Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms?

• When people ask you for your website’s URL, you hesitate
• It takes your site so long to load that you always bring a snack for while you wait
• Your hair is a different style/length/color than your headshot on your website
• Your last blog post was from June 2020
• You tell people not to open your site on their phones because “it goes all wonky”
• You email people a list of your services because they’ve totally changed
• You paid a TON of money for that whiteboard video on your home page

If any (or all) of these sound familiar, you may have a case of what we call  “website shame.”

Your website is likely old, outdated, hard to use, and even just a little bit embarrassing. And even if you have a marketing team, it’s likely that you don’t have the bandwidth or the skillset you need to take on a full website overhaul.

So what do you do? You could limp on, hiding your website shame as much as possible, OR you could work with a web design agency to bring your website back into the light. Not sure how a web design agency works?  Here’s three ways they partner with you to update your website and elevate your marketing overall.

1. Messaging

If your business has been around for a few years, it’s likely that your message has shifted over time. As you learned more about your customers’ needs, developed new products, and created different marketing initiatives, the way you talk about what your company does has naturally evolved. That’s why it’s so important to have a fresh set of eyes check in with your messaging.

True story–we’ve worked with clients who, just in the development of a marketing campaign, completely changed their name, their audience, and their offer! If that can happen over the course of a few months, think of the difference a few years would make. A web design agency can work with you to create updated messaging that you can use across your website and other marketing materials.

Here at Moxie Tonic, we are a certified StoryBrand Agency, which means that we’re trained in StoryBrand’s proven messaging methodology. For every website project, we lead our clients through a StoryBrand messaging consultation, drawing out ideal clients, what problems they’re facing, positioning the business as a guide, and more. We then use that information to write a BrandScript–a foundational messaging story that can then be used to write website copy, downloadable offers, email nurture sequences, and beyond. We’ve discovered that when messaging resonates with customers, they convert faster and more often.

In fact just by addressing UX and messaging, we helped one client boost their first-time website visitor conversion rate from 40% to 60%! Read about it HERE. 

2. Design & UX

We don’t have to tell you that design trends change. After a few years, even the edgiest design starts to look tired and old-fashioned. That’s why every messaging refresh should go hand-in-hand with a design refresh. Remember, your first impression with potential customers is visual. If your site looks old, outdated, or even worse–broken, you’ll lose them instantaneously. 

But even deeper than how your website looks is how your website performs. More than 60% of web traffic is now from a mobile device, so if your site is not mobile-first–or at least mobile optimized–you could lose customers as they bounce from slow loading speeds, disjointed layouts, and see you as outdated or unprofessional. Even worse, Google favors mobile-first websites in their rankings, so potential customers won’t even be able to find you through organic search.

Going hand-in-hand with design is User Experience. Just as a customer will bounce with outdated messaging or design, they’ll also leave if using the website is confusing. Without a clear path to purchase or contact you, you’ll lose out on deals right and left.

A web design agency will be able to help both your front- and back-end design, helping you create a clear path for users to learn more about your business and convert into customers. With your striking new design, you’ll be able to give customers a positive first impression, helping them to trust you as an expert solution to their problems.

3. SEO Optimization and Reporting

It doesn’t matter how dialed-in your messaging is or how agile and responsive your design is if nobody can find your site in the first place. That’s why Search Engine Optimization is so vital to a successful website. A good web design agency will be able to help you write copy and address back-end data that will improve your ranking on Google and other search engines.

SEO rules and best practices are always changing, which is why it’s so important to work with an expert, up-to-date agency. What may have worked a year–or even six months ago–may not work any more. An SEO expert will help you stay on top of the field and work your way onto the first page.

That’s also why SEO isn’t just a one-and-done job. Web design agencies will continue to monitor your SEO and provide data about its performance. Once the agency can see what works and what doesn’t, it can continue to optimize your site and improve SEO results.

Moxie Tonic Marketing Here to Help

As a full-service agency, we love helping businesses update the messaging, design, and SEO on their websites and enjoy incredible results. If you’d like to see what a web design agency can do for you, check out our Website Roadmap service. We’ll complete a full audit of your website’s messaging, UX, software, traffic, and more, and create your own BrandScript and wireframe for a new homepage. Just click HERE to learn more.