Design Pool Sites Clients Share
Have you ever clicked a website and just thought – “wow”? What’s the last website you can remember being truly impressive in its design or how it functions? Chances are it’s few or even none. Wouldn’t it be a nice surprise if that happened just once, now and then? It would.
Chances are your clients feel the same and, they’d probably be more inclined to buy from you if your website gave them that feeling. We’re all surfing the same web after all.
In this article, I will use data I’ve gathered from looking at over 2,000 websites by pool builders in the last 4 months and give you my key takeaways on what makes a pool builder website truly deliver that wow factor.
The Importance of Unique Design
The pool building industry is reported to have grown significantly in the last few years and is The Importance of Unique Design
The pool building industry is reported to have grown significantly in the last few years and is projected to reach 3.57 billion globally by 2029. With the growth of anything comes competition.
Pool builders are no exception in this regard. Plenty of talented owner-operators have flooded into the market in recent years. With more competition comes more copying. The same styles and colors, the same messaging and discounts – even the stock images most pool websites use are the same!
Our Florida research showed that 88% of pool builders use blue and white in their website design. It might feel risky but differentiation is a competitive advantage. Those that stand out, divide opinion and be a different win. If you’ve been around marketing long enough you’ll have heard of the Purple Cow theory popularised in the book by Seth Godin.
The theory states that one field full of cows is boring and looks just the the next so remembering any one cow is difficult. But, if you were to see a purple cow in one of the fields that is something that you would be excited to see and would share with others. Humans are pattern-seeking individuals and something that loudly breaks the patterns we expect to see sticks in our head. Your website is that purple cow.
Pool builders could easily call this the Purple website theory. When 88% of your competitors are blue and green. A person landing on your purple website is going to stop and pay attention.
Website color is just one way to differentiate your site there are many more such as; adding a mascot to your website, using unique animations or relying on custom high-quality images. The point is to zig when your competitors zag.
Use Images and Content Effectively
Custom imagery is something that many companies use to successfully gain and retain your attention. They curate and create a feeling or a ‘vibe’ by relying on the images they use. One of the best brands to do this is Nike.
In 1988 Nike kicked off (pun intended) its “Just Do It” campaign in a way that immediately set the tone for who they were and how they planned to stand out from the rest of the shoe brands at the time. They went out and filmed the 80-year-old Walter Slack on his daily run. The video speaks for itself.
While some may argue that Nike has fallen off in recent times due to various failed collaborations with celebrities and athletes their marketing still heavily uses imagery to get you hooked into their social media. Take a look at these stunning images from their Instagram.
So how can you do it?
How can you a pool company use imagery to stand out?
- Custom photography
- Creative lifestyle images
- Unique and relatable perspectives.
Here are the types of images your competition is going to be using;
- Images of beautiful pools they have installed – their marquee projects. Showing a hero shot that makes the pool look inviting and luxurious.
- Before and after images of installations or builds.
- Close-ups on just one or two features of the pools to demonstrate their ability to install and deliver on waterfalls, sun decks and built-in spas.
I challenge you to find an installed pool shot that has people in it though. Or some kind of action, or has been professionally shot and edited in a way that would make Nike want to use it. Just for reference.
Here are a few pool pics from Nike’s swim page on Instagram (yes it’s a thing, no I didn’t know that either before writing this article).
If want to see even better images of pools and pictures I suggest checking out the Instagram of hotels, the Olympics or photographers shooting the Olympics and one of my personal favorites: Geoff Lowe
So here is how you can use imagery to be unforgettable by your customers;
- Put people in the pool. No one buys a pool to look at it empty. They buy it to experience it, to share it and to enjoy it. Even sneaker companies show shoes with people in them.
- Go pro – When you know you’re in for a marquee project get allow for some extra to pay a photographer and get them to come by for images. There are plenty of talented local photographers out there who can jazz up your final install photos. Iphones are great for most projects but the best pools should receive a pro.
- Play with perspective – The hero shot of the pool lit up at night and the midday shot with the sun overhead are great but, what about the water’s edge? Or a bird’s eye drone view? Or an underwater shot of kids jumping in. Do it differently and reap the rewards.
Case Study: Crazy Creatures Pools
Want to see how to build a unique pool builder brand in action? We’re building and marketing our own pool company – Crazy Creatures Pools.
We’ve bucked the trends and will continue to do so, to show you how you can have a beautiful, well-designed pool builder website that pulls in Google traffic like a magnet.
Take a look at the site and you will see we’ve abandoned the blue and white design.
We’ve made it Green and Orange. Hero images of empty pools? Forget about it! We’re spicing it up and splicing in some personality.
Thats it for now. See you in the next one!