What a florist website needs: pages, words and photos

A florist website needs a few pages that answer what customers ask on the phone: what kind of arrangements you make, whether you deliver to a certain address and by when, roughly what things cost, and how to order. Home, a gallery of your own work, ordering and delivery, events and weddings if you do them, about, and contact cover almost every shop. Real photos of arrangements that came out of your cooler do more than anything else.

Who is ordering, and how they feel

Florist customers come with very different moods and deadlines:

Someone who forgot an anniversary and needs flowers delivered today
A family arranging a funeral, often in grief and in a hurry
A couple planning a wedding a year away
An office manager ordering a weekly lobby arrangement
A shopper wanting a nice bouquet for their own table

The first two want speed and certainty. The couple wants to see your style and meet you. The office manager wants an account and an invoice. Your home page should help each find their way in one tap, and above all make the "I need it today" path impossible to miss.

The pages to have

Home. What kind of florist you are, your town, today's hours, the order cutoff for same-day delivery, and the main buttons.
Arrangements or Gallery. Your own work, grouped by occasion.
Ordering and delivery. How to order, delivery area and cutoffs.
Weddings and events, if you do them.
About. Who you are, the shop, how long you have been there.
Contact and visit. Phone, email, address, hours, parking.

How to organize occasion pages, delivery zones and wedding consultations in detail is covered in florist websites: weddings, sympathy flowers and delivery areas.

The opening line

"Beautiful flowers for every occasion" could be on any florist's site in the country. Make yours specific:

"Garden-style arrangements and same-day delivery across Charlotte, from our shop on Central Avenue."
"A family florist in Waukesha since 1978: everyday bouquets, sympathy flowers and weddings."
"Seasonal, locally grown flowers for weddings and events in the Willamette Valley. Studio by appointment."

The last example also tells people you are not a walk-in shop, which saves wasted trips.

Photos: your arrangements, not a catalog

Many florists use catalog photos from a wire service. Customers increasingly notice, and they are ordering from you because they want your style. Use your own photos wherever you can:

Arrangements you have made, shot against a plain wall or backdrop, in daylight
A range of sizes, from a small bud vase to a large centerpiece, so people can choose
Sympathy pieces, photographed respectfully: standing sprays, casket covers, sympathy baskets
Wedding work: bouquets, boutonnieres, ceremony arches, table centerpieces, with permission from the couple
The shop itself, inside and from the street

Photograph each arrangement the moment it is finished, before it leaves. Over a few months you will have a gallery of real work. If you do use any catalog photos, say that your arrangement will be similar in style, color and size, made with the freshest flowers available that day; that one sentence prevents most disappointments. How to show your work: a gallery page that helps has more on building the gallery.

Ordering: online, by phone, or both

Customers need to know how to order and what happens next:

Online ordering, if you have it: link clearly to your ordering page. If you use a florist ordering platform, make sure the link goes straight to your own shop's ordering page, not to a national marketplace that takes a cut.
By phone: the number at the top of every page, tappable, with the hours someone answers.
In the shop: hours and address.
Card message: say that customers can include a message and how long it can be.
Payment: which cards you take, and whether you take orders by phone with a card.

Say what customers can expect after ordering: a confirmation by email or text, and whether you confirm delivery.

The about page

Flowers are personal, and so is choosing a florist for a wedding or a funeral. A short about page with a photo of you and your team, a few lines about how the shop started, and what you care about (local flowers, a certain style, decades of serving the same families) builds trust. If you are a member of a florist association or have trained in a particular style, add a line.

What to leave out

Catalog photos with prices that no longer match what you charge
Holiday pages left up after Valentine's Day or Mother's Day
Every flower variety you have ever stocked
A slow slideshow on the home page that hides the phone number
Long text about the meaning of flowers before the ordering path

The contact path, built for hurried customers

Many florist customers are in a hurry or upset. Make it easy:

Phone number at the top, tappable, with hours: "Call by noon for same-day delivery"
An email address or form for wedding and event inquiries, separate from everyday orders
Your address as a map link, with parking and whether you take walk-in orders
A clear line for funeral orders: "Ordering for a funeral? Call us and we'll take care of timing with the funeral home."

For forms that people actually complete, see contact forms that people actually fill in.

What to do this week

Rewrite the home page opening: style, town, and same-day delivery if you offer it.
Put the order cutoff time next to the phone number.
Photograph every arrangement you make this week before it leaves.
Take down any holiday page that has passed.
Check that the online order link goes to your own shop's page.
Tap your phone number on your own phone and make sure it dials.

If your shop's site is full of catalog photos or hard to use on a phone, you can see your site rebuilt first with your own work and words, then decide.