“Oh, time is on my side, yes it is
Time is on my side, yes it is”~The Rolling Stones
If only this was true. Time is the one thing none of us seem to have enough of these days. This is especially true when we speak of managing our websites. I recommend to my clients they make a change to their websites at the very least once a month. And that is not really enough. But it is a start, and helps their websites to succeed and flourish. Your search engine rankings won’t improve if your website is stale and static. And why would anyone return if it is always the same content?
People want to save money, which is admirable. So what do we do? We build Content Management Systems so non-technical folks can make changes, add content, etc. But what happens? People get so busy they forget about their website.
So what is the answer? Here are three things you can do.
If you listen to some of the offers out there for cheap websites offered by large providers, they do get your attention. Do it yourself they say. Instant website they say. Low cost they say. Sounds good, right?
WRONG.
Sure you get a cheap website, but guess what? You get what you pay for. You get a template used by 1000s of others. Your brand identity is gone. The whole idea of marketing is to show how your product or service adds value, and to separate you from competitors. Well let me ask you this question. If you are using a template that your competitors can also use, aren’t you saying that there really is no difference between you and your competition? If that is the case, your customers may as well use, Eenie Meany Miney Moe to make their selection of which company to do business with? Seems like common sense, right? You’d be surprised. I met with a potential client, and we really hit it off. We were start on his project the next week. I never heard back, and saw he used the yellow pages to build a site. Wow. Really poor, nothing that tells you how professional he is and how his company had been around a long time. Just a plain, template, and nothing that will get him business. The same boring look and feel as many others. You have to give the Yellow Pages credit though. They know their days are numbered and are jumping in to new media. So they did it the cheapest way possible and will get clients who buy the price, not the job. A brilliant finish carpenter once told me, if they buy a price, not the job, walk away. Seems relevent in web development as well as carpentry!
So what is the difference between RooSites and the cheap instant website companies?
Fair question, and easy to answer.
Listen, I understand keeping costs down and we work with clients to find the best possible solution and try to find away to stay within their budget. Remember your website is your window to the world and provides a first impression. If a potential customer comes to your site and has a poor first impression, you won’t be getting their business.
