Let’s be honest. Not every designer is the same. Not every solution for a client is the same. But does that mean that clients should put up with designs that are crap? I think not. As designers, it is our responsibility to leave the world looking a little prettier than we found it. If you can’t do that then you shouldn’t be calling yourself a designer.
Getting with the times
I currently live in a small city on the East Coast of Canada. It’s a place that likes to hold on to their traditions and a way of life that expands well past my lifespan. I am sad to say that this will probably be the last place in the world still using IE6 and launching the web through dialup connections. But this doesn’t mean that local designers should be offering up crap work that on launch is already dated and not compliant with W3C standards. This is an opportunity for local designers to step up and show that we can be as great as San Francisco and New York. Change is scary and I understand that. I’ve changed jobs, uprooted my entire life to chase dreams and opportunities. Trust me, every time a changes happens I get scared. Terrified really. But the results have been rewarding and that’s what getting your company online with a quality strategy will do as well.
I listen to friends talk about the companies they work at and the lack of ambition these companies have at being online. I, often, offer my opinion that this is a huge mistake for any company. You don’t need some crazy site with all the bells and whistles known to mankind. A company needs a focused site that communicates their business to their clients. Sometimes, this means just creating a simple one-page site. Regardless of your business model, people are trying to look you up online. You can argue that “we have our listing on yellowpages.ca” and my response is congrats – You’ve made the first step. But that’s not enough to drive traffic to your store or get people to make a phone call.
I’ve got a phone number
People are interested in knowing who is behind that phone number. Showing faces on a site has proven to convert potential users into, at the very least, making a phone call to find out more about you. Adding friendly inviting copy takes the formality of big scary corporation out of the equation. This doesn’t mean talking in slang or losing your corporate voice that you’ve spent years creating. It’s about turning that elevator pitch into something people are willing to listen to.
Sounds pretty easy right? It’s unfortunately not. This is why hiring a professional designer is an important step into building a long lasting and strong web presence. Your nephew might own a Mac and can publish a website for you, but he won’t be looking at the longevity of your business or present a method to converting people browsing your content into customers.
What’s the cost?
This comes down to payment. So often I hear “Woo…it’s going to cost me what for a site?” I say “yes it is” and I’m confident in my pricing because I’m a professional who is offering clients the ability to build on their business. The largest part of a designers job is not the colors, fonts, or images. It’s the strategy and the messaging that goes into the work. It’s the invisible elements that you may not see, but will gain value from with phone calls, emails and foot traffic in to a store.
If the upfront costs scare you, then you should push that aside. It’s like getting a new customer. It costs more to acquire that individual than it does to maintain the relationship. This is the same for getting yourself started on the web, especially getting it done right. Most agencies will charge a company any where from $20,000 and up. But a professional freelance designer will charge between $5,000 to $15,000, depending on the scope of the project. The reason for the difference is the overhead costs. If you don’t mind having a dedicated Account team and Design team focused on your needs then paying the extra amount is a great idea. The quality will be the same. The only difference is you’ll deal with a team rather than an individual.
No one looks my company up online
Every company needs a web presence. The argument of the web being a fad or that your customers don’t use the web to look for your services is BS. And if you truly believe that, I feel really bad for you. Please contact me right now, we need to talk or do some market research. With the introduction of smart phones and tablets, people are browsing and searching for information through the web most so than ever before. This isn’t limited to just the Gen Y demographic. It’s everyone. Think of yourself. What do you do to find information? Why would your customers be any different?
You might thinking “well then I can hire any professional designer I come across”. You definitely can’t. You should be very very careful with hiring a designer. It’s like hiring an employee, you want someone who shares your values and perspectives. Like I said, there is a lot of crap out there. Browse websites like dribbble.com, ask friends who own companies to find out who they’ve used, see who is speaking at conferences or blogging in your local area. This is the best way to find a professional that will help you create value for your company rather than just wasting your money by just throwing a site up. Don’t ever worry about hurting a professional designers feelings. If we were worried about getting criticisms or critiques then we would have picked a career that didn’t hurt so much like bullfighting.
Conclusion
Designers, it is our responsibility to treat clients professionally and offer solutions to their communication problems that help them add value. If you can’t do that then you need to step it up or pass the client along to someone who can. But don’t offer them crap. To the companies out there, don’t put up with crap. You know a beautiful piece of art when you see it and you know when something is adding value so don’t throw your money away just because it’s your nephew and you think it’s good enough. You take pride in your business so research who can help you push that value on to the web.
