10 Feb Ugly Website? How To Fix It So You Stop Losing Clients
A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends posted a quick question on Facebook: “I need a new dermatologist. Does anyone have a recommendation?” Yup, absolutely, I thought—my dermatologist! I figured it would be easy to just look up the dermatologist’s website and post it in my reply on Facebook.
On second thought, maybe not.
The website! OMG! It was BEYOND horrible! I was embarrassed just looking at it. In fact, I might have cringed once or twice.
So I wrote in my reply, “Really ugly website, but they’re great.” And even with that caveat, I felt almost guilty making the recommendation.
In 2016, you cannot risk the effects of an ugly website. Like it or not, your website is your brand, at least online. My dermatologist has a beautiful office. They have the friendliest, most professional staff. They provide top-notch care. But you wouldn’t know it from looking at their website. Instead, you think, “Ugh!” and move on.
That kind of disconnect is not only jarring, it will cost you clients and it will affect your bottom line. Not “might” cost you, WILL cost you. Can you afford to make a bad first impression and lose prospective clients because of an ugly website? Of course not.
If your website doesn’t accurately reflect your high quality products and services, and reinforce your sterling reputation, here are your options, from cheapest to most expensive:
Direct people to your LinkedIn profile
Take down your website pronto and direct people to your LinkedIn profile. Make sure your summary emphasizes your value proposition and brand messaging and is client-focused so people can easily understand how you can help them and why they should work with you. Also include your contact information so they can get in touch.
Note that this approach only works if you’re a solopreneuer (you can’t talk about your team if it’s just you smiling back at people), and if you don’t actively sell products online.
Take the DIY approach
There are plenty of DIY website builder services out there, like SquareSpace and WIX. They have beautiful templates, some of which have ecommerce capabilities. However, even though these services are fairly easy to use, you can’t just snap your fingers and have a new site magically appear in front of you.
Go into this with the appropriate expectations. It will take time to set up a new site. You might find you need help with images or formatting, in which case you need to make sure your plan covers online support. You will need to be patient. If you can invest the time in this, a DIY website builder service is a great option.
Put up a landing page
Super squeezed for time but want something – anything – online? You need a landing page, which is basically a one-page website. Yes, there are one-page website builder options out there.
Keep in mind that you cannot just throw something up. You have to put some thought in this. Will your one-page website announce that your new site is coming soon? Will you use it to collect email addresses and notify people of launch?
Or, will you build it out with some content? If so, your brand messaging has to be on point and really drive home the value you deliver and why you’re different. Include brief client testimonials. Make people want to contact you.
Import everything into a new template
Talk to your website developer about porting everything from your current website over to a new WordPress template. He or she can suggest some, or you can look them up yourself. Your navigation, images, layout, and content will basically remain the same, but your website will no longer be embarrassing to look at.
Overhaul the damn thing
Sometimes, it’s just better to start from scratch: new WordPress template, images, navigation, layout, color scheme, messaging, and content. New everything.
This will require a sizeable investment, as you will need to pay a website designer, website developer, and copywriter to completely overhaul your website. But the results – more leads, more clients, more referrals – will be worth it.
Need help with your website? We can’t make it pretty, but we can suggest improvements – and write copy so impactful, people can’t help but pick up the phone and call you.
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