SEO is not only about getting found on search engines, but also being worthy of being recommended by search engines, right? And that’s why user experience matters so much?

Okay, cool. Wanted to make sure before we launched into yet another element of user experience that search engines value customizations on: your 404 error page. 

Whenever a user lands here, it’s by accident. No one wants to click a broken link. But when that uncomfortable error message does show up, your site’s viewers are MUCH less likely to “X” out completely when they’re brought to a beautifully customized 404 error page, as opposed to the factory setting standard.

The longer a reader stays on the page, the more search engines view your site as credible (and worthy of that rec).

#7 – The ability to set nofollow links

A nofollow link is, for all intents and purposes, exactly what it sounds like. It’s a link you don’t want Google to follow. 

Nofollow links vs dofollow links is a whole other conversation—one we recommend you have with SEO guru Neil Patel—so we’ll leave you with this: having the option to indicate you’d like a link not to be followed is important for your SEO link-building strategy.

Here’s how to make a nofollow link in Showit:

In conclusion—Showit is the perfect website builder for you if you care about SEO.

Now all you need is a gorgeous, strategically-designed Showit website template to go with it. 😉

Want more SEO tips and tricks delivered to your inbox each week? 

Subscribe to The Simply SEO Newsletter written by our very own in-house SEO expert, Ryan Moreno! This is for you if:

✔️ You’d like to drive more traffic to your website

✔️ You want Ryan’s best tips and tricks to increase your rankings on Google

✔️ You want easy-to-understand breakdowns of SEO concepts and strategies

✔️ You want stress-free SEO training that’s actually practical and applicable

Here at TONIC, we are all about making the complex technicalities of how SEO works—Simple. We love SEO and are committed to creating *easy* to understand resources that will help you go from invisible online to page #1 of google.

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