Before I answer this question, it might be worth defining what I think a professional website designer actually is. I see a professional web designer as someone who builds websites for a living. Knows how to create the website from start to finish, doesn’t just use templates or designs already created and customises them.
The professional web designer lives and breathes websites. They know what the trends are, they know where websites have been and where they’re going to. More importantly they know the pitfalls, what to avoid when designing a website and why we do the things we do (not just “because it looks nice”). Knowing what works for users and what doesn’t is a great advantage to anyone’s business. Why have a website designed that looks great but is totally impractical to use, doesn’t make any sense when navigating the website, and then doesn’t let the user contact or interact with the company in any way. These things might seem like common sense, but I see it all too often when I look at other websites and people who have “had a go” themselves.
So, why hire a professional website designer? Well why wouldn’t you? With your website being one of the most important online marketing materials for your company, why would you not get this done professionally? By someone who knows what users want to see and what they don’t want to see on a website.
When starting up in business costs are always tight, and if you want a simple website presence then it can make sense to get a standard “off the shelf” website. As you grow as a business, you’ll want to then look to get a unique, professional website created. All companies want to stand out from the crowd, to seem to be the best solution to their customers’ requirements, so why have an “off the shelf” website? One that looks similar to everyone else’s (because it is bar the colours and a logo)? A professional web designer would create a unique website that shows off your company and its services or products.
These “off the shelf” website designs that you can buy for $50 or so. Yes they seem like great value. But, stop and think about it for a second or two. They’ve been created to appeal to many businesses, they are very generic in how they look. They only allow you to make certain changes and often restrict how parts of the website will look. They haven’t once thought about your company, why you’re different, how your customers will want to navigate your site, etc. All you end up with is a 5 or 6 out of 10 effort. Your business surely deserves a 9 or 10 out of 10 website? After all, you have to seem to be the number one choice by your customers in order to gain their custom. No-one wants to go with an “also ran” company.
If you’re interested in a professional website design from Pink Fin, please get in touch and I’ll be happy to give you a no-obligation quote or go through the website design process.
