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Here in New England spring is finally here, the snow is all melted the weather is clearing up, the schedule is getting VERY BUSY. Last week was my busiest week of the year so far for shooting real estate, despite all thats going on right now. Houses are still moving, the economy will be fine, things will work out like they always do and it’ll be a great year for all of us. Like I mentioned spring is just a few days away and for creatives this is when we need to be grinding. It's the busiest time for videographers because we’re finally able to get out there and really apply what we learned after spending all that time inside editing all winter, as well as the things that we improved on last year. Obviously once fall comes we’re all pretty mentally exhausted and we’ve been creating non stop for a few months, and then winter comes and we’re catching up on all the things we didn’t finish throughout the year. So spring is really the first time that we actually get out there and apply the things we’ve learned, we’re all fresh, ready to go and ready to make things happen.  All the businesses are in a similar boat, you always hear “once the weather breaks”, or once spring gets here, this is when they really start making things happen. Things are always on hold, changes are always being made to really dial what the plan is and everybody is just ready to go.
With that being said I think spring is when you need to be making the most, going all in, doing as much as you can and applying everything that you learned. It’s when we are the most focused in my opinion. Everybody is feeling good because it’s finally starting to get nice out, we’re starting to see the sun again and everything just starts moving. So instead of living in fear for the next few weeks, better yourself in some way that you’ve been putting off for awhile. Me personally, I’m going to be catching up on editing and writing scripts for new videos. Whatever it is use your time wisely. Winter is for planning, spring is for action, so let’s get to it.
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So I was recently designing my new website and I was trying to research what would be the best platform to build it on. I’ve been using weebly for five years now with three different websites because of how easy it is to use, but there are a lot of downfalls to it. Most creatives have been using Squarespace and at first glance they’re very similar. They’re both drag and drop website builders with a large amount of visual first themes. As a videographer I really wanted to put an emphasis on video and images and with Weebly I haven’t been TOTALLY happy over the years. To me, my websites have always just been missing those few details that separate it from an amateur looking site to a professional, crisp looking gallery. So keep in mind, I am looking at this from a creative standpoint. That might not be the most important to you for your needs. Let’s take a quick look at some of the pros and cons for each.  Weebly is extremely easy to use and enables you a lot of SEO options because of the large amount of apps in the marketplace. Weebly also is a bit cheaper with starter websites coming in at just $8 a month. I’ve been using the Pro option for several years, which is $12 a month. On the other hand, Weebly has some design limitations and editor isn’t the most in depth. For one, and this is is one of the biggest pains to me. Weebly doesn’t have an undo button if you make a mistake or want to undo a change. Yes that’s right, the most basic of command is not even an option. Say your page gets deleted or changed completely, which has happened to me many times due to bugs. You’re out of luck. Your only option is to completely redesign your page. That is INSANE. My girlfriend, who manages website builds recently watched me editing a page and could not believe how clunky and unintitutive it seemed. Being a long time weebly user I just looked right past most of it and just accepted it and said that’s just how it is. Until I started using squarespace a few weeks ago.  Squarespace is known for its beautifully designed websites, which is the biggest thing for me as a videographer. However, they are slightly more expensive and do not feature an app store. To me, it was very minimally harder to use at first but after a day or two it’s just as easy as weebly, and it even has ground breaking features like an UNDO option. I could just tell right away that my website was going to look more like I’ve I've always wanted it to; more professional, more visual and overall better laid out. There isn’t an app store, but it seemed like most of the important stuff that I was looking for was already included and the apps in the weebly store all cost extra money anyways. One thing that I was slightly disappointed to find out was that Squarespace does not offer phone support, while weebly does - this was one of the things that I liked the most about them. Their support is great and is extremely easy to access. With plans starting at $12 a month, I opted for the $18 a month business option which is about $216 a year. For the first year that includes your domain, and a professional email which were also both a necessity. However, with the Honey add on, I was able to find a 20% off coupon which took over $43 off my order bringing it to a grand total of just $172.80 which is about $14 a month. Overall, they’re both very close and weebly is slightly easier to use but it leaves more room for error if you aren’t a web designer. Minor mistakes can be made that leave your site looking very amateur and unrefined. It’s also more cost effective, that includes a free option, which Squarespace does not. If you’re just creating a website for general use then weebly might be your best option. But if you work in any creative industry, or need a more refined website for your portfolio then Squarespace is worth the extra money. Hope this helps a bit when making your decision of what site builder to use.  |
AuthorDevin LaBrie is a videographer, photographer and creative on the NH Seacoast. Archives
March 2020
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