So here's the situation
94% of visitors to your website are going to form first impressions of your business based solely off of the design.
Let’s let that sink in for a moment… If in a month, you have 500 visitors to your site, 470 of them are making judgements regarding your business just based off of how your site looks – the layout, pictures, colors, fonts, etc. In fact, 48% of people said that a website’s design is the number 1 factor in determining credibility. Hook Agency
If this is making you feel a little squirmy on the inside, you’re not alone. The fact is that if you have started your own business or nonprofit, you’re probably not a design nerd messing with Photoshop in your free time and watching countless design videos on YouTube. I’m going to say, too, that you probably don’t have a degree in graphic design. Your strengths lie elsewhere, and that’s the point of why you started your own business!
Here’s the kicker though: If your website layout is unattractive, 38% of visitors will stop engaging with it.
It doesn’t matter that you’re a head above the rest of the competition. It doesn’t matter that your costumer service and care develops life-long clients. If you can’t get them in the door, it doesn’t matter. And the door is no longer the one right off of Main Street with the open sign and squeaky hinges. It’s the one that starts with https and ends with .com.
What are you going to do about it?
Let me tell you something: You can do this.
I’ve seen a lot of looks of defeat and discouragement when it comes to attempting to build an online presence of which to be proud. I want you to wipe that look off of your face right now, and let me put on my coach’s hat for a moment.
You do not have to be a graphic designer or a professional web builder to succeed online. You don’t even have to custom code.
What does it take?
1. Grit and determination to learn
The fact is that you have to be willing to learn. So many people shut themselves off from diving in and learning because they assume they will fail. I can’t guarantee you success in seven days. In fact, I can’t give you a timeline for learning this because everyone is different, but here is what I can guarantee you, if you are willing, you can learn how to design and maintain a fantastic website that makes all of those statistics we were talking about earlier meaningless.
2. A willingness to get help if you need it
Let’s face this head on right now. If you don’t have a good eye for design, you need to bring in someone who does. Be honest with yourself here. You may be thinking that you want to save money and not invest in bringing someone in to help design your site, but in the long run, statistics show that a poorly designed website will cost you clients.
What tools do you need?
I’m going to lay it all out for you right now. You see, I want to see you succeed. My heart is to see small businesses and nonprofits really find their footing online. If that means that we get to work together on your website, that’s great. If that means that I can pass on to you the things that I’ve learned over the years to help you do this on your own, I feel that I’ve accomplished my goal.
So, I am going to go ahead and give you some tools out of my toolbox. These are the tools that I use every day and that I will be talking about more in the blog. Know that this toolbox is constantly expanding, and I will pass on all the tools to you that I come across.
Elementor is arguably the best drag and drop web builder out there right now. It takes the custom coding out of web design with an interface that lets you do whatever you want. If you’re like me and you want the moon in web design, this is it. I use it to build all of my websites, and I train my clients in how to use it so that they can maintain their sites on their own if that is their wish.
Okay, Canva is a no-brainer. If you have a website or a social media presence for your business or nonprofit, do yourself a favor and get a Canva account. Truly, it is becoming the more user-friendly alternative to Photoshop. It’s very easy to learn, and they have so many professional-looking templates that you can easily alter.
As their site states, they are the internet’s source of freely usable images. Under the Unsplash license, you are free to do with them whatever you want, and they are high quality images. Use them to take your website’s design up a notch or to create scroll-stopping social media posts.
This is a site I could sit and explore for hours. There’s something about a complimentary color palette that is just so satisfactory. Colors matter. Find great combinations on Coolors.
Take the first step
Let’s chat about your website goals. What aggravates you about your current site or the web build process? We can create some action steps to help you push past the aggravation and see some of your goals start to take shape.
If you’re at the point where you’re ready to bring in someone to help you create an appealing and dynamic layout and design for your website, I would love to come alongside you and create a website that builds your business.
Perhaps you don’t know whether that is your next step or not, that’s okay. Sometimes it helps just to talk it through. There’s no commitment, just a conversation.
Let’s take those statistics off of your plate and achieve your website goals together. Fill out the form below, and I’ll be in touch!
