Start-ups must invest in a comprehensive online platform, rather than relying on simple template sites to boost business operations. Will Morris, managing partner at Alchemy Digital, explains that by incurring an initial hit on costs for website services, having an integrated and carefully constructed online platform can pay dividends down the line.
Will explains, ‘For many start-ups one of the main objectives is getting up-and-running and providing their services to the market quickly. In the aim for speed, template website kits serve as an initial solution, often due to its speed in implementing, but also reducing the costs incurred. While this does offer a kick-start in the right-direction, these websites quickly become legacy in its inability to scale-up with business growth.’
With 650,000 new companies being launched in Britain alone in 2016, there is a huge market for businesses looking for first-time websites. Will argues that the boom in Britain’s SMEs has given way to a resurgence in ‘kit’ website companies, originally popular during the dotcom boom of the 90s – although it is better to have something rather than nothing in the very early stages.
Will continues, ‘Template websites are ultimately temporary. When you consider the vast amount of potential online visitors that are accessing your sites from any number of different devices, having a site that can handle this traffic is crucial. Template sites often crack under the pressure when dealing with large influxes of traffic. For companies that specialise in online sales, especially during peak-trading periods such as Black Friday, it can spell even more trouble.
‘If users are unable to access the site, you are going to see higher bounce rates, low conversions, and a weakened brand identity, which can create even more problems for start-ups. If a start-up is trying to attract investment, too, many investors are going to be making decisions based on what they can find about you online.
‘On top of this, while template companies do offer solid customer service, it usually involves technical help rather than an invested consideration of how your brand will be interpreted on an online domain. What new brands need is a digital strategy that aligns perfectly with your brand story and what the online customer journey should involve. This will help to create interesting and relevant content that will help boost page sessions, dwell times and click-thru rates, helping to better achieve wider business objectives.’
See also: Top 10 things preventing conversions on your website
Will concludes, ‘What may look good in the first instance, might not actually work very well in the long haul. A dedicated site that is carefully planned and executed from the get-go can help future-proof business operations, making it easier to budget down the line and yield stronger return on investments.’
Further reading on building a website
