I always tell my clients, who are looking to take the world by storm, that building the website is the easy part. Seriously, it is. Maybe it’s not easy for you and in some respects it may be difficult for me depending on the functionality you want, but it is the easiest part of the process.
The Hard Part
Getting your site noticed. Getting good search results. Engaging your users. Selling products. This is the difficult part. It takes time and energy and perseverance and creativity and a lot of caffeine. Search engines aren’t impressed by flashy looking websites.
You can have a stunning looking website with all the latest bells and whistles, but who cares? Seriously. You know who cares the most? Other developers and designers.
- “Wow, how did they do that?”
- “That is so cool, I have to use that in my next project.”
- “That site is gorgerous!”
But your user is thinking:
- “Where’s the damn contact page?”
- “How come this freaking button doesn’t work?”
- “Why does this thing keep sliding across the page when I’m trying to read it?”
Lean and Mean
Building and designing a website is a lot like writing. You have to be willing to get rid of stuff you love if it does not have a practical function for your users or your website. Certainly you don’t want your design to get in the way, but there is a lot of room there. Many of the most popular sites on the web are simple, practical designs that work best for the content being delivered.
That’s why I think when you are first starting out, don’t spend thousands of dollars on design and programming your website. With WordPress you can purchase a solid, inexpensive theme and be up and running in very little time with ecommerce, a blog and a nice events calendar. Then you can spend your time and money on your business, not on having the coolest looking website that anyone has ever seen and virtually no one cares about.
Cheers!
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