It takes a lot of thought to organize a multi-page marketing message so that it
- appeals to the general audience that might show up at the home page
- answer the critical questions for each of a number of different audience segments
- attracts and converts those audience segments via organic search, PPC advertising, and other means
Never Let ‘Em See You Sweat
The best sites make it look easy because they’ve been designed to be incredibly easy for visitors to use. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean it really was easy. In fact, the best sites are almost always the result of deep thought and intense teamwork to consider all angles. Message and copywriting are as critical as technology and graphic design.
And that’s why DIY platforms and “website in a minute” platforms often fail. The tools themselves aren’t necessarily flawed; the process is. A single person sitting down to create a website with a new-to-them tool is always going to be at least partly focused on “how do I” questions rather than the more important “why am I” issues that drive marketing performance.
The Power of Perspective
What’s lacking is the back-and-forth, the probing questions, and the challenging of assumptions that can make for tense and difficult conversations but that when resolved, lead to elegance and effectiveness.
Sure, that process can also lead to design-by-committee disasters where compromise ruled the day. You have to guard against that possibility. But the value of varied perspectives in building a website for digital marketing can’t be understated.
All this is a long way of saying that there’s nothing wrong with using an inexpensive and easily-maintained platform like Wix or Squarespace, as long as you’re willing to invest in the planning process to ensure your website will deliver the results you need it to.
Investment Options
You can invest your own time or pay for the time of an expert team, depending on what suits your situation better. Just don’t expect to cut this particular corner and still create the marketing magic that is the combination of great user experience and effective messaging.
