Don’t waste your time on web design

The vision:  Beautiful website that turns heads and immediately converts customers because it looks so hot!

The problem:  False expectations about what an attractive website will do for your business without having a brand strategy.

The reality:  Web design that looks great but doesn’t “tell” people how talented you are and what you help them accomplish and visitors wander off.

A website is not a brand

People place too many expectations on design to make up for the fact that they don’t know how to describe what they do and for whom in a way that compels prospects to want to learn more. In reality, most startup businesses don’t know exactly who they should be selling to and how to describe it in a way that makes visitors feel it’s their best choice.

A stylishly designed, up-to-date website does not make up for fuzzy messaging, unclear branding and casting the net too wide for the types of customers a business needs to attract in order to sustain itself.

A website still needs to know the value proposition of their business which holds the foundation of the brand strategy.

A brand is a whole lot more

Your brand is what your prospect thinks of when they think of you and your business. It contains your story, your promise, and your offer. It evokes emotions and beliefs from your clients and prospects and connects them to their desired outcomes for their life.

It gives people a feel for what they can expect from you. You weave this with a look (design) and a message (copy) that tells them who you are and where they can go with your help and moves them along that journey (conversion).

Create a brand strategy

In web design you get what you pay for. Excellent designers know that without your value proposition and a clear brand strategy a stunning website will do little for your business. It will cost more to get this work done upfront and it will also give you much better results.

If they know how to ask you the challenging questions that extract the value you deliver and to whom, and are not trying to sell you fancy and expensive features (bells and whistles) you are likely in good hands.

In reality, you are best creating a brand strategy from your value proposition before you invest in a big website overhaul. In my strategy work I help clients build confidence before they create their website because they know who they really are and are clear in how they present what they offer. They look confident, they sound different from all of their competitors and they speak the language of their clients.

They know how to convey their value to their tribe and it makes the job of a web designer so much easier.

The next time you think about investing in web design, make sure you have a solid brand strategy so you will love and feel proud of what you create and start to see results right away.