Have you ever seen a luxurious website, equipped with all the bells and whistles, just to realize that they are a small local business with limited online engagement? Because I have. Often times when local businesses see the success of others throughout digital communications they think "That's what I'm missing". These business owners will then dig into their resources and find a reputable company to build them the most comprehensive website possible. More often than not, a much simpler and cheaper option can actually be a more successful solution. Here's why:
1. Web Design Is Expensive
You might be wondering why a digital marketing company is preaching about the costs of web design, and it's as simple as this: Some of the most simple web designs can be the most successful. This all depends on the industry and the scope of business; What audience do you cater to? For most local businesses, there is no need to hire the kid fresh out of design school to test out his new skills for $150/hr. Yes, your website might look better than the rest, but chances are it won't get you any more traffic or leads. One thing it will do is empty your bank account and deflate your ROI. Bottom line - Don't pay someone to fumble with code and piece together your website for weeks or months at a time when all you're trying to do is get people into your bagel shop. This brings me to my next point:
2. More Options Exist Than Ever Before
When deciding how to go about creating a website, I would never feel right about building it from scratch unless it was completely necessary. What I would do is see if I can get just as much out of a platform which allows me to create an attractive, yet to-the-point website at a fraction of the cost. Fortunately these options exist in abundance, and they're only getting better. Many people have preexisting notions about online site creators which just shy them away from saving money. I would not have created my own business website on one if I felt it would put me at a disadvantage. Are you surprised? Why?? I chose a layout, added the basics, and began filling it with rich content that will attract my potential customers and get my business noticed. "Why" you ask? Because -
3. "Content Is King"
Ah yes, the phrase overused by marketing professionals from here to Hong Kong. You can say what you want about SEO and Google's new algorithms, but one thing isn't going to change: Good content, not flashy web design, will get customers ringing the phones. Save the time and money associated with complex web design, and instead spend it on providing high quality, SEO-rich content that will increase page ranking and attract the right customers. Great content paired with strong linking and social media efforts can be a savior for a small business.
4. More Clutter, Less Customers
If the goal of your website is to get form submission leads, wouldn't you want them to be able to find this form quickly and easily? This can sometimes get overlooked when creating a business website. More often than not, the more simplistic the website layout, the more leads the site will create. Also keep in mind the technological skill set of the market segment you are trying to reach. Do not expect senior citizens to find the submission forms hidden within your over-saturated website (If it all).
5. Reliability
A website is something you want to create and have for years to come. What you do not want is to have your site crash due to a technical error that could take days and dollars to fix, or even worse: To lose your website all together. These are risks you run when having a website build from scratch. Pages of code might be stored on someone's home office server, where it is susceptible to crashes, power surges, and the like (Pray they are smart enough to back it up!). Nothing hurts your SEO and Google ranking efforts more than rebuilding your website because your pages disappeared. If housed by an online 3rd party, it would cost less to host, and be more reliable than the alternative. Your pages would also be able to be accessed and updated in an instant, instead of over a week's time.
These are 5 reasons why businesses are paying too much to build their websites, and why I advocate using online website creators for the majority of small businesses. The time and money will be much better spent on grass roots Social Media and high quality web copy than with a fancy site design.
Conquer Digital Media offers small and large scale website design and management for every type of business, as well as web copy/SEO, graphic, and video services. Want to increase your social media presence? We'll do that too!
1. Web Design Is Expensive
You might be wondering why a digital marketing company is preaching about the costs of web design, and it's as simple as this: Some of the most simple web designs can be the most successful. This all depends on the industry and the scope of business; What audience do you cater to? For most local businesses, there is no need to hire the kid fresh out of design school to test out his new skills for $150/hr. Yes, your website might look better than the rest, but chances are it won't get you any more traffic or leads. One thing it will do is empty your bank account and deflate your ROI. Bottom line - Don't pay someone to fumble with code and piece together your website for weeks or months at a time when all you're trying to do is get people into your bagel shop. This brings me to my next point:
2. More Options Exist Than Ever Before
When deciding how to go about creating a website, I would never feel right about building it from scratch unless it was completely necessary. What I would do is see if I can get just as much out of a platform which allows me to create an attractive, yet to-the-point website at a fraction of the cost. Fortunately these options exist in abundance, and they're only getting better. Many people have preexisting notions about online site creators which just shy them away from saving money. I would not have created my own business website on one if I felt it would put me at a disadvantage. Are you surprised? Why?? I chose a layout, added the basics, and began filling it with rich content that will attract my potential customers and get my business noticed. "Why" you ask? Because -
3. "Content Is King"
Ah yes, the phrase overused by marketing professionals from here to Hong Kong. You can say what you want about SEO and Google's new algorithms, but one thing isn't going to change: Good content, not flashy web design, will get customers ringing the phones. Save the time and money associated with complex web design, and instead spend it on providing high quality, SEO-rich content that will increase page ranking and attract the right customers. Great content paired with strong linking and social media efforts can be a savior for a small business.
4. More Clutter, Less Customers
If the goal of your website is to get form submission leads, wouldn't you want them to be able to find this form quickly and easily? This can sometimes get overlooked when creating a business website. More often than not, the more simplistic the website layout, the more leads the site will create. Also keep in mind the technological skill set of the market segment you are trying to reach. Do not expect senior citizens to find the submission forms hidden within your over-saturated website (If it all).
5. Reliability
A website is something you want to create and have for years to come. What you do not want is to have your site crash due to a technical error that could take days and dollars to fix, or even worse: To lose your website all together. These are risks you run when having a website build from scratch. Pages of code might be stored on someone's home office server, where it is susceptible to crashes, power surges, and the like (Pray they are smart enough to back it up!). Nothing hurts your SEO and Google ranking efforts more than rebuilding your website because your pages disappeared. If housed by an online 3rd party, it would cost less to host, and be more reliable than the alternative. Your pages would also be able to be accessed and updated in an instant, instead of over a week's time.
These are 5 reasons why businesses are paying too much to build their websites, and why I advocate using online website creators for the majority of small businesses. The time and money will be much better spent on grass roots Social Media and high quality web copy than with a fancy site design.
Conquer Digital Media offers small and large scale website design and management for every type of business, as well as web copy/SEO, graphic, and video services. Want to increase your social media presence? We'll do that too!
RSS Feed
