After 3 years of our website running on autopilot, it was time to give the whole site a once over.
We started the process 2 months ago, slowly building out a new site behind the scenes which we launched this morning.
You can check it out if you like.
As we were designing it, I was reminded of a rookie error that most of us make when building a website that ends up costing you thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Our first three websites all made this same mistake and it’s why our website sucked.
Anyway, I was speaking to one of my disgruntled mentees yesterday about his website and the web guy who built it…
“He just doesn’t get it. It looks pretty, but it doesn’t do anything” he said. I tended to agree.
I let him in on an opinion I had.
“See, the counter-intuitive mistake when building your website is taking advice from a website designer on what your website should do. Because most website builders are designer types. They are NOT business people.
They like things to look pretty… even if the website doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do…”
… And most have no clue what that job is.
Do you know?
There is an old maxim that rings true in this regard:
“Form Follows Function.”
That’s to say that what something looks like is less important than what something does.
Eg, there is no point having a pretty looking chair if you can’t sit on it.
While its form looks great, its function is about as useful as a pork roast at a vegan convention (aka Art School).
Everyone will go hungry.
So want to know what the primary function of a website is?
Generate leads.
Do you know what most websites don’t do?
Generate leads.
See, if your website doesn’t create a steady flow of new customer enquiries on autopilot, then it’s not doing it’s job.
Take this as an example.
A lot of web designers don’t think it’s a good idea to have 2-step opt-ins because it ‘disrupts user flow.’
Except a 2-step opt-in is the difference between 5 leads a month and 50. Which would you prefer?
A slightly improved user flow or 45 extra leads each month?
Here’s another example.
Web designers usually don’t suggest putting videos on your website because it “slows down site speed.”
That makes sense in theory, except…
What is the #1 reason that someone stays on your page?
Because they’re engaged with the content. Duh.
What’s the best way to do that?
Video. A 2-minute video is easy to watch and is the fastest way to clock up a long page view.
It’s common sense, but amongst website gurus, it’s not common practice.
It’s basic stuff like this that most web designers get wrong.
To remedy this situation for my mentees and newsletter subscribers, I developed a framework to make it easier for guys and girls like us (who aren’t web design people), to build websites that actually do their job.
And I give the whole framework away for free when you subscribe to the Alley-Oop Newsletter.
With your subscription, you’ll get my book Positioning, which maps out step by step, every element you need to have in your website, and everything you need to avoid (that the typical web designers love).
You can subscribe here:
– Karl Goodman
