When we meet with our Maryland web design clients for the first time and get a chance to know what they do, we are often amazed at the quality and the amount of work they perform to help their customers. From a friendly receptionist to a beautiful office, experienced staff or high-tech equipment, there are many things that make your business unique and brilliant in its own way. Unfortunately, nine times out of ten the business’s website doesn’t reflect this at all.
Some websites were built with the wrong aesthetic to begin with, while others got outdated as the business grew and evolved. It’ important to re-evaluate your website from time to time to make sure it is the most accurate representation of your business on the web.
Below are a few areas where your website is likely to make a wrong impression.
Company Size
If you are a small business, you might want your website to show that your are bigger than you are. However, if you are an established company with massive facilities and a large number of employees, you definitely want to communicate this on your website. The size of your company speaks of your capabilities, as well as the volume of business you can handle—both of these factors are important to your potential customers. There are a few things you can do to communicate the size of your company on your website:
- Verbally on the home page or “about us” section.
- Via photos of your facility and/or staff.
- By listing your staff or department heads.
- Via modern and clean website design.
Brand Identity
You are not just a business, you are a brand. And as a brand you have your own identity expressed through your logo, company colors, mission statement, unique value proposition and many other elements. Whether you position your business as hip and modern, laid-back, community-oriented, eco-conscious or results-driven, your website should reflect this. You don’t want to create a disconnect between your online and offline images, as this may confuse your customers. To keep things consistent:
- Make sure your logo is up to date on your website.
- Carry your color scheme from your print marketing collateral to your website.
- Revise your vision and mission statements as needed.
- Add high-quality images to supplement the copy.
- Support your brand with website design that speaks for itself.
Products and Services
As your business grows, your products, services and capabilities might change. Make sure to remove outdated information from your website or add new offerings. If you fail to do either one, you will miss out on a potential business opportunity or risk receiving inquiries about services you no longer offer. Your services could be mentioned on your website in more than one place, so when you are making updates, make sure to look through all the copy. The chances are good, you will find a few more things that are no longer accurate.
Public Image
As a company or as a business owner, you could be doing things that might not seem important to put on your website. We are talking about attending industry events, doing a food drive for a local charity, being involved in the community, etc. All these things are news-worthy and they also help shape your company’s public image.
Having a blog or a news section on your website and keeping it updated can help you drive more business in the long run. For example, a post about your team attending a national conference shows that you value professional development. Similarly, a press release about a recent pro bono project you did for a local non-profit positions you as a generous and socially-responsible business. If you are doing all of these things and not talking about them on your website or social media, you are missing out on some good publicity. It’s not flaunting—it’s representing your business in its full range of activities beyond the business hours.
Business Capabilities
If you run a service business, you probably rely on your portfolio or a list of past clients to demonstrate your body of work and capabilities. Does your website currently have a portfolio? Does your portfolio showcase your best work? Do you still perform the same variety and quality of work shown in your portfolio? These are three important questions to ask yourself when you are re-evaluating your website. An outdated portfolio may give a wrong impression about your business, portraying you as less professional than you really are.
After going through this list and looking at your website, you might find a few things here and there that could use some improvement. In some cases, especially if your brand identity is misrepresented, it might be best to do a complete redesign. Whether you need help with web design, website updates or marketing, Advantage Internet Marketing can lend you a hand.
Contact us today to discuss how we can make your website accurately represent your business.