A professional web designer can seem expensive if you haven’t made any sales yet.
New business owners often want to build their first websites themselves. Platforms like WordPress and Shopify make it seem as if designing your own website is a quick and simple process. It can be, but there’s more to a website than just adding content and making it live. Will your new website actually make any sales?
We all know there is free software available to “build a website”. But do you also know that websites need a strong strategy to get visitors to read or buy? Do you know how to track your visitors’ movements on your site? Have you got a solid marketing plan to send visitors to your website too?
Will you be able to tell what your most popular pages are? Or how to track which search terms people use to find your website? Do you know what your bounce rate is? Do you understand the importance of website security and maintenance (both the software and the content)?
These are issues that a professional website designer confronts every day.
These are the reasons why you should hire a professional web designer.
We spend our time figuring out the answers to all these questions for every single website we build. We know the importance of layout and WHY elements are placed in a particular way. Here are 10 reasons why you should hire a professional web designer to build your business website:
1. They will design a beautiful website that reflects your brand.
Design can be very tricky. Professional website designers know what works onscreen, and what doesn’t. When they design a website, they are thinking of your brand, your visitor’s experience, and how your sales will convert. Website designers know how to capture the essence of your brand across the site. They will highlight your brand’s strengths and ensure it’s consistent. A strong brand will make your website more memorable. They will also build a user-friendly interface that is well-organised and intuitive. A great layout encourages your users to do what YOU want them to do on your website.
2. A professional web designer understands website strategy.
The right website strategy design will help you attract new customers, retain existing ones, and grow your business. Website strategy lays out all the elements of your customer’s journey through your website. What will they see first? Where will they go next? How will you get them to the sales page and how can you make them buy?
Good web designers understand how people move through your website, and they design to accommodate those movements.
3. Professional web designers understand business strategy.
You might want to sell your new product to everyone in the world, but a good designer will understand the implications of that dream, both online and offline. They will ask how you plan to ship internationally, because your plan will determine how they must build your website. Do you want to sell in multiple currencies? Do you want to customise items in your shop (like adding monograms)? Each of these requirements need different functionality on the website.
A great web designer will know to ask these questions before they even quote. This way, you’ll be saved from unexpected costs down to the line.
4. They will ensure your site loads quickly.
There are MANY factors to consider when building a fast website. Google wants your website to be as fast as possible, and speed impacts your Google rankings. It’s imperative to make your website as fast as possible. A professional web designer knows which page elements slow down a site. They know how to save images, so they’re optimised for actual size and file size. The know which plugins and add-ons will damage your website speed, and they will avoid them. They will do everything in their power to make your website as fast as possible. Web designers also know how to test the speed of your website to check if they’ve done their job well.
5. They understand responsive design.
Responsive websites adapt to any device, so they are more accessible than fixed-width sites. This means that when people visit your site, they see exactly what you intended them to see. So much online shopping is done on mobile. It’s now more important than ever for websites to be fully responsive so anyone can buy anywhere. A professional web designer will know how to make your website responsive, so it looks great on any device.
6. Professional web designers will optimise your site for search engines.
A website that can’t be found online is a website that’s bound to fail. There are MANY ways to optimise a website for search engines. It’s a huge topic that web designers have spent years learning. They will know what Google is looking for, and what will make your site shine. They can tell you how to write your content so it attracts visitors. Good web designers can show you what needs to be on your site to make sure it fulfils all Google’s requirements. They are there to walk you through the wide world of search engine optimisation, and it’s a tough topic to tackle on your own.
7. They provide ongoing support.
Great web designers know that a good website needs ongoing maintenance, security, and airtight backups. They can implement all these on your website and will make sure your website is secure. If your site breaks or is hacked, they can fix it. If you need changes made, they can make them for you. You could do all this yourself if you wanted to, but don’t miss any steps or you might lose all your hard work.
8. Professional web designers understand Google Analytics.
They first install analytics on your website. A professional web designer will ensure all Google’s relevant products (like Google Search Console and Google My Business) have been setup and are working. They know how these tools interact with each other and what is needed on each to make your website profitable. They can show you how to use these tools so you can help to build on your own SEO too.
9. They will advise you how to improve your website.
A great designer will tell you how you can improve your website’s functionality. They know what will impact your user’s experience, and what can make your life easier. A web designer can point out which software will help you to run your business, and what can be used to display your information more effectively. Web designers work with new tools and tricks all the time. They know what works and what doesn’t and can share this information with you.
10. Your website will get more leads and make more sales.
A website with a solid strategy, marketing plan, efficient sales process, and excellent analytics will outperform one without these elements EVERY TIME. A professionally designed website will get more leads, sign ups, and enquiries, and will make more sales. And if it isn’t performing like you expected, a professional web designer can tell you why not.
There are SO many reasons why you should hire a professional web designer.
A DIY website just doesn’t match up to a site designed by a professional. Not least of which, customers can tell the difference. Would you prefer to buy from a website that looks well put together, or from a jumbled or sparse site that looks like it might be a scam. A well-designed website will give your business far more credibility and authority. These two factors are required by your customers, AND by Google.
Professional web designers know that your site must be secure, attractive, and efficient. They can make sure all these things are in place before you launch so your business has the best chance of success.
If you need a website designed by professionals, please contact us.
