Really, I've learned hundreds of lessons just from my first small business website build, but that doesn't help with a catchy headline. It would also be a much longer article, and nobody got time for that.
Let's start with the fact that having a website is crucial. I don't know about you, but if I Google a company and can't find them online, my first thoughts are, "It doesn't exist" or "They’re sketchy," and my last thought is usually, "Oh, maybe I misspelled it."
Regardless, it's 2016 — almost 2017 — if dogs can have Instagram accounts, your business should have a website.
Now that we're all on the same page, let's talk about the website build. In my humble opinion, these lessons are just as important to the party building the website (e.g., an agency) as it is to the party who wants a website built (e.g., a client).
1. A website is a tool — treat it like one
I like a "pretty" website as much as the next person, but if I end up on a website and my only thought is, "Ooh shiny," there is a bigger problem. If a website has the right structure, it might not need a redesign. There are plenty of other ways a small business website can become a lucrative tool, worth an investment.
A small business website should be able to do the following:
- Educate me on the business
- Earn my trust (as in, convince me this business is the thought leader)
- Allow me to do all the necessary research before any transactions
- Offer information throughout my journey as a buyer
- "Capture" my information, so you can continue to "nurture" me
Now, all of this can be accomplished as long as you keep reading to at least point No. 2 ...
2. The groundwork is the most important part
During a website build there is crucial moment that determines how the next 3-6 months will play out. That crucial moment is the beginning. Shocker, I know, but I can't stress this enough.
Everyone gets so excited about the design and the development that sometimes we rush through the timeline, the sitemap, the wireframes and the conversion path mapping. I get it, I really do, but if these four steps aren't given the attention they deserve, two things will happen:
- The website probably won't launch on time — if it does it's because there will be a lot of late nights, a few bicker matches and a lot of unnecessary passive aggressiveness.
- It won't be the tool we all know it could and should be.
So let's get into what these things are and why these things are important.
The timeline determines all deadlines and tries to ensure the build doesn't take 18 months when it should be five months. As a project manager, I'm a little biased about the importance of this step, but a lot of anger and disappointment can be avoided if everyone has the appropriate expectations — expectations that are based on the timeline.
In the timeline, it should be clear when everything starts, when things are due from the agency and from the client and there should always be buffer room. Let's face it, nothing goes as planned. Everyone can have the best intentions but not everything can be accounted for, so be sure to pad the timeline.
You know when you go to a restaurant and you hear it's a 45-minute wait, and you go, "Ugh!" But when it's actually 20 minutes, isn't that a great feeling? Well, imagine the reverse. Yeah, that's where the anger and disappointment roll in.
The sitemap is what's going to live on the website. Oh my God, this is so important! This is the infrastructure. This is when a decision is made about what should live on the website and where.
It's usually just a sheet of paper. It looks like an outline. It's not very exciting. I cannot tell you how many times this has been ignored by both the agency and the client.
But here's the problem: You're in design phase 2, or, even worse, development and you go, "Where should this vital piece of information live?" And then you have to Frankenstein the website. It's just so upsetting. End of rant.
The wireframe and the conversion path mapping are the blueprint. They make the website a tool — the brains behind the design. Please take the time to think through this, review it and provide revisions because this is the website, this is the house.
The design is just the wallpaper, the paint, the curtains. I'm going to circle back to lesson No. 1 here. A website is a tool — treat it like one.
The next two points are shorter, I promise.
3. There should be buy-in from everybody
You've spent all of this time on the groundwork, you have a great infrastructure, and you've built a beautiful website — only to have some guy not like something that is actually pretty vital to it being a useful tool.
The team gets it, the client gets it, but the sales guy doesn't get it, or the guy in the Boston office doesn't get it, or the CEO doesn't get it — you get the point. Collect everyone who will be approving the website, using the website, making the website, and get them all on the same page. A difficult challenge I admit, but I believe in you.
4. It doesn't need to be perfect
This last thing is hard for me to say, because I always strive for perfection: When the website launches, it doesn't need to be perfect.
Do not confuse this with not having an infrastructure. The things I mentioned in lesson No. 2 should be as polished as possible. In fact, when building the infrastructure, growth and change should be considered.
What doesn't need to be absolutely perfect is the copy, the design, the fancy functionality. And it's OK for a few pages to be missing (you can always add some). Those are all important things to have, but getting your website live so you can use it as a lucrative tool is more important.
A website is living and breathing. It should not be static. It should not be treated as a project that is ignored until it needs to be "spruced" or "redone" again. No, it should be worked on constantly. And there is so much you can do with a website. If you don't believe me, just Google "inbound marketing."
