Although it may seem like a herculean task, we want to awaken all businesses to the dangers of falling for web design’s 4 most common myths and help your company avoid compromising your digital presence. 

1. A website is only made once.
Many businesses mistakenly think of a website as a linear process that ends once the website goes online. However, a website is an ongoing process and should be continuously updated, being it in terms of content or overall aesthetics. A website from 2014 is ancient to current web design standards, just compare amazon’s 2014 homepage to the existing one (can you spot the differences?). Remember a static website means digital death to your company.

2. Design fixes everything
While important, design isn’t omnipotent. A website needs relevant content to thrive across search engines, like google. A great design has no use in the absence of quality content and sloppy web development. Your website will be the first contact point that many potential clients have with your company, however if it lacks relevant content and an expert team of developers to index it, not even a great design will be able to save it from the inglorious depths of the search results.

3. You can have a great website for close to nothing
Nowadays you’ll find a pool of online website builders, which may be a great option for small scale businesses, but may not be the best for medium to large scale ones. You have to consider all the pros and cons and whether using a website builder would compromise, rather than help your brand’s future. Here are some of the disadvantages of using an online website builder:

• They’re not custom-made. There’s a high chance that you’ll find other websites with a similar design to yours,  which in its turn may harm your brand’s unique positioning strategy
• Website’s SEO performance may be comprised. Since you have no control over how the website pages were built (coding) they may lack the necessary elements and overall structure that google bots respond to
• When it comes to web hosting you get what you pay for. Cheap web hosting plans normally mean slower websites, lack of transparency regarding security matters and customer support teams with limited availability
• Content Management Softwares (CMS) are limited in terms os customisation efficiency. And usability. Choose your CMS wisely
• Website Responsiveness. The website’s smooth adaptability across all browsers and devices is often compromised

4. Images are of secondary importance
On the contrary. Images are essential to complement a strong website design and therefore  should be chosen wisely. Out of date, low quality images can destroy a website. Having invested in a new website, why not have images that stand up to your brand’s standards.You can even take it a step further and include motion or concept videos in your new website!

Last tip, don’t underestimate the power of the team-dedicated page. Your potential clients want to get to know your team and place their trust in someone they can see. Having great pictures of your team are of great importance, out-dated, low-quality pictures are a thing of the past!

If Ulysses managed to resist the Sirens, your Company can easily avoid falling for the seductive powers of these ever-enticing web design myths, that will ultimately wreck your brand’s online and offline reputation.