Do I Have the Time?
Creating a website will take time. You will need to strategize what you would like for a website: what is your brand (what colors, photos, language, and fonts will you make use of), what’s the purpose (will it be used for e-commerce, as a brochure, or to inform), and how many pages will be within the website (home page, product page, contact us, about us, etc).
It is important to understand that a website is just not a “set it and forget it” project. You’ll need to have online management and support for the website to continue running smoothly. A marketing agency will offer 24/7 emergency repairs, auto alerts, and ongoing updates. Most DIY website software offer customer support, but some, like Wix, are limited to particular hours and some, like Squarespace, only operate online (no phone support).
In most cases, following the initial fact-finding meeting, the agency will take your vision and run with it, with minimal time required on your part. You can utilize the time saved to concentrate on growing your company.
Do I Have a Strategy?
Besides figuring out what you would like your website to look like, you also need a strategy. A digital marketing agency will help define who your client personas are, precisely what your competitors are doing, as well as how best to market your product or service.
Marketing agencies will optimize your website for SEO (search engine optimization), which makes sure that your business appears front and center when potential customers begin an online search. The objective of SEO is to have your business rank organically for keywords that are connected to your solution or service. This is achieved through on-page as well as off-page efforts. Digital marketing agencies will structure your website to help crawlers better understand the content on your website. An agency will in addition create related content material to ensure that other websites will want to connect to your website as a result of information you have posted. This off-page SEO shows Google and Bing that other websites have confidence in the information you generate, thus greatly improving your ranking efforts.
Although Wix has made a few upgrades to their on-page SEO features, they still don’t have the capability that a custom made site can have. They don’t offer AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) support. AMP simplifies your content for mobile devices, making it load instantly. Also, until you purchase the premium version of Wix, they will run advertisements on your page, which is not ideal.
Squarespace’s SEO constraints are different than those of Wix, but they are still significant. Squarespace includes auto-generated sitemaps and lets you customize page titles and meta-descriptions. Depending on the template, you can have issues with the way this information is relayed to Google and on your website.
A digital marketing agency can even make recurring marketing and advertising strategies together with developing your website. These types of strategies will be customized to your organization and can be geared toward different end-results. A few examples of campaigns are email capture, ads, abandoned cart, and event landing pages.
Do I Need a Custom Design?
Although most website developing software include a good amount of themes to pick from, there is no single theme that fulfills every company’s needs right out of the box. Marketing firms have designers on staff who are good at formulating the right fonts, graphics, color combos, and layout that will set you apart from your competitors and solidify your brand. The designers also use premium design software programs, like Adobe Photoshop, to create and modify graphics and logos that will stick out against the competition. When hiring a digital marketing organization, you get a website that looks exactly the way you want it.
Digital marketing companies know how to build brands. They recognize the influence that color selection, images, tone of voice, and web page organization have on a buyer. Have you ever had someone send you an email for a professional organization written in red comic sans? How seriously did you take that business? That is what we thought.
Marketing agencies utilize copywriters, social media strategists, SEO/SEM experts, and designers, and often have a development team as well, so you know your website will be looked at from every viewpoint to make sure it meets the highest standard for UX/UI (user experience and user interface).
Let’s discuss a little more of the importance of user experience and user interface. Knowing why a consumer visits a site is simple – they have an issue and they are trying to fix it. The problem could be a leaking pipe and they are searching for the best local plumber, a new puppy and they need guidance, a resolution to lose weight and they are looking for a treadmill…you get the picture. Having a website that moves the consumer along the buyer’s journey seamlessly leads to less frustration and a greater rate of conversion, whether the conversion is purchasing your product, registering for your newsletter, or contacting your organization. Digital marketing agencies have the knowledge and experience to provide the best UX/UI for your buyer.
Other factors that contribute to a positive user experience are the page load times and content delivery. Some software, like Wix, run on Javascript, which can negatively impact website speed and visitor retention as well as play a role in unreasonably high bounce rates. Squarespace requires clunky workarounds in order to improve load times as they do not optimize or compress images. Squarespace also provides hosting that is shared with other website owners, which can negatively impact page speed and retention. An agency will use cutting edge server configurations and a top of the line hosting platform and compression, alongside image optimization and caching, to improve web page speed dramatically and help to lower bounce rates. This leads to higher conversions and visitor retention on your website.
Many people don’t know that you need to build your website with components that will respond differently based on the device that it is being viewed. This is called responsive design. Some of the DIY website software are fully responsive, but others, like Wix, are not. With Wix, you’ll have to manually tweak your design for smartphones and tablets. With the rise in smartphone use, especially for viewing websites, it is imperative that your website is mobile-friendly. A digital marketing agency will take care of the responsive design for you.
Do I Have the Budget?
Some people say that in the end, it all comes down to money. That may be true in a few cases, but it’s essential to look at how the money spent on a professional website can increase sales. When people have a better user experience, not only are they more apt to purchase your product or service, they will also promote your company to other people, leading to even more buyers. More customers equal more sales, and pretty soon your website will pay for itself.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that a website is an investment in your business and is the main connection between you and your consumers. It should look professional and run efficiently so that you can draw new business. A digital marketing agency will make sure that your website is fully optimized for SEO and that the functionality and design of the website are flawless.
If you wan to learn more about web design or digital advertising, feel free to reach out and K. Renee Web Design can assist you. We have a full team standing by to help you with your business needs.
