If you own a business, you need a website. It’s a requirement. In many cases, your business’s website is the first—and possibly even the only—interaction a customer will have with you, so the question here isn’t whether or not a website is necessary or worth the investment. That question was answered years ago, and the answer is a loud and enthusiastic “yes!”
So, since you do need a website for your business, the question becomes how you go about the process. Do it yourself using an online template? Hire a web designer? Talk to your friend’s cousin who does web design in his free time? If your only consideration is price, then all of these options may sound good. There are so many do-it-yourself options available at little to no cost (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress), and if you don’t quite trust yourself to handle it, there are plenty of freelancers with web design skills who will offer to build your website on a thin budget.
But before you get too far down any of those paths, stop for a moment. Think about the purpose of a website. Remember: Your business’s website is likely the first—and maybe the only—impression a customer will have of you and your business. Would you cut corners while building your business’s flagship store? Would you design your meeting rooms for current and prospective clients on the cheap? If the answer to those questions is a resounding “no” (and it should be), then you shouldn’t treat your website like a discount item, either.
Slick Design Isn’t Enough
When you first go to a company’s website, you immediately notice the design. A website that’s cluttered, too busy, difficult to navigate, or just plain unattractive will stand out immediately as being unprofessional. So a beautiful design should definitely be a priority for your business’s website.
But a great looking site is no longer enough to stand out, and it’s no longer enough to help you grow your business. It’s a requirement, yes, but it’s not the only requirement. You need more from your website than a pretty face. That’s where Temecula web design and digital marketing company Modmacro comes in.
We understand that your business’s website is not simply a piece of graphic art that represents your company—in other words, an “online brochure”. Rather, it’s probably the most powerful marketing tool you have, and unless you are a marketing expert yourself, you likely don’t know how to leverage that tool to its maximum potential, and a freelance web designer likely won’t either. Truly effective marketing is not surface-deep.
You need a web design company that has also has a good understanding of search engine optimization (SEO), so that when your potential customers are searching online for companies that do what you do, they find your company’s website. This involves a lot more than just adding a few keywords into your website’s copy. It involves a carefully crafted strategy that helps the popular search engines, like Google, understand what your company does and where you do business. At Modmacro, we have SEO experts on our team that stay on top of the latest best practices in SEO. Our team can also help you with online advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, and more.
Your digital marketing plan shouldn’t end with the launch of your website. You need to provide your customers with ways to find your website, so they can learn more about your company and the products or services it provides.
So beware: When you sit down with a web designer and start talking about how you want your site to look, note how they respond. If they take all of your ideas and say, “Yes! We can do that!” without offering any suggestions or ways to optimize your site, that is a red flag. That could mean one of two things: either you know as much as they do (not good), or they’re only interested in saying yes, taking your money, and sending you on your way (even worse).
A More Comprehensive Approach
As a business owner, you’ve probably heard of financial guru Dave Ramsey. He is passionate about work ethic and approaching jobs from a comprehensive, long-term perspective. In this video of his, he applies that idea to the simple task of lawn mowing. It may sound like a silly example here—after all, what could mowing lawns possibly have to do with web design—but it serves as the perfect analogy to the type of service we provide at Modmacro versus what you would get from a web designer. It’s all about execution; sometimes things that look the same on the surface are not the same at all once you dig a little deeper.
As Ramsey discusses in the video: Have you ever seen a dandelion? Their puffy tops are composed of hundreds of seeds, meaning that when the tops are disturbed, seeds disperse everywhere, causing more dandelions to take root and grow. If you have a dandelion patch in your lawn, you can go over it with a lawnmower, making it look nice and trim, but you’ve also spread seeds far and wide. In a few short months, that dandelion patch will be much larger than it originally was.
To effectively rid your lawn of dandelion weeds, you have to dig them out by their roots. It takes more time and it takes some elbow grease, but what you end up with is a lawn that is weed-free for months and maybe even years. At a quick glance, it will look the same as if you had just mowed over them, but in time, grass will grow where the weeds once were, and it will no longer be a persistent problem that you are constantly patching over.
The same concept applies to web design. As a customer browsing through websites, you may see quite a few beautifully designed sites. You may not be able to tell which sites are comprehensive, full-service marketing solutions versus ones that just happen to look nice. They may appear the same on the surface, but they are not the same on the backend, where it really matters. One is a quick fix for a company that needs a web presence, but it will likely have problems and need to be rebuilt over the years as the company grows and changes. The other is a solution that not only grows with your company, but that also helps your company grow. It is built from a strong foundation, with marketing in mind, and the “weeds” are pulled out from their roots right from the start so they never become major issues.
The best websites are built properly from the beginning, and they combine beautiful design with functionality. It’s not about having the most features or the most complex site; it’s about having the right features that serve both the business and the customer well. Some sites mainly feature products, while others tell stories about the companies they serve. Some do both. The point is, every business has different needs when it comes to their website.
The Modmacro Experience
At Modmacro, we specialize in working with small businesses. We’re local to the San Diego area, meaning many of the businesses we work with are in cities surrounding San Diego, like Temecula. Temecula has seen significant small business growth in the last decade, and believe it or not, its business-friendly laws have turned it into one of the most cost-effective cities in the Unites States to start a small business. Companies new and old looking for Temecula web design and digital marketing experts usually find us quickly because we are one of the few companies in the area that provide such a full range of services, but with an individualized boutique approach.
And although many of our clients are local to Southern California, we also work with businesses all over the country. We know that no matter where your business is located, each business is unique. We spend time getting to know you, your location, and your customers, and we don’t believe a one-size-fits-all approach to web design or digital marketing makes any sense.
Here’s how we’ve approached projects with a few of our clients:
- Fallbrook Local Locksmith, a locksmith located in Fallbrook, CA.
- Stylehawk Event Services, a company located in Southern California that handles logistics for all kinds of sporting events, seamlessly matching events with local venues.
- BM Windows, a replacement window and door company located in San Diego.
We’ve learned that one of the best ways to truly reach customers is to tell them a story and give them an experience. When customers feel connected to a business’s purpose, they’re more likely to want to take the next step. That’s one thing you’ll notice about the websites we built for the three companies above. For example, you may not immediately think of a locksmith as being a company that has a “story,” but Fallbrook Local Locksmith does! Honestly, every company does, no matter what industry they’re in. And we know that by taking the time to learn that story ourselves and then share it via the company’s website, we’re much more likely to grab potential customers’ attention and actually engage them.
This is why we treat every business individually. We have to dig in and ask questions to be able to understand your business’s purpose and goals. For us, it’s not just about web design; we look at each project from a big-picture perspective, and we know the right questions to ask so that we can better understand your business and where you want it to go.
Our first conversation may include some of the following questions:
- What are your business goals in one year? Five years? Ten years?
- What makes your company unique or different from your competitors?
- If you currently have a website, what do you like/dislike about it?
- Have you been doing any marketing? What has been working/not working?
- Who is your target audience?
We know how important your website is. From our point of view, your company’s website is the center of all the marketing action. It’s something you own (versus your social media accounts), and it is the hub from which all other marketing activity extends. Understanding your long-term goals and what kind of growth you’re looking for helps us design a site that will not only serve as a place for customers to find out more about your company, but that will also function as a critical part of the platform we use to reach new customers.
That may sound like an overwhelming task, but our boutique approach means we assess what your business’s site needs, which may end up being different than what you think you want. And you may be surprised—sometimes we end up telling clients that what they need is simpler than what they originally asked for. It’s only once we’ve gotten to know you and your business better, and once we truly understand your goals for growing your business, that we can figure out how to build a site that includes elements that will be effective in helping you reach those goals. That may be a complex site that has many pages, or it may be a simple one-page site with all of the relevant information concisely presented. Or it may end up being something in between!
The advantage to working with a full-service digital marketing company versus a web designer is that we can do all of the above. By having an award-winning team full of specialists, we are able to provide all of the design and programming you would expect from a web designer, but with the added bonus of being able to create photo presentations, videos, blogs, and branding (which can include logo design, social media integration, etc.) for your company. And because all of those services are under one roof, you end up with a cohesive marketing strategy that communicates a strong, unified message.
And of course for a website to truly drive business growth, it needs to inspire customers to take action. A beautiful site serves no purpose if customers don’t then contact you! Part of a strong marketing message includes calls to action that are simple and obvious. Often, people will visit a website and like what they see, but will be unclear about the next step. At Modmacro, we are experts in creating customized calls to action that are clear, but not sales-ey or gimmicky.
Our approach works, but don’t just take our word for it. Not only have customers responded by leaving us positive reviews and testimonials, but we have won multiple awards, and not just for web design, but also for copywriting, content marketing, logo design, blog creation, and more.
Beneath the Surface
With a truly effective website, there’s also so much more to it than the untrained eye can see. The visible content is crucial, but part of our strategy includes optimizing and monitoring your site’s backend features—all of which work to bring in leads and keep your site secure.
For example, did you know that your IP address can become “blacklisted” without you ever knowing about it? This happens frequently on shared servers. If one of the IP addresses on a server is sending out spam, the entire server can end up blocked, meaning you stop receiving leads that are coming in through your contact form. It doesn’t matter how pretty your contact page is if the leads never reach you due to a blocked IP address! We’ve developed a solution to this nasty problem, and we strongly recommend it to any business whose site we design. Learn more about this issue and our solution to it here.
We also use powerful analytics to gain insight into how your site is performing. By carefully monitoring how people are reaching your site, how long they’re spending on the various pages, and how your site ranks on Google using various search terms, we’re able to determine how to shape the written content on your site to maximize results. Trends shift over time, and so does the internet. We keep businesses’ sites current by always looking at what is and is not working. It’s the kind of ongoing service only a true partner can provide.
Beyond the Website
As a Temecula web design company, web design is an important piece of what we do, but it’s only one piece. We are true digital marketing experts, meaning we have a team of specialists who work together to create a comprehensive solution for your company’s web presence and marketing needs. We want you to have a beautiful and functional website, but as your marketing partners, the website itself is not the end goal. It’s the cornerstone of a much larger structure.
Over the years, we’ve developed relationships with other companies, and we have created additional services of our own that extend far beyond the realm of web design. Our broad and thorough approach to marketing allows us to take advantage of our vast network of options to propel your small business forward.
For example, we work with Businessing Magazine, an online publication that serves as a resource for small business owners nationwide and around the world, and it is a great platform for promoting our clients. We love talking about our clients, and there are many creative ways (such as interviews and spotlight articles) for us to use the magazine to get your company’s name out there and to share your story with Busniessing’s readers.
We are also always looking for opportunities to connect our clients with each other, as long as it’s mutually beneficial for everyone involved. When you work with us, you become part of the “Modmacro family,” and it’s incredible how often we’re able to find occasions where cross-promotion makes sense. For example, one of our clients is an architect in Long Beach, and another one of our clients is a San Diego window and door replacement company. Both business owners have talked about each other and each other’s businesses in blogs and articles, and while we at Modmacro facilitated the connection, it has also been a natural, organic fit every time they’ve done it.
Another example of a cross-promotion opportunity comes from one of our clients who owns a publishing house for small businesses and entrepreneurs. With her help, several of our clients have produced e-books, which are then promoted not only via their own websites and networks, but also the publisher’s, and also ours. It’s a winning situation for everyone.
The Difference is Clear
If you’re a new business owner or if you’re thinking about updating your business’s website, don’t hire a web designer. It’s not to knock the many talented and hardworking web designers out there. Many of them do great work, and some are truly great designers who are capable of creating beautiful sites. The point is that what you get from a digital marketing company like Modmacro is vastly different. Yes, we will design your website, but we will do so much more. And everything we do for your businesses will be with the goal of helping it grow and prosper.
As your marketing partner, we offer all of these services because we want you to be able to focus on what’s most important to you: running your business! We want to take all these tasks off your plate so you are not distracted by things you don’t need to be doing, and so you can be confident that it’s all being handled by true professionals.
That’s not to say we will take over and not involve you in marketing decisions. We want your input—in fact, we require it, especially at the beginning. We want to get to know you and your business so we can accurately assess your needs and make sure we’re always on the same page. As we move forward, we’ll meet with you regularly so that we stay up-to-date on anything that changes, and so that we can keep making the best marketing decisions possible for you.
So—if you are a business owner, know this: you need a website. Of course you do. It’s challenging to exist as a business these days without a strong online presence. But don’t sell yourself short and hire a web designer. Go the extra mile and work with a company that understands the importance of digital marketing and that knows how to do it effectively. Your business will grow faster with a strong foundation in place and with a solid, future-minded marketing plan in place. Plus, when you work with Modmacro, you can trust that your business’s marketing is in good hands, so you can keep your attention on running your business, where it belongs.
