We all know that automation and scheduling are key when you’re running a solo or small business. When you’re juggling #allthethings you need all the time you can get. I totally understand!

While we don’t typically think of our websites as organizational productivity machines, the truth is that they can be a pretty big time-suck if they aren’t set-up correctly.

In this post, I’m going to share a few of my favorite tips to help you prevent repeat questions, organize your intake process, package your services, and have a more streamlined website overall.

So let’s get started! First up…

Create a Smart Intake Form

On-boarding prospects and converting them into clients can take up a ton of time. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

I used to have a general contact form, create unique PDF proposals for each prospect, and then set-up invoices/contracts separately. My onboarding process wasn’t efficient at all!

Now, I use Dubsado to manage my entire client management system from start to finish. I love Dubsado because I can create workflows to automate my entire client onboarding process.

This includes everything from canned email responses, proposals for my design packages, invoices, and contracts. And, that’s just scratching the surface of what Dubsado can do. You can also use it for upsells, down-sells, questionnaires, and feedback surveys. Dubsado is the best!

One of my favorite features is that you can create custom project inquiry forms that automatically go into the project lead section within Dubsado. Now all I have to do is apply the applicable workflow to that lead. And, then I’m done with on-boarding! It only took me a matter of minutes, not hours.

Dubsado does require a little work up-front to set everything up. But it’s well worth the initial time investment because you’ll save SO much time in the long run. Plus, it’s really easy to use.

Simply create a client intake form and ask all the questions you’d like to get to know your potential client better. Then link to it or embed it on your website to start getting leads instantly.

If you’re not into Dubsado, or you just don’t like the way their forms look, you could use Typeform to set-up your client intake form instead. Then use Zapier to automatically move this information over your CMS (Dubsado, 17Hats, Etc.).

To sum up, think beyond a simple contact form (IE. A general form on your contact page that simply gets emailed to you when someone fills it out). How can you automate the process so that your inquiries are already in your CMS? Make it easy to nourish your prospect and turn them into a client.

Answer Repeat Questions

Are you receiving questions from your website visitors or potential clients over and over again? Answering those questions, in one place, is a great way to save time with your website.

One option is to create an FAQ page or an FAQ section on your About page. FAQ’s are also great to add to sales pages to eliminate questions that would otherwise prevent someone from buying. If you get a question consistently, put it on this page. This will give users all the info they need in one, easy to find, place.

You can also answer repeat questions on your blog. This option is perfect if your answer is a little more elaborate than a typical FAQ page allows. You could also create a Youtube video or Podcast episode.

Now the key here is to make this information easily accessible for clients to find. For instance, include a link to your FAQ page in the footer of your website.

For common questions via email, have a canned response ready to go with links to questions you’ve already answered on your website. Having this email ready to go will save you from searching around for those buried links in your blog archive each time you get a question.

Package up Your Services + Offerings

Putting your services into packages saves time with onboarding and during the process itself.

It can be tempting to offer a la carte or hourly pricing because you can customize everything to work for your client. But the truth is that your clients don’t want to customize every little detail in your packages. What they want is a certain experience or result from working with you.

When you take control and package up your service or offering you determine the result your client will get from working with you. Plus you get to manage the entire process so that its organized in a way that makes sense for both parties involved.

On your website, this means that you should include all the information about your packages somewhere. Focus on the result someone will get when they work with you. If you’re using a sales page, you can also include testimonials, all of the project details, your process, and who the package is for. Need more info on sales pages? I’ve got you covered with this post.

Clear service and sales pages help to eliminate questions about what’s included. Setting things up this way gives your clients the opportunity to choose which package they are interested in before they even reach out to you.

Make it Easy to Use and Edit

Here’s the thing about websites. They take time to maintain and edit.

But if your website designer did their job, you should leave the project with a solid understanding of how your website works and how to maintain it.

This is why I include a 2-week support period after my website design projects have wrapped up. During this time-frame, I hop on a Zoom call with my clients to walk them through how to edit and maintain their brand new website. All without needing to touch a single line of code!

How is this possible? Well, first of all, I use WordPress to build all of my client’s websites. It’s really easy to use and most importantly, my client’s websites can grow right alongside their businesses. In other words, you won’t need to pay for an expensive re-design 2 years from now if you go with WordPress from the start.

I also utilize some handly plugins that allow my clients to customize their website really easily while also giving me design freedom. No boring templated designs here!

The key here is ease of use. I want my clients to feel confident and comfortable editing their websites so that they don’t feel like they will “break it” as soon as they start using it. The plugins I use can differ based on the project needs, but my favorites are Beaver Builder and Advanced Custom Fields.

If you aren’t able to edit your website easily or you feel limited by your website then it may be time for a redesign. I’d love to help you book more clients with a website that converts. If you want a website that’s set-up to save you time, Let’s chat! Please fill out my project inquiry form to get started.

And if you want to get strategic with your website design then grab a copy of my Wellness Website Workbook below. It will help you get a booked out schedule that’s filled with dreamy clients who you can’t wait to serve. If that sounds good to you, then this workbook was made just for you.