In today’s world, having a website is just as important for a successful startup as having business cards used to be decades ago. Making a website for your organization, on the other hand, is only half of the job. Instead of serving the same function as business cards, your website is not only a place to exchange contact information and hope that prospective consumers would contact you, but it is also a location where you can inspire users, draw them in, and begin to convert them into customers.
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DIY or hire a professional?
One of the most important decisions that small-business owners must make is whether to employ professional aid or to build their own website from the ground up. DIY website designs and builders are fantastic for personal blogs, and the functionality of these tools is continuously expanding. Additionally, they are initially a more affordable alternative to hiring a professional website designer. They do, however, have a few disadvantages.
Limited creativity
Due of the limited number of patterns available in your subscription, your imagination will be severely restricted. While it is not impossible, it may be difficult to obtain a close match between your product and your brand. This can lead to issues with brand consistency in the future.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO is critical for your company’s ability to be found by search engines, but it can be difficult to get properly the first time without professional assistance. Maintaining high rankings necessitates the publication of regular updates.
Time commitment
As a startup founder, you’re already stretched too thin. Can you afford to devote significant amounts of your time to the building of a website if you are not an expert in web design? It may save you money in the short term, but it will almost certainly cost you money in the long run.
It is possible to concentrate on your present priorities when you work with a professional or a marketing agency. Your website’s design and user interface/user experience (UI/UX) will be unique and on-brand, boosting the likelihood that your site will stand out from the competition.
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Professionals’ approach to website development
Marketing companies and professional web designers have a planned approach in place to help them achieve their goals. Depending on the agency, the workflow will differ, but it will often entail identifying project scope, developing a strategy, and constructing the site structure and wireframe.
- Project scope: obtaining information about your company and its competitors is an important part of scoping out the project. When developing a website, one of the most crucial things to consider is what it will be used for and how it will be used.
- Strategy: Contemplating target markets and keywords can be part of the strategy stage, as can considering how people will navigate across the site as well.
- Site structure: It’s time to consider about material for the website’s structure. While Google gives preference to websites that provide high-quality, problem-solving material to their visitors, more is not always better in terms of search rankings. Consider what is crucial for your brand and make a point of adhering to it.
- Wireframe: Also known as mock-up design, this is one of the early creative stages that will assist you in getting a sense of the layout of the site before moving on to the next step. For those taking the DIY route, this is frequently the first thing that they notice about their template when they receive it. You can change the appearance of your website once you begin moving drag-and-drop pieces, but there will always be limits to your ability to innovate.
Approaching the website-design process
Now that the website construction process is well started, it is time to think about the major aspects of the site’s design, such as its layout and navigation:
- Brand guidelines.
- Goals and strategy.
- User Experiences (UI/UX).
- Visual appearance and content.
A successful startup requires a website that is more than just visually appealing on a subjective level. The website for your organization must accurately represent your brand. That implies that anyone who has visited your social media pages or met your staff in person should be able to identify it as being yours right away.
User experience may have become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, but it has never been more critical. Building a website that loads quickly is the first step in providing a great user experience. According to statistics, pages that load in less than five seconds convert at the highest rates.
It is essential that your website is optimized for mobile devices, in addition to being speedy. Most website traffic these days comes from mobile devices, and according to Google, 60% of mobile-phone users have contacted businesses directly from search results on their smartphones. As a start-up company, you can’t afford to miss out on any of these opportunities.
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The structure and content of your website are critical factors in how well it performs in search engines. Search engines continue to rely on text as their primary foundation, making it the primary focus of SEO efforts. However, keep in mind the importance of the following key assets on your website: The use of descriptive text surrounding photos and graphics will help them rank higher in search results. When you use clear calls-to-action (CTAs), it is much easier for your customers to grasp what you are asking them to do.
The aesthetic appearance of your website must be consistent with your company’s brand image. Making concessions to your brand in order to fit inside a DIY template is not worth it. Another possibility is that you can find a template that allows you to adhere to brand rules while also allowing you to experiment with different design alternatives.
When it comes to building your company’s website, there are various factors to consider before deciding on a professional or do-it-yourself approach. Time, money, technological know-how, and other considerations all go into the decision.
What should not be up for argument is whether or not your company requires a first-class website to be successful nowadays. It is critical for the success of any small business or startup to have a well-designed and well-performing website. Getting those essential first clients and convincing investors to support your next round of funding may seem like an afterthought while you are focused on establishing the rest of your organization. However, it can be the difference between acquiring those critical first clients and not.
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