In one of the first clients we had, we remembered struggling, a lot.
She wanted everything to be perfect.
There had to be alignments for this page, the proper font on the other page, and it came to a point where we were nearly throwing everything, save the kitchen sink, at our developers, to get them to do what she wanted.
That taught us something valuable about how to design.
It’s first about you, the client
We get it. When you first start a website, you want it to be mean, lean, and beautiful.
Not something that looks like it’s just off the mill.
But let’s be honest.
Unless you have $10,000 to spend on a website, you’re not going to get a custom built, beautiful website.
You’re going to get something that looks pretty average, but here’s the thing..
It’s functional.
What problem does your site solve?
The question you should be asking is,
Does your site solve the problem?
There are three main functions of websites.
- To get more customers (if you’re for example, an e-commerce or a SAAS company)
- To communicate your offering and show credibility (trust me, it’s much more legit having your private domain than a ABC.wixsite.com)
- To get traffic (for those who are media sites)
And if you don’t know what problem your business is solving, there’s no point worrying about what site you’re going to get.
Because it’s not going to be something people pay for.
Profitable sites solve problems.
Unprofitable sites suck resources, and return little back.
We know, because we’ve done sites that have returned us no money.
We’re not looking at those today. Instead, we look at those that have worked, and how they have worked, and how we think you can do yours better.
Myths you should know
But before that, you should know some myths that web development agencies often don’t tell you about.
A website won’t fix your sales problem
If you have no sales, making your website more fancy is not going to make it better for you.
If you’ve not solved your product market fit problem, you won’t find the answer in a nicer website.
In one of our earliest clients, they were developing a new noodle product.
Their noodles didn’t taste great.
When they initially commissioned us to redo their website, and improve their digital marketing, we took it on because…
We had no business.
We didn’t know whether their noodles were even good.
And when we tried their noodles, we slowly realised it wasn’t great. It was bland.
We later went on to try everything we knew, but we still struggled to sustain the initial gains we got.
Despite focusing on long-tail search engine optimisation, and PR, we couldn’t make a sustainable dent.
That’s the first thing you need to know. If you’ve not solved for product market fit, which we define as customers readily buying your product, at margins you can reliably survive at.
A jazzy website doesn’t get you more sales
My friend, who runs multiple million-dollar businesses, has sold from websites that look simple, but which adequately address the customer need.
On the other hand, fancy websites haven’t necessarily sold great in terms of products.
So it’s not about how nice the website looks, but how good it is at solving the customer problem.
Let’s take a look at The Durian Bakery, for example, one of my friend’s sites.
Above the fold, you immediately see the call to action.
To buy, or to buy more.
There’s no other choice.
Scroll further below and you’d see customer testimonials that make you think,
oh this company is legit.
Then comes their bundles.
If you don’t believe me, believe their revenues. For a shop like that, they quickly hit 6-figure revenues in a single year.
Amazing?
You can do that too.
Let’s look at how you should think about your design then.
Start with the problem statement
For all the sites we’ve designed, we’ve always started from the problem statement. Each time we’ve not done that well, we’ve ended up failing badly.
Let’s look at an example of something that was done well.
Maitri School – a non profit that was clear that its site would be used to communicate with parents
We worked with Maitri School, a special education school in Singapore, to build their website, from scratch.
Their principal came up with this catchphrase, bringing out the star in every child.
And that quickly captured the value they provide to students.
If you want to build a website, you need to be clear:
- What the problem you’re solving is,
- How you solve that problem
- How you solve that problem in a unique way
Once you know these 3 core elements, you’re going to have a clear website.
Love on Ukraine – strong communication of what they do
Again, no fancy website here, but they managed to raise $2.5 million in 5 months.
Great, considering the amount of resources they used… which was close to $0.
Make it simple and functional, and make it fast
Forget the agencies that sell you fancy websites, because you won’t get more sales just by having a fancy website. Instead, make a website that’s clear about communicating the problem you solve, and how you solve it.
And make sure people know how to buy.
You will be on your way to a lasting business, that way.
Of course, you can also book us to do your website, for $2400 spread over 3 months.
I think we’re great, and I think you’ll know why once you try us.