Should I change my current website or create a new one? Advice please.

[Gman000]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a little advice on what I should do with my website. My current website is hottubhire-aberdeen.co.uk, we started out hiring hot tubs 3 years ago and have steadily moved into doing a-lot more than just hiring. We currently sell new hot tubs, relocate second hand ones, service and repair. We have built up a relatively good following on our socials and are well reviewed so ideally we would like to keep our current website and simply add a shop. The problem is, I'm concerned our domain name will simply encourage potential customers who are not looking for a hire to scroll past.

The options as I see it are

• Keep the current site and simply add a few pages to highlight the additional services and a link to a shopify page for our products. This option is good for keeping everything under one roof, building on our current reputation and reviews although risks potential customers skipping by when they see our domain name suggests we are a hire business.
• Keep the current website with the changes above but change our domain name to something like 'Luxury-hot-tubs-Aberdeen' for example. This allows us to keep everything under one roof and removes the issue of customers mistaking us as hire only. My worry with this option is how it will affect our position on google for hires since this is still a big part of our business. The current domain is easy for customers looking for this service to see its exactly what we do.
• Update the current website with a page explaining our additional services out with hire, then link to a shopify page where we can showcase our products, relocations and service/repair. This would keep the hire almost completely separate from everything else which isn't terrible since the customer base is completely different.
  My concern with this option, I feel we would almost need to have a separate trading name and this would mean being unable to use our current reviews and socials along with our locally known name. Would it be an issue if we created something like 'Luxury-hot-tubs-Aberdeen' and had similar content like business name and linking between the two sites?

I hope this makes sense?! There's every possibility I'm over thinking things but feel like its going to be very important for our growth to get this right. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Gman000

 

[fisicx]

Keep the existing site and set up a whole new site to market all of your services.

But not shopify. It’s the wrong platform for something as diverse as your business.

 

[Gman000]

Keep the existing site and set up a whole new site to market all of your services.

But not shopify. It’s the wrong platform for something as diverse as your business.

Thankyou fisicx,

Do you have any recommendations for an alternative platform?

Many thanks,

G

 

[fisicx]

Thankyou fisicx,

Do you have any recommendations for an alternative platform?

Many thanks,

G

Probably Wordpress. The reason not to use shopify is you are doing more than just sellings and renting. The servicing for example needs quote forms.

 

[Shopclicks]

Another vote here for a separate Wordpress site.

Are you using a carrier for your sales and delivering UK wide?

 

[Gman000]

Another vote here for a separate Wordpress site.

Are you using a carrier for your sales and delivering UK wide?

Hi Shopclicks,

Thanks for sharing your suggestion.

We will collect direct from the supplier then deliver/install using our team.

Any SEO issues using our current company name or should this be changed?

 

[Shopclicks]

We will collect direct from the supplier then deliver/install using our team.

UK wide?

Any SEO issues using our current company name or should this be changed?

Do you own any other domains? I wouldn't use Aberdeen in the domain.

 

[Gman000]

UK wide?


Do you own any other domains? I wouldn't use Aberdeen in the domain.

I haven’t purchased a new domain for this site yet as I’m still trying to figure out the best route - we will deliver uk wide. I assume this is the reason not to use the local city?

 

[fisicx]

The domain name should be as generic as possible. Doesn’t even need to mention hottubs and spas. That way you can take your business in any direction you want.

 

[Shopclicks]

I haven’t purchased a new domain for this site yet as I’m still trying to figure out the best route - we will deliver uk wide. I assume this is the reason not to use the local city?

Yes, as @fisicx suggests, keep it generic. Otherwise you end up in the same situation you are now. Exact match domains are no longer a thing and won't help your ranking. You might end up hiring out hot tubs in other locations one day and you'll have a platform to do that.

 

[Shopclicks]

Just a bit about selecting a domain name. Choose something that reflects what you do but is generic. Do a Google search of the domain and name to make sure it isn't being used widely anywhere else (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Trademarks, etc.). Don't use hyphens and keep it to 17 characters or less.

I had an enquiry from someone a few years ago who asked why they couldn't be found on Google. Their domain was literally 'myoffice'.

 

[antropy]

Do you have any recommendations for an alternative platform?

You could use OpenCart for the shop section.

Paul.

 

[fantheflames]

Lots to consider. Thing is with Shopify, if you want to link to external sites, you'll have to pay extra for that. Shopify likes to stay on Shopify. So if you wanted to link back to your main site... that will incur some extra.

WordPress setup works best. I prefer the idea of having everything under one roof, like others have said. You'll want to display your products, have easy communication features, and have a form that's build for your services.

 

[AlanJ1]

Lots to consider. Thing is with Shopify, if you want to link to external sites, you'll have to pay extra for that. Shopify likes to stay on Shopify. So if you wanted to link back to your main site... that will incur some extra.

WordPress setup works best. I prefer the idea of having everything under one roof, like others have said. You'll want to display your products, have easy communication features, and have a form that's build for your services.

I would advocate wordpress as you need more than just selling for the OP.

But on this point fan, what do you mean? I have multiple Shopify sites and never paid to link out?

 

[Paul Carmen]

It needs a plan, there's loads to consider, but having separate websites is a pain and dilutes any offsite PR and SEO work.

As said already, WordPress is a good solution, you can add pretty much any functionality you like for rental and payment, plus its easy to make a good multi site setup; e.g. a brand site for your sales and services, but you can have area specific sites like your Aberdeen site within it if you want to target regions/cities or run a franchise type model.

Any domain or redirect work should; be part of the plan, there are options to research domains as part of the market/brand work and you may even be able to find a dropped or for sale domain that could potentially help with rankings.

It would be worth carrying out detailed market, customer and search term research to fully understand the competition and what customers are looking for, then use that to create a website and marketing/SEO plan, or having someone help you do it if that's not something you're comfortable with.

 

[TheExec]

I agree with going down the WordPress route. There's so much flexibility, and you can even link to external payment platforms (rather than making your website eCommerce). I would advise giving your hire packages a more prominent position on the site too. A similar site that we completed recently allows the user to select all of the products they need for an event, and sends a quote request. This is quite complex though.

 

[Gibson46]

In my opinion, it would be best to keep your existing URL and sell hot tubs on the same site. Personally, I think managing two sites would be a hassle, not to mention the additional costs of a second site. You also have the domain authority you've built up on your site, and you may be able to sell to customers who have rented a hot tub from you. The URL won't make a significant difference, as people will likely focus more on the advert than the URL.