Highlighting the importance of a good, well-functioning, website.
We were recently asked by someone if I could help with highlighting the importance of a well-functioning website. Seems like a simple enough question, however, one that we oddly don’t get asked very often.
Having a good functioning website does not mean you need to go for the one with the largest budget! We work primarily with non-profits and charitable organizations, and we understand the need for budgets to be allocated to causes rather than the fanciest of fancy websites.
If you were buying a car, there would be a range of options and packages for you and your needs; our approach is to get you the car that would get you safely from point a to point b reliably, in a reasonable amount of time, and that won't break the bank.
Building Trust for increased donations
One of the principle reasons for the importance of a well-functioning website is that it is an investment. As a potential donor coming to a site, if you notice that things are broken, maybe the SSL certificate isn't working, and the site is overly generic - your spidey senses may start to tingle a bit. You want a website that allows you to build trust with your potential donors. Donors will want to support causes that are knowledgeable and trustworthy, and a website is a great place to show competency.
You Get What You Pay For
Are you familiar with the Project Triangle?
“The project triangle is also known as the “iron triangle” and, less poetically, the “triple constraints.” Whatever you call it, it amounts to the same thing: You can’t change a project’s budget, schedule, or scope without affecting at least one of the other two parts”
While amazing deals do happen, and can work out great over time, oftentimes the decision to save on costs may lead to increased delays in work and decreased quality of work produced as we can see with the Project Triangle; if you are cutting on cost, how is that affecting the other two areas?
Potential Cost Savings
As odd as it seems, an increased investment can actually lead to you saving money in the long run. If you work with the right vendor, oftentimes they can help work with you to determine how to build the thing you need, rather than a more complex solution that will cost more. hen it comes to a website investing in the right partner that knows how to ask the right questions, knows what functionality you need, knowing where quality is important, and knowing that saving a little on hosting costs can lead to spending more money troubleshooting issues down the road, can be highly valuable.
AODA Compliance
One thing to keep in mind with your site, is that “By January 1, 2021, all designated public sector organizations and private/non-profit organizations with 50 or more employees in Ontario must ensure that all internet websites and web content conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA” https://mcmillan.ca/insights/new-accessibility-requirements-fast-approaching-under-aoda/
Your website MUST be accessible.
Ensuring Security Standards are Maintained
Not all sites house sensitive information like medical and credit card information, however that doesn't mean they aren’t vulnerable to security exploits. It is important to ensure that your site is built and maintained for all necessary security patches, and that all the information you store is properly encrypted so that if there was an exploit it would be minimal.
We’ve seen too often the case where someone saves on the cost of the site, only to find themselves hacked a few months later, and now they are losing valuable time, and spending additional funds to contain, and fix the situation. You want to be proactive, not reactive.
Ease of Use for Users
Spending the time to build a website that takes strategic thought;what is the goal of the site, and how are we going to achieve it? This may seem simple, however it is usually the outcome of numerous micro moments along the way — removing obstacles for people to be able to submit a form, having simple navigation, buttons that stand out, the correct use of white space — all things that take careful consideration in website construction, but can make a big difference in the overall effectiveness of your website.
Easy to Edit
Websites have become much easier to edit and change over the years. Building your website in a way that allows it to be easily editable for the people updating it, is a worthwhile investment in time and effort from the get go. We see many sites where a decision to save spending 3 hours once to make something editable may save time now, however each time it needs to be changed now takes 2 hours, and it needs to be changed every month. This means to avoid this initial 3 hours of time, you are now spending 24 hours a year. Investing some additional effort into making your site easy to edit is hugely important.
It’s an Extension of You
A website is an extension of your business. Everything that a user encounters on a website can be seen as who the brand is, and the voice of the brand. Brand guidelines when it comes to design, layout, and copy, are all important for the website user to understand who you are. When building a website it is important that the website is an accurate reflection of who you are, in order for your users to achieve a cohesive experience in both the digital and physical world when interacting with your business.
These are just a few reasons why a well-functioning website is so important for a business. It is important to be present in the digital world, as much as the physical world; as a business you need to meet people where they are in order to open up those conversations, and a lot of people are online! A website for a business is often seeked out, and is the place where people try to go first to gather information about services, background information about the company, and find the story or purpose of your business; it is important that this information is functional and accessible so that your audience truly can connect and understand you with no communication barriers or misunderstandings.