Top 5 Tips to Consider When Creating your Website

When it comes to websites, substance matters... But so does your foundation.



Congratulations! You made the leap into business ownership, (hopefully) set up your LLC or Corp with your favorite business attorney, found yourself a solid insurance policy, and are off to the races! Likely the next item to be checked off your list has something to do with marketing your business. Depending on the industry that you work in, this can look like many different things..

Are you a brick & mortar store and plan on putting an ad in the paper?

Are you planning to be active on Facebook and create ads that attract your perfect customer?

Do you have loads of quick videos you're planning to do as you dive into the world of TikTok?

Are you planning on joining a local networking group like BNI or a Chamber of Commerce?

Marketing can look like SO MANY different things depending on your business, but there is one Universal - In 2023, in the age of AI, and NFT's, and paying for things just by tapping your phone somewhere, it is absolutely critical that you have a website. Not sure what AI or an NFT is? Well that's okay, but I'm pretty sure at this point absolutely everyone, even you, has heard of a website. In fact, I would venture to argue that you have probably NOT gone to a restaurant at one point or another because you couldn't easily find its menu, or perhaps you chose NOT to go somewhere because their clunky website from the 90's didn't give you the info you needed. Having a source of credible, up to date information about your business is absolutely critical for your business to literally stay alive and thrive.

Now that we have agreed on the importance of a website (which hopefully you already were aware of) you have now likely begun the laborious process of website building research.. In fact, this may have started taking over most of your business time, rather than actually working on your business! My hope is that these five tips curb your endless scrolling and you find yourself able to take action to create the site of your dreams! It really all comes down to 5 tips to consider when creating your website:

1. Site Speed (Google's Core Web Vitals)

Contrary to most of the 'bro's' we hear talking about the complexity of SEO and making a strong website that needs ABC and XYZ to knock the socks off your competitors, it really is not that complicated.. If you are trying to build a website for your business that happens to be a hospital or a government agency, okay... that's a little more complicated. But for YOU, the solopreneur, mompreneur, or rather small business owner, let's take a look at a little something called Google Core Web Vitals. This is a FREE tool ANYONE can use, so if your business already has a website, jump on over and enter it now! Google literally outlines what they are looking for to help your website show up in search. You have control over a LOT of it. Some parts, however, are built into the company that you decide to build your website with (You may have heard of Wix, WordPress, Duda, Joomla, etc. etc.) Foundationally, the code behind these builders impacts how your website performs with Google's Core Web Vitals, and ultimately this can impact how well your site shows up in search and whether potential customers have a good experience on your website. Search Engine Journal just recently released their report on Core Web Vitals leaders for September 2023 and our personal favorite, Duda, did not disappoint. The awesome key takeaway from this article, however, is that while some builders are consistently ranking better than others, ALL of these builders have improved their rankings, and therefore showing dedicated effort towards improving the website performance for all businesses using their platform. Keep this list handy, as if you're looking at a builder or service NOT on this list... Well, just don't say I didn't warn you.

2. Need to Customize

But Al, what if I need some really custom stuff??? My question for you would be 'How Much?' I mean this in the most loving way, but what might seem like it might need to be super duper customized for your super duper unique small business... might have already been thought of before... and might actually be quite simple to create on your website. Now, if you are a larger business that really needs some tricky integrations, you need a huge database, and a membership section, and a learning platform... you get the idea... This is when you might be thinking about using a Web Developer, rather than simply a designer. The real point I'm trying to make here, is that while some sites truly need to be custom-coded, many do not, so I strongly urge you to look at all the pros and cons here. The main issue that I see with custom-coded sites is that any time you need to change some text, shift an image, make an edit, replace something... you need someone else to do it and cannot do it yourself. Sure your site might have 'super lean code' so that it performs well according to those Core Web Vitals we just talked about, but if your site hasn't been updated in a year because your developer got a new job, or took on too many clients, or you couldn't afford to hire him/her again to do the work you need done, how effective of a website do you really have? Custom Coding has its uses, so make sure that you know whether these uses are truly applicable to your business before you choose this route.

3. Edits & Content

Chatting about custom coding brings us to Edits & Content, which as a business-savvy entrepreneur, you have obviously already thought about. Have you ever heard that beautiful phrase 'The Fortune is in the Follow Up?'. Well, I truly believe they were saying this about websites. Keeping your website up to date over time ultimately is where your business will thrive. So... How are you going to keep your website up to date? Will you do the edits yourself, or would you prefer to have someone do them for you? Will you be creating all of the content yourself, providing all of the images, headlines, you name it? If you don't have content and photos, now's the time to think about whether you need a copywriter or photographer.. or perhaps finding a designer who also offers these services so you have less cooks stirring your pot. Maintenance plans offered directly by designers have become more and more of a common service as business owners have started to realize the importance for continued support to keep sites relevant. GONE are the times where someone would build a website and never touch it again for months and years to come! Forbes recently release their top picks for website building in their Best Website Builder Top 10 list. This may be a great tool to reference particularly if you are planning to take care of everything yourself - The easier and more intuitive the website builder, ultimately the less time you as the business owner will need to commit to producing a professional website, or to performing edits.

4. Hands on / Hands off?

Depending on the size of your business or how you plan to scale, considering whether you're going to be All Hands On Deck in your marketing plan and website, or hands-off, is an important consideration. This may ultimately determine whether you hire a designer, freelancer, larger agency, or go rogue and DIY. Whether you are hands on or hands off will also determine what website builder you end up using (unless you are a coder or a marketing agency yourself, you likely won't be using certain platforms). There are certainly pros and cons for each - Being hands on gives you the ability to change anything you need to at a moment's notice. You don't need to wait for a developer or designer to do it for you, which can be a pain if you have a business that needs prompt updates (think daily specials at your favorite bistro). The downside of being hands on, is that if you can't figure out how to do something... it is you waiting in the hour long queue to customer service to figure out how to do it.. Probably after already spending 3 hours trying to figure it out yourself. If it's something you still can't figure out, it inevitably (and unfortunately for your business) will get pushed down the priority list until months later you realize your website has had the same silly out-of-date thing for the last 6 months. On the flip side, hands off can be rewarding but also stressful for the control-loving business owner types (come on, you know who you are). It is rewarding in the sense that you have someone direct that you can send questions to, or get help updating your site with, and therefore inevitably your website stays up to date ironically more frequently than most hands-on sites. Hands off can come with a potential cost, and ultimately only you can determine what kind of budget that looks like to you and your business, or whether it is worth it at this current point in your business. Fortunately, websites that are professionally designed do not have to cost an arm and a leg, and many maintenance plans are scalable starting at a low monthly hosting & maintenance cost, which then you can choose to increase depending on how much work you need done on the website (many designers offer maintenance plans that start at a range of $50-150 and may scale to several hundred if the website requires several hours of monthly updates).

5. DIY or PRO?

Price is our 5th consideration, which blends in perfectly with this critical decision: Do you venture into the potentially time-consuming world of DIY (Do It Yourself), or do you face the potential wallet-draining decision of finding a website designer to do it for you? This decision ultimately depends on your budget, time-frame to getting your business rolling, and a number of other factors, but ultimately comes down to your personal comfort level and preference. We will try to highlight the pros and cons of each here:

Do It Yourself website projects often seem like the no-brainer way to go with a new business, but that is not necessarily the case. Sure, you don't need to pay a web designer potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars to do it for you- money that you may or may not even have at the moment. On the flip side of the coin, spending months trying to build a website when you haven't the faintest clue how to build one might cost you thousands in revenue of potential sales. What if you design a site on a builder that you end up hating? What if you spend months designing a site that you end up hating? What if you design a site on a platform, only to realize that you need to sell products and the platform you used doesn't offer that functionality? Not to be the completely harsh Debbie Downer, but without sugar coating it.... the consequences of a Do It Yourself website gone wrong can literally cost you your business. Despite all this, there is absolutely a time and a place in many businesses where DIY just makes sense, and I would encourage you to do your due diligence in researching the platform you use, best website practices, accessibility features, cookie and privacy policies, and all the other juicy details.

While using a web designer by no means guarantees that you will float into sunset on a business unicorn carrying bags of gold, it does offer certain securities... Your designer is likely well versed, or a least familiar with at least a few of the most popular web builders out there. With this knowledge they can likely suggest a builder that suits your needs, or in the event that you need to add on certain functionalities down the road help you to be able to do so. This sort of stress relief can be welcomed when taking a business to the next level, and often helps remove hesitation in helping a business to scale. If you don't need to spend months making all of those website edits to add on and sell your new e-coaching course/amazing product/bougie service.... What are you waiting for? Make that $$$$. On the other hand, finding a designer that you totally vibe with can also be a challenge! Seeking personal recommendations in business Facebook groups can be a great way to get started, and many designers will happily schedule a complimentary 'interview' with you so-to-speak to hear more about your project, share more about what their style is like, and if it's a project that they may be able to help you bring to life!

Alas, as they say Failing Forwards... ultimately Taking Action - any action - is better than taking no action at all in your business. Congrats on taking the first step, and ultimately I hope that these few tidbits arm you with a little more knowledge as you venture into the Great Website-building Unknown!

(I promise, it's really not as bad as you'd think!)

Allison Panteli

Designer Mom (not that kind of Designer Mom)

Owner, SimplicityDMS LLC