An organization’s website is most effective when it reflects their brand from the design to the sales process and everything in between. Achieving this is easier said than done. Most businesses develop a website as cheaply as possible, using templates instead of getting a custom design.
The problem with this approach is that templates always fall short of the goal. Only custom websites fully reflect a brand because each element is intentionally created with the brand image in mind.
Why, then, should you collaborate with your web designer to create a website that is an organic representation of your brand?
Why CEOs Need to Help Shape Their Company’s Website
1. A well-branded website supports higher revenue
As a CEO, you’re responsible for making important corporate decisions. How the company website looks and functions is one of those important decisions because it directly impacts revenue. For instance, a well-branded website can increase revenue just by providing the consistent experience your customers have come to expect from your brand.
If your company’s website doesn’t match your brand through aesthetics or function, visitors will feel resistance and it will impact sales. No matter how amazing your products and services are, many visitors bounce when they feel like they’re in the wrong place.
When you get involved in designing your company’s website, you can identify all the ways it doesn’t accurately reflect your brand. Then, you can work directly with a web designer to make the appropriate changes.
However, you’ll probably discover that you need a completely new website because most of the changes will be structural. It’s more efficient and cost-effective to start from scratch.
2. A website should embody your company’s vision
Another important responsibility you have is to create and implement the company’s vision. If your organization’s website was created without intention, it probably doesn’t embody such. This makes it your responsibility to transform the website.
At first glance, it might seem like a website is just a tool. As long as it functions, it’s okay. However, a website is a live projection of your brand’s vision, available for everyone to explore and experience 24/7.
If visitors aren’t experiencing a reflection of your brand while on the company’s website, your website’s mission is failing. However, you have the power to change that.
Your website visitors should feel like their experience is an extension of what they experience in all the other spaces you occupy. This includes all social media and your physical store. If you’ve spent time developing your brand in other spaces, it’s critical to apply that same process to your website. If that’s not what’s happening, you need to step in and make some changes.
3. You’re responsible for how people see your company
As a CEO, you directly shape how people see the company. Most people form their perceptions based on a company’s website due to the overwhelming amount of time spent online. When you get involved in developing your company’s website, you can be intentional with every element to shape public perception however you want.
Every element on every web page influences brand perception, including the layout, the size and shape of each content area, colors, images, and especially functionality. With a custom website, these elements can be a perfect match.
While a good-looking site is important, there’s more to a site’s design than aesthetics. For instance, templates force you to add content to a pre-existing layout that wasn’t created with your brand in mind.
Create a custom website that represents your brand
As CEO, only you have a full understanding of your company’s brand and all of the unique value it has to offer to your customers. A stock template, by its nature, reflects none of this. Instead, you should collaborate with your web designer to create a custom website design that will be an organic representation of your brand and its values.
Image Credit: Format; Pexels; Thank you!
