Consider Considering These 5 Things
DIY Sprocket Solutions
This article has been updated on 3/17/2020 with the article entitled “Line Up Those Ducks Before Building Your New Website.”
I feel like there are a lot of people these days that jump into things a little quickly –especially when it comes to anything that has to do with the internet. I would give you the “back in my day” speech; but, I’m only 23 so that would be both ridiculous and irrelevant. When it comes to your business; however, you should take a bit of time to make sure all your ducks are in a row. I’m all for taking risks and trying new things. Just make sure you’re prepared is all I’m saying.
Here are 5 things you must consider before making – or remaking your website.
These are some important points folks, read up.
What do you want?
Really, what do you want? Great, you’re making a website. Or perhaps you’re redoing a failed attempt at a website. What do you want from this run? When a customer visits your site, what do you want them to leave with? If you don’t know yet; you should probably pump the brakes a bit and find out what your direction is. Guess what happens when people visit a website with no clear indication of what the focus of the site is. Go ahead, guess. They get to your homepage, confused, they scratch their heads and might poke around for a bit just to see what the heck is going on; then they high tail it back to their search engine faster than you can say, “Did you just see that customer we just lost?”
Time and Money!
I work with some pretty talented individuals. However, I’ve yet to see a person snap their fingers and have a fully functioning website resting in the clearing of billowing clouds of purple and green smoke. It’s not instant and it’s not free. I repeat; it’s not free. “But, I saw an ad online to build a free website.” Did you now? You know, I once had a grade school teacher that thought he was a magician. He did the whole rabbit in the hat stint. He thought he could go pro; really talented. I think he signed up for a “free” website once to market himself. Look a little more professional. Only instead, he looked like a crazy spammer with 4 views in 7 years. Decide what you’re going to invest in yourself. After all, why should a customer invest in you if you won’t? These days the average hosting plan is super affordable. Think about that before you get started.
Don’t Forget the Nuts and Bolts
You have a plan for what the focus and design of your website will be. You know the amount of time it will take and the amount of money you’re willing to invest in you. Done? Not quite. There are quite a few “behind the scenes” details of a website that you don’t want to forget about. Remember: make it functional but also make it appealing. Spend a little time developing both the look and the feel of your website. Don’t cut corners when it comes to content and SEO. Remember, you’re developing content that is relevant to the focus of your website. We’re not talking about kittens in tutus here. Yes it’s cute, and sure you might want to share it on Facebook; but, it doesn’t have a place on your Home Hardware website. It’s a little random and a little odd to tell you the truth. Stay focused my friends.
Who’s Gonna Keep up with this New Fangled Website?
You should probably know this ahead of time. If you have no clue how to open both a Word document and your email at the same time –you should probably not be the person updating images/content/contact information etc. on your website. Really, for the good of all things technology related –leave it to the pros. Hire someone. *Important side note: Just because Johnny’s girlfriend’s brother is really good at online video games doesn’t mean he’s the best person to be updating your website. Maybe he knows what he’s doing; maybe he doesn’t. You should probably find that out ahead of time.
“If you build it they…”
Will not do anything but sit back and wait for you to promote your own business. I hope you’ve read a few of my other posts by now on the importance of social media marketing. You can’t expect there to be a giant blimp that floats by every neighborhood in the country announcing that you’ve launched a website. That’s up to you, or your marketers, or whoever else you have signed up for the task. You are your biggest supporter. So get out there, and tell the world you’ve got a new awesome website that you want to share with it.
If you think any of these points are important, let me know. Leave me a comment below, I love reading them. Do you have anything to add to my article? I can always post a round two featuring your suggestions –comment below and let me know what I’ve missed. Maybe this article has absolutely nothing to do with you because it doesn’t apply to you whatsoever. No problem. Kindly give me a ‘like’, tweet me, share me, and pass this article along to anyone you thing might find it interesting or relevant!
Breanne Bannon
Breanne is a Content Writer, Social Media Marketeer, and Sales Associate for Sprocket Websites.
Other posts by Breanne Bannon