As somebody that designs and builds websites, it is extremely frustrating to have your business represented by a badly designed website that you really don’t like.
There’s no getting away from it. I don’t like my current website. It’s better than its predecessor, but it is definitely not the finished article. I have a long list of things I don’t like about it. Some of these things are very obvious, whilst others are only obvious to those of you that know how to design and build websites.
I always assumed that I would come up with a brilliant creative idea, build it and live happily ever after. Instead I got fed up of waiting for the world’s best idea and made do with a theme that I’d already paid for. I created my website in an afternoon and got back to working on other people’s websites. That was probably five years ago. On the one hand it’s brilliant that I’ve been so busy working that I haven’t had time to work on my own site, but on the other, that’s a very long time to put up with something that should be showcasing my years of skill and expertise. It’s time to redesign my website.
My knowledge has expanded to the point that I have the skills to create whatever I want, which may be part of the problem. I don’t know what I want. I have a long list of things that I definitely don’t want, but haven’t decided on a clear vision for how I’d like my business website to look and that isn’t helped by the fact that I keep changing my mind on it’s role in my business.
Web design is so much more than making something that looks good and exists on the internet. A website is an investment. The time and money taken to create it needs to result in a measurable positive effect on your business. If your website was an employee working for your organisation, you’d definitely want to know which department it worked for? A good website has a purpose. It has a job to do. Is it there to make sales? Is it there to take bookings and manage your diary? Does it provide customer service, by allowing people to raise issues, instead of having more people on the phones? What is your website’s role in your organisation and who should it be speaking to?
I find it really easy to take my clients through these conversations, but I’ve been so busy that I haven’t taken the time to stop and make those decisions for my own company. (There are obviously much worse problems to have.) My business has developed, but my website hasn’t. The months and years have flown by and my temporary website has been sitting there, waiting for me to give it the same attention and care that I give to the websites I build for other people. It is understandable that I haven’t prioritised it. I’ve got bills to pay and other people’s businesses rely on me, but it’s definitely time that I started making changes.
I regularly redesign websites for other people, it’s time to roll my sleeves up and get to work on mine. There is information that should be available on my site that isn’t and much of the content that exists isn’t easy to find. I also have another website villagewebcompanycic.org.uk which is focused on my activities as a social enterprise. It contains all the necessary information, but is also overdue for some attention. Lots of people are stuck with websites they don’t like, but most of them don’t build websites for a living.
It’s time to start redesigning. I’m fed up of feeling embarrassed when people want to see my website. I’m tired of feeling apologetic about it. My current site is definitely not my best work and it is overdue for a change. I’m still really busy working on projects for other people, so it will be a while before you see any visible changes, but I’m definitely ready to make a start.
Watch this space.