Are you ready to make your business website yourself? Platforms like Wix* and Squarespace* offer user-friendly interfaces without coding, making DIY website creation seem easy. Before you go down that road, let’s chat! What are the three most common mistakes when it comes to DIY website design?
One of the most common issues with DIY disasters is the lack of design skills behind the project. Unless you’re confident in your knowledge of your brand identity and your ability to visually communicate this to your user, this could be your downfall! Understanding design principles, how to layout the website content, what colours, fonts and graphics to use are all essentials when it comes to website design. If your potential customers get a hint of amateur hour, you could lose business to your competitors if they have a polished and professional website.
UX stands for User Experience and it involves making design decisions with the end user in mind. A positive user experience is crucial for attracting and retaining customers, fostering loyalty, and achieving business goals. What does that look like in a practical sense for your website design? Intuitive navigation, clear calls-to-action and mobile responsiveness, just to name a few.
If you're new to web design, expect to encounter obstacles along the way. Yes, there are a lot of resources out there to help you figure out how to fix each problem you encounter but it takes time. Valuable time! An experienced web designer has already faced these challenges and knows exactly what to do. If you’ve avoided mistakes one and two, designing an on-brand website with positive UX, although you spent A LOT of time and resources making it you might then discover your website is getting any traffic. Why? Perhaps you weren’t aware of one of the best organic marketing tools available: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Being aware of these mistakes is the first step to avoiding them. You’re welcome.
The next step is up to you to decide if you are going to DIY or contact a professional. If you choose to DIY, the best way to avoid these mistakes is to first know your brand. Understand what graphic assets make up your visual identity as a brand and use them consistently throughout. Secondly, research UX and find the easiest ways to implement strategies to improve. Finally, assess your skill level and experience. Decide if you want to invest the time necessary and have the patience to troubleshoot along the way. We are developing a course for DIY website for small business owners, contact us below if you'd like to be notified when it's released. Or if you're not keen to DIY, grab an obligation free quote from our website design team by contacting Graphic Merchant.
*Remember to factor in platform costs, which can range from $16 to $179 per month. They are subscription based, once you’ve committed to using that platform you’re locked in because the website you create will not be easily transferable. The level of customisation is limited, which could lead to mistake one. While professional website design may entail a higher upfront investment, potential long-term savings could outweigh ongoing expenses.
