How your outdated website is hurting your bottom line…

You’ve heard it before and I’m saying it again – you’re outdated website is hurting your bottom line.  This is not just a concept us web-designers want to drill into your head to force you into buying a new website with us (although that would be lovely), but it’s true!  So why do so many people think it’s ok to present a prehistoric online presence…?

An outdated website is better than no website, right?

Wrong.  Having an outdated website is just as bad, and in some cases worse than having no website at all.  If you have no website – you have no impression to make on your new clients.  Yes, they’ll be hunting you down on social media and getting their impressions from there, which is where they expect to see more about how you live and breathe in the real world.

Your website is where they’ll go to see how professional, knowledgeable and genuine you are from a business perspective.  If your clients find themselves presented with old icons and graphics, boxy layouts, irritating colour schemes, misaligned or old content this will directly impact on what your business says about you.

Clients want to know that you’re on top of the latest trends and services and that you’re an expert in your field, and having an outdated website implies that you have outdated systems and knowledge, and that perhaps, you really don’t care about your own business.

Website are vital for making sales

I know – you don’t sell products or services online, so your website isn’t a factor in making sales.  Well guess what – yes it is!  Making sales isn’t simply about having an online cart.  As I mentioned above – the first impression you give your clients is what will get them across the line and into your books.

Your website should be geared for converting leads into clients.  Getting new clients to your website is a challenge in itself – and not something we can explore in this blog, but once you’ve got those leads on your website, you need to be able to guide them through converting into one of your loyal customers.  There are many ways a website can do this, and I can assure you, a prehistoric website is probably falling short on many fronts.

You need to ensure your website is visually pleasing to begin with.  If people squirm at the sight of your site, you’ve instantly lost them.  You need to ensure your colour scheme and graphics are designed to hit the emotions of your target market, and we know from research over the years, that different colours and design elements can be used to target different audiences.

Calls-to-action are essential, on every single page of your website.  Many clients just need to be told what to do (in the nicest possible way of course)!   It could be a simple call-to-action that is the difference between a client checking out your website, and then moving on to the next site, or checking out your website and signing up to your newsletters before they move on.

Social media has me covered – my website is a secondary tool

100%, we agree – websites are not the be-all and end-all of businesses today.  If you’re not on social media, then do you even really exist?  Well of course you do – but your clients might not think so.  Clients love to know who they’re dealing with.  So of course, anyone who is diligent in finding the best provider will do their homework and hunt you down on social media – just to make sure you are who you say you are.  They want to know that they can relate to you and that they can see themselves working alongside you in whatever capacity that may be.

But you can’t rely solely on social media to get you across the line with new businesses.  As mentioned earlier, your website needs to be there, ready and roaring once your new client has decided they like who you are.  Your website will help cement in the ‘why’.  This is WHY they should go with you – because you’re an amazing person and they can see themselves using your services, AND, they can see from your website that you’re a progressive business with a professional presence in the industry – you’re definitely not just a back-yard hobbyist!

And conversely, if your new potential client has found your website first, your social media profiles need to be up and running and share a consistent look and feel with your website.  These two worlds really do need to go hand-in-hand.

What if I can’t afford to upgrade?

Ok, if you’re still reading this far down, then deep down, you probably agree with us – your site is doing more harm than good and you know you need to upgrade your site.  But let’s face it, being professional is expensive.  If you want the best, you need to pay.  “You get what you pay” for is what I always say!

But it’s ok – it’s not all doom and gloom.  There are plenty of DIY options out there.  They can be super cheap – probably your cheapest outright option, however they come with a myriad of flaws and cons.  So tread wisely in that direction – having a poorly designed brand new website is going to be just as bad as an outdated website – and we already know all about that.

So what else is there?  Most companies expect you to sell your first-born in order to fund their fancy new features.  It’s just not an option for small businesses, or businesses needing to sharpen their pencil a bit.  That’s why we offer a monthly plan.  It’s not common in the online world to find an option where you can get such a high-value product on a risk-free monthly plan that you can cancel any time.  But, here we are, throwing this offer at you now.

There’s a small upfront fee (yes – small and affordable).   Then you pay a small regular monthly fee.  You get free domain name registration and hosting, and ongoing maintenance, added security, daily backups and more – are all included free!  I know, it sounds too good to be true hey.  Well, get in touch, request to see our fine-print, and you’ll see for yourself, we’re true to our word and just want to see as many businesses as possible get their online presence up to the highest possible standards.