Welcome to the next instalment in our web design series!
Building your own website. It's easy right? All you have to do is buy your domain, pick a template, drag and drop some web design content and voila! Brand new sparkling website.
Well, not quite. Making a DIY website is one thing, but making it work effectively for your business is an entirely different ball game. In fact, the lost opportunity cost from having a cheap website and virtually no rankings is huge.
When a website is done right - by a company that understands the science of web design - the ROI is tremendous. Many well-made websites generate six and seven figures in new revenue each year directly attributed to the website and the traffic generated by the website that the business otherwise wouldn’t have.
Simply put, your company's website is too important to ignore. Keep reading to find out 3 of the biggest mistakes you might be making with your DIY website that may prove deadly for your business growth.
It's easy to underestimate the huge amount of planning that goes behind the scenes before a website build can even begin.
You'll need to gather key pieces of information like keyword research, market research, location data, site mapping and competitor analysis. All this needs to happen before any kind of UX/UI design or content can be drafted out.
A team of professionals is usually needed to conduct this research effectively and create a clear roadmap for a website that is going to generate leads, get sales and increase conversions.
All these things need to be set in place as a solid foundation for your new website.
Here's a helpful hint: if you're not sure what these terms mean or how to do them, it's a good sign your DIY website isn't going to perform well or worse, fail to reach your desired customer at all.
Most website DIYers won't know what the terms UI and UX design mean, but most people can tell when it's not done well.
The act of designing the visual elements of the object that the user interacts with - whether it's the shapes on a computer screen, the buttons on a remote control, or a combination of hardware and software - is referred to as user interface (UI) design.
The development of the interaction of those objects is where user experience (UX) design comes in. It's also the framework for how the web pages are going to be laid out and how they interact with each other.
When either of these design processes are done poorly, users can’t get past it to efficiently use a product or website. This can lead to low conversions, abandoned shopping carts and poor sales.
We've put together two in-depth blog posts in our web design series on the importance of UI design and UX design. Make sure you check them out - there's a freebie attached which you can use straight away!
This one is hugely important and often overlooked.
Globally, 68.1% of all website visits in 2020 came from mobile devices.
This was an increase from 63.3% in 2019. Unlike desktops, which only drove 28.9% of visits, while just 3.1% of visitors came from tablets.
It's fairly reasonable to say that a huge percentage of people are now doing their shopping, banking, business and browsing online. If your site isn't optimised for mobile then that's a substantial loss in potential customers and revenue.
It's important to know that your website is optimised overall for all kinds of screen sizes. For instance, is your text easily readible on a smaller screen? Are your images scaling correctly to suit devices of all sizes?
Most DIY enthusiasts spend most of their time optimising their desktop sites, while some skip mobile entirely. Getting a professional to ensure that your website suits every kind of customer on whichever platform they use is a no brainer.
We get it - starting a business can be costly and often your website is not the first thing on your mind when it comes to startup expenses. But it should be. In this digital era, your website is the new storefront - and where your customers are most likely to decide whether they want your business, or whether they'll find someone more worth their time.
Getting your website right is one of the best ways to ensure your target audience are well on their way to finding you and better still - loving what you offer!
Did you read our last post on building trust with your customers? Check it out here.
