Website Cohort
Build Your OWN Website with Julie Swan!
Your Website Created By You
–with my guidance
Have you ever wanted to build your own website, but got stuck? Not only were you trying to figure out what to put on the website, but then you had to figure out the website builder, how to use it, how to get it to do what you want? It can feel overwhelming.
What if you could build your website while I walked you through it? Giving you all the tips and tricks of web design I use? I will give you multiple templates to pick from and I’ll help you customize them to your brand and breeding business. I’ll even help you find wording that speaks better to your ideal puppy buyer!
When is the next cohort?
Given the smaller cohort size of 3-4 people, I will work with the group members to find a good time for the group that works for everyone.
Expect there to be two 90-min sessions per week for 7 weeks … and you’ll have a brand new, complete website!
We are looking to start our next cohort in late July, early August. Fill out the application to get on the list!
Why Build Your Own Website?
Learning to build your own website saves you time and money. How does it save you time? Well, at first, it doesn’t, since you’re actually building it, BUT, once it’s done, because you know HOW to work with it, you’ll save time and money having a web designer update your website with every little change. How many breeders can barely update their website and it feels old, clunky, and outdated? I see it all the time!
When you can build and manage your own website, you aren’t stuck working with someone, you’re not waiting on anyone. Found a typo? No problem! Just log in and fix it! Takes 60 seconds. Want to add an article about a common struggle your buyers have? Too easy! Quickly make the pages, add your text and images, and you’re ready to go!
I’ve built all of my own websites over the last 15 years, including this one!!
My goal in building your website is to make it easy for buyers to navigate, to give the information they need, and to reduce the overall time you need to spend talking with and vetting buyers.
Why Do a cohort?
I’ve found that websites, because they can feel overwhelming, often get pushed to the back burner, something you’ll tackle later … but later never seems to come. We get frustrated with ourselves and we still don’t have a functioning website we’re proud of.
When you engage in a group setting, like this cohort, you’ll actually sit down for 90 minutes with me twice a week and work on your website. You’ll have a new page or two complete DURING the call, so that you will actually have a website that’s up and running by the end of our 7 weeks together.
How Does It Work?
We’ll get together twice a week for 7 weeks, for a total of (14) 90-Min. Sessions over Zoom.
The first session I’ll walk you through the overall process of building your website from the organization piece. We’ll talk about the different pages you want on your website and how we will organize it. Once we understand the system, we’ll be able to hit the ground running when it comes to design.
In our next series of sessions we’ll get your website going. If you already have a domain and hosting service, we can use that! If you don’t, we can set it up for you. If you have a current website, we can build this site on a temporary website and then transfer it to your website when you’re ready.
The next sessions, we’ll build out each page of your website. I have multiple templates for each page, so you can choose a layout and style you prefer, and then I’ll show you options for customizing everything.
At the end, I’ll help you set up analytics so that you can track traffic to your site.
Can You Actually Build Your Own Website?
YES!! I have complete confidence that you can build your own website. You’d be surprised that it isn’t as hard as it used to be! The drag-n-drop builder I use is pretty easy to use. It gives you full flexibility in design, but has a lot of shortcuts to make designing and building easy and fast. Besides that, I’m going to walk you through it all.
If you can operate email, I can teach you. If you can operate Canva, then this will be just as easy.
What Else?
There are a lot of little things that go into building a website, all the boring backend stuff that really help you capitalize on how your website benefits you. This is why I can integrate the following services as needed. Most of these services are included in MasterClasses inside the Dog Breeder Society (a membership is highly recommended!).
Together we’ll discuss your workflow and how to implement the following services into your business structure and customer journey, as well as how to use the data to assess and improve your website.
Your website should be an integral component of your business system.
ConvertKit Email
We’ll set you up on ConvertKit or integrate your current email service provider. You’ll have forms strategically placed on your site allowing you to collect the emails of interested potential buyers. We can start you on the free plan, there is no need for an additional cost unless it benefits you.
Hosting Selection
Your hosting service is where your website lives, having a great host not only makes the site more efficient, but also more reliable. I have a great recommendation we can get you set up with. If you currently have a domain host you want to continue using, that’s fine! We can build your site on a temporary domain and transfer it.
Analytics
We will set you up with an easy-to-use analytics monitoring service to see how people are interacting with your website, so you can make tweaks and adjustments as necessary. We love this service for it’s simplicity and ease of use. We also love that the free version has a lot of great information!
Ready to Build a website you love?
Please fill out the application to get started, this gives me a little background and helps me better support you during the building process.
Pricing
$1,250*
*There are some additional costs that are required in owning and building a website, please see below.
Pricing is split into three payments: $250 Deposit, which holds your spot in the cohort. Then two payments of $500, one prior to start, and the final payment halfway through.
Pages Included:
- Home
- Puppy Process
- Available Puppies & Upcoming Litters
- Breeding Dog Gallery (all breeders individually on one long page)
- Individual Pages for All Breeding Dogs
- FAQ
- Why Us
- Meet the Team/Meet Our Family
- Puppy Application
- Contact
- Blog
- Privacy Policy (required for Google Analytics)
Additional Costs
Because this is fully your site, the domain purchase, hosting package, and website builder license will need to be purchased by you.
These costs are as follows:
Domain Purchase: $10-$40 annually
Web Hosting & Email: $15/month
Website Builder: $89/annual OR $249/lifetime license
(the license can be used on other sites you build)
I will walk you through the entire process, no need for you to organize this ahead of time!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Take Payment?
We accept Venmo, Zelle, or a Credit Card.
Can I make payments?
Yes. Payments are broken up into three payments:
$250 – Deposit
$500 – Prior to Start
$500 – Halfway Through
How Long Does It Take?
We will meet over the course of 7 weeks, twice per week for 90 minutes.
What do I need to provide?
You’ll need to provide photos and information on your ideal puppy buyer. Julie will sit with you to go over your processes and to help put them into the text of your websites. Most of the copy will discussed during the sessions, using Julie’s templates as guidelines.
Do I Need to Follow Julie's Methods?
You do not have to follow “Julie’s Methods” but you are welcome to discuss your workflows and policies with Julie to determine if you would like to adjust or change them. This is all about building things how you want them!
All breeding programs are different and unique, the goal in building your website is taking your breeding business and making it come to life on your website.
How many photos do I need?
On average most websites will need 40-60 photos. Naturally, Julie can’t provide these for you, but she can help you pick the ones you need.
Some breeders elect to hire a photographer, but this is by no means necessary. There are placeholder images available if you’d like to use those and add your own later.
Julie will help you get a list of what you need.
Will My Website Look Like Everyone Else's?
In using my templates, some people worry that their website will look like everyone else’s in the cohort, this isn’t the case! I promise.
Not only have I designed 4-5 different tempates for each website page that you get to select from, but each page is fully customizable, allowing you to add things, remove things, and move things around. With different branding, no website will look the same.
REady to get started?
Please fill out the contact form to get all the details and get started!
Once you fill out the contact form, you’ll receive an email (check spam if you don’t see it), and there will be a link to all the details on specifically what we’ll cover in each session. If you want to move forward, then place your deposit and you’ll be locked in!
