How to Set Up a Showit Template & Rank on Google (Step-by-Step Checklist)

Step 1: Lock In Your Design Settings (Colors & Typography First)

Before touching a single photo or headline on the canvas, open the left-hand panel in Showit and click Design Settings. Input your 8 brand hex codes and assign your Display, Heading, Subheading, and Body fonts across both Desktop and Mobile tabs.

When a template is properly engineered — like every template in the ShowitDesign catalog — updating Design Settings automatically cascades your brand colors and typography across all 8 to 10 pages in seconds.

Step 2: Curate & Compress Your Portfolio Images Before Uploading

Page speed is a direct Google ranking factor and a major conversion driver on mobile networks. Never upload raw 15MB JPEGs straight from Lightroom into the Showit Media Library.

Export your web images at 2500px–3000px on the long edge for full-screen hero banners, and 1500px–1800px for standard gallery frames, compressed to 75–80% quality (under 400KB per image). Name every file descriptively before uploading (for example, `napa-valley-wedding-photographer-ceremony.jpg` instead of `DSC_0492.jpg`).

Step 3: Audit Your HTML Text Tags (H1, H2, H3, P)

Because Showit is a free-form visual builder, Google relies on the HTML Text Tag property assigned to each text box to understand your page structure. Click any headline, open Text Properties on the right sidebar, and check its HTML Tag:

• Exactly ONE H1 tag per page: Your primary keyword + location + service (e.g., 'Fine-Art Wedding Photographer in Charleston & Worldwide').
• H2 tags for major section headings: Use variations of your core services and client benefits.
• H3 tags for sub-points, package titles, and FAQ questions.
• P or DIV tags for body paragraphs and decorative labels (like '01 / PORTFOLIO').

Step 4: Layer Ordering Inside Each Canvas

In Showit, screen readers and search engine bots read elements inside a canvas from top to bottom in the left-hand Layers list (or bottom to top depending on how elements were duplicated). Keep your H1 and main intro copy near the top of your Hero canvas layer stack so Google parses your primary heading immediately.

Step 5: Fill Out Page-Level SEO Titles & Meta Descriptions

Click on each page name in the left sidebar, open the SEO Settings tab on the right, and write a unique Page Title (50–60 characters) and Meta Description (145–155 characters). Avoid leaving generic titles like 'Home' or 'Investment'. Instead use: 'Wedding Photography Investment & Packages | Studio Name'.

Step 6: Connect Your Domain & Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console

Once your domain DNS records point to Showit and your SSL certificate is active, verify your domain in Google Search Console and submit both `sitemap.xml` (for your static Showit pages) and `blog_index.xml` or `post-sitemap.xml` (if using a WordPress blog). This triggers immediate indexing so clients can find you.