Redesigning your website can be like selling your house. You can hire a painter and a landscaper to make it look more presentable, but a fresh face alone won’t get the house sold. Will it sell once someone steps inside?

Go beyond the nice-looking design
Design is good, and your website must be attractive. But valuable content and well-planned SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are essential to a website that drives business.

Back to the house metaphor: Slapping on a fresh coat of paint and popping a sign in the front yard won’t bring in buyers any more than changing your website’s look will improve your reach online. Visual design plays a big role in the overall online experience, but content is the true motivator; it’s the interior of the home that makes the sale. How many bathrooms are there? How high are the ceilings? Is there a fireplace?

Today your website is an essential marketing tool
There are lots of web design resources, from nearly free to freelance to firms. But we’ve found most don’t consider the whole website from a marketing perspective. They’re focused on layout, design and/or programming.

Have you had this experience with a web designer?
    > You were asked to provide all the copy for the new website.
    > You were only asked about the types of visuals or if you wanted special effects of some kind.

These questions show a designer who may have excellent design or technical skills, but doesn’t understand what’s needed in a marketing-driven website.

Stop losing potential business
While hiring a freelance web designer may cost less, you won’t see results in the long run. Without a partner who is thinking marketing; targeting your audiences with specific messages; building content to appeal to your prospects; and optimizing your website to be found in a search; you’ll be losing potential business.

How does your website measure up?
Evaluate your website now, before planning a redesign.
    > Download our Website Effectiveness Scorecard. Low score? Let’s talk.
    > Read more on our blog about hiring content marketers rather than web designers. 
    > Or learn more about inbound marketing—which turns your website into a 24/7 sales machine—in this blog post, or by downloading our inbound marketing overview.

Let’s talk about how your website can be a business asset and a highly-effective marketing tool. Give us a call at 866-363-4433 or drop us an email. We can audit your current website and provide guidance to improve your reach and results.