There’s a reason your website is lost in the desert of the internet
While the Internet isn’t going away any time soon, many small businesses neglect their own web presence. Since the mid-90’s we’ve been jumping into the Internet pool on a daily basis. With 2 decades of the ability to market to a larger audience, many small businesses are sitting on sites from the 90’s, and the thought of a new website isn’t appealing to them. Why?
Today’s websites are different from yesterday’s
A lot has happened in 2 decades of web use. In order to get your business found online today you need a certain level of expertise. SEO (search engine optimization) is all the rage, and back in 1996 it wasn’t. Easy to use websites, and mobile websites now play a vital role in marketing for online companies. In 1996 animated graphics were more important.
We’ve refined how we interact with the web. Unfortunately, many small businesses haven’t taken the hint. The web is an evolving medium, and if you don’t keep up then your website becomes irrelevant. And that irrelevance leads to the thought that the web doesn’t work for you.
Sour Grapes
Back in the 90’s so many people ran out to get a website for their company. While web design was relatively new there were many “fly by night,” designers, or often the “tech kid” down the street. Folks who knew enough to cobble together a few lines of HTML and get you your online business card. But these fly by night folks did exactly that. They disappeared into the sunset with a few dollars of your cash, and left you with something you knew nothing about.
Websites are nothing more than snake oil. My site didn’t drive any business to me, therefore they don’t work.
Nothing could be further from the truth. A well designed site for many businesses will help get them found, increase their consumer base, and help their bottom line. But the site has to be well designed. With all the changes over the past few decades, a level of professionalism is required to help get your website, and therefore your business, found.
It takes a professional
From the dictionary, one definition of a professional is:
A person engaged in a specified activity as one’s main paid occupation rather than as a pastime
Web design today takes a certain level of professionalism. Knowledge of SEO, mobile friendly sites, content driven sites, and sites that are easy to use. Nobody is popping up animated gifs or horrible 8 bit music in the background of the websites you visit, so why should your old site have those. The kid down the street who learned basic web design in his junior year isn’t who you’re looking for.
If you’re thinking it’s time to do a new website for your business, expect that there will be a real expense, not a few hundred dollars. If you’re not ready for a real expense, don’t bother with building a new website. It won’t do any more for you than your current site does.
A professional web designer will help you build an easy to use site, one that won’t lose visitors on the first page, and one that drives your customers to the results you’re looking for. A good amount of time goes into understanding all of this, which is why professional web developers bring so much more to the table, and make your investment worthwhile.
Reach a national audience
The Internet is one of the easiest ways to reach beyond your own business location. And a properly built website can not only get you found, it can help you generate leads that go well beyond your backyard. It’s time to let go of the past, and that old website, and do something new that even you would like to use!
Contact RLC Design Services today. We’ll show you what good website design can do for you!