Your Website Could Be Costing You More Than You Think
If you’re busy running your business, you’re probably not thinking about the overall health of your business website. If your business website has broken links, poor functionality, a stale template, or even worse, slow load time, you’re losing money every time a potential customer visits– and then abandons– your site.
How Fast Should a Website Load?
Ideally, a website should load in under three seconds. In fact, nearly 50% of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less. On mobile, site visitors expect pages to load even faster.
Slower site speeds negatively impact rankings in search results, which is a problem that you as a business owner can’t afford to ignore.
Does Size Matter?
With regard to screens, definitely. Around 67% of all web visits happen on mobile, compared to desktop, so it’s worth it to design a fast and functional site that is optimized for mobile users.
Some DIY website builders like Wix give you the option to optimize for mobile view, but with so many different mobile screen sizes, it’s as good as a guess on exactly which mobile device your templated website will look good and perform well. When it comes to growing your business, guessing isn’t a the best strategy.
Is a Custom Website Really Worth It?
In short, yes. A custom designed website is a better investment for your business than an off the shelf template website. It is more flexible, scalable and secure.
A custom designed website that is tailored to your specific needs and requirements is generally more functional and user-friendly. Template website builders like Shopify achieve some level of customization by offering non-native apps you can add on to your site, which can slow down site speed and interfere with functionality. With a custom designed website, you can add features that are specific to your industry or business without sacrificing speed or functionality.
A custom designed website can also be easily scaled as your business grows. You can add new pages, features, and functionality as needed without having to start from scratch. A template website, on the other hand, may not be able to handle the increased traffic and demands of a growing business. If your template website crashes or has broken features, you’re looking at downtime and lost revenue.
It is also more secure than a template website because security features can be customized to meet your specific needs. For example, you can add firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and data encryption; a template website, on the other hand, may not have the same level of security features, leaving your business vulnerable to hackers and malware which are devastating to a business’s traffic and sales.
Where Do I Start?
The first step is to find the right team to help you design, build and launch your custom website.
Our digital team at J&R Marketing does innovative website design to help your brand accomplish its goals on all screens, and we offer custom solutions and integrations for any development project. We host your custom designed website on our server and make updates regularly to maintain uptime and keep your website secure.
Need changes made? No problem. We can take care of them or we can provide you with the training you need to take control, if you prefer to do it yourself.
Once your custom website is launched, we can optimize to increase ranking and visits for search terms related to your business.
When you are ready to run social media and pay-per-click ads, J&R has a full suite of digital services. Work with us on a specific service or choose our marketing retainer plan, which allows us to work closely with you to provide the best mix of services for your brand.
It all starts with a custom designed website that can help you improve your brand image and reputation, generate leads and sales, provide better customer service, and make the most of your marketing and advertising budget.
J&R Marketing is a full-service digital agency that specializes in website design, digital marketing, and much more! Want to build an awesome website? Contact us now!