Coaching plays an important role in our society. It allows people to get help who otherwise might continue to struggle. Coaches support people through transitions that once were life altering, allowing them to get back to the “business of living” faster than ever before.
[bctt tweet=”Coaches support people through transitions that once were life altering, allowing them to get back to the “business of living” faster than ever before.” username=”tracyhoobyar”]
And in the 21st century we are being bombarded with new tools and resources to “make [our] lives easier.”
But what if they aren’t making our lives easier? What if all this technology is only complicating things? Asking those of us who are not great with technology to adopt it into our daily lives, allowing it to interact with our clients and colleagues in what seems like a never ending parade of new things to learn.
Technology offers us an infinite number of ways to streamline and automate parts of our business, leaving us with more time to do what we really want to do – change lives.
It’s an ever growing toolbox of possibilities that can either free us up or weigh us down.
The choice is ours.
I thought it would be useful to explore the tools available over the next few weeks. We’ll take a look at how they can help, the specific tools available in each area of our business, and the pros and cons of them all.
We might even get to look at some examples of how coaches are using these tools in their business. (If you are using technology in your business, let me know, especially if you’re willing to be a case study)
Let’s start with websites. I know websites can seem daunting, and there are a lot of moving parts with a website.
In the interest of not overcomplicating things, we’ll look at the three most popular website builders and do a quick overview of the pros and cons of each.
WordPress
WordPress is by far the most popular content management system (a fancy phrase for a website that keeps and publishes your content). You can host your WordPress site on WordPress itself, or you can host it on your own domain. The latter is better for being found online, but either works for beginners.
It is also very flexible as far as appearance. WordPress allows you to choose a theme, basically a framework for how your pages will look. Then you can customize the colors and images very easily, and you won’t even need to hire someone else. WordPress is what is called WYSIWYG…what you see is what you get.
You don’t have to know code or design elements. WordPress sets it up for you and allows you to plug in your info, including logo, business name, colors and more. Customization is very easy in WordPress, and you have lots of options to do so.
WordPress also has almost an unlimited number of plugins. These are pieces of code that can customize your site even more, adding functionality, tools and resources. They can take an average site and make it amazing!
Overall, WordPress is a very versatile and easy system to use to set up your website. A beginner can get a basic website set up within a day or two. It allows for a lot of growth as your business grows, letting you offer courses in a membership site, sell books or other things through ecommerce, and more. WordPress is a great option for you if you are looking for a great site that is highly customizable and is pretty easy to set up.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a slightly different website platform. Still easy to set up, it is a bit more restricted in terms of what it can do. By being a bit less flexible, it is a bit easier to learn and quicker to set up.
Squarespace has a very user friendly platform, allowing even the most tech afraid person to set up a website quickly and easily. It offers a selection of themes that are easy to set-up and customize and lets you plug and play, so to speak.
In fact, it is likely one of the most, if not the most, user friendly website platforms available. With an easy to navigate platform it offers beginners a fear free way to build a website.
If you want to sell things through your website you will need to use the Squarespace ecommerce platform. There is a bit of a cost to incorporate ecommerce to your Squarespace site, so if you anticipate adding sales to your site in the future this is something to keep in mind.
Ultimately, Squarespace is an, easy to use website option for those who are new to websites and plan on keeping things simple. While it is a bit more restrictive than WordPress, it makes up for its restrictions in ease of use and simplicity.
Wix
Wix, much like Squarespace, is a simple site that is easy to set up. It offers hundreds of free themes to use to set up your site, and an easy to use visual editor that means you don’t need to learn or understand code in order to build a website.
Like Squarespace and WordPress, it has ecommerce capabilities and is mobile optimized. An easy to use system, Wix is a good solution for beginners with fairly simple website needs.
It can be built and set up by beginners, and can be maintained by beginners as well. It’s a great option if your primary goal is to create and have an online presence, and offer people a way to get in touch with you.
Summary
There are a number of great website options for people who are wanting to set up their online presence. From simple to extremely versatile, all three of these options are suitable for beginners, and really depend on your goals and future needs.
[bctt tweet=”There are a number of great website options for people who are wanting to set up their online presence” username=”tracyhoobyar”]
There are a number of companies and services who offer websites for coaches at very reasonable prices. If you want to give it a go on your own, there are a ton of videos and trainings available online to help walk you through the process of setting up your website. Simply do a search for the platform you are interested in followed by “tutorials” in Google and you will find more than you can ever consume.
The bottom line is don’t be afraid of building your website. In today’s day and age having some sort of online presence is essential. Even if you are only setting up a simple 3 page website, it is better than having nothing.
[bctt tweet=”The bottom line is don’t be afraid of building your website” username=”tracyhoobyar”]
When someone searches for you online, what are they finding?