Websites are not magic bullets

From time to time customers have approached us to enquire about a website. We take them through the initial consultation and discuss the various options, Content Management Systems, Brochure Websites, Search Engine Optimisation and so forth. These facets are all pretty straightforward to discuss, but occasionally during the consultations we hear “we did not think we needed a website, but now as business is slow…” is uttered and the consultation moves from being a straightforward consultation to a discussion about the nature of websites.

To put it bluntly, a website is not a magic bullet. By that I mean, the creation of a new website is unlikely to rapidly boost sales and suddenly generate enquiries. They are a facet of the overall business marketing and at a minimum an information portal about the business.

 

 

So ‘getting’ a website is similar to ‘getting’ a new pet, they both need to be looked after and if done so correctly will both provide great returns. Once you have a website, it has to be relevant to your business with content that is not dated. If you have a news page then it needs to have regular news updates otherwise customers might think the company is quiet. There should be a monthly SEO (search engine optimisation) contract in place, powering the ranking of the website towards the top page on Google for your most relevant search terms. The higher the rank, the more users will find you and the more you can turn into customers.

That is why we encourage all web design clients to think about web design in two parts. 1. Getting a great website and 2. Getting new customers to find it.

But if you think that just getting a website will suddenly boost the business during the quiet times, then you have not been properly informed about the nature of websites.