5 Signs It's Time to Update Your Site

Hope Is The Thing With Wings

I get a text from a colleague, and she's ecstatic. A big brand saw her work on Instagram, loved it, and asked if they could feature her work on their page. SUCCESS! She, of course, being the incredibly humble and kind unicorn she is, was bamboozled by the fact that such a big brand would want to collaborate with her: "I'm small potatoes! I didn't think they would care about me!" With less than 500 followers on Instagram, she wasn't "insta-famous", yet, she was successful! We all get sucked into the follower count trap. At some point, it became that more followers = more success. But is this actually true? If you have a low follower count, does this mean you/your business is unsuccessful? Are you just small potatoes!? Repeat after me... "I am NOT small potatoes. I am a FULLY LOADED potato!" Here's why your business' follower count might be low, but that doesn't mean you aren't (or that you won't be) successful!

That statement can evoke waves of sheer panic OR sheer delight through any business owner. There’s no debate over whether or not you should have a website for your business. In our modern, tech-driven economy, having a website for your business is no longer an option – it’s essential. Sometimes though, there is a struggle over HOW to go about building a business’ website. What causes this struggle? BUDGETS. Especially in this economic climate, business owners have to defend and protect their resources like never before. As a result, some are quick to eliminate the option of a professionally designed website. Out of perceived necessity, they turn to DIY website building. So, let’s put down our weapons here for just one moment and consider a few reasons why professionally built websites aren’t the evil, resource-eating monster you might think they are. 1. USING WEBMD DOES NOT MAKE ME A DOCTOR Ok, I’ll admit it, as soon as I get the sniffles, or any other ailments, my first stop is google and/or WebMD. I enter my list of symptoms, one by one, being sure to be extremely specific. Then, at long last, the Internet reveals to me that I’m most likely sneezing my head off because – “I HAVE A MAN EATING NOSE BACTERIA”!!!! Ok…. so….obviously that’s not likely so I go with the second self diagnosis from the internet – allergies. For the next week, I’ll try dozens of DIY home remedies and try to muddle through life with tissues plugged in my nose. About a week and a half into it, I’ll break down and decide to see a professional and I’ll drag myself to the doctor, he’ll prescribe me an antibiotic for my sinus infection and then a few days later, I’m good as new. DIY has its place. But sometimes, you just need a professional. Having a good website is directly connected with having a healthy business. A website is the very life of most businesses. Web developers, especially those working under an agency, are trained experts. They devote their entire working careers to knowing the BEST way to build websites. 2. BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER A good website should be aesthetically pleasing but also functional. You want to use colors and images that send the right message and help enforce your brand image. Without proper design experience, this can be hard and nearly impossible to accomplish. You may think the layout you have is complete perfection, and that the lime green background with barney purple font really makes the site pop (please tell me you wouldn’t really do that) but the truth is, just because you think it looks good, doesn’t mean that it actually does. It takes an eye for design to make websites that appeal to your customers, no matter who or where they are. 3. BUILDING A WEBSITE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART There appears to be a common misconception that web development is easy. Just click and type a few things, and there you have it…the perfect website! Reality check: web development takes time to learn and you have to KEEP LEARNING. Technology is changing every single day, which means that as soon as you figure out how to do something, soon, it will be replaced by something newer. The web is constantly shifting and changing and if you aren’t a web developer/someone’s whose life revolves around coding, you simply don’t have the time to learn all of this. 4. THERE ARE ONLY 24 HOURS IN A DAY ( NO MATTER HOW MUCH COFFEE YOU DRINK) What often takes people by surprise is just how much time is involved in developing a good website. It can take dozens or even hundreds of hours to build a site. As an alternative, many DIY sites advertise that you can build a website in under an hour. Unfortunately though, you are stuck to using templates that thousands of other businesses (yes even your competitors) have already used. So there’s nothing unique about your site. At the end of the day though, you are most likely already trying to fit 30 hours worth of work into one day anyways…do you really have time to make a site? Most likely, the answer is no. 5. LOOKING FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK IS NOT FUN Technology is great, when it works. Even with the best sites, there will, at some point, be a bug or glitch in the function of the site. As a web developer, let me tell you, there’s nothing more infuriating than not being able to figure out why something isn’t working properly. You could have forgotten something as simple as, ONE JUST ONE, little tiny bracket in all this code and BAM, your site is useless. In conclusion, there are a multitude of reasons why getting a professional’s help building a website can be a great idea for your business. Having said that though, there are exceptions! DIY site builders are not evil or bad, in fact, they are the right fit for some businesses! I would love to help you with your website needs! Contact me today !