If you’re running a business, a website is a given. In today’s digital landscape, it’s very likely the first step in a prospect’s journey to learn more about your business. And if you’ve built an effective website, they’ll contact you, right?
A website gives your audience information about your team, your services, and the irrefutable reasons why they should be doing business with you. It provides useful resources and access to your thought leadership efforts, and even connects users to your social media accounts. You could stop there.
But do you just want good?
I’ve met with hundreds of companies about building new websites, and I always start our conversations with a key question: “Why do you need a website?” After two decades of asking this, I still hear the same answers most of the time—generally something about prospects and customers’ needs, or worse, “because we have to.”
A great website can and should be the central hub of your marketing efforts. It is a tool that can be leveraged to attract, engage, convert, measure, and educate your audience. When built strategically, your website can also help you learn about your audience and inform future marketing decisions.
The answers I referenced above aren’t wrong. They’re just short-sighted.
You do need a website, and it should serve your audience’s needs. But as with any other marketing activity, you want a measurable return, too. That could be in the form of direct product sales, lead generation, link sharing, visits, or other key performance indicators specific to your business and your goals.
More than adequate is worth the effort
First and foremost, a website makes your brand findable. Few users type URLs into the top of their browsers these days, opting to search a company’s name instead. A solid domain strategy and rich content ensure that your site and your brand are easily found through many digital channels.
A well-curated website also gives you control of the narrative. It allows you to engage the customer on your terms, guiding them down a path that nurtures their interests and creates a natural flow. Done right, this leads to more conversions or sales—whatever moves your needle. But it requires you to be deliberate about the content and the experience visitors have.
Proving a website’s value
How do we know if content, web design, and web development are done right? For us, it’s experience and a little instinct, but mostly metrics. Data might disappoint sometimes, but it rarely lies.
We all know about Google Analytics. But the magic really happens when you harness the platform to measure relevant KPIs that are hyper-relevant to your business. When you define the “why,” you can gather the data that makes you feel confident about the decisions you’ve made and the ones you’ll make down the road. Pair that with a powerful CRM like HubSpot and your website becomes a full-scale marketing engine that can propel the growth of your organization exponentially.
So yeah, a website is always more than just “a website.” A great website can transform and amplify almost any marketing or sales effort. And getting started begins with asking and answering, “Why do we need a website?”
Most importantly, your website is an investment. And Snapshot can help you find the biggest return.
We’d love to spend 30 minutes reviewing your site with you to understand how it’s meeting your needs and what your “why” looks like. Reach out here, and let’s set a time.
Michael DeGuira VP, Creative and Web Development
