With the onslaught of easy drag-and-drop options for websites like Wix, Weebly, and SquareSpace, many small businesses have decided that a professional website is a luxury. Many of these drag-and-drops are even free, especially if you don’t care about having extra words in your URL.
While having something is definitely better than nothing, a professional website is no longer a luxury. Unfortunately, with the ever-changing environment that is Internet use – do you know about a third of iPhone users don’t actually read their emails on a computer anymore? – there are lots of important factors to consider when you’re building a website.
Do you know whose job it is to keep up on all of these factors?
A designer’s.
In Fact, a Professional Website will SAVE You Money
First, know that a website is one of the most effective ways of advertising. A quick tap or click can update your website real-time, unlike print ads or even digital ads. An effective website with good content, a quality build, and helpful information (along with CTAs, of course) is worth its weight in actual gold.
However, it’s true that the upfront cost of a website can be anywhere from about $1,000 to well over $5,000, depending on the needs of your business. However, once a website is built, it’s built. As long as you don’t want to do any major changes, it’s likely that your website will just need minor tweaks as it hums along. This means you won’t have to worry about maintaining it yourself or figuring out new skills when something changes; either you consult your professional website designer, or you can tweak the content a bit yourself.
In addition, there won’t be any hidden fees. Free website builders are great for a temporary website, but when you start to outgrow it, there are tons of fees you’ll need to start paying.
Let’s say you sign up for a website through Wix. You start having growing pains and you need more bandwidth, a custom website name (because the word “Wix” in your URL is getting annoying to spell out loud) and an email. Your free website is already going to cost you $20 a month for the bare minimum package, and your design is a design that absolutely any other website that uses Wix could have.
Uniqueness Means You Stand Out as a Professional
Something is better than nothing in the website world, but in the sea of thousands of websites with thousands of competitors in your niche – and maybe even in your city if you live somewhere big – you need to stand out as a front-runner.
In a time when over 80% of shoppers check a business website before making a purchase, your website is going to make the first impression on most of your customers. Make that impression count. The easiest way to do this is to hire a professional website builder to do a professional job.
A Professional Website Will Give You Credibility
There are a lot of scams across the internet, and as security evolves, so does the cleverness of the scams. It’s an unfortunate truth of anonymity. However, the more effort you put into your website – including testimonials and payment security – the more credible you appear.
You want your website to inspire confidence.
You want people to look at your website and say, “yes, I can trust these people to take care of me.”
If you don’t have a professional website design, this can be a difficult thing to accomplish. Even the best home-brewed websites can overlook important elements, and since you’re busy running your business, making time for repairing mistakes is next to impossible.
There is No Open and Closed Sign on a Professional Website
Besides normal downtime and occasional hiccups, your website is always open to explore. This means that if someone wants to know more about your company, they can literally always access it from your website. If they want to know more about your product, you’ve got information for them at both noon and midnight. Maybe they can’t talk to someone awake, but they can punch in their credit card information and make a purchase without ever having to shake your hand.
If that process is easy, secure, smooth and informative, it’ll be easier for that customer to return – and it will be easier to recommend you, too.
A professional website is of the utmost importance, simply put. When you don’t have a face you can show to the world wide web, your website will have to be you, which means it should something that’s good enough to replace your presence. Make it count.
