I saw something yesterday that saddened me…. and I had to write about it. A business I know had a new Website developed. It was developed by another company and not by us. No, that isn’t what saddened me. I will come on to that. I understand that we can’t win every contract to work with a business. We win more than we lose but I don’t mind if we don’t get to work with every company.
What saddens me is what this respected and long running, healthy business has been left with as a Web presence…. Let me explain…..
WordPress is a leading website building platform. Actually, it was originally a blogging platform that is now used as a Website building platform, but I won’t get into that now…. WordPress is very helpful in that there are lots of off the shelf basic templates that are available to use. The trouble is that some Web developers are using WordPress as a quick and dirty way of farming Websites for clients. These sites have little in the way of design, apart from a few brand colours and large pictures, they lack calls to action and whilst they may look pretty, they simply don’t function as effective marketing assets.
Let me describe this new Website I saw that saddened me…. The design consists basically of full screen pictures and a small menu button. Immediately, you have to think in order to navigate further into the site. Content is sparse, lacks links to other sections and most pages that do have content simply have a single column of text, devoid of links to the main actions that the company would like a user to take. On a big screen, the site looks extremely clumsy, some links in the menu simply take the user down to a section lower in the page. Basically the site lacks design, professional appearance, is horrendous to use and sadly will no doubt result in a huge drop in business and also a much lower position in the search engines. Not to mention the 404 page not found errors that litter the site.
So why do they do it? (the Web Developers)
I have always believed that a good Website needs an expert designer, an expert coder and an expert digital marketer. A designer should be free to design without worrying about how it should be coded and a coder should then implement the designs. Then the important bit is understanding what the business objectives are and making sure that the Website delivers them.
WordPress basic templates have spawned a host of back bedroom developers who lack these skills and see their job as simply farming new Websites for clients. These basic sites don’t require design skills. These basic sites don’t require any coding skills and these basic sites certainly don’t require any digital marketing skills or understanding.
Farming WordPress Websites for clients required little in the way of skills and experience. Cheap and inexperienced labour can be found to help produce and farm these simple Websites.
So why do they do it? (The business)
These type of off the shelf Websites are cheaper. They have lots of lovely pictures that fill the screen and they are quick to create. Sadly, businesses that end up with this type of site have not really thought about the end result and how the Website will drive business objectives. See my previous post titled Website Design – Begin with the end in mind. It really is a false economy but unfortunately it may be some years before the businesses realise this and get the problem sorted.
What to watch for
When choosing your Website Developer, one of the first questions they should be asking is “what do you want the Website to achieve for your business?” or “what are your business goals?”. At InSynch we are primarily business consultants and digital marketeers. A Website can be an important tool in our arsenal in helping the business grow but in order to do that then we must have a Website that helps drive those goals.
If your business and its ultimate goals doesn’t really come up in the conversation then you should be concerned that you may have met a WordPress Website Farmer.
Ask what they use to develop Websites. Look at previous sites and try to navigate them as a user. Remember, you have less than 3 seconds when someone lands on your Website in order to grab their attention and make them click further into the site. Do the sites that the developer shows do that for you?
Sour grapes?
I am sure that a few of you reading this are thinking “this is just sour grapes as he didn’t win a contract”. Absolutely not. We are very busy here at InSynch and will not sacrifice quality over quantity. As a business consultant, I work closely with 100s of businesses and I have a vested interest in them succeeding. Word of mouth is our biggest sales tool. I love business and it just saddens me when I see businesses falling into the trap of picking a Website up from a WordPress Website farmer that I know will have a detrimental effect on their businesses.
It’s not all doom and gloom…
Having been in the IT/Business industry for over 20 years, and Director of InSynch for over 11 years, I have seen the Digital Marketing industry change over the years. I have seen new start up Web developers come, and go. Poorly designed Websites can be rectified. Every week we get contacted by clients who have sites that just don’t deliver the results they need. We can work with them on a short term consultancy or long term basis on plans like Total Digital Marketing. The important thing is to realise when your Website is not delivering for your business and take positive action.
photo credit: Rolled Bale of Straw #2 via photopin (license)