3 Things You Need Before Investing in a Website
“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” Alexander Graham Bell
First things first. Big marketing agencies aren’t always the right choice when investing in your marketing. I elaborated on this in this blog post, but today there are so many advantages to going small. For starters, there’s more focus and personalized attention. Many boutique designers will only work with one client at a time and truly immerse themselves in your project.
There’s also fresh ideas and energy in this approach. In my experience, it’s a safe bet if you have more distinctive needs and are looking to get launched a little quicker.
WHY I RECOMMEND SHOWIT
I’ve shared this story before but I’ve worked with clients on their branding and as business expanded, the website their marketing agency built for them wasn’t meeting their needs as well as they wanted it to. That’s why I really am adamant about starting off on the right foot and promote Showit as the web platform of choice here at By Stephanie Design. Read why here.
It’s very common your old systems or ways of sharing your business simply don’t work as well as business evolves. Seeing this first hand and with a fellow business owner I’ve known for several years and was a paying customer for, really influenced me in wanting to share helpful strategies on this blog in setting the right path forward.
So I usually get asked what I need from you, the customer, before heading into a web design project.
I’m sharing 3 things you need to have before starting a web design project.
Brand identity
At the minimum you should have a logo mark, color palette, and font choices determined.
I provide clients a Brand Guidelines PDF along with their Logo Presentation Document which includes colors, fonts, along with your Logo Design + submarks. Having everything all in one PDF sheet to refer back to allows you to stay on brand and consistent going forward with your marketing efforts.
Professional Images
Whether it’s your portfolio or an image bank of personalized branding photography, you should have professional images ready to go to send via Google Drive. I’ll take care of compressing them and file-naming (if needed) to ensure the file size is accurate for optimal loading times and your images are searchable once your site is live.
Related: Invest in the Success of Your Business With High-Quality Photography
Copywriting
As they say, copy pre-cedes design.
Customers should land on your website and say “YES! This is exactly what I was looking for! You solved my problem!”
Targeted and custom-tailored copywriting is included in my Bespoke Branding & Website Customization Package so it’s not something you actively have to work on yourself. If you already have your copy – that’s great! I’ll work with your existing copywriting as well.
The best copy is created from an appreciation and respect of your customers and their needs. Once you understand them, then you can write everything down, re-write and re-fine until you eventually have the words that are suited to your business.
Related: How I Manage Copywriting (+ Make The Customer The Hero of Your Business Story)
How I pull all this together at By Stephanie Design
This is the last and final step of my on-boarding process. I’ve put together a workbook that is our toolkit in organizing and preparing the various components surrounding the launch! From determining your target audience and branding, to your sitemap and copywriting, this fillable PDF workbook planner is essential in creating your Brand and Website to reflect your goals and needs.
Do you want more customers to book a call (and need a clear call to action on your site inspiring this)? Want to sell more products? (A few that is – nothing extensive). Need to integrate two separate email list sign-ups somewhere on your site purposefully? It all starts with me understanding your goals so I encourage customers to be as thorough as possible in their planner.
And if a feature isn’t available on the template you want, please don’t worry – I’ll work my designer magic and integrate it into the website.
ARE YOU READY TO MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD?
Investing in a website design is a major step towards propelling your business forward! With a Brand Identity, Professional Photography, and Copywriting established, you’re really going to make a mark in business! A strategic Design Studio will help set you up for success easily so you can begin promoting your business and working with clients!
And with a Showit website, there’s not a steep learning curve that will inhibit you from updating your website as business grows! A Win-win!
Shop my array of Showit templates or contact me for a Showit Website Template Remodel package today!
At By Stephanie Design my mission is to help entrepreneurs make a stunning and enduring online impression. Through Showit lets propel your business forward and equip you with the tools necessary to make us better by design.
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February 12th, 2023
