Perhaps you’re overwhelmed by the sheer number of possible updates your website suddenly needs. Our advice is this: focus your priority, determine what’s relevant to your business objectives and where the gaps are in your online presence, and don’t forget about why your site exists… hint: for your brand lovers, never your ego.
At Blind Society, a branding and design agency, we aren’t developer gurus and won’t program your HTML5, but we do know a thing or two about translating your brand’s vibe into key consumer touch points– web design being a major one. Here’s our candid advice.
Responsive Design: Is it necessary?
Yes. There’s no two ways about it, responsive web design and functionality has graduated from a “nice-to-have” to a “must-have.” In its simplest form, this means that your website is optimized for seamless viewing all core devices, from desktop to tablet to mobile and beyond. Have you ever tried looking at a website on your phone, only to be forced to zoom and adjust the screen until you get so frustrated you leave? With 60% of all online traffic now coming from mobile, all signs point to a likely “yes”. Don’t be that website.
What’s the story you want to tell?
In super-geek technical terms, this would be your “USP,” or unique selling point. Real-talk? This is what we call your zag; what makes you stand out, reinforcing why your brand lovers need you. What are you really selling?
Less Is More
Once you’ve successfully identified your site’s story, do build around that purpose…don’t try to reflect every potential purpose your business can serve. Thanks to sensory and information overload, society collectively stands unified in a tragic case of ADD, resulting in the need to capture viewer interest within ~30 seconds of your homepage loading. Ultimately consumers crave less clutter, more focus; help them help you.
What’s the key takeaway someone should leave with?
Another acronym alert: what’s your “CTA”, or call to action? Ultimately, what is it you want visitors to do once they hit your site? Whatever it may be, ensure you choose one action of utmost priority, and make it easy to both find and understand.
Use A Template or Invest in a Custom Build
It depends. This question inspires its own long-form debate, but in short, it comes down to three main factors:
1. Why does your website exist?
: Are you simply providing information and validating that you’re a legit business? If so, a customized template website should be just fine.
: Are you hoping to be the next Amazon retail or asking people to take in-depth action on your site? If so, a more customized code approach may be worth the consideration.
2. How often do you make updates to the content within your site?
If you’re a business changing out menus, updating calendars, reflecting new merchandise or similar on a daily or weekly basis, a template site with a user-friendly CMS (content management system) is game-changing and money-saving.
3. How much money do you have to spend?
Luckily the “you get what you pay for” argument is only situationally-strong in this case. There are many affordable WordPress (or other CMS-based template site providers) that perform perfectly. That said, dishing out the bigger bucks for a custom site means free reign over design, robust functionality and an overall more proprietary presence… and a lesser chance you’ll run into a web clone.
It’s over-whelming, we get it.
The good news? We’ll hold your hand throughout the entire process and make sure that your web identity accurately portrays your brand vibe. When you’re ready to take the web plunge, let Teri know, teri.bockting@blindsociety.com.