Each one of us who is digitally aware wants to have a website. Not only are the businesses shifting towards the digital world because of the opportunities that are available, it is the day and age of eBusiness.
Decided on getting a website? Will it actually be profitable? Want to save on the costs? Hired a designer already? What are the risks involved with a sub-standard website?
A bad website not only takes your money, it takes your time. It not only costs you money but also time as the money you could have earned while you struggled with keeping it up and running. A sub-standard website is not a one-time thing. You have to spend on it as long as you choose to put up with it.
Planning a DIY gig? Or may be getting help from that computer expert niece? A free website perhaps?
Let’s unearth the potential surprises that come with it:
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They Ruin Your Brand Impression
It is an age-old debate, what is better “quality or quantity”. When it comes to websites they are your online profiles or personas, if they are bad, it is bad for your image and your business. You risk hurting your own brand and image. Not worth it.
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Inflated Maintenance Costs
Having a website made by an amateur will in all certainty lead to bad design, broken code and other issues that you’ll only discover once the site is delivered. You not only have to pay for a website that is substandard but also need additional money because of bad code or (say) buggy forms. Better to ditch the whole idea than to make a website that instead of helping you get more business, hampers your business, costs more money, time and earns you a lot of frustration.
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Unprofessional Designer Means More Headaches & Less Work
Getting a cheap website doesn’t necessarily save you money, it might end up costing you more than what you bargained for. The guy you hired might not live up to your expectations and even leave your project mid way. In both the cases, the losing party is YOU.
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Bad Design & Code
If you are not technologically sound or know the basics of it, do-it-yourself projects are not for you. You should research what kind of website you want and hire an expert if you are serious about adding a website to your business portfolio. Additionally, even if you have a beautiful site-design, you never know how buggy the backend code is that powers the website. That broken code will manifest itself in various ways and that nice looking contact form may just throw up an error when submitted. Spammed or hacked site? Not a surprise.
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Poor Search Engine Ranks
And finally after having the time and energy to put up with all this, just when it’s time to see where the site ranks… what do you find? The site rankings have tanked, haven’t they? A seasoned designer not only knows how to come up with an excellent design, how to implement it and run it, they also understand the purpose of the website and what are your expectations from it. They also understand your customer base and will ensure that your website is indexed (and “understood”) by search bots. This is where concepts like “webpage intent” and “query intent” come. Too much jargon? Hire a pro 🙂
After reading all this, you might have second thoughts about your designer? What does he know? Having met tons of people like you who want a website but don’t know how to make a sound investment, here’s my take on it: Don’t make a website that will end up in the digital graveyard. It is not worth your time and effort when you could make a better investment or even a saving.
Hire a professional so that your website can justify the investment of your money and saves you the effort and time to do what you are good at.
