You may or may not know this, but I own a travel agency with my dad in Brazil. When I started working with him a bit over two years ago, the company's website was outdated. Promotions either did not exist or were valid years ago.
It did not work for the company or our clients. The most important bits of information were out of reach, and it did not serve any particular purpose.
Along with that, it had way too much information. No one would click on our website to check the weather. They would go directly to weather.com to do that.
We also did not have control over the design and what was published. When I called the company that had created the website, I became less and less enthused with their services. I had to pay an insane amount of money to change the site’s appearance, and even more every time I wanted to customize the design or even simply change the text.
Worst of all, it was just sitting there in cyberspace and no one really paid attention to it. Instead of helping people, we were confusing them even further.
That is when I set off on a mission to change the website. I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I thought to myself: Why couldn’t I create my own website from scratch? What was stopping me?
Like many of you, I did not know where to start or even how to do it. I had absolutely no technical knowledge or written a line of code in my life.
Fast forward to a few months from that enlightening moment, and the new, custom-created website was live! If you have any doubt that it is doable, I am living proof that it is totally possible to create a website yourself without so-called technical knowledge or depending on a professional designer. As you may have guessed, I used Wix, a do-it-yourself, easy-to-use website creation platform, to do that.
So what exactly did I do?
The new website has been live for around a year and a half now. Watch the video below or keep reading to see the 5 main things that have been changed.
1. First of all, and most importantly, I can make changes to the website whenever I please and when inspiration strikes. I pay a one-time yearly fee of just $150 and can add or remove text, images, links, buttons, and more, whenever I want. Just so you have a point of comparison, with Wix, I reduced website design costs by over 80%,
2. It has a streamlined and modern appearance. Having tons of different links in the navigation bar is way too much, and makes the user experience overwhelming and exhausting. I prioritized the most important bits of information, and put them front and center, along with the logo. The simpler, the better.
3. It has a tagline. I have written an entire blog post about the importance of having a tagline on your homepage. A tagline shows your site’s visitors in 5 seconds or less whether or not they are in the right place. How? By telling them who you are and what you do. That way, they know whether to stay or run.
4. It connects to social media and an e-mail marketing platform. The purpose of this website is to establish me as an expert in my field, rather than exponentially build my e-mail list (though that is also important). Even so, there are e-mail opt-in forms and links to my company’s social media accounts to keep the conversation going even after a visitor leaves the site.
5. It has a clear path for people to follow. Right from the homepage, it is easy to find exactly what you are looking for. Also, certain pages connect to others, to build upon the last bit of information you received. For instance, after you finish reading the ‘about us’ page, you are prompted to see ‘our services’ if you want to learn more about what we do.
As I mentioned, I used Wix as my website creation platform, and have had huge success using it. With the knowledge I compiled to create this website, I then created Yes To Tech’s website (where you are right now) in just an afternoon! Talk about learning a skill that you can use again and again!
If you plan on doing a website redesign, or retiring your professional designer’s services, but have no idea where to start, I have the resource just for you. I created a Website Redesign Worksheet with action items and questions you should be asking yourself before and during a redesign.
You can download your free copy of the Website Redesign Worksheet by filling out the form below.
Now I want to hear from you. Is your website in need of a redesign? If so, what can you simplify and change to make your site’s purpose front and center? Make sure to leave your comment below.
And don’t forget to download your free Website Redesign Worksheet to help you redesign your website with ease.
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