You get what you pay for. We’ve all heard it and we’ve all fallen victim to a purchase that was a little too good to be true. Well, you get what you pay for when it comes to web development, too.
A website is a necessity regardless of the industry, service, or product that your business is providing, and some business owners try to save a few bucks on web development and it shows!
Most potential customers peek at a business’s online presence before doing anything else. Whether they’re looking for reviews, a menu, and/or key information, a poorly designed or slowly loading website is not an ideal first impression.
Enlisting the help of the cheapest website developer you can find (you know, the too good to be true kind) or attempting to build it yourself on a quick and easy online editor can be tempting, but these types of quick fixes can often be detrimental to your brand.
These sites are often cluttered or slow and may not properly convey your business’ message. Visitors may not be able to find the site at all due to a lack of focus on search engine optimization in both the backend and user-facing content. And, let’s not even talk about its vulnerability to hackers, inaccessibility, or lack of attention to privacy standards that can lead to lawsuits. Yikes!
Be sure customers are easily finding what they are looking for in an on-brand, informative, secure, and inviting fashion when visiting your website. To perform well and deliver clear messaging, websites should be strategically designed and built on a strong infrastructure. There is more to a thriving website than you think and to do it right, business owners must invest in their website’s development. The alternative could be catastrophic.
From upgrading outdated and non-mobile friendly sites to starting from scratch and building customized features on easily updated content management systems and hard-coded sites, LKF has done it all and we know how to do it right.
Our team was carefully designed – much like the websites we build – to include strategic specialists in various fields, including accessibility, usability, search engine optimization, user interface design, content, programming, and security. With 111 years of collective experience, our web team strategically plans each element to provide the best suited, holistic approach for each website.
It all starts with our discovery process. This process is used to determine the overall goals, messages, and concepts of the website. Preparation is crucial as the more emphasis that is placed on the planning of the website, the better the finished product will be.
After the discovery is completed, we dive into the design and aesthetics, planning for optimal usability and the cleanest layout. LKF takes great care to design sites that are welcoming for target audiences but also usable for individuals with disabilities, always complying with Priority Level 1 of the ADA standards.
Additionally, with the proliferation of mobile and tablet device usage, LKF designs using the responsive web development method enabling sites to generate content in a layout that effectively uses the space provided by different devices. This makes certain that no matter the method the website is accessed, it will provide frustration-free navigation.
After the design and layout are established, we turn to content. LKF has talented wordsmiths on staff that can spin up quality copy or give your existing content a refresh. The content phase includes the strategic placement of keywords in order to promote search engine optimization (SEO) and reach a wider audience.
SEO is often overlooked or missed with cheap and DIY websites. Instead, LKF pairs informative and engaging content with carefully planned domain names, page titles, and directory registrations to achieve top organic search rankings.
At LKF, our job isn’t done once the website is launched. When investing in your online presence, continued maintenance contributes to the longevity and overall health of the website. While often overlooked with cut-rate web quotes, this attention to detail is a necessity. Working with a web partner who won’t vanish after the site is up and running also protects the overall cost of your website by protecting the initial investment.
Be sure to enlist the help of experts that can offer quality hosting to compliment quality design. LKF provides peace of mind by ensuring that your site will run consistently in a highly secured environment. Our team is heavily focused on security as virtual threats are more prevalent than ever.
Lastly, your website should evolve with your organization and needs to be continuously manicured. LKF is available to provide tracking and interpretation of user traffic and make recommendations to improve traffic and broaden the website’s online reach.
A well-done, highly functioning website will send the right message to your visitors, but a flawed or dated design will only damage your brand and visitor’s perception of your business. Be sure that your business’ online presence puts you at the head of the class and drives customers to action.
If you are looking for a brand-new website or just a nip/tuck to your current online presence, LKF Marketing serves as your partner from design to implementation, and thereafter. A true holistic marketing partner with your best interest in mind, we believe that websites are an investment. Make the right one!
