Enhance Web Eye Candy with Professional Custom Designed Websites So you’ve dotted your I’s and crossed your T’s. You’ve just designed and built your company’s website using online tools. You are sure you’ve done all the right things – your website is mobile friendly (learn more about Responsive Web Design here), you’ve done your research and you have read all the right things. But something isn’t right. You aren’t getting the traffic you need. You get the traffic, so your SEO is probably working, but you aren’t getting any leads. What’s happening? Well, probably a lot, but something specifically about your website isn’t attracting the right attention. The biggest issue is you only have seconds to capture the attention of a user – and that’s being generous. The cookie-cutter website seems like a great option and is easy to use, but that’s exactly what’s wrong with them. Thousands upon thousands of websites are made with online tools, creating innumerable websites that look basically identical. This isn’t to say these tools aren’t helpful or that they should be avoided. They absolutely should be used, but they need to be used properly by professional website developers. They provide great tools to reduce project length and cost if used appropriately. Look at it this way: if you were a brick and mortar floral retailer, is it a good idea to build your own store? I mean, you read that magazine article about architecture right? Of course, you wouldn’t! You’d hire a contractor, someone whose entire life is building storefronts. Business websites aren’t any different. Okay, if the website collapses no one is likely to die, but your website is the image which you present to the world. In order to get the most out of your website, it needs to be professionally built. This is what development companies do. They build tech solutions, all day, every day, which means we have years of experience building custom websites that you are unlikely to have. For your website to get the traffic you need and deserve, you need to work with someone who knows what they are doing. When it comes to website development, you have two broad choices: 1. Cookie-cutter websites built by you; a. Cookie-cutter websites seem like a great option. They’re inexpensive and generally easy to use. Plus, online tools and programs like Magento, let you build industry-specific websites with lightning speed. But again, the problem here is that these websites are often boring, or don’t use the proper methods or designs. In the long run, you end up spending more money and time when you have to redesign your boring website. 2. Hiring a custom website design company a. Yes, a web development firm costs money but in the long-run, isn’t doing something right the first time always the most cost-effective solution? A professional custom web designer’s entire life is contingent on making amazing websites that get their clients the business they need. Does yours? A website is a labor of love – a very intensive labor. It’s an unceasing project, one that needs change and evolves with your business. There’s is so much that goes into a website for which online tools are of little to no help: • Pre-Development Design, design design. Yup, you can’t have a proper tech blog without mentioning the importance of design. Also, we need to mention disruption, because, you know, Silicon Valley. Predevelopment is extremely important. It involves all those steps you have to take just to formulate your website. Deciding what your landing page (the most important part of your site is the landing page) will look like, how the website will flow from page to page, figuring out what each page will look like and say – that all occur in pre development This also includes wireframes, storyboards and other prototypes – read more here. • Development Development is the boring part of custom website design. It involves the coding, bug fixing, testing and, of course, the launch. However, it is also the most important aspect of your website. This is where those online tools I keep mentioning should be used. In the hands of non-professionals, options like Magento can result in bland boring websites. In the hands of people who do this for a living, these options can be coupled with unique, custom code. This helps to keep custom website design costs down, and can dramatically reduce the amount of time a build will take. Drop us a line to learn more about how to properly leverage online website builders. • Post-Development Unlike the brick and mortar storefront mentioned above, a website needs to be constantly updated. Content needs to change continually, new designs need to be considered and maintenance is ongoing and continual. Online DIY website builders don’t continually update, repair and enhance your site. If you had to use such a tool, you probably aren’t a developer or coder yourself, making working on your website on your own is, at best, aggravating. Post-development is the place where entrepreneurs from app builders to website designers make the most mistakes. Don’t fall into the same old traps! When it all comes down to the wire, you can totally build your own website. And you can totally not get the business you deserve. There are experts out there who specialize in knowing how to build the best websites. At SDI, our developers and researchers work together to create industry-specific websites that drive growth and increase sales. This combination of researchers and developers provides us with two perspectives on every website, app, or software program we design. With this method, we create websites to industry-best UX/UI standards. They are specifically tailored to the needs and desires of not only your company but your company’s clientele. Ready to drive those leads with your own gorgeously built custom website? SDI would love to work with you. We pride ourselves on our visually appealing websites and our clients love our work – in fact, 80% of our business is from repeat customers. Call us now at 408.805.0495 or email team@sdi.la and share your vision with us. Get the design of your 2 web pages absolutely free.