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Why Your Home Bakery Needs a Website

WEBSITES. Yes, I’ve dropped the “W” bomb! But trust me, it’s only because I’m thinking of YOU and your success 🙂

We HAVE to talk about your Home Bakery’s website my friend. And if a website is still a figment of your imagination at this point, there’s no shame! Today’s post will be exactly what you need.

My friend Kirsty Montgomery, from Bake This Happen, knows a lot about Home Bakery Website building and logo design. In fact, she offers these services to bakers if you want to check it out.

Kirsty has written this useful guest post for you all about Home Bakery Websites.

Enjoy!

Why Your Home Bakery Business Needs a Website

(and why not to be afraid of it!)

Pretty much all businesses need a website. It’s just a fact of the world we live in today.

Whenever someone is looking for something, they will Google the answer. Whenever someone comes across a new business, they will Google it for more information. If someone is looking for a baker in your area, you want someone to find you first when they Google it.

The single best way to be found through an internet search is to have a website.

Sure, Facebook pages and other social media accounts may appear in search engines, but they are far less reliable and much more difficult to control. Having your own website puts you in control of the information you’re sharing about your home bakery business and how it will be found.

You may still be a bit resistant; I totally understand that!

If it’s something you’ve never done before you’re always going to be cautious, especially if you don’t think you are very internet or tech savvy.

However, I’m betting you’ve never set up a baking business before and look at you now!

A website doesn’t have to be complicated, or expensive.

As with everything, there are options for whatever stage you and your business are at, and the benefits of having a website will outweigh any initial worries you may have.

Even a simple website can bring so much to your business. You will find it starts to act as a second employee saving you time and bringing in more orders without effort from you.

So, let’s look at the benefits in more detail…

The Pros of Having a Home Bakery Website:

You can be found in a Google search = more customers
Look professional = impress potential customers turning them into future orders
Cohesive branding across your business = sets you apart from competition
Showcase your best work = showcase the types of cakes/bakes you want to work on to attract those types of orders
Can funnel all order enquiries through your site to keep things organised = save yourself time by keeping all your orders coming into your email via one contact form on your website
Attract ideal customers = your branding, images and language on your site can be targeted to the specific types of customers you want to attract
Answer FAQ’s simply and easily = save yourself time answering the same questions over and over again by directing customers to your frequently asked questions page on your site

Even if you can see the benefits of a website there can still be some niggling doubts or issues that are stopping you from taking the plunge.

Building a website for your Home Bakery isn't complex or expensive! In this post you'll learn why a website is SO important for your baking business's success and which options are the most practical, cost effective and beneficial! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness

“I Don’t Have the Time to Build a Website.”

I totally get that. When you are constantly in the kitchen baking it’s difficult to find the time to even think about a website, let alone spend time on it.

There is no denying that there is a bit of time required at the start of your website journey – whether you plan to DIY it or employ a designer to put it together for you.

However, the good news is that once you’ve spent this time at the beginning, maintaining your website will be far less time heavy and weekly updates to your gallery or blog should be all that’s required.

“It’s Too Expensive to Create a Website.”

This cost involved with a website can vary vastly depending upon whether or not you will do it yourself or hire a web designer.

If you do it yourself the costs will be low, but you will be spending your valuable time on it – so you must consider if the lost hours of baking are more important to you.

Using a designer can be a bit of an outlay, but it is just a once-off cost. They will save you lots of time and hopefully set you up with a perfect website for your business.

Free web-builders are available, but these usually do not allow you to use your own web address (URL) such as bakethishappen.com, so it’s best to avoid these if you can.

WordPress and Squarespace websites will usually cost you less than £10 per month and buying your own URL is often around £5-10 for a full year.

“Isn’t a Facebook Page Good Enough?”

Facebook is hugely popular, but the first thing people do when they want to find out more about… well, anything, is to ‘Google it’.

As I’ve mentioned above, your dedicated business website is more likely to show up on a Google results page than your Facebook business page is – all because of some complicated search engine optimisation.

Another thing to consider is, although it looks as though Facebook is here to stay for a while longer, what happens when it’s no longer about, or no longer popular?

With a website you will always have a space to showcase your work, share prices and allow customers to contact you. It can also reflect your brand and show off exactly what you are about and what potential customers expect when they work with you.

“I Don’t Know How to Build a Website.”

You’re a baker not a web designer, so unless you happen to be wonderfully multi-talented, I don’t imagine you’re too confident in building your very own website from the ground up.

If you’ve decided that you’re not able to invest in a web designer then fear not, there are excellent DIY options out there.

Using a web builder can be a great, budget saving solution for new businesses and many of the builders come with professional looking templates. It’s also possible to purchase excellent themes to be used with WordPress to give you a powerful blogging website with a more bespoke design.

Each situation is different.

In my experience websites that include an active blog will work best with WordPress and Squarespace. Sites that are looking to sell physical or digital products are easiest to produce on Squarespace.

Other builders such as Wix and Weebly also integrate sales pages and plug-ins can be used on WordPress to seamlessly integrate a shop, they just take a little more techy know how.

I recommend doing a little research on the topic, most builders will offer a free trial so you can get a feel for it before you make a financial commitment.

I hope this gives you some inspiration for getting your awesome Home Bakery Business online and dispels some of the fears you may have about the process!

To learn more about using a designer vs doing it yourself feel free to check out this post.

Wishing you the best in your baking journey!

Kirsty

Here’s more from Kirsty about websites for your baking business:

Free Introduction to Squarespace for Bakers Course

Shop the Premade Baking Business Website

Thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us Kirsty! If you have any questions for her, go ahead and share it in the comments below 🙂