Web Design Consultation
On the surface, developing your own website seems oh-so-easy and priced just right. WordPress in particular has taken their blogging platform and put the power of web development into the hands of the masses with just the click of a mouse. The only investment is your time. It can’t be THAT difficult, can it?
Let’s say, for instance, you are like my friend Josh and signed up for the website package offered as an add-on sale through his domain registration company. For a moment he felt like he had just been handed the keys to the kingdom. He truly felt he’d just gotten one over on those “professional web developing charlatans” (his words, not mine) charging anywhere between $1500- $7000 for something he could do himself.
I remember listening to him gloat while logging in to the back end c-panel. After being directed to choose a template, he was off to the races.
Two days, one sleepless night, and many cups of coffee later he was cursing the same “simplistic” program knowing that what he produced is a far cry from stellar.
In haste and frustration he scoured the internet for a few “how to” articles only to be caught in a cycle of dilemma from the new found, yet now pressing lessons telling him of the glories using SEO, backlinking, title tags, meta data, alternate text, and analytics would have on his website. He then embarked on the journey of investing even more hours, that he really don’t have in the first place, to educate himself on the additional processes the domain name company professed to be “child’s play”.
Or, perhaps you’re like my friend Jasmin who muddled through the development, launched a site she was somewhat happy with, but found herself several months later wondering why she wasn’t moving up in the search engines or garnering sales leads for her products and services.
These, my friend, are only a few of the reasons why you should use a professional web design and development company.
A professional keeps up with the latest trends in design colors, layouts, and content relevant to your industry. Have you ever gotten to a website from a Google search and clicked right off because you didn’t like how it looks? Part of the web design process is making sure your site is visually appealing and a professional can help make that happen.
Functionality plays a vital role in the web design process. You want to make sure the user (visitor) has the best possible experience on your website. A professional web designer knows exactly where things such as navigation, calls to action, social media icons, email capture/database building, and graphics need to be placed for the best outcome.
Last, but by no means least, a professional web designer understands the importance of creating a site that search engines love to crawl. By using a professional who uses SEO best practices will yield a fantastic end product that will give you a return on the initial investment through sales leads. That’s right. A website designed to act like a secondary virtual salesperson 24/7/365!
Be wary of companies selling websites for a low monthly fee. Perform your due diligence and make sure you own the domain name and can take the website with you no matter what hosting service you use.
Inquiring minds want to know… do you have a web design nightmare experience? Share it with us and tell us how you moved past it towards success.
About The Author
Sheryl Connelly is the CEO of Marketing Media Management, a boutique internet marketing agency specializing in social media management and digital content creation. Sheryl is also a multi-published author of business, self-help, and fiction content. To learn more about Sheryl, log on to http://www.managemmm.com/about.php