According to LinkedIn, it takes website visitors only half a second to form an opinion about a business after landing on their website. Don’t make the wrong first impression with a clunky, hard to navigate website that doesn’t inspire your potential customer to take action. Learn about some common design myths to avoid on your journey to building a successful website!
You Can Cut Corners with a DIY Website
While platforms like Wix and Squarespace allow you to get a website up fast, easy, and cheap, they don’t offer the customizable solutions that will really make an impact and allow your business to shine. Think about it – your website is your brand’s 24/7 store front, do you really want it to look like every other templated website out there? And, more importantly, do you want it to lack the customized elements that will allow your customers to convert?
By investing a little more into website development, you will be able to create something that will truly represent your company and that your customers will actually need. You can add functionality that makes sense for your industry so you can guide visitors throughout your business’s buying journey.
Exactly how much of an investment are we talking about? While the number won’t be the same for everyone and varies depending on the size of the website and the number of special features, a customized website made by an experienced web designer usually starts around $2,000.
Filling Your Website Full of Stock Photos is Okay
Images play a critical role in your website’s appearance, so don’t get lost in the mix by using generic stock photos that your visitor may have seen somewhere before. Instead, aim to use photos of your business, staff, and products in order to accurately represent your brand.
However, the quality of your images also matter, so if you don’t currently have original high-quality photos, stock photos may be the best choice in the meantime. Just make sure to schedule a photoshoot ASAP!
Your Homepage Design Matters the Most
While a beautiful, functional homepage is definitely a must-have for great website design, it shouldn’t be your sole focus when creating a website.
You see, many digital marketing strategies, such as PPC campaigns, may not even use your homepage as the landing page, so it won’t be the first page your website visitor sees. Typically, landing pages will be used that focus on just one product or service your business provides, so making sure your internal product or service pages are attractive and ready to convert is just as important as having a jaw-dropping homepage.
A Visually Stunning Website is All that Matters
What’s the use of an expensive, beautiful website if there’s no one to see it? In order to be found online, search engines need to know your website exists, and that doesn’t happen by accident. Certain search engine optimization (SEO) measures need to be put into place so that Google and other search engines can find, index, and refer traffic to your website.
If you’ve hired a website developer to create your website, don’t assume that SEO will be automatically taken care of, either. Read your contract to see if the developer will take care of SEO duties, otherwise, you may need a digital marketing specialist to take care of your website’s SEO services.
The Work is Done Once Your Website is Live
So, your website is done. It looks great, is fully functional on all devices, and can be found by search engines. Job done, right? Wrong – now the real work begins!
As much as some would like to believe, websites are not a set it and forget it business asset. Just like every other aspect of your business, it needs to be updated occasionally to continue to provide a pleasant user experience and convey the right message for your business.
When your web developer set up your website, they should have set up a Google Analytics account so that you can observe how your website is performing. With analytics, you will be able to see what traffic is doing once it reaches your website to determine what’s working and what’s not working. Are people not clicking on a button that you really want them to click on? Maybe moving it towards the top of the page will help. Knowing your website’s analytics helps you make these decisions that will help you boost your website’s effectiveness and drive revenue.
Ready to make your mark online? Our team of website developers and digital strategists are only a phone call away – give us a ring at 605-716-5666 today!
