What? I don’t want a website? Well, if that’s the best piece of advice you can offer, I might as well not waste my time on this…
Wait! Before you make up your mind, let me explain., There are times when you feel your current website is not quite up to the mark and you might think a brand new one might do the trick, Well, the truth is you are probably better off without a new one right now!
You would not believe the number of times we have seen this typical scenario of a client coming in with the wish list:
- I need to have a new website
- I need to have it done yesterday
- It’s just a few pages
- And do remember to keep it cheap
It would then be followed by a few typical questions from our side, like:
- What is the new website for?
- Do you already have one? What is wrong with it?
- Where is your business heading? New products? New services?
It soon becomes very clear that there is a bit of a muddle going on. There are conflicting requirements, desires, needs and perhaps a vision that is a little on the cloudy side. Usually it is the sales team that are banging on the table. Absolutely normal for they are front line and need to look good with the client. But are they the only ones that need to be satisfied? Do we need a lick of paint, a patch up job and a few pics of happy smiley people? Maybe.
The truth is that if you get it wrong, the website will only reflect the internal lack of vision going on within your company. And the last things you want your potential clients to be thinking when they look at your website would be:
- I can’t find a thing!!!
- This looks like it hasn’t seen an update in ages (Are they on the ropes? Cutting back?)
- Hmmm…“Findmywidgetco and sons” seem to be far better than this crowd; Better get back to their site…
So, do you want a website right now, this second? Probably not.
Where do we go from here? Luckily the answer is not a multimillion dollar decision support system that is going to need McKinsey Co consultants being parachuted in.
The solution is in fact quite simple. All you need to do is gather some post-it notes, a little common sense and all your stake holders around the table. And, before you know it, you will see the website begin to take shape right in front of your eyes.
Simple.
Got a round table?
Keep the ideas coming.
Start sorting and grouping, your ideal website is almost there.
