28 Sep Why you need a website strategist before you hire a website designer
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Having a website built is one of the most challenging tasks for any business owner. As a small business it’s unlikely that you have a team of sales, marketing & technical experts to help guide you. You’re on your own.
Your website is the anchor of your online presence & most times your business’ primary marketing tool. When done correctly it acts as the voice of your company. It provides enough information for potential customers to make a decision & guides them though the process of doing business with you.
It would be great if you could personally greet every visitor to your website, guide them & answer any questions they may have during their visit. That’s that’s not the way it works. Visitors to your website don’t make an appointment, or announce their presence. They don’t leave feedback when something is off, they simply back out never to return.
As your company’s main marketing tool your website needs to do it’s job autonomously, 24/7.
A website strategist role is not to validate your business idea.
It’s to help you define & organize your business website’s functionality, messaging, & presentation. The goal here is to ensure you’re spending your budget wisely & setting your company up for success with a website that truly works for your business now & into the near future.
If your website is already built but isn’t performing as you’d hoped, a website strategist is a fresh pair of eyes that can identify where you’re probably missing the mark.
1. What do you want your website to do?
Most business owners expect their website to be a brand ambassador, customer service rep & a sales superstar with a closing rate so impressive that Zig Ziglar himself would call Seth Godin to tell him about it.
When you’re just starting out… fueled by a mix of excitement and nerves, it’s hard to see things clearly. You’re convinced that anyone who hears about your product will instantly “get it” & be scrambling to pull out their credit card. Unfortunately, without significant marketing ahead of time, it never works that way.
Every new website owner discovers things that they wish they’d known beforehand. As a website strategist I will look at your website plans from the perspective of your target audience & the landscape as a whole. I’m going to see issues, waste, & obstacles ahead of time that most don’t realize until after their website is built.
2. Function is everything.
Initial instincts will be to build the fabulous design that you’ve always dreamed about. This is a critical mistake. A gorgeous website that doesn’t serve a purpose, generate sales, or attract leads is just an expensive piece of digital art that you will grow to loathe paying for.
Furthermore, mimicking competitors by creating pages with no purpose will do your website more harm than good.
You also need to think about how your business operates now and in the future. What tools and integrations will you need? Are there specific programming languages involved? Will you need custom-built functions? What tools & integrations will you need into the future? A website strategist helps you separate the “nice-to-haves” from the “critical-must-haves” so you don’t end up with a site that’s outdated before you even launch.
Important notes:
- Graphic designers are not always great website designers.
- Website designers are not always graphic designers.
- Neither are guaranteed to be coders, know any programming languages, how to use API’s or other technical disciplines.
Another consideration is who will run & maintain your website once the build is done?
Before you hire a designer you need to understand the many ways a website can be built. You also need to understand the pros and cons in relationship to your own skills & available resources.
3. Can I get to the design part now?
Now that you’ve nailed down what your website needs to be, it’s time to find the right people to build it. If you’re looking for more than just a few basic pages, you might need more than one specialist—or even a team—who can collaborate to bring your vision to life. As your website strategist I will show you ways to mitigate those cost & the resources you’ll need into the future.
You will also be in a much better position to hire the right service provider, and keep your project on time & on budget.
