Notes

If you are thinking about getting a website for your business, or redesigning your existing one, you’re probably trying to figure out the very best route to take. With all the new platforms out there, should you do it yourself? Or should you hire a web design service? And if you were to employ a web designer https://antiguawebsolutions.com/web-design-agency-in-new-york/, how perform you know very well what kind of designer to employ?
I am a web designer based out of Charleston, SC, but it may come as a surprise for you that I actually don’t think you should hire a designer to build your site… At least, they shouldn’t be only a designer.
As a designer myself, I get excited at the prospect of building you a beautiful, modern website that will impress your customers. However, I know that you don’t simply need a lovely website…
You need a beautiful website that will actually help you meet your business goals - whether that be generating leads, converting browsers into buyers, building a contact list, etc.
While there are a lot of web designers out presently there, many of them only understand graphic design https://antiguawebsolutions.com/web-design-agency-in-new-york/ - they don't understand the fundamentals of marketing. Your website is among the most important advertising tools you have! If it's not designed therefore, you possess wasted your cash!
And on the other side of the coin, I come across many marketing companies that offer web design, but their websites look atrocious. The thing you need is the best of both worlds!
Ok… so I’m not completely saying you shouldn’t hire a web designer. I’m not really necessarily even saying you shouldn’t make an effort to design it yourself. What I am stating is, whoever styles your website, they need to have a strong understanding of these sactually important principles of internet marketing:
7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a WEB DESIGN SERVICE
1. Do They Prioritize UX?
User Experience, or UX, is exactly what it sounds like. It really is providing a good experience to the users that browse your site.
There are a number of factors that go into delivering positive UX. I’ll cover more of these in the next few points because they certainly are all interconnected.
The kinds of questions you want to ask in regards to UX are: Is my site difficult or an easy task to navigate? Is Web Design Agency in New York to someone new visiting the web site, or do they know exactly how to utilize it right away? Does my website meet certain expectations that the user has? Will be it clear how to buy, sign-up, or become involved?
The next question you should find out about your online designer is…
2. Can They Help Clarify Your Message?
Did you know you that when a potential customer visits your website, you merely have about 10 seconds to leave the right impression with them before they hit the “Back” button? If your message isn't clear enough for them to understand just what you have to offer, they'll click away.
I am always surprised at how many businesses get this wrong. In their headlines, they focus on the wrong aspects of their business. They concentrate on features, rather than the product itself. They fail to communicate how they will make their customer’s life better because of this. And within their copy, they use jargon that the average individual does not understand.
A web designer’s job is not necessarily to be a copywriter (which is a job in itself), but they should understand how exactly to convey a clear message. The designer should be able to guide you in articulating your message and writing good sales copy. A web developer should become a storyteller, helping you paint the picture of your customer (the hero of the story), and how you guide them from problem to solution. For more upon this, I strongly recommend looking into the resources put out by Story Brand < https://antiguawebsolutions.com/web-design-agency-in-new-york/ > .
3. Will They Work to comprehend Your Target Audience?
A designer that understands marketing will ask you about your target audience and ideal client. Even though you don’t know your focus on market, a reliable web developer will be able to help you start defining it. They’ll seek to comprehend why your market uses the web site, and what experiences would end up being valucapable to them.
Your target market (in most cases) is going to be the same as your users. So it’s important to know this to be able to serve them and provide a good User Experience.
4. Will They Build the web site Around Your Goals?
A good web designer knows a website does not just serve an individual. It serves you, the business owner. (And in other cases, there might be other shareholders that it requires to serve aswell.)
A web designer should know how to ask the right questions to determine your goals, and they ought to know how to listen.
Every company, a good nonprofit, is selling something. Even though you provide a free product or service, you still have to “sell” your audience onto it. So, every company has a Sales Funnel. Your web designer should, to begin with, understand sales funnels. Plus they will be able to integrate your product sales funnel together with your website. This means collecting leads, creating a following, driving sales, soliciting donations, etc.
Your website doesn’t have to be only a glorified business card. It can actually assist you to accomplish a few of these goals. In my opinion, if your website does not actually help grow your organization, what good is it?
5. Will They Create Easy Decision Paths?
Creating “Decision Paths” on your own site involves mapping out the steps towards an action.
Clear messaging contributes to this. With clear “Call-to-Actions” to get, sign-up, “contact us”, etc., you guide the user to do what you want them to perform. Again, I’m amazed just how many websites don’t even have an obvious action step to take.
There is more to “Decision Paths” than just the call-to-action. You need to create for “Progressive Disclosure”, in other words, giving the user the right amount of information at each step of the road. It cannot be too much information, or as well little. More often then not, my clients’ original websites have way too much home elevators the homepage. If you possess long paragraphs on your homepage, I guarantee nobody has ever read it. It’s simply too overwhelming.
Knowing how much information an user must see, and at whin point they have to view it, is important.
6. Are They Willing to Say No?
You may be surprised by this one, but believe me, you do not want a web designer who's a “Yes-man.”
UX expert Jono Young coined the term Minimum Viable User Experience. This means: how can we accomplish our goals in the simplest way possible? You may have many ideas for features on your own site, but an experienced web design service will help you determine the tradeoffs between importance and feasibility.
The truth is, any feature you can dream up could be built… but at a cost. A designer that says Yes to every feature is either lying about how exactly much it can cost you, or they don’t understand how much time it will really take them (which, again, will cost you). A developer that will be ready to say “No” now and again is one which wants to provide quality. They're looking out for your best interest and attempting to save you money.
7. Will They Design an Appropriate and Effective UI?
We’ve finally come around to talking about the aesthetic design of the site, that is still incredibly important. We call this the “INTERFACE”, or UI.
UI ties all of this together to provide good UX. Yes, we want a modern look-and-feel to your website, but there’s more to it than that:
Is the branding consistent with your other marketing materials? Are the colors and images relevant to your target audience? Does the layout provide for smooth navigation? May be the design appropriate for your industry? Could it be clear what is a clickable button versus an icon?
There is a lot that goes into your UI, and modern will not automatically equal better.
A good designer knows developing you a beautiful website that may make you look professional and credible, without sacrificing user experience or meeting your organization needs.
Conclusion
No matter what you decide for designing your website, make sure that you implement these things. Building a website is really a large job. Either you will spend days and weeks figuring out how to accomplish it yourself or pay someone a good chunk of cash to do it for you. It is an investment either way, and I want to make sure your expense is well allocated to the right person for the work!
When I work with my clients, these are the exact principles I make an effort to implement for designing their website. I know how important a website would be to their success, so I want to give them the best result! If you’re thinking about sitting down with me and discussing your new website, I would love the possibility to do that with you free of obligation. Simply, contact me here < https://antiguawebsolutions.com/web-design-agency-in-new-york/ > , and we are able to set up a time to chthet!
My Website: https://antiguawebsolutions.com/web-design-agency-in-new-york/