Jen Whitlock shares her journey of building wonderwallbackdrops.com, discussing the challenges and successes of creating a DIY website. From platform selection to launch timeline, she provides valuable insights for other business owners considering the DIY route for their websites.
Listen to the Episode
Show Notes
In this episode, Chrissy Rey interviewed Jen Whitlock, owner of Wonderwall Backdrops, about her experience building her own business website. Jen shared honest insights about choosing Squarespace, managing the build process, and what she’d do differently if starting over.
Guest Bio: Jen Whitlock
Jen Whitlock is the creative force behind Wonderwall Backdrops, where they turn event dreams into stunning visual realities. Located in Millersville, Maryland, she has built a business that allows clients to say goodbye to DIY by transforming spaces with her handcrafted backdrop masterpieces and show-stopping balloon designs. She shows up to the party, makes everything look stunning, cracks a joke, and leaves each guest feeling like this was the event of the year.
With more than 30 years of experience in the advertising, public relations, and marketing fields, Whitlock founded Wonderwall Backdrops in 2023 to allow clients access to cost-effective, turnkey event decor options. Recognized as 2024’s “Best of Annapolis” Party Vendor with their work in private, corporate, and brand activation events, Wonderwall Backdrops is also active in the community, giving back to several Anne Arundel County non-profit organizations.
Connect with Jen:
- Website: https://www.wonderwallbackdrops.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wonderwallbackdrops/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonderwallbackdrops
Topics Covered
- Introduction to Wonderwall Backdrops (0:00:30)
- Choosing Squarespace as a platform (0:05:31)
- Initial website development process (0:06:31)
- Website launch timeline discussion (0:12:59)
- Managing technical challenges (0:15:52)
- Time investment considerations (0:17:49)
- Website legitimacy and importance (0:21:17)
- Lead generation and contact forms (0:22:44)
- Service area and reach (0:24:50)
Lessons Learned
- Consider time investment when deciding to DIY
- Don’t wait for perfection before launching
- Website legitimizes business more than social media
- Professional help can save time for core business activities
Resources
- Squarespace
- SEO Success Club
- Local SEO Lab (January 27th event)
Transcript
[00:00:09] Hi, everyone. This is Chrissy. Welcome back to Website Success. Today, I have a new friend here joining me. Her name is Jen Whitlock, and she is the owner of Wonderwall Backdrops. Jen, welcome to the show.
[00:00:30] Hello, Chrissy. Thanks for having me. I’m super excited to be joining you and to share whatever wisdom I have.
[00:00:39] Awesome. Awesome. Yes. And so I asked Jen on here. She volunteered because she did everything herself. And I would love to get some insight because I know a lot of the folks that are listening to this podcast are trying to DIY their websites. They’re, they’re doing everything and it’s a lot. So I just sort of wanted her to walk through the process of how she got her website up and running.
[00:01:02] So Jen, if you could start, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business?
[00:01:07] Absolutely. Um, I’m Jen Whitlock. My company is Wonderwall backdrops. We are. really, um, an event decor business. We specialize in custom made or semi custom backdrops and balloon decor. So, you know, people are having birthday parties or graduation parties, wedding receptions, things like that. We’re the people who can come in and you say like DIY, we’re trying to help those people out there. Get out of the DIY, um, space because it’s painful and stressful and, and what have you, but trying to do it in a way that doesn’t, you know, break the bank for somebody who wants to bring somebody in and then actually, you know, be able to enjoy their event. So, um, I officially started my business about 18 months ago and yes, I am the person who it’s like, do as I say, not as I do. And I’m the person who as the business owner, um, put together all the stuff, all the stuff, all the website and what have you. So yeah, I’m happy to be an open book and, and hopefully, um, help your listeners. In that regard,
[00:02:20] Awesome. Awesome. Thank you. And can you tell me what you are currently using for your website?
[00:02:25] yes, I am utilizing Squarespace, um, 7. 1, if that means anything to anyone, but that’s the, that’s kind of the version that it’s run on. And actually last night I just hit go on a total refresh, like
[00:02:45] a total, like went through and redid everything. Um, and, and it was at the point where I felt really good about it.
[00:02:54] And I was like, awesome, this is great. I hit go and I pulled this there and I did that. And I was like, hit refresh on all of my, you know, my phone and my computer. And I was like, well, hot diggity dog, it didn’t refresh. So I got it there. But again, it’s, um, For me, and I have a really strong background in marketing and event planning and event management and branding and what have you, but it’s, um, where do you kind of like, really define your. Area of expertise. And guess what website development is not my super strong area of expertise, but as a business owner, as a small business owner and, you know, trying to drive revenue and be mindful of things, that was the thing that I did. So anyway,
[00:03:45] And, and, um, how long ago did you originally launch your, your, your first Squarespace website?
[00:03:50] So I originally launched it, um, I’d say back in August of 23
[00:03:57] and it, um, it looked vastly different than it does now. It looked different than it did two days ago. Um, and it’s very much the, like, you think, you know, a little bit and you can be savvy in some things online, but it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, As they say, and it’s a mixed metaphor, it’s a whole nother world.
[00:04:20] It just is. So, um, I’ve probably gone through like two full refreshes because, um, I feel very strongly that as a business owner, you should have a, your brick and mortar, if you don’t have a brick and mortar, is your website.
[00:04:39] And, you know, right now we are currently in this Um, like gray area as to whether or not things like a tick tock are going away and to to have all of your work on social media and not having an online presence is not a best practice.
[00:04:58] I would recommend. So that’s
[00:05:00] why I think that having a good website or at least something really legitimizes yourself. And. A lot of the work that we do is, you know, corporate events or working with educational facilities and they want to see that you exist and that you aren’t just existing on a social media platform.
[00:05:20] So I’ve always had it since I kind of opened my doors and then have, like I said, gone through and done kind of like two big old refreshes.
[00:05:27] Okay. And why did you choose Squarespace?
[00:05:31] Um, I choose a choose. I chose Squarespace because it seemed to me, I kind of vetted it with You know, my colleagues and friends and ask those who are currently like in the, in the web design world, like out of these, you know, out of Squarespace or Wix or WordPress, um, which one is the kind of thing? And they were all like, no, you need to develop it like in a native way.
[00:06:01] Like you need to actually have it programmed to be you. But they said out of the ones that were available, kind of like, you know, like, you know, cuts coming off the shelf solutions that that one was the best one for usability for me and then, um, navigation and such for my intended target audience.
[00:06:23] Okay.
[00:06:23] So, yes.
[00:06:25] And can you walk us a little bit through the process and the path that you took to get your first website up and running?
[00:06:31] Sure, sure. So, um, with Squarespace, and I imagine that this is very much from what I remember in terms of investigating the other platforms that I could have gone with, it’s looking at the templates and starting there. That’s what made it, I guess, the most successful. palatable and, and easier for me than just like a, I don’t even know what I want.
[00:06:55] And so, you know, starting there and looking at like what kind of speaks to me. And so it very much is identifying like who you are as a company and what your, um, I don’t, I don’t want to say vibe is, but really like if you’re, you know, depending upon your industry and depending upon your niche and who you’re like, super targeting, um, in my industry, in the, the balloon and the backdrop industry, a lot of people, and if this is totally fine, they just want to have, you know, the pale colors and the like, you know, confetti or what have you. And me, my jam has always been, um, a little more, I don’t want to say it. Fun or whatever, but I’m, I’m leaning to, um, bold and, and funky a little bit. And so, um, I found a template that I liked and I started there. And then you just, you start leaning into, um, if you’re smart, you lean into what your brand colors are and your font, and you start to try to pull things through from your image, from your, Kind of go to market strategy and make certain that that’s replicated in your, in your website.
[00:08:12] So, you know, what is your, what is your tagline or your slogan? What is your value proposition? You want to pull all that through in the things that you do on your website. And then you just kind of start to tweak it. And to, you know, you can on Squarespace, you pick like a, Quotes, but you pick a font pack, you pick a, um, you kind of pick a theme, like what are your buttons look like in this and that and the other. And yes, you can go in and customize, you know, based on your hex code or, um, you can pull in a new font. You can, um, you know, you upload your images or you can search from other, you know, um, stock images and things like that. So that’s really how I started it. And I think even at that point I had my first iteration of my logo, which I’ve, you know, kind of gotten rid of.
[00:09:01] So it’s really, um, starting with a template and then, you know, you add sections, you add pages, you make certain that it’s covering everything and hopefully you’re building it in a way that’s smart and you are incorporating your, um, keywords and being mindful of SEO, uh, in a really smart way. So that’s how that happened.
[00:09:22] Okay. And for anybody that’s curious, the website is wonderwallbackdrops. com. And it is definitely bold. Uh, the, the current version, definitely bold. Uh, there’s, there’s disco balls on the hero area. So yeah, it’s definitely, it, it, uh. Reaches out and smacks you in the face.
[00:09:41] Well, thank you. I
[00:09:42] think
[00:09:42] in a good way, in a good way,
[00:09:43] honestly, it’s so funny because, um, I built that disco ball wall by hand, disco ball by disco ball. And, um, and it’s funny because it, the story is, and it’s true is that years ago, I started collecting disco balls. I literally have them all over my studio, but I just love them.
[00:10:00] It’s just, it’s just something that has always been one of my things. And, When I built that, I built it with a tutorial from a really great friend who’s out in California. But anyway, it’s like, it’s not for me. And it’s funny because I take a look at what’s trending and what’s here and what’s now what’s coming and whatever. And the disco ball trend, it’s never been a trend for me. It’s been a way of life. So that’s why I have it there. So
[00:10:24] yeah,
[00:10:25] It looks great, it looks, it’s, yeah, it’s got a great personality.
[00:10:29] Uh, it definitely comes through, so, um, yeah. So again, wonderwallbackdrops. com, take a look at it. Uh, and and I actually I have a quick question because you mentioned search engine optimization are you’re a local business. So you’re you’re based in Anne Arundel County, the Baltimore area.
[00:10:46] Uh, do you have a Google business profile as well?
[00:10:48] do. I most definitely do. But I am going to say this with as much Like self respect as I can as well as you know, my Here’s my thing is that, yes, I do have that. And yes, I am working on my SEO. It is not where it needs to be. It’s just not like it needs to be. But then I look at my list of all the 74 things that need to be done.
[00:11:15] And it’s important because it’s like chicken and the egg, right? Dedicate the time to your SEO and your SEO will work for you. And I need to do that. So, yes.
[00:11:27] you are preaching to the choir here and for any of you that have been listening for a little while, you know, I’ve got lots of stuff on SEO and I actually am working on a membership. It’s in. Sorry. My dog is saying
[00:11:40] I love it. hi, puppy.
[00:11:42] he’s whining. But it’s, uh, search the I’m sorry, SEO Success Club, and it is in founding member status right now.
[00:11:51] So it’s, it’s got the, the very inexpensive pricing, but, uh, the courses and the resources in there walk you through the basics of SEO. And we have SEO Q&As and SEO office hours and all kinds of support for that.
[00:12:05] Uh, and one of the things that’s coming up, uh, I think this podcast will be released before this.
[00:12:12] This, uh, event coming up, but January 27th, I’ve got a local SEO lab coming up that is great for anybody that’s got a Google business profile or needs a Google business profile to show you how to do your local SEO and all of the stuff that’s underneath of that. There’s, there’s a lot to it, but, uh, walking, walking everybody through all of that.
[00:12:32] So,
[00:12:33] um,
[00:12:34] Okay.
[00:12:36] You might want to sign up for it too.
[00:12:37] I’m making a note. I’m making a note right
[00:12:39] January 27th. It’s, it’s in Annapolis and online. So for any of you that are listening, uh, that you’re not in the Anne Arundel County area in Maryland, it’s online and in person. So you can do either one. Um, now how long, when, when, with your first website, how long, so I know you said you launched it in August of 23.
[00:12:59] How long from the time you started working on it until you launched it, do you think that it took you?
[00:13:04] So that’s an amazing question. How long did it take? It was probably, um, oh my gosh. I mean, it was maybe a month or something and it was one of those like, Oh, you know, that statement launched the damn thing. Just get it out. Right. Get it out. Get something out that says I exist proof of concept. And was it where I wanted it to be?
[00:13:30] No, no, it wasn’t. But I was kind of like at that point where. I’m tired of monkeying with this and I just need to say like I exist at that point. And to be honest with you, it was, I was also dancing between, um, I was launching, I didn’t have any like actual booked business yet, but I had, You know, I had backdrops.
[00:13:52] I wanted to get those kind of, you know, shot and, and on there somehow. And so here I am playing photographer, getting that done kind of a thing. So it was all happening at the same time. None of it was fun. None of it was easy, but it like, I was just at the point where, okay. I’m my own worst critic. We are all our own worst critics and things that I notice are not the things that a, you know, general person would notice because I know that, you know, whatever, like I’ll look at my own work and go. Farts, I missed a balloon in that spot. Whatever. That’s why I always use like my camera instead of my eyes to look at things, kind of a thing. So, um, so yeah, it was probably a solid month of like, just banging it out and, you know, being like, here it is, world, take it or leave it. So,
[00:14:44] Yeah. And, and I, I have, yeah, a lot, I have a lot of the clients that I’ve worked with that have had the same issue where it’s just like, just launch it. Just get it out there. Get it, get it out. You can. I, and I worked, uh, with a print designer that was, was noodling over whether or not she was ready to launch, and I, I had a reminder, it’s a website.
[00:15:02] Once you publish it, you can change
[00:15:04] Yeah. Right. Exactly. Right. That’s it. a
[00:15:06] Yeah. You can, you can publish it and then you can change it, and it, it’s. Live all of a sudden, and
[00:15:12] Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And also, I just want to go back and say one thing you just said something that made me do like whatever is having the ability to go in and like, I can go in and load photos under my gallery. I can go in and tweak different things. I probably could do that with the assistance of, you know, some other platform or what have you.
[00:15:33] But I knew that I was going to be obsessive about it at times and wanting to be able to have something that was semi user friendly. So that’s why too.
[00:15:41] okay,
[00:15:43] valid, valid. Uh, now, did you run into any issues, tech issues, or any, any trouble when you were building your website? And if you did, where did you go?
[00:15:52] Oh, yeah. I mean, where do I go? I don’t know. I mean, I’ve utilized, I’ve utilized, you know, Squarespace. You don’t get a person.
[00:15:59] You don’t get Chrissy. You get, you get, hi, this is whatever, you know, Frank from Squarespace chat or what have you, who can And, and I will tell you that their, their customer service is good in that respect, but I am one of, you know, whatever, 14 million people using their products.
[00:16:19] And, um, you know, the best help they can give me is a chat function. So there’s no phone number, there’s no like jump on a zoom and let’s like, you know, work this out kind of a thing.
[00:16:29] So I have had to tap into there. Some of the things I’ve just been like, well, guess what? I’m just not going to do this now then.
[00:16:37] And you know, like I’ve wanted to, um, I think I had a really hard time getting my product page launch launched. And really that was just, um, like for people who wanted to order grab and go balloon garlands or, you know, stuff like seasonal Valentine’s day, um, football playoffs, things like that. And I was like, well, guess what?
[00:16:57] I’m missing the boat on that. So tough nuggies and I’ll just figure it out later kind of a thing. So,
[00:17:02] and you know, when you have that and it’s tied into a financial component where you’re accepting, you know, credit card payments, there’s things that really kind of have to match up. So, you know, that could be, that could be a real deal breaker for somebody who is utilizing a website to actually sell 100 percent of their products, right?
[00:17:22] Mine is more of a service offering. I need to show you that I exist for you and I to work together, for you to have faith and trust in me, but I don’t have to put my grab and go balloon garlands on there, you know, as a product page, but some people do. Absolutely.
[00:17:37] hmm, right, okay. Now, if you could do it all over again, and, and you could do everything 100 percent right from the start, how would you do things differently, or would you do things
[00:17:49] I would. I would because I’ll tell you that I, um, I, the, the refresh that I just did. Um, I bought a great, um, template and I worked with somebody in like making it mine, the, the creator of the template. And she was amazing. Um, but if I could, if I could honestly, like the little persons hovering above me would say, Hey, Okay. Hey, guess what? You know, hindsight is 2020. Let’s look a year and a half down the road. You probably spent more and it’s not necessarily the quote unquote check that you write, but it’s the like, it’s the investment in my time. Like my time that I invested in my website development is the time that took away from me actually, Um, doing better marketing or, you know, networking or, you know, all those things.
[00:18:40] And so, you know, whatever, like if, if I want, if I have my designated like hourly, like I need to make X dollars of, you know, an hour, um, I probably lost quote unquote lost money in that by not just saying, Hey Chrissy, here’s all my content. Here’s what I want to do with it. Do it, you know? Um, so that’s probably like, if I had had that, you know, forward vision, you know, out of the windshield, instead of behind me on the rear view mirror, um, it, that would have, that would have probably been a great thing for me to have just invested in. And then, you know, maybe I would have had a native look and feel and whatever about it. I really like where my website is right now, but again, it’s, you know, It’s like a, uh, it’s like a, it’s like a lost, you know, at the cost of a lost opportunity kind of a thing. So, yeah,
[00:19:35] Okay. Yeah, that’s, that’s something that I, that I, I talked to either, well, both the done for you and the done with you
[00:19:42] yeah,
[00:19:42] client is if you’re not paying for it with your money, you’re paying for it with your
[00:19:47] absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah,
[00:19:48] which is going to work better for you.
[00:19:50] right. Exactly. So yeah,
[00:19:51] And for a lot of, a lot of my, my clients where I do it for them, they just would rather me do it.
[00:19:57] And then they can do the stuff that they’re good at.
[00:19:59] exactly.
[00:20:00] it just makes things a lot easier.
[00:20:03] I am like a little MacGyver, right? I am bubblegum paperclip and, and you know, rubber band rubber bands are always on my wrist, but, um, that’s how I get the, that’s how I get it done is, is just kind of like, what’s the worst that can happen? But again, it’s. If I had dedicated the financial investment and just was able to get that off my plate, you know, I, I listened to, um, a lot of podcasts and one of them is, is, uh, by someone in the, in the balloon industry. And she said, look, if I want to do something at a hundred percent, but if I can get, pay somebody and they can get it at 80 percent to what I would do, like that’s a win and a win. And I was like, Oh, that’s what I need to do. So yeah.
[00:20:48] Yeah.
[00:20:48] And in a lot of cases, we, I’ll do the building of the website and I let the clients worry about their content and, and all of that. Cause that’s, Yes, I can do their content, but they’re going to know their stuff
[00:21:02] Sure. Sure. Absolutely. Yes. Yep.
[00:21:05] Yeah. Awesome. Okay. Um, so is, do you have anything else that you’d like to share about your process, your business or your website or any, anything else that he, do you have any events coming up
[00:21:17] Oh, I mean, I have like, we’re starting to kick off and get like really busy. And, um, we’ll like the spring, summer will be, you know, chock full of, um, proms and graduations and things like that. Um, I mean, it’s definitely, you know, in terms of your website, I just, I can’t say it enough that it’s, it’s really kind of what legitimizes. Most I would say, if not all companies and to lean into that for before you like, worry about your content creation on, you know, instagram and tick tock and things like that. Yes, it’s important. But, um, It’s still where people are going to go when you know, to make sure that you exist, you know They’re just gonna search on something random and you’re either gonna pop up or you’re not gonna pop up But But if I need to show a body of work to somebody The fastest way I can do that is to send them to my website You know I can give them an actual link and they can go to the gallery and they can look at you know Oh, you want to look at all balloons?
[00:22:18] There you go. You want to look at all the backdrops? Go there. You want to look at some of the other things we do? Here’s, you know, here’s your, here’s your spot. Um, you know, have, have a way for you to tie in a, um, lead gen, um, mechanism. So, you know, have a spot on there for individuals to sign up for a newsletter, offer them, you know, something 10 percent off or give something away or, Um, and have a great contact us form.
[00:22:44] You know, that for me is, it was so funny because I literally was like flipping the website last night. And, um, I was like, Oh, it didn’t, it refreshed. Oh no, it didn’t refresh. But then it was so funny because my lead, um, my contact, um, form is tied into my like CRM and. It thankfully was still operational because a
[00:23:07] lead came in at the same time and I was like, oh, thank God, you know, so, um, and really, you know, it’s just, Trying to tie up all those like little loose ends and the things that go on behind the scenes with the SEO can be makers or breakers.
[00:23:22] And I know that there are some things out there on mine right now that are breakers that I need to go back in and take care of. But again, it’s my list of 74 things. So, so yeah, so I mean, it’s really, I’m, I’m super pumped about, you know, Um, what I’m doing and you know, my, it’s a, it’s always what, what industry isn’t competitive.
[00:23:41] It’s a competitive landscape and, um, you know, we kind of hang our hat on stellar customer service. We’re not going to be, um, the least expensive and we’re by far not going to be the most expensive, but we’re going to be the ones that are like, you can hear, and I’ve often heard people say, I can hear you smiling through the phone.
[00:24:00] So, um, that’s the impression that I want to make with people and, you know, I always say, um, my first goal is to listen and to problem solve. And it sounds like, why is it a problem? Well, you know, someone’s coming to me because they don’t want to do all this stuff. So keep my ears open and, um, come back. And you know, I always say if people want, you know, polka dots and I say, Hey, stripes might look better here, but at the end of the day, if they want polka dots, they get polka dots. So that’s it.
[00:24:29] so well again, thank you so much for joining me and sharing your experience with your website and getting your business online. I really appreciate it. Thanks everybody for listening. If you are in need of backdrops, balloons, event design, Reach out to Jen. Uh, it’s, uh, wonderwallbackdrops. com, backdrops with an S dot com.
[00:24:50] Uh, she is in the Annapolis, Baltimore, Maryland area. So if you’re in this area, will you, will you travel outside of the
[00:24:57] Oh yeah, absolutely. Um, actually I think like we have clients in Delaware and, you know, all over the place. So, uh, PA, yep. Yep.
[00:25:05] okay. Yeah. So check her out. Uh, and again, thank you so much for joining us.
[00:25:09] Thanks for having me. This was fantastic.
[00:25:12] Awesome, awesome. Uh, if you enjoyed this episode, and I’m sure you did, everybody loves these episodes, uh, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, come back to the next episode, and we’ll catch you next time.
[00:25:24] Thanks Chrissy.