My 2021 Website homepage - Hosted with Shopwired
My 2018-2020 Website homepage hosted with Squarespace
Websites have been around for 30 years now. Back then they were pretty basic, even for very large companies (My husband designed and coded one of the first BT websites back in 1993) They often Shouted at you with Headlines in Bold, and lots of writing, and it was debated whether you really needed one in a small business. Now they are able to be more sophisticated, look better, and more importantly play a huge and low cost part of the end of your Marketing funnel.
Your Website is the place that should close the deal.
Your Website needs to be your property, and the place that ALL other forms of marketing send your prospective customers to.
Your Website needs to be clear and easy to navigate, and each page needs to entice and allow it's readers to take action.
Your Website needs to be able to be changed regularly and quickly by you.
and especially if you don't have a physical shop that lets people buy from you, it needs to be the place that allows people to order, and if possible takes the money.
I’ve been told several times recently that Social media marketing is taking over from websites, and you don’t need one of your own. But those people are paying large sums of money to 3rd party websites (like Eventbrite or Square) for hosting shops / events that could be hosted for lower costs themselves.
If you already have a website, it's now time to do a website review - use the downloadable resource.
To be able to have a wonderful website that Fulfils all your marketing objectives you need 4 key skills.
If you don't have these skills then it is worth paying someone else to provide this technical assistance, but we will be covering them all in this module.
The look, Graphics, Images and Layout
The Tech programming
The copywriting : So important to get your message across
The SEO : Search engine optimisation or how to get your website found online
Within the last 5 years, and particularly the last 2 years, the templates for websites have improved dramatically. This means that for most small businesses, by using a Template website programme such as Squarespace, Wix, Wordpress, or One and One websites, the vast majority of the Graphic Design / Layout and the Technical programming are done for you. You can choose a professional looking layout, and just add photos and your text. Large website template companies and also help your SEO, because of the way they are programmed.