Are you really ready for a business website?
As a small business owner, you may be considering launching a website for your business. Having a website can increase your reach, credibility, and profitability. Sounds great right? Well as a web designer I am all for helping my clients make this dream a reality, but I caution new entrepreneurs about building a full site if their business isn’t ready for it. So before jumping into creating a new website, it is important to consider if it is the right time in your business to do so.
Here are some key questions to consider before starting a website for your small business:
#1 – Purpose:
What is the purpose of your website? Do you want to generate leads, sell products, or just provide information about your business? Knowing the purpose of your website will help you determine the type of website you need, which platform you should build it on, and the resources you will need to create it.
#2 – Audience:
Who is your target audience? Understanding your audience will help you determine the tone, language, and design of your website. They should be the focus of your site, so for your site to be profitable you need to know who they are or how to speak to them.
#3 – Brand:
Have you established a clear brand? Do you know what your logos look like? What colors you use? What fonts are in your brand gudielines? If not, then what are you going to use to design your website? You don’t want to build a website without a clear brand then realize after the website is built you want or need to rebrand. Make sure your brand is established first to be able to build a site. If yours isn’t, schedule a free consultation with me to discuss getting this taken care of first.
#4 – Budget:
How much money can you allocate to creating and maintaining your website? A website can be created on a budget, but keep in mind that the cost of maintaining a website can add up over time. You also will likely get what you pay for. To skimp on the expense of building a strategic site just so that you have “something online” could mean you are leaving money on the table by not converting website visitors to sales due to a lack in functionality, professional design, or a bad first impression.
#5 – Time:
How much time can you dedicate to creating and maintaining your website? Building a website requires time, effort, and attention to detail. You will need to research, plan, design, build, and manage your website. AKA it is not just a time commitment to get it built, but likely requires routine maintenance to keep it running smoothly and adding new content.
#6 – Content:
Speaking of content. What kind of content will you feature on your website? Will you write your own content or hire a professional? Do you have high-quality images and videos to feature on your site? Getting professional images & copywriter assistance are a huge help but also another expense you need to consider for your website to be top notch.
#7 – Technical Knowledge:
Do you have the technical knowledge to create and maintain a website or will you need to hire a professional? Unless you are someone who likes to spend hours learning new skills and wants to learn the intricacies of what makes a website actually convert, hiring a professional can save you countless hours & the heartache of not getting sales in the long run but can be a large business expense.
#8 – Functionality:
Do you know all the functions your website needs to be able to do to get the end goal that you want for the site? Every business is different, which means the function of every website is different. Are you wanting to grow your email list? Will you want to collect automatic payments? Do you wish to have messaging capabilities? Do you want to have a membership backend for items like courses? These functions are all different and require differnt technical solitions. Not every platform can do it all so having a clear understanding of what you want to be able to do on the site is essential before building one.
#9 – Proven Offers:
Do you have offer(s) that are selling? Building an entire website around an offer that isn’t proven to covert or has been sold yet could be a waste of time and money. Make sure the product or service you want to put on your website is primed to sell before diving head first or consider just building a one page sales page to test the offer first.
#10 – Marketing Strategy:
How will you drive traffic to your site? This is not Noah’s Ark. Just because you build a site does not mean people will constantly visit it. You have to have a clear idea of how you will move people to your website for it to be worth it. You don’t want to launch and your site hear CRICKETS in return so a comprehensive strategy must be in place for a website to make sense.
In conclusion:
If you can confidently answer the items above and are prepared to invest the time and money it takes to build & manage the site then you are right on track. For more guidance on how to build a sales page or website, schedule a free consultation with me today to discuss the best option for your budget and timeframe.
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