Why A Website Isn’t Just Pretty Pictures and Text

“How hard can it be?” you ask yourself. You think you can put most of it together, perhaps having a college kid (or a friend) help you with the few things you don’t know how to do. But designing a website is about much more than words and pictures. There are a lot of decisions that should be made before one line of HTML is written or one picture created in Photoshop.

• Who is my target audience? Your page design must take your audience into account or you’ll lose them.

• Who will make sure my audience finds my pages usable and useful, so that they aren’t driven to my competitor?

• Who will optimize my copy for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)? Without SEO, you might end up on page 900 of Google search. If you’re lucky.

• Will I need dynamic pages using server-side script such as php or ASP.NET? Any site that has to process online orders, or even allow people to contact you with a contact form will need this.

• If I need dynamic pages, what is the best platform for me? The platform must take into account a variety of factors, including your budget. Do you know what questions to ask to make this decision? Do you know what Wordpress is? Joomla? Would a blogging platform be suitable for you, or do you need a CMS? Or a full-blown custom-coded site?

• Who will maintain the website? Are you really going to have time for this as your business grows?

• Who will test the site in multiple browsers? Most people won’t tell you that your site is broken in the browser they use. They’ll just move on – to your competition.

• Who will fix bugs or errors? Do you know enough to troubleshoot Javascript? PHP? Free templates don’t come with a support contract.

The above points are just the tip of the iceberg for a professional website, no matter how small. There are literally hundreds of small decisions about linking, deep linking, advertising, marketing, SEO, usability, web standards, platforms, and developers to be made. Experienced designers are well-versed in these decisions and will guide you every step of the way.

There are some 'Create Your Own Website' building platforms out there that are actually very good and professional, but is it the right platform for your company or venture? You need to talk to professionals before you dive in, they can give you advice that will prove invaluable in future.

An Investment Has Returns

You’ve invested in your small business. You want to succeed. Think of your website in terms of ROI. This corner of the internet will be yours and yours alone. It tells the world about you. It is vital to make it as perfect as possible. They will judge your business by their experience on your site, just as they would judge you if they experienced poor service in your brick and mortar store. When you invest in a professional website, you are investing in your business’ future. A website that doesn’t work properly, doesn’t have the information they are seeking, or is difficult to use says something about your whole business to that customer.

Your site needs to function properly. Have you ever tried to check out at a store and the item didn’t ring up, or rang at an incorrect price? What about long, slow lines? When things don’t go smoothly, it tends to make people angry. You don’t want angry customers; they often don’t come back, and they tell their friends all about it. Professionals have the experience and expertise to ensure your site functions smoothly.

Your site needs to have the information your (potential) customers are seeking. How many times have you gone shopping in an unfamiliar store and been unable to find the item you are looking for? When you are in a hurry, do you ask an employee for help, or do you just pass on it and pick it up at another store? The situation is far worse on the web, where there is no employee readily available to ask. Professionals have resources for determining how to lay out your site so that your target audience will intuitively find what they’re looking for.

Your site needs to be easy for your customers to use. If you’ve ever cringed at “some assembly required”, you understand that trying to figure out how to accomplish a task can be frustrating. Intuitiveness is relative. We all have that friend or relative who can just put together anything without hardly glancing at instructions. We also all know someone who couldn’t fit Slot A into Slot B without help. Professionals are versed in the latest usability studies, and will come back to evaluate how your site is working for your audience and make changes are required.

Your small business deserves a great website! Making the investment to contract or hire professional web designers and developers will reap the rewards right back into your pocketbook.