How to invest in a website the smart way (how to get the best bang for your buck)
So you want to build your website right the first time (without blowing though your budget) but as you may have guessed, that’s not so easy to do.
In fact, this is probably the MOST common issue we've seen in our clients time and time again.
There are two ways we commonly see it done:
1. Either you get a cheap (mediocre) web designer (think upwork, fiverr, 99designs) to slap together a WordPress site just to 'have something up'
2. OR you do it "right" (which requires investing at least half a year of your life + $$$$)
Most designers will promise an “in-between” solution, but end up on one side or the other (cheap design or go way over budget) OR they urge clients to take the second route, & push for that sexy, beautiful website with all the bells & whistles. That’s the “sensible” route they say, since you'll end up with a website that is strategic, functional, and fits the brand essence perfectly BUT they’re not thinking of the business side of things. If you’re launching a new brand, investing SO MUCH time and money BEFORE ever making any profit is just not feasible unless you have amazing funding. But it’s tough to get funding without a nice pitch deck & at least an ok looking brand. On top of all of that, these designers/developers will often create their designs in a format that makes it impossible for non-designers/developers to edit. Hint: They do that on purpose so you become dependent on them.
As a designer AND a business owner, I'm going to go right ahead and say NEITHER of those are the right way of going about it if you’re truly looking out for everyone’s best interest.
I'm not saying there's no value in making a strategic, well thought out website, but the BEST way of getting there is a third route that's often overlooked...
Step 01
Develop a Brand Strategy. This part is really important since it will help inform all the design, messaging, marketing etc.
Step 02
Create a simple, but strong Brand Identity & get a Quick Style Guide with your logo, fonts, type style, colors, and image style. Pair this with information from your Brand Strategy research and you’ve got yourself some solid Brand Guidelines!
Step 03
Using that Style Guide, create a simple 1-page website or “Landing Page” with an easy to use platform so anyone that needs to go in and make edits, can be fully empowered to do so, without the headache! (Not to mention without having to spend tons of extra $ to get the developer to jump back in–IF they’re even available) The Landing Page should serve as more than a business card. It should have a fully functional Funnel integrated into it. We’ll dive into this in another post, but using a Lead Magnet, this 1-page website can be a be high-converting, money-making machine for your business!
Step 04
Now that you have some money rolling in, you have the time AND money to develop your brand’s Full Website properly, without having to stress about the launch date getting pushed back, or going over budget & crossing your fingers that it will pay off. This way, you’ll launch faster, you’ll be empowered to make edits in the future, AND you can afford to do it all with professional help from the start (no more wasting money on a bad foundation that you’re embarrassed to show off & you’d need to fully scrap).
