How to be a Showit Designer and how to build Showit Templates. 

Have you always wanted to be a Showit Designer but need help figuring out where to start? Then this blog post is going to be an excellent read for you! I have been a Showit Designer for six years, and I will be going into my seventh year this year! 

But first, let’s talk about what being a designer is not. Easy – It’s not a quick way to make extra money. In fact, it takes time and skills not only as a designer but also to learn the correct ways to combine good design with strategy, SEO, and brand building. It also takes time to build your portfolio and get your name out there. 

Here is what I recommend where to start. 

Start with taking the Showit Design Market Standards Course. You can find it here. This course is created by Showit and provides you with all the necessary information on how to set up a website properly. This course does not teach you how to use Showit but rather more of a checklist of standards on the proper way to design things such as a blog, a contact form ext… 

If you are newish to Showit and want to take a more in-depth course that focuses on how to build in Showit then I have a course called Gorgeous Designers that does teach you how to make a Showit website from the ground up. You can watch and learn how to create an entire website with all the pages and blog pages. You can find out more information HERE

The next step I recommend is to start building website templates. 

Why start with templates instead of building a website for a friend? Well, there are a few reasons, but the main one is that by creating templates, you can start the process of being creative and being yourself. When you build a website for someone else, you have to consider what the client wants and needs and what their style is. If you take that out of the equation, you can create what you wish to and attract your ideal clients by your style. It’s a win-win. You can also be paid your worth and not have to deal with a friend looking for a discount. Which, by the way, could turn into the worst experience and client project.

So after you start building templates, then what? 

Open a Showit template shop and build a website for yourself. Then, you can sell your templates and add a service to help buyers by hiring you to customize the template. I don’t recommend selling your templates on Etsy or any other 3rd party site. I have seen tons of templates on Etsy, and most are new designers, and you’re just throwing yourself in the mix. Instead, stand out, sell them on your website, and share them on social media (especially Pinterest). By selling them on your website, you also will own the rights to what you sell and how you want to sell them. 

What do you need to sell templates on a Showit Website? 

You will need a third-party shopping cart set up. There are many options available, and each choice will significantly depend upon what you need and want to do. For example, if you’re going to allow someone to pay for your templates with a payment plan, then ThriveCart and WooCommerce are your options. Personally, I love ThriveCart because you pay one time and have it forever! No monthly fees! However, ThriveCart is expensive, and Woo would require you to use the WordPress side of Showit; many need help understanding how that works. So your other options are Bravenet shop, and you can find all the information here in another blog post I have. Another option is Shopify starter, formally known as Shopify Lite. This works similarly to Bravenet but is cheaper. I recommend testing it first, though, because when I used Shopify Lite, I had a problem with once someone made a purchase, they were not getting the download file. And, of course, that is a problem. 

That wraps up this post on how to start being a designer with Showit. If you are interested in being a Certified Showit Design partner, you will need to pass the Showit Design Market Standards Course plus a list of other requirements on Showit’s website HERE.