First impressions matter, especially when it comes to your website. With only 8 seconds to capture a visitor's attention, you want to make sure your website conveys who you really are, what you stand for and how you can help.. all in one good-looking and professional website. No pressure!

For online coaches in particular, there are a few things to look out for when selecting a platform that's right for you:

• USER FRIENDLY: With running a coaching business being as time-consuming as it is, you will probably want a platform with an easy learning curve so that you can create and update without too much hassle

• GREAT DESIGN: You and your brand are one-of-a-kind, so your website should be as well. ****

• SERVICES: Your website should provide all the necessary info for your customers so it's easy for them to contact you, find out more about you and ideally, sign up!

As a website designer, I've explored several popular platforms and the two biggest contenders would have to be Wordpress and Squarespace. Let me get into the pros and cons of both:

Meet Wordpress

Customization King

Wordpress is a very popular option, in fact one statistic states that it runs 36% of the internet. Its strength lies in its flexibility. With a vast array of plug-ins and templates available, the sky is the limit when it comes to building your website. This is a great platform for people who enjoy different options and layers of a system.

One drawback for Wordpress would be its learning curve which can be a little challenging especially for entrepreneurs who prefer a more simplistic approach. Another con would be maintenance since Wordpress is an open source platform, you will need to perform regular updates to make sure things are in tip-top condition which might not suit people who prefer the "set-it-and-forget-it" method.

Anecdotally, I've had a lot of clients come to me with either half finished sites because they just can't get it to look how they want. Or they have sites they are too scared to touch because they don't want to break it! Too scared to increase prices, add offers, change services - how limiting is that?!

Now Meet Squarespace

One-stop Shop

I've made the switch to Squarespace a few years ago and it's probably one of the best business decisions I've made so far. Here are a few reasons on why I'm a big believer in why coaches should be using Squarespace.

One of the biggest selling points of Squarespace is that they know design. All their templates produce beautiful and professional-looking websites instead of tacky-looking click funnels or basic templates which could make or break a client conversion. Another selling point is that you don't need to be a coding genius in order to set your site up. Squarespace's easy to learn and use website builder allows you to create and customize pages in a heartbeat, which is always a plus especially for the non tech savvy coaches out there, so you can get your coaching website up and running in no time. This also means once you get the hang of your site, it is super easy to play around and update your content, offers or site in general.

Squarespace has a lot going for it but one of my favorite things about it is that it keeps everything you need to run your business all under one roof. Courses, email marketing, membership options - Squarespace basically acts as a main hub for all these things while housing all the details such as SEO, email lists, scheduling in one place. The best part is that when it comes to payment, you will only be paying for one website instead of loads of extra add-ons which can be easy to lose track of. Squarespace also has built-in scheduling with Acuity which is perfect for coaches to keep all calls and scheduling in one place without having to juggle multiple platforms and calendars.

What are you looking for in a website? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thinking about starting your own coaching site or giving your existing one a makeover? Drop me a message.