“I don’t need a new website…”
We were chatting to a business owner at an event in Gilbert recently and, as we all do at such things, we were talking about what we do…website development. This is how the conversation started…
“Oh I don’t need a new website,” he said, “My website works fine for me”.
“That’s great” we replied, “It’s important that every business has an up to date site with fresh, topical content…”
“Yes, my site works well, I had it done 7 years ago and haven’t had to touch it since…” he continued…”I just renew the hosting package every year; we haven’t moved or changed our phone number, so what’s to change?”
Wow, really! We won’t go into the further details of the conversation, but needless to say it was enlightening! And we didn’t even get the chance to talk about the need to constantly refresh and update a website for the search engines… ‘hadn’t touched it for 7 years’…at that point I needed another drink!
For this Phoenix small business owner, it was important that he had ‘ticked the website box’. Unfortunately many people believe that having any kind of website is acceptable, but that couldn’t be further from the truth…
Your website has 30 seconds at most to convince a prospect to stay
Have you ever met someone and been put off immediately by their handshake, their suit, their business card? A bad first impression is difficult to overcome; in fact, there is plenty of research that supports the notion that a first impression is formed within the first 7 to 20 seconds of meeting someone. I’ve also read that a bad first impression can take take up to 10 additional contacts to overcome – an opportunity you just don’t get in business. And unfortunately, many first impressions are made on appearance only.
So the notion that having just any website is better than none is misguided; if your website makes a bad first impression on a prospect you’ve lost them, or you’ll have to work damn hard to get them back.
On average, a visitor will make their mind up about your website, and therefore you business, in a similar amount of time; judge it for yourself next time you’re browsing. I’d be surprised if you took longer than 10 to 30 seconds to decide whether a site is worth your time? Your site has to make a strong first impression immediately; in this digital age, most customers expect a business to have a good website, even if it is simply a badge of respectability. An outdated, badly designed or poorly performing site could convince a prospect that you go about your work in the same way.
So if you have a website that looks dated and needs refreshing, contact us. We will create a clean, professional and easily navigable website, from which you can effectively promote your products and services, reassuring your potential customers that you are a solid business to work with.
We can have a short term holding page up in hours while we design and develop the new website for you; a holding page will include your contact details, a brief business synopsis and a site under development message. A good holding page (unless it becomes permanent!) can do a better job than a bad website; it conveys the fact that you are putting some effort into your website and your business.