Biggest Mistakes of DIY Websites

To get things done right, we always seem to get them wrong – first !

It’s how we learn of course, making mistakes and learning from them and lets face it, we have all watched those DIY programs and thought – “Hey ! I can do that, it’s easy?”.
First it was the likes of HOMEBASE, B&Q, IKEA etc. etc. etc..
But now it seems to have extended to every area of our lives, we seem to think that if we do it ourselves,

it will save me so much money by not getting a professional to do it for me.
-Me

To DIY or not to DIY, that is the question

Now DIY might be great for putting up that shelf, changing the air filter in the car or painting a door.
Now for the small part I agree with that but for the large part I don’t and my reason are this-

• Would you buy a Porsche car and then wash it with a “Brillo” pad?
• Would you build a pool and not grout the tiles?
• Would you build yourself a garage without measuring your car?

These all sound very silly, I know, but they are basically an analogy of how people approach their business website.
Why would you project all your conceivable energy and expense into building an amazing business and allow it to be projected to the WORLD on the internet as a mediocre company with no sales funnel, using pix-elated images out of context to the content, spend all your costly time trying to make it look professional but miss out on the (lets call this list “The Crucials”)

• CTA (Call to Action)
• The demographic they are appealing too
• Website load times, backlinks, SEO, responsiveness, xml-sitemaps, UX (User Experience).
• Using engaging content/context that funnels perspective clients to your desired goal
• Scaling all your images that you upload so they wont slow your site right down leaving your clients twiddling their fingers or better still looking elsewhere.
• The cautious use of font pairing, not overloading on H1 tags without knowing the implications, allowing for designated whitespace to minimize eyestrain for your client.
• And what happens when you need to start to use code and the whole things disappears through a simple error, the dreaded “WHITE SCREEN OF DEATH”. on a side note a lot of designers wont touch or fix other peoples mess’s, if they do they will almost definitely charge you handsomely for it.
• Lets not forget the “Golden Ratio” the Fibonacci Sequence, perfectly described here
• Fashion – Yes in web design, trends as we like to call them, tell your clients that you are upto date with your business, what would an outdated website tell your customers about you?

But then the usual response to the above is……

Oh, I’m gonna use one of those “Drag and Drop thingy Website Builders”

The drag and drop……….YUK……
Code Bloat at its worst and that is the best part of it…
Lets imagine for a minute or two five, you have just started a business, you have projected its turnover to be in 5 years over 200K-Per Annum providing a stable income for your family, you have worked hard at it, it is in your area/niche of expertise, you had a signage creator make your sign and it stands aloft your business entry, you polish it every day projecting your pride in what you do. The day has arrived and you want to take your business to the WorldWideWeb, you decide to make the website yourself.
You choose a drag and drop, you are oblivious to the “Crucials” and you wonder why you even bothered, your “Bounce” rate is through the roof, you are getting no interest at all from your website, your lack lustre sales funnel is blocked, yet it all looks “Pretty”, well pretty is good but…….

Design is imperative.

When done right, it alters consumer perceptions, provides relevance, it’s the cornerstone for credibility, enhances professionalism, and creates trust with your audience — Yes it has to be pretty but pretty does not mean designed, a designed website aids your client in finding the solution to their problem, no design and all you have is an internet “Dust Bunny” so it must actually work to engage emotions towards an action to increase sales.

There is so much more that goes into designing and building a functional, sales projected website, it is a tool that will work for you 24/7, it’s more than simply dragging a pretty little picture into a blank page.
The Internet is crucial for Business, Internet usage has increased incrementally, it’s imperative that your business is seen and projected professionally too.

DIY it’s not all bad

They have their place, they do what say they will do, but you get what you pay for at the end of the day.
I will make this promise to you, if you don’t use a DIY Website builder, I promise you, I wont perform my own appendectomy, fly the plane myself for our family holiday, drill for my own oil in Saudi, perform my own cremation?????

A GREAT BUSINESS DESERVES A GREAT WEBSITE