You can make one yourself or get someone you know to throw one together, but that isn’t always the best idea. In fact if you want your website to “work” then you need a professional to help you with this.
You might be thinking “Alan, I can make one myself and it’ll work just fine”. The reason some people think that is because they think a website is just their business information. It doesn’t take a genius to present your businesses information. In fact, in the early days of the internet, a website called Geocities made it possible for everyday people to create simple websites to share information and downloads.
Fast forward to 2022 and it's even easier to make a website. However consider a few things. You’re not just offering information, you’re marketing your service, therefore your website should be created by a marketer. Most businesses have a website, so you're competing with thousands of other websites. People want answers quickly, so your website needs to allow for this. People are more and more skeptical, so your website needs to build trust. To get your message across, your website will need copywriting. And to show up in Google and generate traffic, your website will need SEO.
We’ve condensed this into a formula or website system that achieves our clients double and triple the average conversion rates. The ultimate test if a website is “working” or not is the conversion rate of traffic to leads. In fact I’ve had one customer take his website down - it was working TOO well and he couldn’t handle the amount of enquiries he was receiving. This is the ultimate test of a website's performance.
The average person is not aware of this formula and therefore cannot make a high performance website. I would go further and say the average web design agency doesn’t understand this formula either - they’re still working on the outdated Wordpress platform which requires maintenance and puts a lid on their website’s potential.
“Oh but I’ve got a friend who does marketing, he’s making me one for free.” I hear this occasionally. It reminds me of my friends dad who was a chef cooking up French cuisine for a living. Oddly enough, back at home he NEVER cooked - it was his wife who made all the family meals (I think she worked in admin). What I’m saying is unless a professional is being paid, and treated like a professional, chances are they’re not going to act as a professional.
The way I look at it, a website is an opportunity. Anyone can put something up with a logo, few photos and a contact number. Only a professional can build you a website.
Alan Frye