Small Business Website Design: Expectations vs. Reality
We’ll go ahead and ruin the suspense: in small business website design, there is often a vast, yawning gulf between what a client expects and what’s possible, feasible, or advisable.
And that can lead to a lot of disappointment, especially early on. When you’re launching a business and trying to get a website built, excitement for the future can easily drown out the less-exciting reality of the present.
If you’re a small business owner about to dive into the web design process, keep reading. You may be about to save yourself a whole lot of headache.
Expectation
“Once the website is built, I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”
Reality
Building a website is a little like getting pregnant. (Hear us out.) There’s lots of planning and excitement. You pick out colors and a name. You have meetings and discuss how amazing it’s going to be. And then the website is “born” and suddenly it’s a real, living thing that’s Out There In The World – and it’s your responsibility. “I didn’t sign up for
this!” you say, bewildered. “What do I do now?”
Take a deep breath…and update the content. Change up the images. Work with your designer (or whoever) to keep all your SEO on point. Add or delete pages as time goes on. In short, maintain it. Help it grow up into a big, strong website. The more work you put into maintaining a high-quality site, the less likely it will put you in a nursing home when you get old.
Expectation
“A DIY site will do just as well as a custom-built one – plus, it’s cheaper.”
Reality
We’ve touched on this before: a DIY site is simply not going to perform the way a custom-built site will because it can’t. You can’t get blood from a turnip, as they say. And in the majority of cases, you can’t expect anything but the barest minimum from a Wix or Weebly site.
That said, sure, a DIY site is cheaper – in the same way that Timex watches are cheaper than a Rolex. It tells the time, but anyone who looks at your wrist can see how cheap it is. And when it comes to your small business, “cheap” is not a good look.
Expectation
“Traffic will pour in when the website goes live.”
Reality
We honestly really wish this were true, but in reality, search engines (Google) take time to index a new website and determine its overall value to people searching. Search engine algorithms are incredibly complex and take into account everything from image size to keyword frequency. Eventually, though, if you put in the work to make your site “trustworthy,” that traffic will come. It just won’t be instant. (Sorry.)
Expectation
“The customer is always right.”
Reality
If you find a website designer willing to just blindly build whatever you want – any combination of code, fonts, graphics, whatever – run. This person is most likely looking for a quick payday, not
something he or she can be proud to have built.
A good client-designer relationship is built on trust and open communication, with both parties willing to compromise and respect the other’s particular expertise. For example, you might have your heart set on a particular widget, but your designer warns that it will slow down loading times and recommends an alternative. Everybody wins.
Before starting the web design process, consider what your own expectations are. If you’re looking for quick and cheap, Red Tree Designs is probably not the right fit. If you’re looking to have your small business website built by a true creative professional who wants to see your business shine, get in touch! We look forward to hearing from you.
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