I see it all the time. A few years go by and a small business website begins to look dated. The owner, worried about their image, begins looking for a designer to build a new website. Problem is, the owner has no CLUE who to hire!
This is a common and unfortunate occurrence!
Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting a new website, but often times, the whole process is handled in completely the wrong way. Sometimes the fault lies with the owner, but many times, it actually lies with the designer.
This post will not be long, but I hope that it will make a point and cause you, small business owner, to reconsider and pay attention when it’s time for that big redesign.
So if you want to build a completely useless new website, go ahead and follow these three steps:
Step 1: Hire a Designer with No Marketing Experience
Web designers and developers are a dime a dozen these days. There are plenty of people out there with loads of talent, and they are all pining for your business. The key differentiator for you should be marketing. Make sure when you hire a designer, they are able to provide tangible marketing experience! One of the quickest ways to make sure your website bombs is to hire someone who can make pretty graphics but has no idea what makes a person click on the button you want them to. You should work with someone who knows how to make your website convert customers.
Step 2: Tell Your Designer What the Website Should Look Like
After you’ve made the right hire (a designer with no marketing experience), the next step to building a useless website is for YOU to tell the designer what the website should look like. Look–I get that you know what is best and right for your business. It’s your baby! I’m with you. But ultimately, you need to hire a designer who you can TRUST to do the right thing. While yes, the site should be pleasing to look at and involve the right color scheme, etc., you likely don’t have the marketing knowledge a GREAT designer does when it comes to design and user-experience elements–so don’t pretend like you do.
Step 3: Build it and Wait for Customers to Show Up
The very last step is to make sure you build a rock solid, beautiful website–then, do absolutely nothing. Your beautiful new website is all that’s needed to attract those high-paying leads you’ve been wanting. No, No, No!! This is such a mistake. Now is the time to get your marketing game on point. Start blogging, establish a content calendar, get on social media and have a consistent schedule–do what it takes to get your word out. The website should be able to convert once folks get there, but outreach is the only way to get them there.
[bctt tweet=”Start blogging, establish a content calendar, get on social media and have a consistent schedule. Do what it takes to get your word out.” username=”northmacsvc”]
Please don’t make this mistake. Whether it’s us or another small agency, do your due diligence, and decide on a website designer who has your business interests at heart.
A designer who is not concerned with the outcome and effects his work has on your business is obviously not concerned with the effect that will have on his business either.
Question: What marketing mistakes have you made in the past with your website design? Your insight might help someone else from making the same mistake!