One of the number-one goals yoga teachers set as a first next step in my trainings is to build a simple website where students can learn about their offerings. While websites can be a fully custom design costing five figures, that’s not what most teachers need right out of training or, honestly, ever. In The Professional Yoga Teacher’s Handbook, I liken building a website to building a house. What most of us need is a starter home that we can decorate to our taste and upgrade down the line, not an architect-designed custom build.
For this starter home, I often point teachers to all-in-one sites like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace to build a starter site. And in December, I got a hands-on opportunity to use Squarespace, in its integration with the Square payment processing system.
My husband co-owns a French restaurant in downtown Durham, Rue Cler, which hibernated through the COVID summer and fall of 2020. As they prepared to reopen for takeout this winter, I volunteered to set up their online ordering. Along the way, I saw how easy it would be to switch the entire website from their existing, somewhat clunky WordPress site to a new site directly on the Square platform. This integrated operations across the restaurant, from marketing to inventory.
Once I got rolling, I had a basic site up in less than 90 minutes. And when they reopen for table service, we can add reservations integration, tickets for events like wine dinners, and more. It was fun and easy work, and it didn’t require a whit of coding experience. (I am not being paid by Square to say this! It was honestly a good time for me.)
If you’re a yoga teacher who wants to build a site directing students to your online platform, sell tickets to outdoor yoga events, or book virtual or in-person private lessons, take a look at Square. It’s quite easy to build something that might help connect students with your offerings that will help them.
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