Nothing personal, but it’s true…. Your website was probably an afterthought. The business next door had one, the business across the country you admired had one, and your cousin’s next door neighbor’s kid could build you one for a few hundred bucks…maybe even trade for a pair of cool sunglasses. Your website sucks, because you put 30 minutes of thought into what is now the main calling card for your business.
The truth hurts. Your website should be something you are proud of, not ashamed of. When 75% of consumers today check out a business online before stepping foot into their business, having anything less than a good website is just shooting yourself in the foot. If you have eyewear in showcases that haven’t been moved in years, they are most likely caked with dust…the same can be said of your website. If it too hasn’t been updated in years, then it is as dated as those old glasses, and just as likely to make a sale.
Yet, city after city, practice after practice, store after store, have websites that truly suck. How can you talk about carrying the finest name brand designer eyewear, the most technologically advanced customized optics, hiring the best trained staff of opticans, or giving the most complete and comprehensive eye exams in the tri-state area and have a website that looks and acts like it was built by Mrs. Schmedrakes 6th grade? There is a huge disconnect here.
Hiring a professional web developer is the same as hiring a professional in any discipline. You certainly wouldn’t want to go to court represented by someone whose only legal expertise was from watching five seasons of Boston Legal. You wouldn’t have your kid prepare your quarterly tax statements just because he or she got a B+ in 7th grade algebra, and you shouldn’t have your website built or updated by anyone just because they happen to have both a Myspace and Facebook page. A professional web developer who knows the optical business or knows retail can help you build a site that contains a pleasant graphic flow, good easy to read content, and most importantly, a compelling reasons to do business with you.
Hiring a professional web developer can help you create a site that search engines can find and can also help you put together a strategy that encompasses not only search engine optimization, but online social networking as well. A proficient web designer will encourage you to have multiple ways for people to find you, both online and offline. No matter what reputation you have worked and built over years or even decades of doing business in your town, the world is online and you had better be there too with a website that represents who you are what you want your customers to think of you.
