Avoid these 2 Big Mistakes When Designing Your Website
Websites are so important for businesses in our modern digital age.
You should think of it as your online storefront. It’s usually the thing people see before ever showing up at your actual doorstep.
So if you want to be successful, you have to put as much time and energy into designing and building your website as you would put into arranging and decorating a physical store.
75% of consumers admit to making judgments on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design...
Which means your potential customers are deciding what they think about your brand based on your website, before even taking a step into your doors or learning about your products and services.
It takes about 50 milliseconds (that’s 0.05 seconds) for someone to form an opinion about your website and decide if they like it or not, and whether they’ll stay and hopefully purchase something… or leave.
If you’re an online business, your website is the ONLY thing that people will see (other than your social media profiles or podcast) when making the decision to know, like, trust, and hopefully buy from you.
The Biggest Mistakes When Hiring a Website Designer
Your website is a really big deal.
And time and time again, businesses come to us after trying to build their own website with “drag and drop” “easy to use” templates and platforms, or letting their neighbor’s sister’s son try and build it for them...
... saying that it’s crap and they’re embarrassed to let anyone see it.
Or they had it done a few years back and it’s *okay*... but its starting to feel dated and it doesn’t represent the brand that they now are, or the brand they’re becoming.
Having your website done professionally is a great idea if you have the budget for it. And a web designer or agency will price you anywhere from $1,500 at the low end to $30,000+.
(Hey, they know how important having a great website is!)
Who you work with to design your website matters a lot, so today I wanted to address 2 MAJOR mistakes when hiring your website design and build out.
Big Mistake #1: You hire a web designer or graphic designer.
Okay, hear me out.
You’re probably thinking, “WTF?? Who would I hire if not a web designer to design a website?”
And I can see where you’re coming from.
But the reason this is actually a bad thing is that plenty of people can build a pretty website...
... but a pretty website that is not designed around proven marketing strategy and the psychology of sales is not going do what you want it to do.
It’s not going to sell.
Your site will look awesome. Maybe visitors will even decide in those 0.05 seconds before judgment that they like what they see, and stick around for a few more seconds surfing your pages…
But they’ll most likely leave your site without purchasing anything. Because your website designer didn’t know how to implement marketing techniques that get people to buy.
You’ll be out a few grand with nothing to show for it.
Nothing but an attractive website, and form without substance.
Big Mistake #2: You use big brands as your website inspiration.
We’re all for using others’ success to inspire our own, and using proven systems to rapidly get results.
But copying incredibly successful brands like Apple or Nike for your website design will cause your website to be a total flop.
Yes, their websites are the culmination of millions of dollars of marketing and branding brilliance.
But that’s just it. They’ve spent millions (billions?) of dollars to be at the point where their marketing has been consistently good for so many years that, really, it doesn’t matter what they do. They already have big enough brand names that they’re going to sell.
Think about it:
What do you think of when you hear the phrase “just do it”? Nike.
They’re so well known that they can rely on being a part of our collective consciousness to do the heavy lifting of what a small business’ website needs to do.
I hate to break it to you, but you’re not there (yet!).
Even if you’re making multi-millions every year and you’re KILLING it, you’re not there yet.
And because of that, you can’t use the same strategies as the Apples or Nikes of the world. You have to use the right strategy for the level the market knows about you.
And even beyond that, your strategy needs to be different depending on what you’re selling —
If you’re selling something well known (like coffee) you need a different website strategy than if you’re selling something fairly new and unknown (like rapid eye movement therapy).
So, it’s not a great idea to market your product or services the same way you see huge corporations marketing theirs. And when you are seeking inspiration from other brands, you need to make sure their marketing models actually make sense for your specific products and services.
We Know Marketing that Works
Those are the two biggest mistakes I see when people are planning their new website design and build.
Keep them in mind throughout your entire marketing strategy, or risk pouring time and money into a website that just won’t convert!
And if you happen to be at that wonderful point of being ready for a new website — let’s talk!
Our team is trained in the 7 core areas of digital marketing, so your website will be grounded in proven systems that actually move your business forward.
