Quality Web Design Is The Start To A Better Brand
Let’s be honest, building a business is no easy task.
In the present day, much of our traffic is found through the digital segment of the world; the internet, if you will.
I know what you’re thinking, “Duh, I already know that… I just want to understand how great web design and the quality of my brand have anything to do with one another”.
Be patient, I am going to outline exactly how high quality web design and branding play vital roles that can literally make or break a business.
For as long as as we can all remember, the best way to determine the quality of a business, without paying for a service that they offer, was to walk into their lobby and take hold of the atmosphere that the business gave off.
How clean is the place? Are the employees smiling? What kind of technology do they have? How well is the place furnished? etc. etc., you get the point.
Basically, that was all you had to go off of. If you walked in and there was no receptionist, there was hardly any furniture, the walls were white, or they just really didn’t give off a friendly vibe, you would usually leave.
Then you throw in the service or product that they offer…
Great product, poor facilities, well… you just think to yourself that maybe they could use some quality consulting and learn how to decorate the place and hire nicer people. Not the end of the world.
But what if you never had to step through the door or buy their product or service to initially determine how good this business may or may not be?
This is exactly what the internet gave us through quality web design.
How did A Branding Company come to understand this?
Being a company based primarily in two cities, Pensacola, Florida and Scottsdale, Arizona, we have seen a wide variety of businesses that are just now coming to understand the importance of web design.
In Scottsdale, there are many more companies on the rise that grow at a much faster pace than they do in Pensacola. This has to do with quite a number of things, primarily the size of the surrounding area.
What’s interesting though, is that despite the differences between the two cities, all of the companies we work with are making the same mistake that has an effect of equal size.
Despite the slower and more stagnant, small business dominated, market of panhandle Florida, the mistakes these businesses were making from an organization standpoint and lack of web presence, was the same mistake that the small to medium sized businesses were making in a market saturated by billion dollar companies!
So how does this happen? Let’s review a few key reasons.
Business owners get sidetracked…
In essence, the business owner is too tunnel visioned on the product or service at the moment and loses sight of the other aspects of the company. The organization of the storefront, for example, or the quality web design of their digital shop.
The common mistake that we work to fix, and the main point to this article, is that this neglected space on the internet, is the modern day storefront that people JUDGE your business based off of.
How can you neglect the one thing that the entire world can see?
Start small and work your way up.
Listen, Rome wasn’t built in a day, we all know this and have heard it more times than we care to remember. Well, high quality web design wasn’t built in a day and neither is your brand.
In the Pensacola market, we work with these small businesses at really understanding the concept of start small and work your way through the bigger issues overtime.
As you work your way up… the bigger issues don’t seem so large anymore, because much of them have been taken care of by the little tasks you’ve been consumed with.
This is goal setting 101; don’t make your shorter term goals bigger than your eye balls, it will just stress you out and cause anxiety- which in business smells like lost revenue!
What do you even put on a website?
Well… what do you even put in your storefront? Your store… duh! This is why you hire interior designers when your business requires a lot of customer traffic through the physical doors of your office.
The web is ALWAYS open for business, which is why high quality web design is just as important as having your chairs on the rug, instead of the rug on your chairs… wait what?
It’s true. Design your site properly and you have a better chance at capturing the 8 second average attention span of a human being.
It’s important to know that the more attention you give to your website, the more comfortable you will feel about sending your clients to it for reference.
Use a professional and spend the money now, instead of losing it later on through lost prospects because of a lack of organization on your digital real estate.
Think about what you would put in your window front on Broadway in Manhattan…
I can assure you that you’re going to put products with the highest margins and the best track records up there.
You would be crazy not to… am I right?
It’s the same thing on the internet, the best part however, is that you aren’t just limited to the millions of people walking down Broadway in a given year, you’re limited to the population of the earth.
So, in short, put what matters and put what sells. Your business exists because it makes money, and your showroom / storefront / lobby / is where the money making begins.
What should you take away?
#1. Treat your digital real estate just like you would treat your storefront in Times Square
The 8 billion people on this planet can see your business with the click of a button. Would you want it to be worse than your competitors site? Or impossible to navigate? Remember the 8 second attention span.
#2. Start small and work your way up towards achieving the bigger picture
There is nothing wrong with having goals bigger than your eyes can see at the moment, but it’s all about breaking those goals down into small segments to keep yourself sane and your situational awareness intact. Lose sight of this and get stressed out, and it will reflect in your storefront- both digitally and physically.
#3. The size of your local market does not matter for your website
Just like the differences in markets between Scottsdale Web Design and Pensacola Web Design, there are different companies spread all throughout these two metro areas, granted they are making similar mistakes, it’s all relative and the way you design your web space shouldn’t differ.
#4. People are going to judge your business
Your web design should reflect your brand, if it’s messy, people will judge you.