To ensure your business thrives today you need a website. But, it’s not enough to have just any website. You need a killer website that wows your visitors and turns them into lifelong fans. However, building a great website doesn’t necessarily mean your website needs to be flashy.
At the core, your website must speak to your unique group of customers, and your design must work to increase your authority as a business owner. But, these things are easier said than done.
Still not convinced your website matters that much? Below we highlight five reasons your business needs a killer website if you want to compete now, and into the future.
1. Make a Great First Impression
You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of your visitor before they hit the back button. This means that your website needs to make a great first impression. You can do this in a few different ways.
But, one thing is for sure, having a website that looks like it hasn’t been updated since 1999 isn’t going to do your company any favors. Would you give money to a business who looks like they’re behind in the times?
The overall feel of your website must align with your brand and the core feelings and values you want to communicate. It also must communicate to your visitor exactly what your site is about, and give them valuable information, so they can decide whether or not your company is the right fit.
2. Won’t Turn Away Your Customers
Having a poorly designed website will immediately turn off your customers. Your website is the first chance you get to have a conversation with your prospects. Your goal is to create a picture in your potential customer’s mind that you’re a company worth working with.
Things like having a sensible navigation, high quality images, tight and compelling copy, easy to find contact pages, and a great educational blog will go into what your visitors will think about your website.
Another element of a high-quality website includes being able to access your site, no matter the screen size it’s viewed upon. Mobile is here to stay. If your site isn’t responsive, then you run the risk of your site displaying poorly and losing out on mobile sources of traffic.
3. Stay Safe and Secure
Do you know if the data your website stores is actually protected? How about your backend? Do you know if the backend of your website is actually secure? A website built by a professional web design team will have the proper security protocols in place to ensure your data is protected.
Without taking the security of your website seriously you leave your site open to being hacked, compromising valuable lead data, and destroying any trust you’ve built. Your website should have proper security measures in place, such as, having strong passwords, having firewall protection, and keeping your site regularly updated.
4. Actually Create a Thriving Business
If you rely on your website to send your business leads, then your site needs to actually support these goals, not hinder them. Your website is much more than a place to digitally store your contact information. You should think of your website as an around the clock salesman who can generate leads for you, even when you’re fast asleep.
To do this you need to have lead generation built into the design of your website. This includes things like having optin forms integrated into your homepage and within your blog posts. A lot of companies also choose to use pop-ups across their site to generate even more leads.
5. Even the Subtle Communicates a Lot
Your website must be viewed as a cohesive whole. Things like having broken links, scattered typos, a confusing navigation bar, or low quality images will work against the feeling you’re trying to invoke with your website.
Authority and trust is hard to build in the online space, especially with the amount of competition out there, and how easy is it to mimic being an authority (without actually being one). This means your website needs to be firing on all cylinders and every possible error or misstep is taken care of.
This is one of the main advantages of working with a professional web design team. They’ll be able to build you a professional website that’s free from all of the potential pitfalls of building a website yourself.
If you’re interested in transforming your Jacksonville business with a new and improved killer website, then get in touch with our creative team today.
Calvin Bryant
Calvin is a digital expert with clients in the U.S., U.K., and the Caribbean Islands. As the founder of C7, he has worked with Joel Osteen, Carlos Santana, the FBI, and the NBA. He resides in Ponte Vedra, Florida, and is a proud father and husband of 28+ years to his wife, Krista.