Make your website business explode!

Wix, GoDaddy, etc are all great starting options. But they’re now suffocating your website and your growth. Here’s how it’s happening & how to stop it.

Your digital position right now

You’re not a website specialist but you know your website isn’t performing as you’d like it to.You were told the best cheap website options like Wix/GoDaddy will cover most of your bases. This was true initially but these platforms leave little room to grow.You currently believe you can’t put more resources into your website or digital presence when, in reality, you can’t afford not to.You don’t have to listen to any of our advice but if you don’t there’s a very real chance you’ll be exactly where you are now, with the same problems, in 6 months. 

So, what do you do?

What is SEO & why is it important?

Websites and SEO are complicated. As with most things, the more you learn the more you realise you don’t know. On top of this, digital communication is constantly changing, sometimes on a monthly basis. You simply do not have the time to acquire the expertise needed to handle it yourself or even to think about recruiting someone into your business to handle it for you. 

On top of this you have a sneaking suspicion that your current website isn’t providing the kind of ROI you were expecting – even if it hasn’t cost you very much to begin with.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of altering your content to align with search engine algorithms so you are served as a trusted contact, or source of information, by that search engine. In simple english – making sure you’re answering the questions that keep being asked and providing consistent value to users. This is viewed favourably by search engines, like Google, resulting in a higher ranking on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

A site using one of the free website builders does not allow you to make any alterations or optimisation to any of your ‘technical SEO’. Technical SEO is defined as; “any sufficiently technical action undertaken with the intent to improve search results”.

This can include how your website is designed to facilitate crawling & indexation by Google, through to site speed and structure. It can also include your meta descriptions, image size & alt text, and many other great SEO leverage points which you do not have access to. You get what you’re given….which isn’t a huge amount.

What is the best cheap website?

So you listened to a facebook group/neighbour/family member and got yourself a Wix/GoDaddy site. It was quick and simple to set up, you were happy with what you’d achieved in an afternoon. Someone else mentions eCommerce as a way to sell your products online and you set that up, too. However, over time you’ve started to discover limitations but you’re in too deep to change everything.

Your website isn’t pulling in the orders you expected. Worse, you spend another next 6 months advertising your site on your social media channels, adding it to business cards, and telling customers about it in person.

All to little or no avail.

You try your hand at blogging.

You quickly realise blogging is more difficult than you first thought and you give up.

Despite this seeming lack of growth you find yourself at a glass ceiling pretty quickly and feel like there’s nothing else you can do to improve your position. It’s becoming clear that the best cheap website option is still a cheap website option.

Stop. 

There is a reason the Wix-Shopify combination is abandoned by every business sooner or later and this is it. It’s great to start with, fantastic for busy people, & it gets the job done in the short term. But it is not scalable. Your growth is now being inhibited by the tools you originally used to help grow your business. 

This is not an unusual state of affairs – just think of them as an old pair of football boots/favourite pen/trusty single slice toaster that have long since fallen by the wayside as you outgrew them.

As you grow your needs change.

How much should I spend on a website?

Websites are your most powerful sales tool. To get a real feel for what a website should represent to your business read this article, for the TL:DR crew – here’s a screenshot of the important bit. It’s important to note that this extract was discussing a website for a wine business but the point stands.

from my article in the-buyer.net

Online sales have rocketed over the various lockdowns with more and more shoppers preferring the convenience. It also offers more choice, free delivery, and less chance of running into an acquaintance you have nothing in common with.

Not only this but, done properly, a website is a 24hr member of staff. Who doesn’t want that?

We often hear, “I can’t put money into a new site until my current site has paid for itself!”

The reality is that your site (as it is now) will never give you a proper return on your investment. The time it takes to accrue that monetary return has drained all real-term value from it. In that time you should be taking pro-active steps and start to make money on a new site built with your future in mind.

So, how much should you spend on your website? It depends what you need and your goals. Steer clear of any business who gives you a quote before understanding what you need.

Who should I get to build my site?

You absolutely don’t have to listen to us. But in every industry experience and knowledge bears out every single time. Find the right digital partner with expertise in websites and digital services, but also gets excited about the things you get excited about.

As far as we know – that’s us. And to prove it….

It’s nice to know that we are all excited to see where the website will go next and not to simply have a hand shake and a bill after launch day. I genuinely feel like they are part of our team and get excited about the things that excite us.An extract from a testimonial from one of our clients, Richard Cook. MD at Shirley Aquatics ltd

To read the rest of Richard’s review in all its glory click here.

If you do nothing else off the back of reading this do this – book a 15 minute call with us. Within that time we can tell you if we are a good fit for each other, and how we can help you.