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AnythingButSquare

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derek@anythingbutsquare.com

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You Get What You Pay For: Advantages of Investing in Quality Web Design

A quick Internet search for “do it yourself website design” will give you several options to choose from, and several of the featured sites will have prices that will seem like a fantastic deal.

And, if you simply want a presence on the World Wide Web—a place holder that can act as a virtual business card, with your contact info—they may in fact be great deals.

Depending on your goals, however, you may end up regretting bargain hunting when it comes to setting up (or retooling) your business’s website.

A website is, in the end, what you make it. It can just be the aforementioned “placeholder”, that simply signals you’re part of the twenty-first century, or an actual asset that can generate revenue and widen your presence and your customer base.

Understanding what the goals of your website will be, and pairing it with the nature of your company are the first steps in determining how to structure your web presence. These may seem like simple tasks, but in order to correlate them into competitive Internet marketing, you need an understanding of how certain practices translate for different objectives.

Enter the professional web designer.

A professional web designer can listen to your vision (in fact, you should have examples ready of websites that you like, in order to communicate the “feel” you prefer for your site) and help you make choices that will facilitate your business needs and the aesthetic you’re looking to incorporate. (Because, yes, it is important to look good.)

You can think of a business website in the same way you might think of your house. You want a particular type of architecture, you have images of how you want it to look, the type of things you’ll do in this dream home…but unless you’re a skilled architect, builder, and designer, you’ll outsource most of what it takes to make this dream come to fruition. (Most of us could set aside enough time to make learning how to build a cabin a real possibility, but if you need a two story Colonial built…you need significant amounts of help.)

While there are a multitude of reasons to choose a professional designer to build your site, we’ve whittled it down to a few of the most important…

Flexibility. Most do-it-yourself website programs have limitations in their scope. Do you need to generate/incorporate online sales on your site? Do you want to provide information to potential clients? Promote walk ins to a brick-and-mortar store? You may find yourself running up against serious obstacles to your goals if the program you’re trying to use yourself isn’t set up for what you need it to do. Professionals will have the tools to be able to customize your site and give you what you need.

Translation/Transposition. This is a nuanced benefit that may be one of the most important elements of hiring an experienced professional. It’s the quality of someone being able to take your, “Well, I like this, but with the feel of this, and maybe a little of that…” and make it an actual product. Spend a few hours trying to do it yourself, and you’ll become a believer.

Relevance. As important as it is to have a website that you think looks good, it’s even more critical to have one that appeals to your customers and potential customers. Professional designers are aware of current trends and how to meld them seamlessly with your preferences, giving you the best of both worlds.

While these are all great reasons to hire a professional website designer for the initial creation of your company’s site, they’re also applicable to anyone considering a redesign. The flexibility you may not have had in your initial design could now become a reality, and up your traffic. You could fix those visual issues that you’ve never liked, and maybe even add a few new elements. (If we go back to the house metaphor, this could be the equivalent of a redecorating project). But one of the most important considerations for a redesign—especially if it’s been a few years since your last one—is how your site comes across on a phone, as opposed to a computer screen.

Comscore (publishers of the U.S. Digital Future in Focus) reported in April of 2015—over a year ago—that the number of mobile phone-only Internet users had overtaken desktop users. The applicability of a website’s appearance on a smart phone has never been more important, and with the rise in usage of other devices (smart watches, etc.), your site’s imagery across the array of gadgets in our future is something that will need regular evaluation. You could do it yourself, but as a business owner, you have enough to do already, don’t you?

The short answer is, an investment in professional web design reaps more than just an image overhaul in the present…it can give you continued relevance in the future, as well.