In a world where you can teach yourself and use preset templates to build your own website, why hire someone to create it?

That may be the reality for some people, but for many others the concern boils down to these frequently heard statements:

“I don’t have the time to create a website!”

It’s true… you can easily pour a hundred or more hours into getting a website fully operational and optimized. And let’s not forget that you’ll want to change/update it as time goes on.

“I don’t have the willpower or patience to do it properly.”

We don’t fault you for that! Even if you find it easy enough to slap together a simple and pretty website (which we’d give you a kudos for!), it would only be the start. And unless you have the know-how on SEO, branding, and/or setting up special features & functions to fully support your mission, there’s the possibility that nobody is going to find it or have the flawless user experience you want them to have… leading you to question what you’re missing.

If you’re a business owner, YOU don’t have time to waste on second-guessing and headaches. It’s also a crushing feeling to find out that you have created an outstanding-looking website that isn’t getting traffic. We’ve been building and maintaining websites for businesses since 1998, so we can share our top tips to create a great website.

Have a [visual] vision in mind.

Branding is key to establishing your business and creating an eye-catching website.

Having a logo, brand colours, brand fonts, high quality photography, and a good flow to the overall look & feel will ensure you grab and keep people’s attention.

These should be selected with a consideration both to what best represents your brand, and which colours and imagery resonate with your target audience.

Master your copywriting and marketing skills.

Get clear on your messaging to be quick and concise. Minimize the amount of text on landing and home pages.

Various psychological studies have shown that the general attention span is much shorter these days.. which means that the more text that there is for “cold leads” to read upon immediately landing on a website, the more likely it is that they’re going to leave. The same can be said about if your content doesn’t clearly state what it is that you’re offering, or if it isn’t an engaging story.

This means being inviting while sharing your expertise and selling points in as few words as possible. But, you’ll also need to creatively answer general questions at the same time so they know you’re their solution.

Know your ideal client.

This goes hand in hand with the above because you need to cater to who you want to serve. You need to keep them in mind when you consider what messaging will “hit home”.

The same applies to the visual look and feel, by speaking to them through visual appeal.

And let’s not forget, it’s them that you’re connecting with – so show and tell them what they need.

SEO (search engine optimization) cannot be forgotten.

It’s easy to build (and publish) your website and not know that you haven’t done what’s needed for this. Teams like ours research competitors, and utilize plugins and external reports to determine how well a website is optimized.

The truth is that if none of this work is done, your website will rank low on Google. When a website ranks low, it means it’s not going to show in the top pages of search results.

SEO is everything from using keywords, to making sure you describe exactly who and what you’re serving, to making sure you’ve set up attention grabbing excerpts, appropriate image alt text & page titles, and more.

Things like blogging, linking to [and being listed on] other websites, maintaining your online presence, and more also play a part in this!

When it comes to the pandemic and the online world, we’ve learned that online presences are everything. This means it’s more important than ever to make sure you have a website that is working for you.

This is why having a fully optimized website should be on your priority list on the road to success.

All of the above considerations lead many to hire web development teams such as ourselves. With this decision, you’ll be left saving precious time and money. You’ll also stand apart from your competition by having a fully optimized website that ranks high on Google.

The options are endless when you have an experienced team of web developers at your disposal. We have branched out to share our personal expertise in branding, marketing, and SEO to offer services that get you off the ground running! All you need to do is meet with us to discuss your mission and vision, and we’ll handle the rest!

Northnet Media is your web team, providing your business with customized web solutions including website design, SEO (search engine optimization), WordPress development, online & marketing strategy, and website & email hosting.