Although it is impossible to know for definitely
how many websites there are in total, recent surveys carried out by research
companies have suggested that in October 2012 there were approximately 625
million websites in the world. The internet has become an ingrained presence in
our day to day lives - everyone and their mothers seem to have their own
website or blog. As a result of this proliferation of 'internet presence' there
are a multitude of companies offering web design services to businesses and
individuals alike. Is it worth engaging the services of a professional to
design and develop your website? Does it make sense to involve a web-designer
in something that can easily be done for free? A quick search for 'free website
templates' will bring up hundreds of websites offering the tools for you to
create and design your own website. This is a great option if you want a
personal website or blog that you can share with family and friends. However,
if you are aiming to start a business or you already run one - using free
design tools and a do-it-yourself attitude is usually not the best option.
Some businesses simply think about their
website as an advert. They see the website as a placeholder for the business
itself and think that a website with sparse content and a few pages will do the
trick. It won't. The internet has become one of the most important arenas for
advertising your business, connecting with your customers and building your
reputation. As a result your website has become the equivalent of your
shop-front. In real life you wouldn't want your shop to be too cluttered,
completely empty, poorly decorated or difficult to look around, so why let your
website have these failings? In a similar vein, it is unlikely that you would
build and design your shop from the ground up by yourself, so why do the same
with your website?
Being able to stand out from the crowd is
becoming increasingly important for business websites. Much like in real life
where you have to get noticed from the sea of competitors, the same can be said
for your website. Attracting more traffic to your website can mean more
potential customers and therefore more business. This is an area that a
professional web designer can help you with. Rather than having the same
website template that can be seen on a number of different websites, a web
designer can help you to create a unique website that can attract new traffic
and new customers. Rather than making them hit the back button as soon as they
land on your homepage, a unique and carefully thought-out design can help draw people
in.
Building a website takes time. Your audience
has become more tech savvy and will know a shoddily put together website when
they see it. You may be able to build and design a basic website yourself but
more often than not a lack of experience will show. A badly designed website
will often do more harm than good. Think of your website as an investment,
putting time and money into is likely to give you a return of more business in
the long run. Hiring a professional to design your website will give you more
time to concentrate on actually running the business and will take some of the
weight off your shoulders.
A website that is professionally designed and
built will often offer more functionality than a self-build will. Many people
do not often consider that a website will look different in other browsers and
that it may not even function in certain browsers. Using the services of a web
designer will give you a site that has uniformity across different web
browsers. A professional service may also be able to build in extra features
that you may not have previously considered. Being able to tie in social media
to your website can be very important and a web design company will be able to
help you do this effectively. Having a professionally designed website will
also give scalability, a well-designed website should be able to grow as the
needs of your business change and develop.
Using a web design company can also bring a
certain amount of expertise and knowledge about other areas. It is all very
well to have a nicely designed website, but if it does not appear in the search
results a great deal of your potential audience will never see it. A web design
company will often be able to advise you on search engine optimisation or
pay-per-click campaigns that will help to bring in more traffic and increase
awareness of your business. Using the services of a web designer is an option
that should be considered as it can give you a professional website that can
draw in business and help you stand out from your competition. Your ultimate
goal should be to provide the best customer or user experience possible and a
web designer will help you to achieve this goal.
Source ::ezinearticles.com
