A lousy or poorly designed website can cost you ... and sales. Not to mention, a boatload of money. As you read every word of this article, you'll find 5 ... ... to ask any prospec
A lousy or poorly designed website can cost you credibility
and sales. Not to mention, a boatload of money. As you
read every word of this article, you'll find 5 important
questions to ask any prospective web designer. The answers
to these questions can make the difference between whether
you make money or lose it.
Question #1: "Do You Even Care About What I Sell?"
Have you ever visited a website and couldn't figure out what
the heck they were selling? I have – for a second or two.
Then I leave! I'm certain you've had the same experience.
A lot of web designers force you to cram your sales message
into a limited amount of space, just so they can show off
their fancy graphic designs.
They do this because they don't give a rat’s rump about what
you sell. Your sales message should take center stage. Not
play second fiddle.
If your website's purpose isn't immediately crystal clear to
your prospects, you're losing sales.
Question #2: "What Do You Know About Website Usability?"
Have you ever visited a website and then clicked around like
a senseless monkey, trying to find something as simple as a
product or contact address?
When prospects visit your site, they shouldn't feel like
they're on an Easter egg hunt. If they do, they'll leave and
cost you a sale.
Question #3: "I Only Have One Product, So How Many Web Pages
Should I Get?"
I'm sure this has happened to you before. You visit a
website and see a lot of links. You click on one. Then
another. And another. Before you know it, you're on a
completely different website.
If a web designer says you need more than 1 page for a
single-product site, most of the time they're out to take
you to the cleaners.
The more pages you have, the more links you need. Simply
put: links create distractions. And distractions kill sales.
That's why I usually recommend only 1 page for a
single-product website. You can fit all of the important
information on one page. Sure, I could make more money
selling you an "About Us" page, a "Contact Us" page, a
"Recommended Links" page, etc. but that doesn't help you
sell.
Instead of additional web pages, I recommend pop-up windows.
Not the annoying pop-ups that appear without your
permission, but only the ones that appear when you click on
a link.
Simply because after you close out a pop-up window, you're
still on the main sales page. That way, your prospects have
to see your sales message. With too many web pages, you may
lose your prospect's attention. Or worse. You might send
them to another company's website!
Question #4: "Do You Think I Should Have Flash Animations?"
Look, I have customers that ask me all the time about
whether they should have fancy Flash animations. (In case
you didn't know, Flash animations are short movies that
designers use to impress you with.) Usually, customers get
this "smart" idea from other designers they've contacted.
Fancy animations don't make money. At least not for you!
They only make money for your web designer.
Think about it. Most people don't have high-speed
connections. So when they get to your website and an
irritating animation appears, they just throw their hands in
the air and go elsewhere. That means you just lost out on a
possible sale.
Question #5: "Will You Turn My Website Into A Work Of Art?"
A website shouldn't showcase your web designer's talents.
Instead, it should showcase your product and sales message.
If you want to make money, you need to choose a web designer
who won't drown your product and sales message in a sea of
graphics.
Conclusion
A website design shouldn’t overwhelm your prospects with
fancy animations, sounds, or images. Or look like a work of
art or an Easter egg hunt.
But your website should have a professional look and feel.
It should also be easy to navigate and put your sales
message in the center stage. It should be designed to
sell.
