“Style over substance” is a phrase I’m sure you’ve heard before, and it’s one of the biggest mistakes that WAHM business owners make when it comes to their website. It’s actually a mistake that MOST business owners (and some web developers) make – however THEIR errors are often masked by their ability to buy their way out of trouble. i.e. they’ve got budgets large enough that the cracks tend to be papered over.
YOU, as a WAHM business owner/operator probably do NOT have the financial resources to buy advertising, search engine placements etc. so YOU will experience the direct impact of “style over substance” a lot HARDER!
“Content is King”
I’m pretty sure you’ve heard this phrase before (in relation to websites) – it’s the antidote to “style over substance”, and an unquestionable truth that all website owners need to understand.
People will “ooh” and “ahh” at your impressive, highly stylised website for a while, they may even tell their friends about it. They might take a look through your site pages for a while and even be impressed at the high quality of the photographs you’ve used:
- They will LOVE the pictures of cute bunny rabbits, butterflies and fluffy puppy dogs.
- One problem – they probably won’t actually BUY something because:
- You’ve focused their attention on completely the wrong thing
- You haven’t given them anything of value/use to read and digest
- There is no strong call to ACTION – in fact the outcome you desire of them isn’t even obvious
You Have a “Feelgood” Site, Nothing More
Now I know you’re going to protest that a good-looking website is important to set a mood, and I won’t dispute that. There is absolutely no point in making your site butt-ugly or a “plain Jane”, a website that is pleasing to the eye is clearly a better choice.
However, an awful lot of WAHM business owners focus almost entirely on the aesthetics, and forget to add real value that is of any worth to their prospective clients. I’me sure you can imagine what that does to their bottom line?
These websites generally make the owner feel good, and this “feelgood factor” is further amplified by friends and family who will, I am sure, be full of praise for your lovely website. Unfortunately this is business (even if it IS based on your hobby) and most definitely NOT a school art competition, with prizes awarded for “pretty”.
The Best of Both Worlds
Now I am not telling you to skimp on the visual aspect of our site – it IS an important factor and it DOES help create a certain mood and evoke certain EMOTIONS in your site visitors.
Your website needs to capitalise on this through the content, providing your site visitors with compelling reasons to stick around, hand over their contact details or to conduct actual business with you (i.e BUY something, HIRE you etc.)
So whatever you do, avoid being guilty of this fundamental “web crime”:
DO NOT create something “pretty” and then think “job done”.
Make all the effort that’s gone into making the thing LOOK good worthwhile, by making the content even MORE compelling, effective and magical!
If you do THAT then you will surely notice the difference in the success of your business.
