People judge companies by their website. Like it not, fair or not, it’s how things are.
And there are soooo many companies who give lip service to their website. It’s like they don’t think it’s valuable. Or important.
While there are some larger companies with poor websites, I find this is pretty common on the small/local business level. And I don’t get it.
Go to your local chamber of commerce or networking club meeting, and collect business cards. Go to the websites… by and large, they are just bad.
I know these people – it’s not like they are broke. They just don’t feel a website is worth paying anything for. Ok. But then what the heck are they doing at the Chamber networking breakfast looking for leads? Obviously they want more business. Well, a lousy website is a huge impediment.
Again, I know it’s not the money. I’ve seen plenty of local service companies spend $75,000+ on a truck or van for work. But pay $2k for a website? Nah, let’s go with the $500 guy who makes awful looking sites – that’s good enough.
It’s bizarre to me. Why the perception skew?
Recently, a fence company was recommended to me. I looked for their website to check them out… turns out, they didn’t even have one. Another had a really, really bad one with poor writing and a straight-outta-2002 design. I didn’t hire either of them. I did hire someone with a nice site that had all kinds of pictures, information, pricing, etc.
The fact is, I generally don’t hire anyone without a website. And if you have a bad site, I’ll probably see a competitor who has a much better site than you. And guess what – they get elevated over you. Millions of people are like me in this respect.
Having a substandard website (or none at all) tells me that you don’t care. That you let things slide. That you’re not really in business here in 2023. And here’s the kicker – it’s dirt cheap to have a nice one.
Dirt. Cheap.
I don’t care what size your business is, your website is one of the most important parts of it. It says everything about you.
Look at your website. Read it. Compare it to your competitors. Does your site truly reflect your company and work? Does it compete with your competition? Or was it thrown together cheaply to check a box?
Box checking always shows. And it’s never a good look.