You may have noticed that “Websites in a Day” are kind of a big thing lately. Cool right?
As you know, we founded the Design in a Day™ method many years ago as a productized service. And to be honest, it’s exciting to see how popular this concept is for designers and clients alike. This means that fast, efficient design is getting more widely accepted and we have fewer people balking at the concept.
If more people embrace actually launching instead of a tedious, endless process to launch a Squarespace or WordPress website, we all win!
So why is launching a website quickly better?
We’ve seen way too many clients’ phenomenal ideas stay hidden because they get bogged down in perfectionism, discomfort with putting themselves out in the world, and with—in the case of larger organizations—stuck in “design by committee” mode, which doesn’t help anyone move forward with intention.
Websites are very ephemeral—you can tweak them as you get more information, understand you product-market fit, and get crystal clear on your audience’s big dreams and scary problems. Ultimately, a website is a tool for supporting your mission (yes, you need a mission) and getting delayed by the thief of joy (perfectionism) will only keep you from advancing your mission. One of my mentors said “Launch it ugly,” and while I wouldn’t go that far (say no to ugly), launching simply and refining is the right path forward.
Here’s the other thing: Dedicating too much time to your website design (some people expect to spent six months or more) keeps you from marketing.
Marketing isn’t a dirty word—it’s critical to being competitive in the noisy world of the internet.
Once you have a killer website that achieves your business goals, then it’s time to start marketing strategically and building your authority (this is a big concept, but basically authority means thought leadership laser focused on impact as a goal) online. When we eavesdrop on chatter online (don’t do this in your industry? you should!), we see over and over again that people say their websites “didn’t work” or “nothing happened” after they launched. That’s because they didn’t focus their energies on this effort once their website was in place.
The internet isn’t an “if you build it, they will come” scenario, unfortunately.
Our advice? Set no more than three priority outcomes—not outputs—you want to achieve with your new website and focus on these. Here are some examples to get you started:
- Decrease bounce rate and get more people exploring our thought leadership
- Increase qualified leads through the website
- Increase lead magnet downloads
- Decrease unqualified sales calls
- Increase sales of our low cost info-product
- Increase white paper downloads
- Increase sustaining donor contribution numbers
- Improve brand cohesion so we’re instantly recognizable
- Appeal to a more upscale reader
Do you see how these are very specific outcomes-based goals? We’re not talking “Slider on the about page.” (That’s an output that may or may not move the needle on any of these outcomes.)
So, what do we—the original speedy website team—think about the rise of websites done in a day? We think any increase in efficiencies in design are a win! (Because then the real work starts.)
Do you need help setting your priorities so you can just get launched and start marketing? Book a 1:1 with Sarah!
& Our Favorite Portland Coffee Shops