When it comes to designing a website for your business, you will need to decide what your main business objectives are and then translate this into your website design. Depending on whether your business is going to utilise the website to inform in the short term or build business in the long-term, the design of the website is the most important step. This will allow your business to create a brand that will stand out and be unique.
There are two ways to go about creating your business website, you could use a website builder, or you could use a professional website designer and developer. Both of these approaches have advantages and disadvantages which we will explore further.
Using a Web Builder
There are many web builders that can be used to create a website for your business. However, there are some advantages and important disadvantages which you should consider before venturing down this avenue. It is important to note that a large percentage of businesses will have goals that a Web Builder is unlikely to fulfil and sustain in the long-term.
Advantages of a Website Builder
When using a web builder, creating the front-end of a website is relatively straight forward as web builders have a range of pre-built templates to choose from.
You don’t need to have any coding or software knowledge as you will have access to a visual builder which you can use to create the front end of your website. Website builders are normally user-friendly with a drag and drop approach so using them can be really simple.
It takes a few short hours or days to create your website and get it up and running when using a Website builder. This means that you can have an online presence relatively quickly, but your design will not be unique and specific changes cannot be made to suit your creative vision.
They are relatively cheap to use but to upgrade will cost you a fair bit more and may not be worth the while if you need to customise a large portion of your website.
Disadvantages of a Website Builder
However, if you would like to rank on Google then you need to incorporate SEO which is difficult when using a website builder.
Website builder templates are not customisable unless you are able to change the HTML code which is tricky.
Your website may take long to load, and this can put visitors to your website off and create a high bounce rate.
Website builders do not have a responsive design. This means that you cant translate your website to be used on a mobile phone.
You will find that you have a limited amount of storage space and to acquire more comes at a cost especially if your website grows and becomes more complicated with more landing pages.
You may have online support but if you need to change the design of your website then you will be stuck with what you created in the first place or pay for add-ins which could be difficult to install and work with.
Using a Website Designer and Developer
A website Designer and Developer may work together as a team or can be one and the same professional.
By using both a website designer and developer, your website will be created and developed with great ‘UX’ user experience design and a seamless interface. This will ensure that you have low bounce rates and that customers spend a lot of time on your website. Both the front-end and back-end of the website will be developed which ensures that your website is optimised to perform well on Google.
Advantages of a Website Designer and Developer
Web site designers and developers have the knowledge and experience to create a website that can translate your business brand and objectives into a unique design. They are also known as ‘UX’ user experience designers as they can create a website that allows your customers to have a good experience when using your business website. If the design is intuitively created, then your customers will know how to use it and then they will trust and come back and use your website again.
Website designers and developers will design your website with a great ‘UX’ design as well as develop it to ensure that best practice SEO is practised. This means that keyword research has been undertaken and your website is fully optimised to rank well on search engines. On-page and off-page optimisation strategies will be utilised to ensure great search engine rankings.
Organic traffic can be built with a well-designed website and SEO techniques that allow search engines to crawl through your website efficiently and rank your pages on Google.
A website designer and developer will ensure that your website is responsive for both mobile and different website browsers as well as Mac and iPhones. This means that your website will adjust to any screen size automatically.
As your website develops and grows, changes will need to be made and only a website designer and developer will be able to seamlessly create these changes without disrupting the current website. Colour schemes, new landing pages, new sections and even an e-shop can be added. These changes can be effectively made to ensure that your website is always performing at an optimum level.
Google is constantly evolving its algorithm and hence your website designer and developer will ensure that your website evolves as well by changing SEO strategies. This is an important process as your website could lose page ranking if it is not upgraded to meet the new Google specifications.
A website designer and developer will tend to give you continued support to ensure that changes can be made whenever required, SEO best practices are constantly been followed and any problems can be dealt with swiftly.
Disadvantages of a Website Designer and Developer
The cost of using a website designer or developer needs to be considered. Please note that the value that you receive from a well-designed and maintained website can generate revenue for your business in the long-run and it will give your business an online presence that will elevate your brand.
It can take a number of weeks to design a website which means that your business will have to wait until all aspects of the design have been perfected and any changes needed are dealt with before your website can go live. But once it is online, you will have a website that bolsters your brand and brings in new customers.
Conclusion
It is always important to make the right decision for your business when it comes to creating a website. It is important to ascertain that the website builder you use gives you value for money. Equally, the website designer and developer that you use should give you long-term support, have a strong portfolio and testimonials as well as a professional that can give you professional advice. In the long-run, it is better to create a website that will increase your customer base as well as give you a strong brand presence that can grow with your business.
We specialise in Website Design and Development and can help you achieve your website goals, please call us now on 07943 219081 or click here to get in touch and further discuss your business needs.