The journey into entrepreneurship and startup life is tough enough, and building your brand might not always be top of mind.
You have to get your offering out there and create a remarkable product or service that serves a solution - all while balancing a budget. In order to do that, you need a website to showcase your story, solutions, and serve your customers.
We all start somewhere.
That’s why our designers at Chirp Media recognize that the right website solution should you set you up to scale and grow your business, without sacrificing your wallet.
Your Website Shouldn’t Have to Break the Bank
As every business starts out, a website is a key asset to having your brand become discovered and recognized amongst your customers and competition.
Unfortunately, businesses searching for a sustainable design solution often become bombarded by low-cost packages that limit their ability to scale successfully. On the other end of the spectrum, we have seen agencies pitching the promise of a well-rounded web design, which often end up costing the client more in the long run for a digital version of glorified brochure.
Another caveat your business may face when looking to design a website is the ruse of flashy features that fundamentally lack functionality to feed your bottomline. Most agencies will dictate direction and design decisions on aesthetic; not based on data.
When you decide to invest in a website, you need to keep your business’ goals top of mind. Don’t be fooled by the visual attraction of common conversion killers such as site speed-sucking sliders or excessive advertisements.
Let’s have a look at what you actually need in a website when your business starts out.
User-Friendly and Functional Design is Key For Your Customer’s Online Experience
Buyer beware: when selecting your web design partner, try not to make decisions based on fancy or flashy designs. Think of your website as your business’ online destination to educate, inform and provide value to your potential prospects.
The Customer Journey starts the minute your visitors hit your homepage. A responsible web designer should make sure that your site’s content is intentional and functional for your visitors to create a seamless Customer Experience.
You can qualify your designer by asking the real questions like:
- Does my web design have SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in mind?
- What features are my customers looking for?
- Will my website be mobile friendly?
- What tools will we use to generate leads?
- Where are our Calls-to-Action supposed to be?
At Chirp, we have tried and tested a number of solutions inside our web design to support our clients in attracting the right audience. This could be split testing, adding inline links, on page optimization, etc. We work with an integrated approach so our services provide structure to streamline a website’s Sales Funnels to serve Lead Generation.
You Can Start to Cultivate Conversions through Content Creation
Once your business finds the right website, you will want to look at what steps you can take to gain some traction and generate traffic. Not all websites are created equal. They may lack direction to drive buying decisions and encourage customers to take action on your market offering.
Working in tandem with your website, Inbound Marketing tactics like Content Creation can build brand awareness and cultivate the conversions you’re searching for.
Your brand can attract new visitors through tools like blogs, social media marketing, video, etc. This way, you can invite your audience to engage with you online with low-touch pieces that will educate and inform your users of your offerings.
Through Content Creation, you are able to develop pathways to generate Referral Traffic, Organic Search Results and build up your Social Authority to increase your website’s Search Visibility.
The best part? Content is cost-effective! Rather than investing thousands of dollars into Paid Advertising efforts, you can allocate the time to become educated and empowered to create your own content at a fraction of the cost.
We have found that our clients who have invested more time into educating themselves through our Content Creation workshops have seen a higher ROI than those who simply allocate ad dollars; which only work as long as you’re feeding the funnel.
Don’t be afraid to express your interest in Content Creation when seeking a designer that is willing to be your collaborative Partner and explore what Packages suit your business’ goals.
You Deserve a Partner and Package to Point You in the Right Direction
When working with our clients’ websites, we found that in order for a business to feel confident in their digital presence, they need a solution that drives growth beyond the web build.
We confronted the common challenges new businesses face when looking to launch a brand. What we found was it comes down to the affordability and accessibility.
We wanted to combat startup frustration of paying higher fees for a web design that was lackluster and under performing. So we decided to create a website Package that provides the foundation to set your business up for success.
Along with a complete Package to boost your Digital Performance, your business deserves a design Partner that can be there with you as you grow, to guide you with the right tools and training to transform your online presence.
What we came up with was our LaunchPad Websites.
A LaunchPad Website Will Set Your Startup for Success
Traditional website design can take 6 months to a year from start to finish. We know that sometimes when you’re starting out, you need something sooner.
Our LaunchPad Websites allow clients to have a site up in under a month, and start generating the ROI in under 3 months, so you can start putting dollars towards actionable return.
A LaunchPad Website gets you started right with:
- 5 custom adapted templates you can use to grow your website over time
- Design informed by your brand or help creating a branded design
- 3 Content Creation workshops to help you understand how to grow your content to attract and convert new visitors
- Social media set up and integration
- 1 year of hosting
Get your business off the ‘ground’ with your own LaunchPad Site. Click below to get into orbit!
Article by Alison Masniuk
Alison Masniuk is a Digital Content and Communications specialist based in Calgary, Alberta. Alison is passionate about social media and technology, always looking how to communicate a brand's story through original content and strategy right from ideation to execution. She has a professional background in Human Resource Management, Public Relations, and Digital Marketing.
