It really is amazing to see how many companies need but don’t utilize a website designer. Many still have completely ancient looking sites running. While you might be thinking “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” on the internet (and in daily life) first impressions can make or break you. If your site appears old, irrelevant or boring than that impression automatically reflects on you and what you are offering.
A second and equally irritating trend developing are sites completely over run by advertising. If a person can’t decipher where your information/content begins and where the advertising ends then you are going to lose consumers. It doesn’t make any sense to have advertising overshadow your product. Generally, you develop a website so people can learn about you or purchase a product, but how can they accomplish that if your site is a mess? Even hiring a website designer to simply adjust things, as opposed to a full redesign, would be better than nothing. If people visit your site and there are no clear instructions, buttons, menus or toolbars…how are they suppose to learn anything about you or your product? Having a user friendly and easily navigated site is crucial. Getting too gung-ho on your website’s appearance is a no-no as well. Your site needs to be relevant, informative and appealing but it’s easy to mean well and go overboard. What you don’t want is to do is end up on a published web- list, where your site will be criticized for its gaudy, cheesy and ineffective nature.
At the same time, having a single page site isn’t recommended either. It looks messy and unorganized but most of all it can appear to be very amateur and unprofessional. Some semblance of order will go a long way because, as a first impression, if your website is very organized then, of course, you and your company are too. Whether or not that’s accurate is beside the point, it’s the conclusions people will draw because for most businesses, the website has become the first point of contact for the customer. What this means is that you should update your content regularly to avoid link rot and have someone like a web designer or web writing professional review your site for errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Something as simple as a spelling error can cost you customers because it appears unprofessional and implies you did not have the wherewithal to review your own website material before publishing it. A good website designer can assist you in this matter, whether they can spot the content error themselves or they work for a company that can provide someone specialized in web- content editing. Think of your website as your company’s resume; then think of how you as an employer would react if someone applied for a job and their resume was either out of date or full of spelling errors – Would you want to hire them? Of course not!
As your website will undoubtedly define your company’s image, the work a website designer does for you will define their career. Poor design work on their part won’t earn them any referrals or accolades, so getting a website designer who has been recommended to you by someone you know and trust is important. Even after getting a recommendation, you should still request a portfolio of work and check their referrals diligently. If you choose an unqualified website designer then the onus is on you when your website does not turn out the way you had anticipated.
Look no further than Dburns Design for a great website designer. Browse our portfolio to see samples work created for famous L.A. personalities, actors, business owners, artists and more.