Let me know if you have heard of any of these cliches relating to your website?
- Websites are easy, anyone can make them
- My site is mobile-friendly… It loads on a phone
- What’s the big deal about a website?
- We just used a template. It’s great.
- Our hosting is cheap. It’s all I need.
All of these are major warning signs. Many business owners get dragged into the basic or cheap setups either by marketing giants or by “website builders” that are not knowledgable enough to understand the impact of some key decisions that need to be made regarding your business website.
If you are serious about your business and care how you look, sound, and perform, there is much to know about the hosting and developer decisions you make for your website.
Let’s analyze each quote:
“Websites are easy, anyone can make them.”
This is partly true. Almost anyone can make a website. There are easy builders through GoDaddy, Google, Wix, and Squarespace, to name a few.
What is not focused on, is how these quickie website builders impact your marketing and your search results. When anything is free or cheap, you should question it. Companies that offer these tools use them as a gateway to more expensive services and plans. For example, if you want to use a Wix website, have you taken into consideration how Google views your site? Does it include any indexing with Google? Is it easy to work with to get good results on Google?
The answers to questions like these are very straight forward: No. They are not there to help you. When you sign up to build a website with companies like the above-mentioned, you walk your business down a path to paying more and more for each module. And what’s offered are typically cookie-cutter tactics.
“My site is mobile friendly…. It loads on a phone.”
Loading on a phone and being mobile-friendly are very different things. Just because your site loads on a phone does not mean it displays properly across many devices or that it is user friendly.
Your mobile experience should always be considered when building or revamping your website. On many mobile sites, it is worth removing some content and getting to the point faster than on a desktop computer version of a website. Remember, more than 70% of website visits now come from mobile devices. It is vital to make sure you take a “mobile-first” approach to your website.
“What’s the big deal about a website?”
Your website is the gateway to your business. It is your storefront in many respects. Having a great website helps improve being found using Google Search and gives you instant credibility. A great website enhances the experience for both current customers and potential new ones.
Would you open a store using the cheapest materials and not decorate it?
Would you have an office that is not furnished?
To be successful when you are trying to sell a product or service, people need to see that you are there for them and that you are great at what you do. Make sure your website reflects the quality of your service and your business.
“We just used a template. It’s great.”
There are pros and cons to using templates. We use them in some cases. In many cases, we don’t. If you just need a quick website to open your business, a template may be the way to go.
There are many cautions to utilizing a template:
- Slower load time: most templates are bloated with extra code and scripts that slow down your website
- It looks like every other site out there
- It may not give you a customized look where you need it
- You may be sacrificing search results with Google
Understanding your budget and the impact you expect your website to have should help in deciding whether using a template is the way to go for your website.
“Our hosting is cheap. It’s all I need.”
Opting for a cheap hosting service is often the first – and biggest – mistake you can make with your website. You see some ads for the big hosting companies and think, “This company is great, it’s easy, let’s go with them.” Cheap hosting can cripple your business. It is often very slow, not optimized for your website, and is shared with thousands of other websites. You are left with the possibility of spam and malware from other websites injecting malicious code into your website without warning. Cheap hosting also has a major impact on how your website loads on a mobile device and, most importantly, your search results with Google.
Be very careful with who you select for your hosting service and which package you select. Would you go with a landlord that feels shady and nickels and dimes every aspect of your business?
Make the Right Choices for Your Website
There are many factors that lead to a great website. For business owners, making the right choices for their website is critical. They are often decisions made that impact your business for years to come. If you are unsure which decisions are the right ones for your website, that’s where we come in. We are here to help. We are a digital marketing company that specializes in setting up businesses with solutions that will work for them. Contact us to find out how we can help you with your website and how to market your business with digital solutions like SEO, SEM, Google, AdWords, Social Media, Video, and more.
Follow us on Instagram or LinkedIn. We look forward to hearing from you about your website needs. We are located in Burlington, Ontario.