Three Ways Your DIY Website is Costing You Money
Your DIY website is making you work harder than you have to.
Most websites are confusing. Visitors don’t know what you're offering or how to get what they want from you because most DIY sites—and even some that were professionally designed—weren’t designed with a clear, intentional strategy in mind.
And that costs you money.
Confused people don’t buy, subscribe, or stick around on websites that don’t give them a clear path toward what they want.
In this post, I’ll explain the three biggest mistakes I see on websites and how to address them on your own site.
Mistake #1: Your website isn’t designed with your customer’s goals in mind.
Most websites are like an online brochure. They’re a 2-dimensional array of information that tells people what you do.
This doesn’t work because brochures are designed to promote and inform, not sell.
A website that splatters information across a bunch of different pages robs your visitor of what could otherwise be a dynamic, customized experience.
When someone lands on your site, they’re seeking a solution to their problem (hopefully, your solution, or your SEO and social media strategies might need some work) but they’re going to have some questions before they hire you or buy your thing.
Questions like, Who are you? What makes you qualified? How well do you understand them? Is your solution really for them? Have you done this for others with great results?
A website that answers these questions takes your visitor down a path toward your solution. It gives people a dynamic experience, a journey through your content that doesn’t feel like work to them.
A Website that Sells is Directive
Your website is 3D, not 2D. Take your visitors on a journey toward your solution to their problem.
A great website guides people through your site as it educates and sells them what you do.
If you haven’t mapped that out for your visitors, you’re letting them flounder around your site, giving them decision fatigue and leaving them confused. This sucks because …
Confused People Don’t Buy
But guided people do!
Understanding your customer's journey through your site can have a huge impact on your conversion rate. If you understand what they are looking for, you can edit your message at each point along their journey through your site.
This helps them buy your stuff, schedule discovery calls, or otherwise do what you want them to do without you ever having to talk with them, which creates more time you have in your calendar and more money in your bank account.
Want more time to serve your clients? Done. Want more money to invest in that software you’ve wanted? Done. Just want a breather during your workday that’s otherwise filled with sales calls, networking events, or trying to get just one more person into your program? Done.
Now, what do you want to do with that extra time and energy?
Most DIY sites miss this opportunity because they overwhelm people with too many options.
Visitors get a bunch of information they have to wade around in, and many of them don’t find what they are looking for.
This makes your site a confusing, frustrating experience for them and the back button is just too close for them to put up with that.
When people don’t know where to go, you lose sales and subscribers.
The Fix: Give People What They’re Looking For.
To build a great website, consider what your visitors want and guide them through a clear journey toward it. (And if your work isn’t right for them, that should also be immediately clear so they can go back to their search, social media feed, or whatever they were doing before they found you.)
Think about their state of mind and level of awareness of the problem and your solution. What do they want to know when they first land on your site?
Then, consider what they need to know next. And what about after that?
Walk them through your site with content and clear calls to action in a way that gives them both what they want and what they’re ready to hear.
No one knows your ideal clients like you do. Use that knowledge to give them a fantastic experience on your site.
Remember, you can’t expect visitors to be inspired to act on their own when your content and design aren’t persuasive, clear, and directive.
If you want a website that sells, make it easy and obvious for your ideal clients to do what you want them to do (because that’s what they want to do, too.)
But this step can be a crucial problem for people because too often…
Mistake #2: You don’t know what you want your website to do.
Pretty much everyone wants more cash flow, leads, sales, SEO traffic, and/or brand recognition, but few business owners focus on exactly what their business needs right now.
If you try to accomplish everything at once you miss out on the support of a 24/7 machine to help you accomplish the one thing you need the most right now.
The Fix: You Need One Goal
Make your website a productivity machine by giving it just one, clear goal at a time.
In order to be effective, your website needs one main goal so the layout and copy can be designed to get that done. Then, as your business grows and your goals change, a well-built website can adapt with subtle but focused changes.
For example, if you want to build your list right now (because you’re ramping up to launch a thing), you’ll want to have lots of compelling content (that establishes your expertise and likeability) with calls to action directing them to subscribe.
Simply having one email signup on your homepage, or buried in the footer, isn’t going to cut it.
It’s Okay to Change It Up
Choose one clear goal now, and then change it in six months when your business needs different things.
Understanding what you want from your business right now helps you design a site that will get that done, while still being flexible enough to change and grow with you as your business expands, which matters because …
3. You’re serious about growing your business.
A DIY or low-cost site is fine when you’re just starting out. At that point, your primary business strategy is to get some solid experience in what you do, learn more about your ideal clients, and spread the word to friends and family.
But as your business grows and gets more complex, you’ll have less time and greater draws on your energy and creativity. That can add up if you don’t have systems in place to support you.
You’ve Proven Your Concept, Now It’s Time to Expand
When that happens, you need a website that works for you.
Your website can attract visitors with an effective SEO strategy, build relationships with those visitors, and then convert them into sold-out programs, booked calendars, and bestselling products, 24/7.
Your website can be a salesperson, virtual assistant, customer service rep, and general manager all in one that never needs a vacation, never sleeps, and never takes a day off.
Your website can be the best employee you’ve ever had.
You don’t have to do it all. Use your site for support! Get it to help, now.
Websites are a Huge, Untapped Resource
Most websites aren’t working for their businesses.
They’re sitting out there on the internet like a discarded promotional pen It’s got some good information on it, but really, is anyone paying attention to it?
With a website like that, you’re not only missing out on opportunities and sales, you’re burning the energy and time that you need for creativity and operations.
Spinning your wheels on the latest marketing strategy or wasting time with tech or admin issues that should be automated isn’t just costing you money and leads, it’s costing you time and energy.
That costs you opportunities and your next big idea.
The Fix: Get Strategic with Your Website
A well-designed and built website can free up time and energy. It can increase sales and decrease administrative and tech headaches. It can make your sales process more efficient, and improve your customers’ experience.
If you want to make the most of your time and energy, and if you’re ready for more support in your business, then it’s time to upgrade your DIY site to a clear, focused site that grows your business and sells more of your stuff.
