Hold on to your knickers I’m just going to come right out and say it:
If you don’t know your business, wait to build a website.
You’re thinking “Psh, I’ve got my 💩 together. Let’s pull the trigger!” Hold on there Captain America and think this through…
If I gave you a piece of paper and a pen (because people still use those), could you without hesitating tell me:
- Who your best and worst clients are
- The persona of your brand
- Your most profitable services
- Your business goals for the year
If you can, that’s fantastic and you’re probably ready to build (or redo) a website. If you need to think about any of those, then you’re probably not.
Here’s Why
A website is just a digital reflection of your business, organization, or brand (see the banner picture above). It’s the virtual version of you. If you know who you are, web design is easy. You just communicate that same information through user interface and design and the cream on top is making goal conversions easy.
If you have an identity crisis of any kind and you decide to build a website anyway, you’ll be forced to start making business development decisions that you haven’t properly thought through yet…just to get your site done.
Don’t do that.
Signs You’ve Jumped The Gun
During your website kickoff meeting (or strategy call) you think to yourself: “Oh shoot, who are my best clients? I suppose my website should appeal to them. I better figure that out.”
Or maybe, “…I’ve never thought about that – what is my most profitable product? I should probably give that priority on my website, especially if I want to meet my revenue goals. What are those again?”
And then, “Hmmm, what is my preferred call to action? That’s going to have to be communicated on my website isn’t it? Do I really want phone calls or do I prefer contact forms?”
The Solution Is Simple
If you want a better end product just make sure you know yourself before you decide to build your website. That’s it.