5 big mistakes when building a website
Over the years we have heard a variety of ideas from business owners on how and why they decide to build their website. Take a minute to read these valuable tips before making any decisions.
Any website will do the job!
All websites do not have the same purpose and will aim for different goals. The website that services and promotes your business is a unique marketing and sales tool, and should be perceived, created and managed as such. Know what the objective of your website will be, and if you aren’t sure discuss it with a professional.
If I build a website, they will come
Not true. It takes time for the major search engines to eventually find your website. It may take many months and they may not index your site the way you had hoped. (i.e. visitors searching for your products or services may not be able to find your website).
Search engine optimization plays a large role in how easily your website is found. During development of a website there are many details which need to be included that will make the difference of a well-built site that both visitors and search engines utilize.
IMPORTANT: Market your website on your business cards,
ads and other marketing and promotional material.
Why pay for a custom website, I’ll just use a template.
A template website might be a preliminary spot to ease your business onto the web, but it’s definitely not a means for taking your online strategy to the next level. Your website should have specific and measurable goals that will be unique to your business. A template will unlikely be able to facilitate meeting those goals. Using a template or having a junior website firm to develop your website will save you money. Just keep in mind the age-old business adage, ‘you get what you pay for’.
Make my website’s image unique from my existing marketing efforts
If you have created a brand for your business you will have certain fonts, colours, and styles already associated with and designed to build your brand. When someone who knows your company offline visits your website and sees something completely different, they may feel as though they have landed on a different company’s website (who happens to have the same name as your business). This dilutes your brand and can work against your marketing efforts. Your website should be closely tied in to your other marketing and branding efforts. It is essential to present a unified front to your customers to be memorable in the marketplace.
Jeffery, my friend’s son knows computers, he can build our website.
This is a very common mistake people make when having a website built. If you think you are going to save thousands of dollars and receive professional results, you will be disappointed. Jeffery may know the basics of building web pages, but he will undoubtedly miss several important aspects of website design, not to mention site management, promotion, analysis, usability, accessibility, etc. Jeffery’s may even be that someone who has just out of curiosity learned to build a site for himself.
Businesses who accept this low cost approach will be dissatisfied with the results. Their website will be short of focus, cohesion and direction, and the changing needs of their business will not be considered.
