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Why should you invest in a great website?

With so many cheap or free options out there for creating a website, most small business owners balk when they see the price tag for a custom made website by a professional designer. Why should they pay thousands for something that anyone can get for free? Well, the truth is there is a world of difference between a custom sites and one of those cookie cutter sites, especially if you are interested in a building a website that generates more business for you.

If you are selling a service or product, you need to think of your website as your storefront that creates a first impression. If your competitors all have slick, professional looking websites that are beautifully designed and feature a variety of different tools, your “online brochure” style site will look amateur by comparison. Even if you have a limited budget and tight margins, a custom website will make a world of difference in the long run.

Here is how to create the best possible first impression with your website:

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  • Hire a professional web designer. People know when they are looking at a website built by an amateur.
  • Have a professionally designed logo.
  • Keep it simple. Think Google.com. When you go to the site you are looking at a very simple page. There is no more there than what you need.
  • Create an easy to use navigation. If you make it easy to use, people will more likely to use it.
  • Make sure the writing is excellent quality.
  • Show your contact information. I recommend showing your phone number in the header area and your physical address in the footer area of each page.
  • Display professional images. If there is a way, avoid stock photos.
  • Have a strong call to action. What do you want people to do? Do you want them to call you or to complete a form or to download something? Whatever action you want them to take, spell it out to your visitors.

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Here are the top reasons why you need to invest in a great website for your business.

As a business with a web presence, often the primary interaction your customers will have with your business is through your website. You only get one opportunity to make a good first impression, and your website is it. If you were a traditional brick and mortar business, you would likely be spending around $100,000 for the physical space your business occupies. Your website is your equivalent to this expense. Suddenly, the $7,000-20,000 most developers charge doesn’t look so unreasonable. Spending that much will allow you to compete with the leaders of whatever industry you are in.

The next question is, what features are essential to include in a high quality website? To determine this, probably a good first step is to look at the sites of your competition. What do you like about them? What problems do you see that you want to avoid? Looking at as many sites in your industry as you can will give you a good idea of what your site can be capable of. You can also think outside the box and incorporate ideas from websites from completely different fields than yours.

One of the most overlooked aspects of a new website is the multimedia element. High quality pictures of your products arranged in an attractive way are most customers primary concern when online shopping. Human beings are visual creatures. No matter how well written your product descriptions are, they can never compete with a stunning photo gallery. Small, grainy images need to be avoided at all costs. People do not like to buy something they haven’t seen clearly first. Video is also very important.

video-for-website-08312015Incorporate video within your website the following ways:

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  • Use videos to introduce your business.
  • Create instructional or training videos.
  • Include video testimonials.
  • The videos you create should be uploaded to your Youtube channel, then embed them within your website.
  • Share videos related to your business.

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Finally, making your website easy to navigate is another reason to invest in a great website. Too many of the cheap or free templates are very limited in how you can organize your menus and layouts. Again, spend some time pretending you are a customer on your site and those of the competition. What problems do you notice? What makes it easy to find what you want? The last thing to ensure about your page is that it is mobile friendly. With more than half of all online shoppers accessing these sites from their phone, having a non-responsive page will frustrate your potential customers and cause them to move on to a better site.

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photo credit: Shoot – 3 cams & jib