This is an interesting conundrum–you want to create a high-end website for a platform (the Internet) that is inherently mass market (when anyone and everyone can get to your URL, that’s as mass as you can get, right?).
Well, here’s the thing. Within the millions of pieces of content out there, lives tiny niches that reach out to very specific types of people who are seeking very specific type of information.
I’m sure I don’t have to define “niche” to you since you know that our industry is a niche itself, but I think this is an important point to remember when creating your website.
Sure, anyone can get to it, but you don’t want just anyone.
Depending on your industry and your business, you want the folks that will relate to what you are offering and eventually buy or call you to request your services, right? So, how do you do that?
Here are six tips for creating a high end website:
- If your business is high-end, you probably already have a strong brand identity. Ensure that this identity shines through in your website.
- Invest in a strong graphic designer and smart web developer. There are millions of places that allow you to “do it yourself” but if you want your website to have the polish of being professional, you’ll need professionals to help you create it.
- In terms of designing your site, every brand is different, but when designing think of the basics of what makes something elegant: simplicity, striking visuals and minimalism. Less is always more.
- I’ve said this before about other aspects of your business, but this is especially important for your website–think about your brand and how you can execute it differently from others. Think of the language you use. The imagery you use. The website’s functionality. Visit other high-end sites you admire and see how you can take what they do best and do it better.
- Update your website regularly. Some folks build their website once and then forget about it. I would suggest that as your brand evolves, the website evolves with it. If you begin to offer new services, make sure you highlight that. If you change your logo, or update your marketing materials, update your website. The easiest way to have a cheap looking website is for it to stay looking the same for years. Not only that, you want to ensure that the information you’re putting out there about your business is up to date.
Sometimes it helps to have examples for inspiration. Here are some of my favorite high-end websites:
- http://www.chanel.com/
- http://harrywinston.com/
- http://www.bentleymotors.com/
- http://www.manoloblahnik.com/
- http://www.jaguar.com/
What are your favorite high-end websites? And what one aspect of your website makes it stand out from all the others like yours?
PREVIOUS
George Bernard Shaw once said: “You see things and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’” That quote embodies how Preston Bailey approaches every event.
Kelli R. Parker
June 30, 2010
I completely agree. I noticed in your examples that they mainly use either black or white as a backdrop. That simple choice allows the imagery and product to be the focus. Thank you!
Courtney @ Pizzazzerie
June 30, 2010
Fabulous tips, Preston! I agree about finding the best graphic designer and web developer you can get it. Not trying to “do it all yourself”.
Margot
June 30, 2010
Fabulous Post! We’re in the midst of redesigning our own website and this is definitely exactly what needs to be considered when building a high end site for a luxury brand.
My biggest pet peeve with many websites is FUNCTIONALITY. A beautifully designed website is wonderful, but I very often visit beautiful sites that take forever to load or bog down my computer. The site needs to be very functional, quick to load and coded so as not to have any dead links, slow loading elements, etc… Also, the navigation system is super important. Once you get to a page, how do you get back to the previous one. Is it easy to find what you’re looking for?
A couple of my personal faves
http://www.judithleiber.com
http://www.stellamccartney.com
http://www.bulgari.com
http://www.gilt.com
http://www.alexandermcqueen.com
Will
June 30, 2010
Great tips as ever, Preston. Thanks for sharing them. Nice choices for the examples list, too. Will
Beth from Wedding Day Bliss
June 30, 2010
We just launched our new website. We are just starting our second year and we decided to add an online store and revamp our website. We would LOVE to hear feedback…good or (wince) bad about what you think of it! http://www.myweddingdaybliss.com. Seriously we value hearing others thoughts! ~Beth, Wedding Day Bliss
Doña Carmen Milagros
June 30, 2010
Hola Preston. I tend to agree with you. And the “Chanel” website has always been my favorite (it’s strong and straight to the point, no fluff). I think that if you have too much going on; it not only blurrs one’s vision but also overwhelms one as well
Chao!
Maria
June 30, 2010
As a web designer working with many from the wedding industry, along with many other small businesses, getting the right image across to your target audience is important for online branding purposes. Nowadays many companies are going away from Flash sites as they generally don’t work on most cellular devices, I think within the next short while many Flash sites will be changed to include components of Flash within regular HTML pages. SEO is now huge, with so many websites online everyone is fighting to get on that first page. If you’re a large organization and don’t care about it, like Jaguar for example, then using Flash (which is SEO unfriendly) won’t matter to you, but if you’re a smaller business trying to get traffic to your site, you need to brand your image online in an appealing way, but in a way that is easy to find and search engine friendly. http://www.mick-mar.com if you have any questions.
Simon Chase
June 30, 2010
Great tips, as a florist I think its very important to differentiate ourselves from the myriad of same old same old florist template websites. Your post has inspired me to update and tweek our site. We constantly get comments from customers who chose us simply because we stood out from the pack. Think of it as an art gallery for your brand!
-Chezbloom
pippa
June 30, 2010
i totally agree! It is so frustrating to be searching for a florist to send flowers on my behalf and coming up with a generic, mediocre website. I don’t believe it can be helpful for the florist either, the last thing i want to fork over money for is something generic! It’s the same with wedding florists, you need to have your point of difference. I can never understand why people are hesitant to employ an expert. We can spend a large chunk of our time justifying why hiring a professional florist is so much better than DIY, this is the same thing right? It cost me a small fortune to have my logo created by a graphic designer, but it is a thing of beauty, and worth every cent!
Mackenzie
July 1, 2010
Fantastic post & love checking out all the other sites everyone is posting. Here are my favourites that I find inspiring:
http://www.christianlouboutin.com/
http://www.louismariette.co.uk/index.html
http://arca3.com/
http://www.jamesschouw.com/
xoxo
John
July 1, 2010
PIPPA: no offence, but your website looks very old school, I really recommend getting it updated to a mode modern and fresh look. It looks like it was just thrown together.
MACKENZIE: The sites you posted take forever to load, which is mistake #1, no one waits around for a site to load.
Charles David
July 1, 2010
Bang! Once again you’ve done it! I could not agree more. Presentation is everything. When my wife and I started Wrinkle in Time Photography, we wanted to create a website that was clean, concise, inspiring with a little touch of creativity! We looked at many websites across the globe, from bow to stern, trying to find some inspiration. After viewing hundreds, we begin the process of narrowing down to our favorites. One of the biggest lessons we learn during this process was, not because you’re a wedding photographer you should only look at wedding photographers websites, matter of fact, we highly encourage to look elsewhere. Sometimes it’s to go the opposite direction of the crowd! We looked at various websites not pertaining to our business, like car designers, wedding planners, financial services, restaurants, bakeries, even a few dominatrix websites too….lol Hey, we were on the hunt for inspiration and that can sometimes take you in unexpected directions. It’s the journey, not the end! Needless to say, after the narrowing process brought us to a few sights, we looked at each other and started to talk about who we are and what it is, we wanted to convey to potential clients. I must say it took a lot of soul searching until we finally figured it out.
Preston, as you’ve mentioned on many occasions, you can’t be afraid of failure, because success is inevitable and In the end, you are the architect of your own success. I’ve listed a few sights below worth viewing. I really like what their about. Also, since telling this story about our business, I have taken the liberty of including our website at the top of this list. We hope you enjoy them all and find some inspiration, yourself. This is what i love about the wedding photography/ event planner community, empowerment. People are willing to share information about their success. It just makes us all better as a whole. Thank you, Sir Preston, you are the embodiment of HEART & SOUL
http://wrinkleintimephotography.com
http://www.firmdale.com
http://www.ralphlaurenstgermain.com
http://www.edwardgreen.com
Jaguar
July 2, 2010
Those are great tips! It’s hard to know exactly how to even start building your own website. This helped me out! Thanks!