If you own a business, you need a website. In today’s day and age, if your business does not have a website not only you are missing out on sales but also you are not establishing trust as a brand. There are hundreds of facets of design and development that go into creating a quality website. While it is possible to do it on your own, we recommend hiring a professional website designer for the following reasons:
Unlike website builders that can come straight out of the preverbal box, professional website designers can take any idea you have and bring it to life. Not only can you choose fonts, color palates, and placement of your content, but you can also add personalized functionality that fits your business's needs - like 3rd party software integration, specialized forms, and so much more. If you don’t like where something is located a designer can easily move things around until you are happy with the overall look and functionality of your website.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a key component for getting your website to rank on google. Some of the most important SEO factors are actually built into the code of your website. A professional website developer will know the ins and outs of building your website with the SEO building blocks it needs to succeed.
Building your website from a website builder can take a lot of time and in the end, may not perform the way you need it to. Website companies who specialize in design and development can get your website looking the way you want it to in less time. In turn, this creates less stress and wasted time on you your end.
Responsive design makes dynamic changes to the appearance of a website, depending on the screen size and orientation of the device being used to view it. You may notice that if you look at the same website on your computer and your cell phone, they look different. Specialize code allows for your website to stack items so that they fit any device and give a friendly user experience. Professional development companies are experts in this field. Nowadays Google will penalize you if your website is not mobile responsive.
A lot goes into managing your website once it’s online. From managing updates to security monitoring, keeping track of things that keep your website up and running can be a huge undertaking. Having a professional keeping an eye on your website to make sure everything is running properly is vital to your company’s success.
Having a custom-designed website will make you stand out against your competitors. Out of the box website builders can only go so far when building out the look and functionality of your website. If your website has a unique user-friendly look and superior functionality, you will have a competitive advantage.
Fast load times will not only increase your users' trust but increase your conversion rates! Studies have shown that a one-second delay in load times leads to an 11% loss in page views. That number increases drastically every second it takes to load your website. Professionals write streamlined code to keep your website running as fast as possible.
Designers know exactly how to make a website friendly to your end-user. This means they understand how a user uses a website and makes it as uncomplicated as possible. Expertise in 'user interface' is a skill a professional designer will bring to your website.
While website builders are cheap, their outcome can also look cheap and not trustworthy. This in turn can lower sales and create a bad look for your brand. Also, without proper implementation and management, these types of websites are prone to stop working or even worse get hacked. All of this amounts to you spending more and more money to band-aid a problem or even having to redo the website - all of which costs your company time and money. Professional website designers will get it done right the first time and secure/manage it so that you are always up and running.
You want people staying on your website longer. Why, because the longer a user is on your website the more likely they are to convert. Professional web design companies know how to put the right elements in place to increase your conversion rate (ie: Calls to action, menu placement, and streamlined checkout). The goal is to lower your “bounce rate”. Bounce rate is the number of visitors to your site that leave without converting. Professionals can analyze where the weak points are in the buyer journey and update them.
Hiring a company that specializes in custom website design is the best option for your business. Make sure when hiring that you ask for examples of their work and thoroughly explain to them your needs and wants so they can quote you accurately. Best of luck with your new website venture!
