Is Your Website Like a Bad Date?
I’ve seen a lot of articles lately about website design. One of the best was by Jonathan Kranz on MarketingProfs entitled “5 Things to Think About Before You Launch Your Next Website”. I really liked this one because it addresses what I believe are the 5 main things everyone should consider before building a website. 
I especially love his 5th point, “It’s Not All About You”. One of my biggest pet peeves about websites is that so many are all about the company and so little about the customer. When I land on a website and it’s “I this” and “we that” I’m left feeling like I’m on a bad date listening to another self-involved bore.
Would you walk into a meeting with a new prospect and immediately start rattling off how long you’ve been in business, where you’re located, your education, experience and how great you are? Of course you wouldn’t. So why are you doing that on your website?
A website should first and foremost tell me – immediately – that you understand my problem. Then it should demonstrate how you are going to solve my problem and make my life better. The first rule of engagement – it’s all about me (the customer) – not you. FIRST demonstrate that you get me by addressing my problem, then how you can help me, and last- give me a way to find out more about you if I choose to even get that far (“About Us” are a great way to do that without the entire website being about you).
Jonathan’s article does a great job of addressing this issue and 4 others. So if you’re thinking about a new website – or even if you aren’t – you should definitely check it out – “Five Things to Think About Before You Launch Your Next Website”.
Scott,
You make some excellent points. A website is your online storefront and often the first contact a potential customer has with your business. You only get one chance to make a first impression – so wouldn’t you want to make sure that first impression “wows” them? Or at least engages and impresses them enough that they want to know more?
My advice for anyone looking to hire a web developer is to check their portfolio – look at the work they’ve done and then have a consultation. If he/she doesn’t ask a) who your target market is, b) what you are trying to achieve with your website (lead gen, direct sales, etc), c) what is your overall marketing strategy, and d) will you want your website functionality to grow with your business (ie: will you need blogging, email capture, auto responders, etc). Then I would keep shopping.
Scott- again excellent points (that’s why I hired you to build my site- you get it!) and thanks for the comment.
-Carolyn
This kind of stuff does nothing but help business owners keep a fresh eye on what their new website – or remodel project – should be about. It’s very refreshing, from my standpoint as a website guy, to see educational stuff like this coming from reputable sources like you and marketingprofs.com.
When I see a small business owner seek out and retain a quality website developer (even if it’s not me!), it clearly signals that the owner is serious about having a professional online presence. And that they clearly understand the great value to be obtained from a relatively small investment.
“What’s $1500, or $2500, $3500 or more going to mean for my business long-term profitability?”
When you have entrepreneurs who understand the value of a quality website system versus “hey, let’s throw some text and some free clipart together on a few HTML pages – that’ll look cool”, you have entrepreneurs that are serious about success.
Mike-
Thanks for your comment. I hope the advice helps your company build an amazing website!
-Carolyn
Great Great article as we venture to refresh our brand. The initial agency reviews are happening this week. I’ll be listening to see if any of the agency types speaks about these 5.
Love it!
Thanks for sharing Carolyn