It’s great to see so many small businesses now embracing the web and creating an online presence.
However, I doubt all of them are reaping the benefits.
And that’s because going online requires a little more thought than just hiring a cheap web designer (often a friend of a friend), creating a fancy logo and listing all your business details.
Before even sourcing a web designer you need to do some serious planning which includes asking yourself these questions.
- What is the purpose of my site?
- Do I want it to generate leads or create sales? (There is a difference)
- Is it just an informational site that I can direct my customers to when they visit my offline store / business?
- What information do I want / need on my site
- How will it be structured to make it easy for my customers to find what they’re looking for?
- How can my site be different from those of my competitors?
Only once you’ve got a handle on these questions should you start looking around for a suitable web designer.
A good web designer will ask you these very same questions so it’s imperative that you’ve thought them through carefully to begin with.
Now while logos, colours and layout of your site are important to create the visual appeal for your customers, its the content (copy) that keeps them there!
Your site needs to have the “Wow” factor – something that’ll make them bookmark your site to come back to, or better still – call you there and then!
So, don’t let lame words and boring dribble ruin your chance of attracting new customers.
Hire a Copywriter.
