I’ve been building websites professionally since 2010. Back then, this was a relatively new profession. Everything was desktop-focused. Mobile & responsive design was just starting to develop. Things have changed a lot since then. Platforms such as Wix or Squarespace made websites accessible for everybody.
Web designers are a dime a dozen these days. Currently, there are more than 150.000 web designers in the US alone. Which isn’t surprising. Anyone with a laptop can be a “web designer”. Add to that all the designers & developers from low-cost labor countries such as India and we’ve got quite the workforce. And let’s not forget that basically every kid is a “computer genius” (according to their parents).
Web design
So, what separates the wheat from the chaff? With all the site builders and templates available today, anybody can make a decent looking website (the grim reality is that a lot of the lower-priced “web designers” will just use these templates and change a logo). So what’s the difference between a template-based website and a custom designed website?
First of all, a custom designed website will be designed around your content, instead of the other way around. On a template you’ll be trying to fill every little “Lorem ipsum” with content and you’ll find you’ll quickly run out. A designer will start with the content you provide and go from there. With techniques such as wireframing, a designer will make sure that the basic layout and functionalities are tackled before moving on to the actual design.
Second of all, just because a website is “pretty” doesn’t mean it’s effective. This is where experience and knowledge comes in. A good designer will keep things in mind such as conversion rate, customer journey and design principles such as AIDA. These are incredibly important for your ROI, especially when you start investing in marketing.
Lastly, although this is more focused on development, if you have special needs for features or functionalities in your website, custom design can address those in a way that would be impossible with a template. The website we’ve built for LoopLabb is a good example of this. It features multiple languages and a user interface optimized for wholesale users.
Online presence
A website is only the start of your web presence. Different forms of online advertising, content marketing, social media, they all add up to your online presence. Unless you’re in a niche and your prospects have no problem finding you, these are all things that you want to be leveraging if you want to be successful.
It doesn’t start at building a website. A lot happens before actually building a website. Like setting goals and formulating a strategy to reach those goals. If you want a good ROI from your website and online presence, you’ll have to do that last thing: invest. Financially, but also in time.
A digital partner
Now all of the above sounds great in theory, but it can be quite overwhelming to do this yourself… especially when you’re, you know, trying to run a business.
This is why you want to look for a “digital partner”. Someone who can assist you, think with you about your goals and strategy, design & develop your website and lay out your online marketing for you. Someone who can advise you along the way and helps you reach those important goals.