Why Do I Need a Website?
We do get asked this question a lot. Why should you create a website? What is the purpose of having a website?
Your website should be the hub of everything that you do online. It is the central part of your marketing plan. All of the internet marketing steps you take should be driving people back to your website.
Think about how you find new places online… a doctor; a restaurant; a landscaper; a plumber. Imagine if those businesses did not have a website. Are you more likely to find someone with a website? How do you view the website when you are trying to find a landscaper? Does that person look like someone you can trust? Do they have examples of their work?
You do it every day – just like the rest of us. You look at a website and determine if xyz person/company is someone you want to work with – or some place you want to visit. The website and their overall online presence play a big role in your decision to pick up the phone or to fill in a contact form.
If you are trying to find a restaurant and they do not have menu items listed anywhere on their website, are you more likely to go and find someplace that does?
A professional web design that is complete and focuses on your ideal client will bring in the clients / business that you are looking for.
It is a central part of your marketing plan!
I Already Have a Website But…
Are you frustrated because your website is not bringing in new business? Look at your website and try to put yourself in your ideal client’s shoes. Would you be interested in your business based on the website? Are there important pieces missing? Are you impressed by your website?
Websites that are just “out there” but are not bringing in new clients/customers usually have one or more of these issues:
- It is not professional web design
- It is a brochure type of website
- It has no SEO
- There is no marketing plan
We help our clients with all of these things so that they can start to use their website as the central part of their marketing plan. Not only do we design websites, but we work with our clients so that they understand how to best use their website to stay relevant online.
What is a WordPress Website?
WordPress is an open source content management system. It is one of the most popular platform for building professional websites. WordPress was originally released in 2003 as a blogging platform. Since that time, it has grown into a comprehensive platform that is essentially limitless in its abilities. We often tell our clients that if they can think of it, WordPress can do it!
Why WordPress?
You may be familiar with other platforms such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Blogger etc… so why do we recommend WordPress when there are so many website platforms to choose from?
Some of the reasons that we like WordPress include:
- It’s free open source code
- It’s highly customizable
- It is SEO friendly
- It is easy to manage
- You have 100% control of your website
Mostly, we love WordPress because it has unlimited possibilities to change, grow and develop your business. WordPress is consistently evolving and adapting to changing conditions in a fast-paced digital world.
We also love WordPress because it makes it easier for YOU (the business owner) to make changes and updates without having to know HTML, CSS or PHP once it is built for you.
We are not alone as WordPress is the platform that is used for about 1/3 of the top 10 million websites*
*“Usage Statistics and Market Share of Content Management Systems for Websites”. W3Techs. April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
Can I Build My Own WordPress Website?
If you are very comfortable with HTML, CSS and PHP then by all means YES you can give it a try. If you don’t know what those three things are, you might want some help with your web design. If you do want to build your own site, we still highly recommend WordPress – and it’s WordPress.org vs WordPress.com.
If you are not a website designer, hiring a professional will ultimately save you a lot of time, energy, stress, and money.
I understand how tempting it is to try and cut costs in business…BUT remember that your website truly is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of your business as it is central to your marketing plan.
If a potential client comes to your website and it looks average, cheap, or simply doesn’t showcase your expertise, this can actually deter them from calling and therefore become a major obstacle to your growth. Yes, they are judging the book by the cover, just as you do when you visit other websites.
If you have been struggling with a DIY website, it might be time you asked for help. If you are ready, schedule a consultation with us here.
Is hiring a professional really worth it?
We like to tell this story when we get this question…
When we first started our business, we believed that we could handle all of the accounting that our business needed. There was plenty of information online we could find. There was detailed tax software, and it seemed “easy enough”. We used to think why would anyone bother paying to hire an accountant? Obviously, we could do this on our own…
We know better now…in fact hiring an accountant was probably the BEST thing that we did for our business. When we hired an accountant, there was a big weight lifted off. Our accountant restructured all our financials and in the first year helped us save a lot of money. As it turned out, we were doing it ALL wrong. The money we saved was well worth her professional fees.
We probably could have kept doing it on our own… but at what cost? Financial? Stress? Time? Not to mention that laws and tax codes change a lot. Would we be able to keep up and understand it all?
Our accountant knows how to best handle our individual financial situation and saves us so much money, time and energy. When tax time comes around, we have no stress. We hand it all over to her. She takes care of everything, including projections and recommendations for the next year. Is it costly? Yes. Is it worth it? Definitely!
We share this story because ultimately hiring a professional website designer can save you a lot of time, hassle, stress, and energy!
We have worked with many clients who first tried creating their own websites. There is always some friend or family member who assures them that it’s easy and they can do it themselves. Or they have someone try to build their site who has “built a few sites before”.
Unfortunately, those people end up without a working site. They never could quite get it right. Or we have other clients who created a website but knew it was so bad they wouldn’t even send their own customers to it…and this was after hours of frustration and hair-pulling.
Are you ready to hire a professional?
Who Do We Work With?
We work with small business owners all over the world. We are very comfortable helping those who are just starting out and need a little more guidance and hand holding as they navigate setting up their online presence.
We also work with clients who have an online presence already and are looking to revamp or expand their current website and marketing. You might be someone who has been looking to change their website for some time but had a bad experience with a website designer in the past. When you have had a bad experience, it can be hard to trust someone again. Unfortunately for a lot of our clients they have had some really horrible experiences.
Our goal is to make this new experience as painless as possible for you. We walk you through it all and we believe in under promising and over delivering. We want to prove your predeterminations about web designers wrong.
We are looking to work with people who are ready to make the investment in a professional website, want to have a strong web presence online, and are comfortable working virtually.
Schedule a consultation with us to learn about how we are different.
What Makes Us Different?
Many designers do not look at the web design process through the lens of marketing and client attraction. Most designers are technicians who will basically do whatever you tell them to do–no more and no less. We incorporate many elements that make your website much more effective as a marketing tool all while being unique to you and your business.
We look at your website as the hub – the center – of all of your marketing efforts. We walk you through each step of the process and teach you how to grow and maintain your site after it is live.
Individualized Approach
We believe that one size does not fit all. We offer many different web design services and customized solutions based on our client’s needs. All of our clients have different ideal markets, brands, purpose and goals. We believe that working with our clients with an individualized approach helps them to build a website that is in alignment with their brand and mission.
Integrity
We enjoy the work that we do, and we love to help people. Our goal is to make it easier for small business owners to be successful by standing out in the crowded digital arena. We approach our work with the highest level of integrity and professionalism. When our clients are successful, we are successful.
Communication
Communication is the cornerstone of any good relationship. We are extremely flexible and easy-going to make sure our client’s needs are exceeded. We strive to get back to all of our clients within one business day, usually only a few hours if during business hours. We encourage our clients to communicate as much as they would like. This helps to ensure our projects move quickly and smoothly.
Long-Term Relationships
We have clients that have worked with us for 10+ years. We love to build long-term relationships with our clients and offer a VIP maintenance program. For many of our web design clients we are a long-term resource for them when it comes to WordPress web design, SEO and internet marketing.
18 Years’ Experience
We’ve been helping small business owners with web design, search engine optimization and internet marketing for over 18 years. In this time, we have worked with hundreds of small business owners all over the world to expand their online presence.
Adaptable
Technology is changing fast. We are able to quickly adapt, learn and adjust as needed to this fast-moving environment. We pride ourselves in staying on top of recent trends and changes regarding web development and internet marketing.
Don’t just take our word for it? Read through our testimonials here.
We want you to be comfortable and ask any additional questions that you might have before you choose to work with us. We offer a 20-minute consultation to our potential clients. Please feel to schedule that here.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the process take?
There are many variables and each client moves at a difference pace. Depending on the package that works best for you, the range is 2-8 weeks. In your consultation we can discuss this in more detail.
What type of communication will there be?
If you sign up to work with Virtual Design, you’ll receive your designers direct phone line to call and/or text. Your main email contact would be our project manager. We usually schedule two phone calls and handle back and forth over email however you are encouraged to call or text your designer at any time you need.
What are some additional costs I can expect to pay?
There are additional third party costs you can expect to pay outside of the package price. This can vary but here are some general examples:
- You need a domain name which will be about $12-$15 per year.
- You will need website hosting which is usually $7-$15 per month for shared hosting – we do not host websites and we believe you should own all rights and have access.
- If you want email marketing set up, that is usually $20-$30 a month.
- If you want to include stock images you may need to purchase those. We like 123rf.com and istockphoto.com.
- Depending on the design of your site you may need a license for a specific WordPress theme.
How many pages are included?
With the basic package 10 pages are included. With the comprehensive and premium packages 20 pages are included.
Will my site be mobile responsive?
Yes, all our WordPress websites are mobile responsive. We test and design to a variety of different resolutions.
Do you offer a free consultation?
Yes, we offer a 20-minute phone consultation. You can schedule that here.
Do I have complete control and ownership of my website?
Yes! 100%! Our biggest issue with other website designers is that they “hold a site hostage”. You should have 100% control of your site and ownership! This means your domain and hosting are registered in YOUR name. A theme license should be through your account. Regardless if you work with us or not, this is something you should consider when creating a website.
Do you do any search engine optimization (SEO) on my site?
Yes we do on-site SEO with our comprehensive and premium website package. We also offer an à la carte SEO package and an SEO online blogging program.
Do you provide any training information for me to be able to update my own site?
Our basic website design clients receive training videos. Our comprehensive and premium clients receive a customized comprehensive closing packet which includes information about the site we have created, an individualized section on SEO, and more. We also schedule a closing call together to go over any questions after our clients review the closing packet/materials.
What support is available after the website goes live?
We offer a VIP client package to help our clients update their websites on a monthly basis.
- Basic Web Design Package
- Professional Web Design
- Basic Customization
- Up to 10 Pages Included
- Social Media Integration
- Wordpress Training Videos
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- X
- Comprehensive Web Design Package
- Professional Web Design
- Advanced Customization
- Up to 20 Pages Included
- Social Media Integration
- Wordpress & SEO Training
- VIP Membership Discount
- Autoresponder Form Integration
- Feedback on Copy
- On Site SEO
- Closing Call
- X
- X
- X
- X
- Premium Web Design Package
- Professional Web Design
- Advanced Customization
- Up to 20 Pages Included
- Social Media Integration
- Wordpress & SEO Training
- VIP Membership Discount
- Autoresponder Form Integration
- Feedback on Copy
- On Site SEO
- Closing Call
- 3 Months VIP Included After Live
- Two Strategy Calls
- 1 Landing Page
- SEO Blogging Course