Do You Really Need A Professional Website Designer?
With free website builders like Wix.com and Weebly.com becoming increasingly popular, it’s easy for small business owners and entrepreneurs to question the need for a professional website designer.
Drag-and-drop free website builders make designing your own website seem super simple and easy – like anyone can do it, right? And maybe some business owners can. However, there are a multitude of reasons as to why you should at least consider hiring a professional website designer over attempting to DIY your venture’s online presence.
A Free Website Doesn’t Always Equal A Quality Website
Your website is just that. In the world of online business, a high-quality website serves as a handshake. It’s your first impression you make on prospects and customers alike – and what do you want that first impression to be? Although free website builders have made it seem simple to design an “attractive” website, there is so much more to an effective website than just being “attractive.”
Time is money and high-quality web page design that actually gets your business found on search engines like Google requires investing a ton of time. And most business owners, especially new business owners, just don’t have that kind of time.
Here are just a few ways quality web page design from a professional website designer differs from sites built using free website builders.
UI/UX Design: The experience a prospect or customer has on your website is just as important (if not more important than how it looks)! Does your website effectively guide users through the “buying journey”? Are your buttons easy to locate and click? What are your page load times?
These are all elements that may seem super simple but if your homepage is taking forever and a day to load, you are definitely losing customers. In an ideal world, every single page on your website should load in under 2 seconds (and definitely no longer than 3 seconds)! A professional website designer has spent years honing their craft to make sure they are able to design a site for you that is as functional as it is beautiful.
Search Engine Optimization: This is probably one of the most tedious tasks a professional website designer often encounters. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often overlooked in many free website builders – but it is a critical element of web page design.
SEO is how your website gets found on search engines. You want your website to be constructed with SEO in mind so search engines are able to easily identify and rank it. The higher you rank, the higher you appear in search results. And let’s get real, how often does anyone go past the first page of search engine results to find what they are looking for?
Never.
If you aren’t on the first page, you aren’t getting found. Paying a professional website designer may seem like a luxury initially but their years of training will help you get to that first page much faster than trying to learn how to optimize your website for search engines on your own.
Visual Design: Color psychology is very real. Although you can definitely accomplish basic, attractive web page design using free website builders – you are still limited. A professional website designer has years of branding experience. They will be able to easily identify the core elements of your brand and help to work them into your web page design.
They can quickly recognize what actions you are wanting your end-users to take and implement colors that are more likely to make sense to those users.
There’s a reason many financial institutions opt for calm, soothing colors like blues, greens, and purples. They are meant to put you at ease and smooth the buying journey! Something you probably overlooked before, right?
Content: One of the most challenging aspect of a new website for business owners is content generation. In order for your web page design to rank high on search engines, you have to post consistent, relevant content.
When you are running a business, you wear so many hats and it can seem impossible to find the time to regularly post and update content on your website. A professional website designer like High Caliber Digital Marketing Solutions can work with you to generate content that’s relevant to your brand on a cadence that makes sense, and even handle posting it for you!
Successful web page design often incorporates elements such as blogs, which provide the perfect avenue for a professional website designer to post relevant content on a regular, consistent basis – all key elements in ranking high in search engines.
Web Page Design Is An Art – A Professional Website Designer Is A Wise Investment
You want your brand to make a lasting impression. Although free website builders have made designing websites easier than before, that doesn’t always mean it’s the “right” way to go.
A professional website designer, with years of experience, offers many advantages over free website builders. Through incorporating a variety of strategies into their web page design, a professional website designer will be able to effectively help you transform a basic website into a sales funnel – turning clicks into paying customers for years to come.
Whether you are just starting your venture or looking to give your existing web page design a refresh, our digital marketing agency has 50+ years combined experience working with small businesses and startup ventures just like yours. We’d love to show you why our agency is the number one choice for business owners looking to hire a professional website designer. Get in touch with us today.
