A bridal shop site should answer what brides check before booking: designers carried, price ranges, sample sizes, how appointments work and who can come, how long gowns take to arrive, and alterations.

What the site is actually for

Brides start looking at gowns long before they book an appointment. They save photographs, follow designers, and read shop websites in the evening, very often on a phone.

By the time one calls, she has usually chosen which shops to visit, mostly on practical grounds: the designers she likes, a price she can manage, gowns in her size, and enough time to order.

The site has to settle those questions well enough that the right brides book and the others do not use up an appointment slot.

Beautiful photographs help. They answer none of the questions.

The questions behind every appointment

Most of what brides ask on the phone can be answered on the page.

The third is the one most bridal sites leave out, and it matters most to the brides it affects.

Designers, kept current

Brides search by designer name. A page listing every designer the shop carries, kept up to date, is among the first things they look for.

It should say what is actually in the shop: which collections, roughly how many gowns from each, and whether a particular gown can be requested ahead of an appointment.

When the shop stops carrying a designer, the page changes that week. A bride who drives an hour for a label the shop dropped last season does not come back.

Trunk shows, when a designer's wider collection visits for a weekend, belong on a dated events page.

Sample sizes, stated plainly

Bridal shops carry samples, usually one of each gown, in a limited range of sizes. A bride outside that range may find she can try on very little.

Bridal sizing also runs differently from everyday clothing, which surprises many brides at their first fitting. One plain sentence on the site spares an awkward moment in the fitting room.

List the sample sizes, say which designers have larger samples in the shop, and explain how fitting works for brides outside the range. A bride who knows beforehand can plan; one who finds out in the fitting room leaves.

Prices, as ranges

Many bridal sites avoid prices entirely, worried a number will put people off. The bride does not stop wondering. She books with a shop that told her.

Ranges work well: where most gowns fall, what the few above that cost, where veils and accessories start, and what alterations typically run. The point is that she can see whether she belongs there.

If there is an appointment fee or a deposit to order, say how much and when it is due. Surprises at the counter cost more goodwill than any figure on a page.

How appointments work

Appointment pages are often one line and a phone number. They should describe the visit: how long it lasts, whether it is private, and how many guests can come.

The guest limit matters more than shops expect. A bride planning to bring her mother, two sisters and three friends needs to know before she invites them.

Online booking suits brides who plan after hours. At the least, a form asking for the preferred date, the wedding date, designers of interest and size lets staff pull the right samples beforehand.

Add a short what-to-bring list, on the page and in the confirmation email: shoes at the planned height, the undergarments she means to wear, and pictures of gowns she likes.

A worked example

A bridal shop above a row of stores in a Fraser Valley city carried five designers and showed their full collections on its site, using the catalogue images each designer supplied.

Brides booked appointments to try particular gowns from those pages. Many of the gowns were not in the shop, which held only a selection of samples from each collection.

Those appointments began with an apology, and a few brides left reviews mentioning a wasted trip.

Brides in larger sizes had the same experience for another reason: the samples ran in a narrow range, and the site never said so.

The shop replaced the catalogues with a page per designer showing only the gowns in stock, each with its sample size, and a note on ordering the rest. The booking form gained two questions: wedding date and size.

Staff now pull samples before each appointment, and the first ten minutes go on gowns rather than explanations.

Ordering times and alterations

Most wedding gowns are made to order after the bride chooses, and they take months to arrive. Alterations add several more weeks.

Brides who start late often do not know this. A plain timeline, from ordering through fittings to pickup, with how far ahead to book a first appointment, saves the shop a run of difficult conversations.

Say whether rush orders are possible and what they cost, whether sample gowns are ever sold for short engagements, and how alterations work: in the shop or sent out, how many fittings, and when the first one happens.

Photographs of real brides

Designer catalogue images are polished, and identical on every stockist's site. Photographs of the shop's own brides, in the shop or at their weddings, used with permission, show something no other shop can.

Honest pictures of the fitting rooms and the seating for guests help a nervous bride picture the visit. Check what each designer allows, since image use is usually part of the stockist arrangement.

The counter-case

A shop booked months ahead may need its site less to attract brides than to manage them, with clear booking rules doing most of the work.

A small shop with two designers and one fitting room can cover all of this in three pages rather than ten.

Neither changes what the pages must answer, only how many there are. Designers, sizes, prices, appointments and timing, stated plainly, bring the right brides through the door.

What to build first

  1. List designers and gowns actually in the shop.
  2. State sample sizes for each designer.
  3. Give price ranges for gowns and alterations.
  4. Describe the appointment, including the guest limit.
  5. Add booking that asks wedding date and size.
  6. Explain the timeline from order to pickup.
  7. Put a what-to-bring list in confirmations.

Step two is the one that changes who walks in. A bride who knows she can try gowns in her size books with confidence, and one who cannot is spared a wasted trip.

The same approach for a business serving families, leagues and party planners is set out in what a bowling centre website needs.

Frequently asked questions

What should a bridal shop website include first?

The designers and gowns actually in the shop, sample sizes, price ranges, how appointments work including the guest limit, ordering timelines and alterations.

Should a bridal shop show prices?

Yes, as ranges. Brides who cannot tell whether a shop fits their budget often book somewhere that told them, rather than calling to ask.

Why list sample sizes on the site?

Samples come in a limited range of sizes. A bride outside it who finds out in the fitting room has wasted a trip; one who knows beforehand can plan.

What should the appointment page explain?

How long the visit lasts, whether it is private, how to book, how many guests can come, any fee or deposit, and what to bring.

How far ahead should brides order?

Most gowns are made to order and take months to arrive, with alterations after that. The site should show the usual timeline and how far ahead to book.

Are designer catalogue photographs enough?

They help, but they appear on every stockist's site. Photographs of the shop's own brides and fitting rooms, used with permission, show what only your shop offers.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Brides booking for gowns you do not stock?

Send us your site. We will list the questions it leaves unanswered before an appointment.

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