For any small Utah business or startup, having a professionally designed website is essential for the success and growth of your business. But one of the most common mistake that a service-based, small business owners make when they are starting out is to try and save money by building their own website. This makes sense on the surface because web design can be expensive. The last thing a small service business wants to do is spend a huge part of their start-up capital on a website that they can get for “free”. But is a free website really free? Let’s look at some reasons way this isn’t the case.
A PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED WEBSITE HAS A CLEAR BRAND IDENTITY
97% of consumers do research online before making a decision. Having a clearly defined brand will help them pick you. A good web design professional has a keen understanding of how to develop your brand. So much of the brand that a small business wants to create is seen by prospective customers subconsciously. All of us are bombarded with marketing and advertising all day long mainly from large corporations. These subliminal messages create a pattern in our brains that teach us what a great brand should look like. So, when we come across a poorly branded website our subconscious recognizes it immediately. We might not understand completely what’s wrong with the website, we just know we don’t like it. If your prospect doesn’t like your website they will leave it!
On the other hand, it’s a web designer’s job to find out what it is about your Utah business that is unique and then put it into words that communicate that message clearly. Then a professional web designer will surround that message with the correct colors, fonts, shapes, and pictures to put emotion behind the message. If done correctly, your prospect will stay on your website, read the information and contact you to schedule an appointment or purchase a product.
When you own a small business, you are the product! You are competing against others who do the exact same thing you do. There is only so much you can show others about who you are on social media. Also, social media posts can get disorganized, and overwhelming. The same can be said with posting your business on google. Your business will just get lost in the crowd because everyone has social media posts, google business listings, and generic websites.
Now imagine you have a unique brand with a clearly understood message that is put together with the right colors and style to grab the attention of your viewers. No doubt they will stay on your website longer, read it, and understand who you are and what you do.
When you have a professionally designed website it will be your salesperson and will tell your prospects why you are the one they should contact.
A PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED WEBSITE WILL BE FAST, SECURE & MOBILE FRIENDLY
- It takes about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for people to form an opinion about your website. People will leave your website when it doesn’t look right, this raises your “bounce rate”. Some other reasons people will leave your site fast are:
- Your prospects expect your site to be mobile and tablet friendly. In fact, 85% percent of all internet searches are done on mobile devices and users expect your site to be just as user-friendly as it would be if viewed on a desktop.
Slow load speeds and having a mobile responsive website are all things that a professional website designer can take care of for you.
The more people visit your site the more your site will start to develop bugs. Also, the more attention your website starts to get the more it will increase the chances of it being hacked and becoming vulnerable to viruses. When this happens your site will go down and you won’t have a clue about how to fix it. You could spend countless hours trying to learn about things that a professional web designer does for a living. But let’s be honest, would you hire someone who doesn’t know what they are doing to fix something for you?
As a Utah small business or startup, you understand the value of hiring a professional.
A PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED WEBSITE WILL SAVE YOU MONEY
Here is where the big question on your mind is answered! Will paying a professional actually save you money? The answer is definitely “YES!”
As spelled out above a professional design will attract prospects, explain to them why your business is the one for them, and make you stand out from the competition. This will bring in new business immediately.
But the biggest reason of all to pay a professional is that trying to design a website on your own stops you from doing the work that brings in the money! You started a business because you are great at what you do and you can provide your service in a very unique way. Because of this people are willing to pay you for your hard work.
So, how much does it really cost to build a website yourself? Let’s take a look:
- Building your own website, 2-4 months: On average it will take someone 2-4 months to build their own website. If you understand the value of having a website that represents you well you can expect to be closer to 4 months, if not longer.
- Learning, SEO 6-12 months: Once your website is up it needs to be seen otherwise you just wasted 2-4 months of hard work. Learning SEO will increase the chances of your site being seen….if a prospect knows the name of your business and the city you’re located in! To get your business ranking on the first page of google you either have to pay for advertising or hire an SEO professional and pay them $100.00’s a month for 6 months or longer to get your website showing up on the first page. And then you need to keep paying them to keep it there. (There are more cost effective ways to get your website noticed by your prospects).
- Learning google ads, 6-12 or longer: A faster way for your website to be seen is to pay for advertising, but it isn’t cheap. To do this you need to learn google analytics, landing page design, keyword research, sales funnels, etc. Or you can pay a digital marketing professional $1,000’s a month to do this for you. (When it comes to advertising there are much more cost-effective ways to get a greater return on investment without the big learning curve).
So how much does it really cost to build your own website? Ask yourself these questions?
How much money could you make doing the work you offer in 2-4 months instead of building a “free” website?
How much money could you make in another 6-12 months doing the work you offer instead of learning SEO?
How many new customers could you get if you focus your energy on doing the work that makes you money, instead of trying to learn how to build a website?
How better would your business be if you focused on organizing, structuring, and developing “it”, rather than trying to learn a new profession?
A successful business owner recognizes that hiring professionals to do the work they are not good at so they can focus on the work that brings in the money is a smart business.
A PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED WEBSITE IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS
Although, building your own website for “free” seems appealing on the surface, when you dig deeper it becomes clear that it isn’t free at all. Once you finish your “free” website it is nothing more than a web address buried among the millions of other “free” websites. And for those that manage to get their website noticed, chances are viewers won’t stay long if it doesn’t stand out as different.
Branding, responsiveness, website bugs, security, and bounce rate are all things that a professional web designer understands. But for the average “do-it-yourself” website builder it could take hours, days, weeks, and months to learn all of this. This is time that you could be spending doing the work you love and are great at.
Also, a professional website builder can be your business partner.
- They can take care of all your online needs, help you bring in business, and advise you on the best direction to take when it comes to your online presence.
- And you can take care of growing your business, taking care of your customers, and deciding how to become more profitable.
The bottom line, having a professionally designed website is essential for the success and growth of your Utah small business or startup.
