September 12, 2018
Why Many Websites Don’t Work
Websites that Work vs. Sites that Don’t
Why Many Websites Don’t Work
There are a host of reasons that websites underperform for businesses that have them, even if they enter the website design process with the best of effort and intentions. Here are some of our thoughts on why websites don’t generate the business that company’s hope for:
1) They don’t understand their own target market. It’s one thing to know your business and another entirely to know who is your “sweet spot” with respect to your target market. Without that, your web developer will be guessing when he creates the site, particularly if they don’t ask good questions
2) They don’t consider other marketing options other than a website. Believe it or not, websites are competitive. There is only one top spot on Google, and you either have it or you don’t. Often times—in fact most times, it takes work to achieve a top spot either through search engine optimization (SEO) or pay per click services. This is the most overlooked and underbudgeted issue with respect to website design.
3) Web designers don’t do their job. We’ve seen some terrible work over the years with the basics in website design completely violated. Believe it or not, there’s a definite psychology to converting a viewer of a site to a client, there are SEO basics that must be done, and even colors and style matter tremendously in getting a client to call or fill out a form. This is also a real problem with site design– the basics aren’t even done because many web developers don’t know what they’re doing.
4) And lastly– Business owners treat their websites with an “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” Attitude. They think that having a site is enough to generate business, when that’s not nearly enough in most situations. Believe it or not, most websites have expiration dates. What? You say? Yes, they do. Technology changes and so should websites. This past week we had a client who was irritated when his website didn’t support Internet Explorer, a platform that Microsoft, who created it, hasn’t supported since 2016. We also don’t support Netscape and other antique browsers. The same is true of your website– you can have a “Model T” for a website. Just because you have one, doesn’t mean that you’re able to drive on the highway. Design changes quickly, as does technology. You’d be amazed how many websites are out there that are still not mobile friendly, which means that their sites are devalued in Google, not to mention hard to surf on a mobile device. Realize that your site should be updated every 2-3 years in order to stay current.
As always Make It Loud is always available to help you with your digital marketing. Assessments of your digital marketing footprint are always free, and we can help you craft a winning strategy that drives business to you. Call anytime– 678.325.4007
