Last Wednesday I wrote about the change in web design from coding to plug-ins. Like all change, it is gradual and builds upon foundations laid in the past. There is a still a need for designers and developers of course but the context in which they work has changed. The implications of this depend upon the logical type of the issue you are struggling with.
So, if you have a landing page which draws a lot of traffic and your conversion rate is low you may need a designer who can test your pages for conversion. But if you are not clear what you want from your site, you do not need the same type of designer. You will need someone who can understand your organisation’s needs and help you work out the approach to meeting them online
No-one ices cakes any more! This is the type of naked fruit cake I mean. pixel1 / Pixabay
My mother was a cake decorator. She noticed no-one ate her Christmas cakes because they didn’t want to spoil her beautiful design. So, she started to ice a polystyrene dummy for Christmas alongside a naked Christmas cake that no-one hesitated to eat.
Too many organisations see their website like icing on their organisation. It is fancy decoration but not really at the centre of their activities. What many have not understood is websites can be the cake, they can be at the heart of your activities.
Publicity is a part of your wider marketing strategy. It is simply a means to tell people about your organisation and its activities. Marketing is the strategic approach you have to deploy your publicity to best effect. It should inform what you offer as much as how you promote your offer. Base your marketing upon understanding your market and delivering what it needs.
Some organisations may find marketing unacceptable because they believe it is about trade. Marketing is not necessarily about trade. It is essentially about getting your message across. How do you reach the largest number of relevant people and persuade them to take the action you want, eg sign up to your mailing list, attend an event, write to their MP?
But it isn’t only trade that is unwelcome for many of us. This summer in 2014 we have seen the effects of extremely malevolent postings that have nothing to do with sales. These have been immensely effective and are entirely deplorable. I haven’t seen the videos and have no intention of seeing them and yet they have a place in my thoughts. Terrorist groups understand how to get their message out and are very effective at it. Don’t we need to understand what they are doing and insist upon an ethical approach to working online?
Trade is not always negative. If you have a problem and find a solution for sale, assuming it is the right thing for you, why should you not pay for it? Someone is trying to make a living. Your contribution may encourage them to continue to develop their product and so offer you further benefits in the future.
The thing I find frustrating is the attitude that “we want a website but we don’t want it to take up any time”. I don’t deny time is an issue but websites are machines and they need maintenance. If you really don’t want to do it, fair enough, so don’t have a website. You are not buying a website, you are buying what the website can do for your organisation. That is you are buying a machine that will help you market your organisation. You can’t do this without some expenditure of time and money.
If not having a website is not an option then you may need to talk to a consultant who can help you work out how to run a website with the resources that are available to you. Ideally you will find the time you spend on looking after your site helps you meet your wider aims.
We need to move away from the idea of a website as a snapshot of your organisation as it was 3 or 4 years ago when your designer locked down your site, to the idea of your website as central to your organisation’s strategy. It is the most powerful tool a community or voluntary organisation could hope for.