Website Builder Blog

At the end of last year we contacted WebEden custom Laura Hood from RubyBoutique.co.uk to ask her about the experience of building and running a successful website.

Why did you decide to build a website?

Having always enjoyed making jewellery for friends and family, I wondered if there was room in the already crowded online jewellery market to sell what I make. I created the site because of genuine enthusiasm for making things rather than an expectation of making loads of money from it (although granted that would be nice, and will hopefully come in time!!).

Is this your first website?

I have always been interested in creating a website but it has taken until now to take the plunge.  I literally did not have the first clue how to get started so (as with everything) I Googled it. That is how I came across Webeden. They have made this whole process possible and I still can’t believe how well priced the packages are. I chose the standard package so I pay only £5.39 per month, which included a free domain name (!!). [I honestly didn’t pay her to say that – Ken]

Like I said, I have no experience in web building or design and have been really pleased with the help WebEden have given me. The whole process is explained in basic terms on the Webeden website, giving helpful step by step instructions. I have also found it really helpful to ask questions on twitter as a friendly response is always given really quickly.

Are you going to sell anything?

Yes, Ruby Boutique is a fashion jewellery store selling reasonably priced jewellery, some of which is handmade. Postage is free and items come gift wrapped in lovely presentation bags. We have had a 100% positive feedback rate on our items, delivery and customer service which we’re really pleased about as our main aim is to provide well priced jewellery and excellent customer service.

How long did it take you to build your website?

Considering I started the process of building my site without any real knowledge, I have been pleasantly surprised by how quickly I learned how to build and design it and get it up and running.

I first looked into the idea in September, then purchased the standard WebEden package in October (after taking advantage of the two week trial period which was very useful).

The design process kind of developed as I went along so I was constantly tweaking and changing little bits (e.g. the font on the Newsletter page changed several times before I was pleased with it).

I would say, however, that if you are new to building websites to expect things to take a while. I spent pretty much every evening and weekend building the site from the beginning of October until the launch in December. It’s also an ongoing process as stock comes in and is sold – the site needs regular updates to ensure it remains interesting and up to date.

How did you decide on a design?

The background floral design of the website is the same as on our twitter page. We trialed the design on twitter before launching the site, and had great feedback about it.

The overall design of the site, i.e. which pages to include, came about as a result of looking at similar websites and also from our own experiences of shopping online (there’s nothing worse than a complicated, messy layout – it puts people off looking around the site).

Have you looked at competitor websites?

www.dollipops.co.uk (twitter @Miss_Dollipops)
www.funkyjunkjewellery.com (twitter @Funky_Junk)
www.finaltouchesjewellery.com (twitter @FTJewellery)

The girls who created the above websites are lovely – I follow them all on twitter (which is how I found out about their sites). The thing I’ve found most surprising is that although we are all technically ‘competitors’ there is a genuine friendly community on twitter and we are all happy to offer each other help and advice.

For example, I was given loads of advice from the lovely lady behind Funky Junk Jewellery about how to promote the site, and following her advice have built a Facebook fan page for Ruby Boutique.

How will you use Twitter to market your website?

I am still fairly new to twitter (only had my account since about October 2009). I have been so impressed by how helpful people are in promoting my site.
I hold a ‘Winning Wednesday’ Competition on Twitter each week on, you guessed it, Wednesday. This has proved to be a great way to promote the site, get new followers on twitter and increase sales (one lady bought 5 or 6 additional items after winning a necklace).

At the moment I am primarily promoting the site through twitter so most of my sales have been generated in this way. It is a fantastic way to let people know what you’re doing and what’s coming up – although I would recommend that you don’t overly plug your items and spend time just chatting with people as otherwise they will soon get sick of the overt advertising and will ‘unfollow’ you.

I like to think that people are following me to find out what I am personally up to as well as finding out about Ruby Boutique.

A little bit about Ruby Boutique

Ruby Boutique was founded in late 2009 and is based in North East England. The main range of fashion jewellery includes necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets – many of which are handmade. Our costs are kept to an absolute minimum and this is reflected in the prices of our items. Postage is free* (no minimum spend).

Visit us www.RubyBoutique.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @Ruby_Boutique
Email us Enquiries@RubyBoutique.co.uk

And that’s it.

If you’ve got any questions for Laura, or you’d like to share any of your website building experiences, please leave a comment below.

And if you’d like to be interviewed about time building a website then leave a comment too or contact WebEden on Twitter (@webeden).