WordPress Expert Turned Showit Designer
I ditched the WordPress Expert label and made the switch from WordPress to Showit.
For those of you who do not know, I was professionally coined a WordPress Expert when I worked for Endurance International in their WPlive + Blue Sky Department. My day was filled with answering calls from hopelessly overwhelmed entrepreneurs who just wanted to have a website. My job was to answer all of their questions and ultimately teach them how to build the website they and their businesses needed.
Day in and day out I was asked a variety of different questions all pertaining to WordPress. Some questions I knew the answers to and sometimes I did not. When I did not know the answer I was expected to figure it out and teach it to the customer all on the same call within 25 minutes(LOL stressful).
Some questions were as big and complicated as “How can I put a search bar in my header that will allow users to search for vehicle parts based on their year, make, and model?” Seems simple but if you work with websites (or WordPress) you know that, that there is no simple answer to that. There are multiple different directions you could take for reaching the same goal. In the end it was my job to not only answer the question and learn how to do what the customer was asking but to also teach it to the customer as well!
The environment was high energy, competitive, and very adaptive. My experience has qualified me as a WordPress expert.
What Made Me Switch from WordPress To Showit.
When I started my business I knew I would be building websites on WordPress because that is where I was confident and knew I had something to offer.
I started to notice something as I was building client websites. My design was lacking. My design capabilities on WordPress were not attracting my ideal clients.
As I explored designs from other designers who were working with my ideal clients I noticed a theme. Their websites were fluid, nonblocky, and very unique.
As I tried to adapt that design style into WordPress I discovered that I was very limited by my page builders abilities. And that if it was possible to achieve such a fluid unique design, it would take twice as long with often complicated settings, or CSS.
Showit Allows You To Have Limitless Creative Freedom
Showit allows you to move anything anywhere, something that WordPress does not allow you to do.
I also noticed that a lot of the designers who were catering to my ideal clients were using Showit. Showit seemed to allow them the ability to have design freedom without compromising functionality. It was over a year ago when I discovered Showit and knew that it was something I wanted to try. It was not until two months ago that I finally decided to switch from WordPress to showit and begin building.
In addition, to design freedom, I switched to showit because I realized my previous site was incredibly slow. As someone who worked for a website hosting company, I knew the basic ins and outs of website hosting. Despite my best efforts, my website was still bogged down and incredibly slow.
As a web designer, website speed is incredibly important when it comes to keeping potential customers on your website longer. I knew my previous website wasn’t serving me or my potential clients well. Which is not a good look for a web designer so I made the switch from WordPress to Showit. To me, my website needed good bones before it had a good design, and that is what Showit had to offer.
There is no point in having a good design on a website that is slow and hard to use.
What It Was Like Seeing Showit for the First Time.
As a designer who was used to seeing the WordPress backend and also being restricted by rows, columns, and widgets, I was a little shocked when I got into ShowIt and saw an endless canvas of blank customizable capabilities. “How the hell am I supposed to use this?” I thought to myself
The freedom at first become a roadblock to my creativity. If you are used to confining your design ability to the boxes of page builders, the freedom showit offers can feel overwhelming at first.
With showit, I knew I had nothing to worry about. Although it would take me time to discover my design style inside of Showit, I also had help documents and the ShowIt team at my fingertips.
What Showit Offers That WordPress Does Not
The showit help team was a huge plus for me when deciding to switch from WordPress to Showit. I knew that if I ever needed help I no longer needed to spend hours on Google or in Facebook groups searching for the answers. I could ask a Showit expert and get the answer quickly so I could continue focusing on my clients.
WordPress offers no support besides third-party helplines like WPlive and BlueSky. (aka. me) and all of these services are between an additional $99-$150 a month! Showit includes their help with their subscriptions which is so beneficial for new designers.
As designers, sometimes we can feel like a fraud when we need to ask for help. However, When we are switching platforms there is no shame in asking for help or for a tutorial.
As someone who used to be the expert, I found myself feeling reluctant in asking for help. I did however suck up my pride and ask for help when needed. I found that the showit team was responsive and friendly. If you are someone who still prefers not to ask for help, Showit offers help documentation that is clear and easy to follow.
What Was My First Showit Design Like
With Showsits help and endless design freedom, I was able to build my first website inside of ShowIt “The Tilted Petal” a casework floral company with an earthy brand and custom website. I am really pleased with the final design. It was feminine while still being extremely functional. Creating the Tilted Petal was really exploitative for me. I wasn’t sure if my first site on showit was even going to be any good. I’m pleasantly surprised that It ended up being so beautiful. The design I created for The Tilted Petal would have been extremely difficult with WordPress and Elementor.
My design felt cohesive with the clients I was wanting to attract.
Making the Big Switch + Migration Support
The switch from WordPress to Showit has been a great experience and has allowed me to further my design business with confidence. I, however, cannot forget to mention the amazing migration service that Showit offers. When switching platforms, migrating your previous content can be a really daunting and lengthy process. However, Showit migrated my site and blog posts in much less time than I expected. They also migrated my website for free with my subscription. Many website hosting providers charge a fee to migrate your website, however, showit migrated my blog and domain name for no extra charge.
The Best of Both Worlds WordPress + Showit Come Together
Once your Blog is migrated you are able to gain access to the WordPress back end. As a WordPress expert, I am especially pleased that I was able to download all my favorite plugins with Showits Advanced Blog Subscription. I am also able to have access to the things that matter most to me and my clients, like Yoast SEO, Google Analytics, and other WordPress settings.
My Final Conclusion
Finally, the switch from WordPress to showit has been a fantastic experience and I will not be turning back. I am finally able to create designs that felt true to me while appealing to my ideal clients. The WordPress blogging and back end with Showits awesome page builder gave me the tools I need to create killer websites for clients. I am also able to finish a design for clients with the confidence that they will be able to make edits and update their site as needed.
Showit has allowed me to mix beautiful design with functionality for websites that convert viewers into paying clients!
If you are excited to join me on my Showit Journey and would like a Showit site of your own, lets chat! You can Contact me here and you’ll receive my Look Book where you can learn more about what Showit can do for you.
If you would like to learn more about Showit or what subscription would be best for you, you can learn more about Showit here. Together we can build a beautiful, strategic, money-making site.