Is your website your worst employee? Did it stop carrying it’s load long ago (or maybe it never even did what it was supposed to do!)?Most ALL my clients hire me with a plan that the photos from their brand session will end up on their website. So I’ve been talking to some web designers. I’ve been trying to uncover why a lot of creatives and coaches aren’t getting the traction they want from their website.
And most of it doesn’t have to do with the photos!
In fact, if your website was an employee of your business, you would’ve fired them by now. If your website isn’t doing its job, this might be what’s standing in your way:
👉 Your website doesn’t have an SEO plan
In a nutshell, SEO (search engine optimization) is what helps you people find you on Google and other search engines.
If you don’t have a quality SEO plan for your website, people aren’t going to find you. You could be the best at what you do — and even have a gorgeous website — but if your site doesn’t have good SEO, you could be missing out on quality inquiries.
BOMB DROP
I just found out this year that not all web designers provide SEO as part of their package! So unless you know for sure that your web designer set you up with SEO when building your site, it’s very possible you don’t even have an SEO plan for your website. Also, it’s key that you’ve continued to update your SEO (as well as tag all your photos). If you’re hiring a web designer, be sure they’re doing all the SEO things before you hire them.
👉 Your website isn’t optimized
This goes hand-in-hand with SEO. Visitors need to be able to view your site on various devices and monitors, and also load quickly. I mean if you ever had to wait minutes for a web page to load?
Also, Google often downgrades websites that are not accessible for people with disabilities. Accessibility optimization can be kind of time-consuming, and some web designers just don’t do it. So be sure to check before hiring one!
👉Your website has no strategy
Have you ever visited a website that looked kinda pretty, but the more you scrolled, the more it sounded just like every other website in that industry? Or even worse, that you don’t even really understand what they do?
You MUST have an overriding strategy behind everything on your website or it’s going to fall flat. You can certainly do this on your own if you’re a professional brand strategist. But it’s best to get an extra set of eyes to help you in this process. This is something I do when we’re developing the photos for your site…and it’s something a good web designer will also provide for you.
👉 Your website copy is not selling for you
The words on your website should do more than just tell people that your obsessed with coffee and you love your dog.
Your website copy should be proactively selling for you. So the copy on your site needs to be different from your competitors. Custom copy needs to speak just like how your brand would speak if it was a person. It also helps your site’s visitors clearly understand how you’re the best choice for them.
👉 You’re not showing your face on your website
Okay this does have to do with the photos!
Have you ever visited a website of a small business owner, and you can’t find a single photo of them? People expect to be able to at least see what you look like — it creates trust. And there’s a good chance if they can’t see you, they’re going to click away from your site.
There are so many other reasons you should have updated photos. But when it comes to your website, having a couple good, on-brand, professional photos of you is the minimum!
👉 Your website is just plain outdated
If your website is outdated — in the way it looks or functions — visitors are going to leave.
This is especially true if you’re in a creative industry, or an industry that serves other businesses.
People expect you to understand the trends. This is especially important if you serve other businesses. They need to know you keep up with the times, and that you’ll understand what they need as a business-owner.
No need to be trendy, but if it looks like your website was built 7+ years ago, there’s a problem. Website platforms change — what was used 10 years ago to build websites isn’t really functional for design or SEO.
What to do from here….
Now that you can see what might be keeping traffic from getting to your site — and why your website may not be selling for you — we can fix it!
STEP 1: Get a web designer
Depending on how big a website you need, many creative professionals can get away with THREE really well-written and designed pages (Home, Services, About), as well as some great photos . If you’ve been in business a bit, you might need 6 pages. These could include Home, Services, About, Contact, Blog, and a couple other pages like a portfolio, or even hidden pages.
A good web designer is probably much less than you’d think (around $2k and up). You can spend up to $15k on a full rebrand, but if you’re just getting started on making your website work for you, it’s perfectly OK to start small and build from there over a few years.
Also I 10/10 recommend Showit as a website platform because it’s great for design and SEO.
STEP 2: Get brand photos
In addition to a well-designed website with good copy and optimization (SEO and accessibility), you need photos!
When you book a full strategic brand session with me, I help you think through the strategy behind the photos on your site. I’ll also work alongside your web designer to create images that will truly speak to your audience and help your website do its job!
Do you need a web designer? Here’s a few that I love! They all design in the Showit platform because it’s what I personally recommend for creative businesses. Plus it’s ideal for those who really want to showcase that they’re on the front end of being cool. 😎 #kiddingnotkidding, Showit really is great.
Emily Foster Creative: Emily’s created special pricing packages if you book me as your brand photographer!
