We know you. You’ve got a KILLER Instagram grid.

But should you feature it — or any of your other social media accounts — on your website? And if so, where? And how? And why?

Yes, you should feature your social media links on your website… but how is up to you. Let’s take a look at all your different options for integrating social media on your Showit site.

Why Should I Put Social Media Links on My Website, Anyway?

If you’re on social media, your social media should be on your website. Here are three reasons why.

1. Grow your brand awareness.

Not everyone uses all of the same platforms. To capture the attention of as many people as possible, you want to distribute your content as widely as possible — which means linking to your social channels from your website (and vice versa). 

Social media can also exhibit your brand personality in a way websites often can’t. Studies have shown that social media has a positive impact on brand awareness, image, attitude, and loyalty. That’s largely because social media allows your business to be more authentic, answering people’s questions in real time and interacting with your brand on a more personal level.

By growing your following and engagement on social media, you’ll also be growing your business!

2. Establish credibility with your audience.

Think about it: You’ve tried to find a brand’s social media icons on their website before, haven’t you? 

Maybe you wanted to see whether they were actively engaging with their audience, or you wanted to read recent reviews. Either way, you knew that finding their social links was essential to deciding whether or not to trust the business.

Adding social links to your website offers a way for you to keep in touch (and top of mind) with your audience — especially those who would otherwise bounce from your site without taking any further action.

3. Improve your SEO (maybe).

Okay, so Google has said that social media is not a direct ranking factor in search engine optimization (SEO)… but it could have indirect benefits.

Social media and websites have a symbiotic relationship; each one drives traffic to the other, encouraging people to interact with your brand longer. The more eyeballs on your content — and the longer they’re on it — the better!

Displaying social share buttons on your blog posts and other relevant pages also makes it easy for readers to share your content, which in turn drives quality traffic to your site. This often creates a ripple effect and even contributes to “viral content,” which certainly boosts your SEO.

Where Should I Put Social Links on My Website?

Now that we’ve convinced you to put your social media links on your website, let’s decide where to actually put them.

It’s important to be strategic about the placement of your social links. While you don’t want to overdo it, you do want to make it as easy as possible for people to find them.

Where to place social links on your website depends on what kind of social link you’re using. Here are our recommendations for linking your own social media profiles vs. displaying social sharing links.

Where to Link Your Own Social Media Profiles

You have many options for where to feature your social media accounts, but here are the most common places:

• In your website footer: If someone wants to find your social links on your website, this is usually where they’ll look first. It’s where we typically recommend putting them.
• In your website header: Although it’s a bit more “in your face,” especially on sticky menus, putting social links in your header definitely increases their visibility.
• On your blog sidebar: For even more visibility, you can create a custom blog sidebar that features links to your social profiles near your bio.

Where to Display Social Sharing Links

Because social sharing links prompt the user to share the page to their own social profiles, they should be used only on relevant content, such as:

• At the top and/or bottom of blog posts: The end of a post seems most logical, as the reader has read through the entire post and has theoretically found it valuable enough to share. Interestingly, though, 60% of content is shared socially before it is even read, so including social sharing links at the beginning of a post could also be wise. 
• In a floating bar: A good “happy medium” is a sticky bar that hugs the side of your site. Not only does this avoid the problem of placing multiple icons throughout your post (which can look spammy), it also provides people with instant access to share the content whenever they feel like it.
• On shareable website pages: Key word: “shareable.” People might share your careers page or case studies, but they aren’t likely to share your privacy policy.

Where NOT to Put Social Media Links

Don’t feel the need to include links to every single one of your social accounts if you aren’t actively using them all. Not only will lots of icons clutter the page, but linking to a dead account could actually damage your brand image.

You also don’t want to put social media links on landing pages that are meant to drive conversions, like sales pages. Your main goal on those pages is to get people to take the one action you want, so don’t give them any opportunities to click away.

Finally, don’t add social links “just because.” Like any marketing effort, you should always have an intentional strategy in mind before implementing it. Social links are no exception.

What Social Media Features Does Showit Have?

Showit was built to help you seamlessly integrate your social media with your website. Here are a few of our favorite social media features on Showit.

Social Grid Widget (Instagram)

Want to embed your live Instagram feed on your site? You no longer have to use a third-party tool like SnapWidget — you can now use the new Showit Social Grid widget instead!

This much-requested feature allows you to sync your Instagram account with Showit, so your website automatically shows your latest posts. 

Here are a few benefits of using the Social Grid widget: 

• Automatically updates every 10 minutes
• Supports Fallback Images from your Media Library if Instagram connection fails
• Allows for multiple Instagram account connections per site (separate grids)
• Highly customizable in spacing, alignment, format / number of posts, etc.

Learn how to set up the Social Grid widget on your Showit site here.

Linking Social Media Icons

To share links to all your social media profiles, you can link any element on your site, though most people choose to link icons.

Your Showit site comes pre-loaded with different social media icons to choose from, but you can also add your own custom icon if you’d like. 

When you’re ready to link your social media icons, start by visiting the “Site Settings” section in the menu on the left side of your screen. Select the “Social” tab, and paste the URL for each social media account you have.

Then, add the icons to your page. With one selected, visit the “Click Actions” tab on the right side of the screen, select “Social Link” as the type, and choose the corresponding platform. 

Learn more about linking social media icons on Showit here.

Social Sharing on Pages

You can customize the sharing details (title, description, image) for any Showit page visiting the “SEO Settings” tab on the right side of your screen.

Both Google and social platforms will pull data from this section, so you’ll want to make sure it’s properly optimized for each page!

Update the “Page Title” and “Meta Description” sections so they’re concise, accurate, and engaging, while incorporating your focus keyword for SEO.

Then, add a landscape-oriented “Share Image,” which is what will appear in preview links on social platforms. If you don’t set one here, the platform will pull one automatically from the page (if possible), so it’s best to customize it for each page.
Learn more about social sharing on Showit pages here.

Social Sharing on Blog Posts

To encourage blog visitors to share your posts to their social media accounts, set up social sharing icons on Showit.

Simply set up a canvas with the social icons you wish to use. Then, navigate to “Link” under “Click Actions,” choose “Share on Social”, and select the corresponding social platform.

Then, when a reader clicks the icon on your blog page, it will grab the current URL in their browser to share on the selected social network. For Pinterest sharing, it will prompt them to select an image from the page to pin.

We highly recommend activating the free version of the Yoast plugin on your blog to improve
Learn more about social sharing on Showit blog posts here.

Looking for More Social Media + Website Tips?

Adding social links is just one way to integrate social media with your website (and your business in general). Keep learning about social media marketing on our blog!

Page titles are important. Like, super important.

In fact, eight out of ten people will read your headline, but only two out of ten will read the rest of your page.

That means your headline needs to work hard in order to catch the attention of your audience. 

It also means Google — which wants to reward you for attracting (and keeping) the attention of your website visitors — pays really close attention to your page titles!

So, how do you write the best page titles for both search engine optimization (SEO) and your audience? 

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when writing page titles for your website or blog.

Start with Keyword Research

The first step in writing a great page title (or in attempting any other SEO strategy) is to conduct keyword research. 

Keyword research is the process of finding the search terms for which you want to show up on Google — and for which you can realistically rank. 

You might want to rank for “destination wedding photographer,” for instance, but unless you already have rock-star SEO status, you’re probably not going to. You’re better off trying a less popular keyword, like “Omaha wedding photographer” or even “light and airy Omaha wedding photographer”: long-tail keywords that don’t have as many other websites competing for that coveted first search engine results page (SERP).

Keyword research tools like Semrush and Ahrefs can help you identify relevant keywords for your business. With metrics showing keyword difficulty, search volume, clicks, and more, these tools can help you narrow down your long list of potential keywords and choose the best ones for your business to focus on.

If you aren’t ready to pay for an SEO tool just yet, you can conduct keyword research for free by downloading the Keywords Everywhere browser extension — or even just heading to Google itself. Type in a keyword you may want to rank for, and check out the drop-down list of related keywords for other ideas of what you could write about. You can also scroll down to the bottom of the SERP for more related keyword ideas.

Once you’ve found a keyword that has good relevance to your audience, fairly low competition, and high enough search volume to be worthwhile, you can begin crafting content around that keyword. 

Include your focus keyword (and variations of it, like “wedding photographer in Omaha” as well as “Omaha wedding photographer”) throughout your page or post, including the body copy, the meta description, image file names and alt text, and — you guessed it — the page title.

Know the Difference Between Your Page Title and Title Tag

A quick caveat: The term “page title” is sometimes confused with the term “title tag.” Although these can be the same thing, they aren’t always.

A page title usually refers to the big text at the top of your page or post, often denoted with the HTML text tag H1. It’s what tells readers (and search engines) what your page is about and reassures them that they’ve found what they’re looking for.

A title tag, on the other hand, is the blue, clickable title that appears on a search engine results page. Google often uses your page title as your title tag, but sometimes it modifies the title tag “to best represent and describe each result.” Depending on your website or blog platform, you may be able to set your title tag separately from your page title (see Setting Your Title Tag in Showit below).

In this post, we mostly use page title and title tag interchangeably, since the recommended best practices are similar for both — but we encourage you to modify your page title or title tag as necessary!

Use Your Focus Keyword in Your Page Title

It probably goes without saying that you should incorporate your focus keyword into your page title — but where, and how?

We recommend using your keyword as early in your title as possible. Not only will this help your audience understand immediately what your page is about, it also helps your SEO. Although Google says there’s technically no limit on the length of your title tag, most browsers are able to display only the first 50–70 characters or 600 pixels, so do work that keyword in early.

Be sure to use only one unique keyword per page. A long page title with multiple keywords will just bore your readers; plus, you don’t want different pages on your website to compete with one another for the same keyword. 

And no keyword stuffing! Although you may think you’re getting extra points for writing a page title like “Omaha Wedding Photographer | Omaha Weddings | Wedding Photographer in Omaha,” you’re actually hurting your SEO. Google sees right through that old black-hat SEO strategy and will penalize you for trying it.

TIP: Learn how to adjust your SEO Page Title settings in Showit.

…But Add Some Pizzazz!

The word “clickbait” has a certain connotation, but there’s a reason online publications like Buzzfeed resort to clickbait-y page titles: they work!

We aren’t suggesting you should shock or mislead searchers, but you should craft your page titles in the most interesting (and accurate) way possible. 

Put yourself in the mind of your audience. If you were searching Google, which page title would you be most likely to click on?

• “Omaha Wedding Photographer | Wedding Photography in Omaha, NE”
• “Your Light & Airy Omaha Wedding Photographer | Book Your Wedding Today!”

Remember, you’re writing page titles for SEO and user experience. Don’t get so consumed by the need to feature a keyword that you forget to make your page title engaging and attractive to your audience.

How to Set Page Titles on a Showit Website or WordPress Blog

So, you’ve got your page title. Now, where do you actually put it?

If you have a Showit website, setting your title is super easy — but here’s where the distinction between page titles and title tags comes into play.

Setting Your Page Title in Showit

To set your page title in Showit, click on the hero canvas at the top of your page. Add a new text box by hovering over the “T” icon at the bottom-middle of the page, clicking “Title,” and writing your page title in the box that appears. Since you’ve selected “Title,” your HTML text tag will already be set to H1 — no need to edit that tag.

If you’ve already created a text box with your desired page title, make sure the title tag is set to H1 by navigating to the “Text Properties” panel at the right side of the screen, then setting the “Text Tag” to H1.

A few notes to keep in mind:

• All “Title” text boxes will automatically have a text tag of H1. “Heading” text boxes will have a text tag of H2, “Subheading” text boxes will have a text tag of H3, and “Paragraph” text boxes will have a text tag of “P.” These can all be manually adjusted at any time.
• Make sure you have only one H1 tag per page. Otherwise, Google won’t know which text box is supposed to be your page title, and your SEO will suffer. Tip: Use a tool like the Chrome extension HeadingsMap to quickly view all html tags on your page. 

Setting Your Title Tag in Showit

To set your title tag in Showit, select the page you want to edit on the left-hand side of the screen, then navigate to the “Page” tab at the top left. Make sure no canvas is selected by clicking on the page name at the top. 

On the right-hand side of the screen, click the “SEO Settings” menu. Edit the text under “Page Title” to set the title tag that will appear in search results. (While you’re there, be sure to set the meta description and share image, too!)

A few notes to keep in mind:

• The page title is different from the page name, which you’ll find under the “Page Info” menu at the top right. Be very careful about changing the page name, as that will also change the page slug (the text that appears at the end of the page URL). Changing the page slug can result in broken links, unless you have set up adequate redirects (or have not yet published the page).
• Make sure the box to “Ask Google to ignore this page” (under the “Advanced Menu” menu on the right) is unchecked. If that box is checked, your page will not appear in Google search results.
• If you’re using a “Blog Template” page or publishing a blog post, you’ll need to update the page title in WordPress, not Showit. To do that, you can use an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO, which is automatically installed on all tier-2 Showit accounts. If you don’t update the page title within the plugin, Google will use whatever you’ve titled your blog post in search results.

Learn More About SEO on Showit Websites

Writing your page titles for SEO is only one way to optimize your website for Google (and your audience). Luckily, Showit makes it easy to rank for the keywords you’ve so diligently researched.

Building and writing for a blog is a huge achievement that takes a lot of time and effort. Many times our focus remains on the primary experience that our visitors have when they land on the blog page, and rightfully so! But what happens when a viewer dives into the posts and starts browsing beyond that homepage? Do they feel compelled to stay and keep browsing? 

Keeping a user on your blog requires a combination of aspects all working well together. This includes relevant blog post content, appropriate timed navigation, and creating a feeling of discovery as they navigate through. An easy way to help create a curated experience of your posts is to direct users to a specific category of posts. Guiding them to a group of posts that peak their interest is a good way to keep them browsing longer. We’ve got 5 steps you can take to create a curated blog experience so people spend more time on your site and hopefully also a higher chance of becoming a customer.

1. Which Categories to Feature?

If you blog under a variety of categories it can be helpful to allow your viewers to jump to a specific category of posts. So which categories should you feature? That answer varies. You might include all categories if it’s a limited list and you post in each category frequently. You could just feature the primary categories that you post frequently in or maybe just the ones that are focused around your primary business goals. Whichever list of categories you decide on will be the perfect starting place and can easily be changed in the future.

2. Adding Category Links to Your Design

In your design you’ll want to decide where links to your categories will reside. If your website is based around your blog content then you might include them in the primary navigation. If the blog is supplemental to other business pages then you might only include them on your primary blog page. You can include them as text navigation links or create larger clickable area in your design. The simplest and most direct approach is to incorporate them into the header of your primary blog page. That way when someone visits your blog, they can easily jump to a specific category of posts.

Here are some examples of different locations:

3. Linking to the Categories

Once you’ve added category links to your page the next step is to make sure you link to the correct URLs. On the Showit platform you will blog via WordPress. To get the correct URL for each category, you’ll need to login to the WordPress admin and go to Posts > Categories section. 

You’ll see the list of current categories. As you mouse over each category you’ll see a “View” link appear. Click on that link to open the URL and copy it into your design for each category link.

4. Checking Your Improved Blog Experience

Now is a perfect time to look at your website analytics to record two values: Average Session Duration and Pages/Session. [In Google Analytics, you’ll find both values under the Audience > Overview report] Write those values down on a sticky note with today’s date. Then check again in 3 months and see if this easy change has improved either of those related values.

I find it’s best to set it and forget it…(with a reminder set)…then come back and see if there are improvements. If you watch it daily or weekly you can easily get lost in the weeds of data instead of letting it play out and see how your averages shift.

5. Keep Improving

Our goal was to keep users spending more time on our site by providing a way for them to find curated content specific to what they want. If you apply these changes you will likely see improvements in your analytics. Regardless, you always want to continue improving on the experience. If you’re not seeing the improvements you expect, consider a couple things: 

• Evaluate the categories you’ve chosen to feature. Maybe there are other categories that may prove to be even more relevant. 
• It’s possible that the categories you’re featuring are the most relevant, but you don’t have enough content within those categories to browse. 

Both of those can easily be resolved by continuing to make improvements. 

The goal in the end is that you find that these steps helped improve your visitors’ experience. They can more easily find the resources that you are offering through your blog and you give them the opportunity to guide themselves to the content they want most.

If you’re considering investing in a new website design for your business, one of the first questions you’re likely to ask is, “How much should a website cost?”

Hey, we don’t blame you. Pricing is important to all of us. And even if your budget is flexible, you probably want to know the going rate for a good website — because you don’t want to get gouged on price (nor do you want to pay too little for a subpar site!).

To give you a better idea of the industry standard, we’re sharing the key factors that contribute to website cost, what you can expect to pay for a great website, and even how to monetize your website to recoup some of that cost. Let’s dive in!

1. The Key Factors That Contribute to Website Cost

To begin with, you need to know that there are several line items at play in your website cost — and several factors that play into each of those line items. You will probably not enter your credit card information just once.

Any website requires at least three key elements:

1. Domain name: Your website’s address on the internet (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)
2. Website hosting: Where your website’s content is stored (e.g. BlueHost, WP Engine, etc.)
3. Website builder: The platform used to create and manage your website (e.g. Showit, Squarespace, etc.)

Beyond that, unless you’re planning to DIY everything, you’ll need to pay for one or more of the following services:

• Website design: What your website will look like 
• Website development: How your website is built (including ecommerce functionality)
• Website copy: The words on your website
• Website branding: The logos, photos, and other imagery on your website
• Website marketing: How you promote your website (including SEO)
• Website maintenance: How you upkeep and edit your website

…And then, beyond that, there are multiple factors that can cause those services to fluctuate in price, such as:

1. The size of your project: Do you need one page, five pages, 50 pages, or more? How much content will be on those pages?
2. The complexity of your project: Do you require complicated features, like custom animation or product pages? Or do you just need some simple words on a page?
3. The expertise of the service provider: Will you hire someone who is highly skilled, experienced, and professional? Or are you willing to sacrifice that proficiency for a lower cost?
4. Content migration: Are you moving content from another website or source (and if so, how much)? Or are you starting completely from scratch?
5. Level of support: How many meetings or rounds of revisions will you require? Do you expect to receive training or ongoing support after the site is launched?

…And that’s just the beginning.

With all these factors contributing to website cost, it’s no wonder there’s confusion about how much a business should expect to pay for a website design or redesign!

2. What a Great Website Should Cost

Clearly, “How much should a website cost?” is not an easy question to answer.

Here’s a breakdown of the price range you can expect to pay per factor that contributes to website cost:

• Domain name: $2 – $20+ (per year)
• Website hosting: $2 – $50+ (per year)
• Website builder: $0 – $60+ (per month)
• Website services (design, development, copy, etc.): $300 – $12,000+

We know, we know… those aren’t exactly clear-cut costs. But that’s because there truly aren’t any clear-cut costs in the website world. 

Especially when it comes to website services, costs fluctuate widely. Between your college-aged cousin who will work for free so she can build her portfolio to a renowned web design agency that can afford to charge $150,000 or more, website cost is pretty much the wild west!

If you’re just starting out, working within a budget, or simply overwhelmed by all the information, we recommend choosing an affordable option like Showit. Our website plans start at just $19 per month, and we’ll even cover the cost of web hosting for you!

Beyond that, you’ll just need to buy your own domain (typically ~$20 per year) and, if you want, either a template design or professional design services to take your site to the finish line. 

Or, you can save that money and design your website yourself using a free template and our super-easy website builder. Trust us, even newbie designers can do it!

3. How to Monetize Your Website

Typically, you’ll recoup the cost of your website not long after launching, as you’ll use it to sell your products or services for many months to come.

But if you’re looking for additional ways to make money from your website, here are a few effective monetization strategies for websites:

• Affiliate marketing: Commissions from referrals
• Digital products: Ebooks, courses, website templates, etc.
• Paid subscriptions: Monthly memberships, exclusive emails, etc.
• Sponsored content: Blog posts, product reviews, etc.
• Gated content: Premium articles, videos, etc.

Your ability to monetize your website is limited only by your own creativity. So go ahead — get creative!

Get Started on Showit for Free!

If you really want to get creative, build a website on Showit: the platform that allows you complete creative freedom to design the website of your dreams (without complex code or a hefty cost!).

Start your free 14-day trial of Showit today (no credit card required) to see how we provide you with an affordable and exceptional website experience, from concept to launch and all the support throughout!

Thousands of website designers are switching to Showit as their platform of choice. Maybe you’re one of them — or maybe you’re curious about becoming one of them.

If you’re thinking about using Showit to design websites for your clients, you probably have a few questions first. 

And for good reason! You don’t want to learn a whole new website platform or content management system (CMS) unless you’re sure that you — and your clients — will absolutely love it.

To help you decide, we’ve compiled a list of three common questions website designers ask us about switching to Showit.

1. How does the process of launching a client website on Showit actually work?

As a professional website designer, you’re likely thinking backward from site launch: What will the final website look like, and how will I deliver it?

Some platforms make it difficult to transfer your design over to your client. Not so with Showit! We know how important it is to make your workflow easy from start to finish. 

From start:

Getting started on Showit is as simple as launching a free trial and using our drag-and-drop editor to begin designing your site. We recommend creating your design under your client’s account by getting contributor access to their account, but transferring a design from your account to your client’s account later on is no big deal. Like any platform, the Showit app can take a little time to get used to, but designers tell us it’s the easiest one they’ve ever used. When your design is ready for review, simply send a preview link for your client to review “live.” 

To finish:

Once you’ve received your client’s approval, delivering the final product is a breeze. To launch a site under your client’s account, all you’ll need is access to their Showit subscription and third-party domain. First, you’ll connect their domain by following our step-by-step process. Then, if your client wants a blog, you’ll simply initiate the blog setup. Our team will take care of the rest! If they currently have a WordPress or Squarespace blog, our team will even migrate their content for them, free!

Alternatively, if you’ve created the design under your own Showit account, you’ll just need to share the design with your client, install it on their account, and follow the same steps to launch. (Note: if you go this route, you’ll want to manually add all project media files to the client’s Media Library, so you both have them available for any future changes.) 

Once you’ve launched one client website on Showit, you’ll see just how easy the process is — and wonder how you ever launched a site without it!

2. What are some convenient ways I can get familiar with the Showit app?

We know it can be intimidating to try any new program. After hearing about the ultimate freedom and the stunning designs Showit is capable of creating, you might think it’s too “technical” or “advanced” for you.

But that’s the exact opposite of what Showit was designed to be! 

In fact, most website designers who have tried Showit say it’s hands-down the easiest platform they’ve ever used.

So, how do you get on their level?

Here are some easy ways to get familiar with the Showit app:

• Demo mode: Experience the power of the Showit builder on demand right in your (Chrome) browser by trying our demo mode. You won’t be able to save your work, but you’ll enjoy full design feature functionality without signing up for an account.
• Free trial: Customize your own designs by starting your free 14-day trial. Your work will auto-save, and you won’t even have to enter your credit card!
• Creator Series: Get inspired by website designers just like you by watching our Creator Series videos. These short films show how designers around the world are using Showit to find freedom in their lives and businesses.
• Facebook group: Connect with other designers by joining the Showit Website Designers Facebook group. You’ll be able to ask (and answer!) questions, get feedback on your designs, and build a network of friends and partners. (free account required to join)
• Help Center: Get answers to any question you may have by visiting our Help Center. From help docs to video tutorials to live chat, we’re always here to help!
• Showit 101 Course: Get familiar with the platform quick by jumping on a guided course to help you learn all of the tip and best practices for our platform.

Thanks to resources like these (and, ahem, the ease of the builder itself), learning Showit is quick and painless — especially compared to the steep learning curve of other web and CMS platforms. You will find that using Showit as a website designer leads to true creative freedom!

The best thing you can do to familiarize yourself with the platform is to simply play around with it and have fun!

3. How can I develop workflows to streamline my website design process?

Showit is likely only one part of your entire website design workflow. If you’re like most web designers, you use a variety of platforms and processes to make a website from start to finish.

That’s why we’ve created a collection of articles on how to use Showit alongside your favorite design programs, including:

• Using Showit with Sketch
• Using Showit with Adobe XD

Whatever tools and tactics you use to design websites, you’ll find that using Showit integrates seamlessly into your overall workflow as a website designer.

Our drag-and-drop builder makes it a cinch to recreate your design exactly as you imagined it, including unique experiences on desktop and mobile. 

Once the site is launched, you can easily transfer the design to your client’s account (if you didn’t create it there in the first place). Then, it’s just rinse and repeat for your next client! 

You can even take your workflow a step further by becoming a Design Partner. This can increase your visibility, prove your expertise, and get you more clients as a Showit designer. Plus, you’ll get connected with our exclusive community of other Design Partners like you.

Learn More About Becoming a Showit Website Designer

These are just three of the most common questions website designers ask about using the Showit website and CMS platform as a website designer.

To really get a feel for what Showit is like, why not start a free trial today? You have two full weeks to try it out, and you don’t even have to give us your credit card info.

Got more questions first? Learn more about how website designers bring their visions to life using Showit. Go on, get inspired!

How to Use Showit and Sketch for Website Design

Attention, website designers who use Sketch! Did you know that you can easily use Sketch to design websites on Showit? 

Many designers and teams use Sketch in their design workflows to collaborate on and mock up websites that stand out. Taking those websites to the finish line is super simple with Showit!

Here are five pro tips on how to use Showit and Sketch for website design.

1. Start with the Right-Sized Artboard in Sketch

To begin designing a website, start by creating an artboard in Sketch. 
The width of a Showit desktop website is 1,200 pixels wide, so we recommend making your Sketch artboard 1,200 pixels wide, and then setting columns within it to help you design within the framework of Showit. That will make building your website in Showit a cinch!

2. Create Your Color + Font Palette Within Sketch

Make sure your site stays on brand by creating a color palette within your Sketch file. Simply drag it outside of your website artboard to see and use your brand colors at any time. You can do the same with your font palette, too!

Then, it’s easy to implement your branding right into Showit by assigning your brand colors and fonts in the Design Settings.

3. Quickly Replicate Items Across Pages

If you design page by page in Sketch, you can save time by using symbols to create repeatable elements across pages.

For example, you can design headers and footers by selecting all the relevant items in your artboard, hitting “Create Symbol,” and copying that symbol to other pages. That way, when you edit something within the symbol, it will update across all pages using it — just like a Showit Site Canvas!

4. Easily Create .SVG Files in Sketch

One of the best things about using Showit and Sketch for web design is that you can easily make .SVG files for your website.

Here’s a trick: If you have a vector element with text, such as a logo, you’ll need to “Convert to Outlines” in Sketch, make it exportable, and export it as an .SVG with the proper name. Then, uploading the file to Showit via the Media Library is a breeze!

5. Export Perfectly Sized Photos to Showit

Another great thing about going from Sketch to Showit is that it’s super easy to export images, even ones that are clipped, so that they’re perfectly sized for your website. 

We like to size images at about 1.5x in Sketch, export them as .JPEGs, and upload to Showit so they’re all ready to go. The export / import process is simple whether you’re working with photos, logos, icons, or other design elements!

Start Using Showit and Sketch for Web Design Today!

These are just a handful of tips for using Showit and Sketch for website design.

When you’re ready to make your Sketch web design come to life, replicating it in Showit couldn’t be easier. Once you’ve gotten your branding and media all set (thanks to the tips above), simply use our intuitive drag-and-drop builder to quickly recreate your design in Showit. Just like that, you’re ready to launch! 

Learn more about using Showit for web design to see how you can create stunning websites fast with ultimate design freedom!