Your website is your business’s own unique space on the internet where it can shine. Prospective customers want to know if you solve their problems and are trustworthy. Unlike social media, which is at the mercy of the platform’s rules and ever-changing guidelines, your website is all yours. Your website gives you a consistent and stable place to showcase what you have to offer.
Small business owners have two main options for their business website. The first is the DIY route with platforms such as Squarespace, Shopify, and Wix, to name a few. The second option is hiring a website designer to build and manage your site. In this article, I am laying out why and how a website designer is the best decision for your small business.
This article outlines why hiring a website designer is the best decision for your small business.
With that, let’s jump in!
Here are the reasons at a glance:
Table of Contents:
- The Delegation Super Power of a Small Business Owner
- You Don’t Have to Be an Expert at Everything.
- Build your community of small business support from the very beginning!
- Responsive Website Design
- SEO
- Website Compliancy
- Unique Website Design and a Good First Impression
- Up to Date with Current Web Design Trends
- Increase Visitor Trust
1. The Delegation Super Power of a Small Business Owner
The upside and downside of being a small business owner are you are in charge of everything. You’ve created a product or service to offer.
Your next steps may look something like this:
- Apply for the business license
- Research potential scheduling software, accounting software, and supply chains
- Create a marketing strategy
- Decide on your social media presence
- Create your brand guidelines
- Get a website
To name a few! These tasks are all on top of actually doing the work of selling your product or service! The power of delegating allows you the time and space to think big about growth and operations and how to build profit in your business.
The power of delegating allows you the time and space to think big about growth and operations and how to build profit in your business.
Website design can be one of those business tasks you outsource. When you build a relationship with a web designer, you have a member of your team (whom you don’t have to manage payroll!) who can see your business goals from the start. The benefit is their expertise in design and marketing creates an effective website for your business. You can focus on other areas of your business. Investing in a website designer is the best decision when your tasks and to-dos are slowing down your business growth.
2. You Don’t Have to be an Expert at Everything
When I reflect on some of my tasks and duties as a small business owner, I know which skills are lacking. The first task I outsourced was my accounting and bookkeeping. It was one of my least favorite tasks, and I always put it off. Now, I pay my bookkeeper a monthly fee to keep my finance organized to focus my energy on other business areas. Bookkeeping, website design, email marketing, and social media management are a few ways to outsource. As you look over all the moving parts of your business, remember your “why.” That big idea of how this business will positively impact your life and the lives of others.
If you set out to build a small business and do ALL THE THINGS, your “why” may never materialize.
Hiring a website designer will take an initial investment in money and time. The vital part of that investment is the long-term impact on your business. Your website designer is an expert in their field, and hiring them can be the best decision for your business. Cultivating this relationship can help your business grow, scale, and be more nimble.
3. Build Your Community of Small Business Support from the Very Beginning!
Being a small business owner can be lonely and isolating. Reaching out and finding the right people to support you can ease some isolation. A community of small business owners can help you avoid potential stumbling blocks and commiserate with you when you do! With a website designer, you have someone who can offer support and suggestions around the look and feel of your business. They most likely have a list of referral partners for other aspects of your business.
A community of small business owners (including your website designer) will help you grow and succeed!
You can find business communities or networking opportunities online and in person. If you are a creative business owner, I recommend looking into the Being Boss Community. It is a solid and well-run organization of creative bosses making money doing the work they love. Another option is Wandering Aimfully, which provides “un-boring coaching for intentional online business owners.” And finally, look around your local community for small business groups. I find Instagram a good starting point to find other small businesses active in your community.
4. Responsive Website Design
Responsive website design means that your website looks great and is easy to navigate on any size device. The device can be from the largest computer monitor to a cell phone. Having a responsive website is now standard practice. According to Statista, 54.4% of users worldwide use their mobile devices to search the web. By hiring a website designer instead of a DIY platform, you’ll have the confidence to know your website is responsive as part of the project.
A professional website designer is the best option to ensure your website is responsive.
Sometimes your mobile site may look drastically different from the desktop version. The website designer knows how to design it to be accessible, easy to navigate, and stay fast and responsive. By having a responsive website, you also build trust in your visitors. If your site doesn’t function well, it reflects poorly on your business and may stop people from buying from you.
5. SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This field is vast and ever-changing. Search engines have specific guidelines for how a website should function—these range from typographic hierarchy, image optimization, and page speed to ADA and GDPR compliance.
A professional website designer should use SEO to build the design and content.
It’s one thing for a web designer to create a visually impactful website for your business. Building a website with your ideal client in mind is another layer of importance and professionalism. It is a craft to incorporate modern design trends, directed content, and search engine optimization. These areas have their limits within a DIY environment.
6. Website Compliancy
When you think about a business staying compliant, what comes to mind? You may think about your local gift shop’s ADA ramps, the local pub’s liquor license, or even your business paying taxes. Creating a website that follows the law is essential. Following guidelines for ADA compliance, data protection, and displaying your privacy policy and terms & conditions are lawful and ethical and positively affect your SEO ranking. Sites that are not compliant in these areas rank much lower than those that do.
Your website design must cover the three main areas for compliance: ADA, GDPR, and stating your Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.
ADA
ADA stands for the American Disability Act. According to Userway.org, “the overall aim is always to strive to ensure that all users can access your content, or at least the greatest number of users possible.” Creating an accessible web environment is a worldwide goal. W3C is the international community that sets the standards and guidelines. Here is a list of features and functions the free Userway widget provides:
GDPR
Next is the GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation. Compliance Junction offers this concise definition: “GDPR is an enforceable Regulation designed to protect the privacy of EU data subjects and give them more control over the processing of their personal data, regarding what personal data is collected, how it is used, who it is shared with, and the length of time it is kept.” Your business may still gather EU citizen data in the form of an email address for your newsletter or payment if you sell products worldwide (digital or physical.) It may seem unlikely that your small business would be on the EU’s radar, and therefore you don’t need to worry. However, basic compliance has become more accessible due to companies like Moove Agency. They offer a free and premium WordPress plug-in. And most CRM platforms have built-in compliance tools. To learn more about GDPR and the United States, The AWB Firm have helpful resources.
Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions
Your privacy policy states how you use any information gathered through your website. Your terms & conditions explain how visitors can use your site. These policies are areas that your website designer can help navigate. Still, the responsibility and liability are on you as the business owner. Most CMS platforms offer a starting point to create your Privacy Policy. DTK Studio used the AWB Firm website bundle. Hiring a professional website designer is the best decision because they can suggest their best resources and work with you to keep your website compliant.
When you hire a website designer, they *should have ADA and GDPR compliance as part of their proposal to build your website. Hiring a website designer goes beyond simply creating a well-branded website. It is an area of website design that does have a learning curve and changes as the technology does.
- Website design is a bit of the wild wild west since anyone can become a designer whether they have formal training or not. (I’m one of those designers!) I’ve written an article to help guide you in choosing a professional website designer. Check it out!
7. Unique Website Design and a Good First Impression
Your website has up to 5 seconds to make an impact on a visitor. That isn’t a lot of time! People visiting your site need to quickly know what you do, learn more, and how to purchase from you. Visual design is the first and most important way to make an impact and attract someone’s attention. If you use a template, you can run the risk of your website appearing generic and not standing out and representing your brand. Hiring a website designer allows you to work with a professional who can take your specific branding and create an engaging and impactful website.
8. Up to Date with Current Web Design Trends
Since the first website in 1991, website design has evolved and changed. Here is a site that shows what The Food Network’s website was like in December 2013. (Here’s how it looks now.) Anyone can build a website, which doesn’t mean it will meet current standards, including the user experience and responsiveness. Even a website built in the 2020s can use design standards from the early 2000s and make an ugly and not appealing website. When you work with a website designer, they combine your branding with the current design standards and trends to create an attractive and engaging website.
9. Increase Visitor Trust
Your website is your virtual storefront that’s open 24/7. It needs to showcase your business effectively for people to trust you. Professional designers research the best way to organize the information to appeal to visitors. You will gain credibility with a website that is pleasing to look at, easy to navigate, and directs people to their goal (usually to buy from you or contact you).
If you’re interested in learning more about DTK Studios, I would love to hear from you! Suppose the investment of time and money is too steep for you to manage right now. In that case, I encourage you to continue to explore this option to help your business thrive. Here is my portfolio and a PDF with more information about working with me.
