The world as we know it has changed significantly in the last few months. Simple things like going to work are no longer a given and how a business contacts or provides services to its customers has been severely limited. A lot of businesses have found that, without warning, they are very reliant on their online presence to speak to customers and drum up new business. So what are the key things that should be learned from the current situation, if you are a business?
Quick response is key
The ability to update content on your website or to mail your clients with an update quickly is important. This is critical if you want to keep your customers informed and avoid panic. But it is also important if the way your services are delivered is going to change.
Having a website platform that can be updated quickly is key, but it is more than this. In this current situation you also need the ability to add new content, new pages and even new features. Perhaps you now want to incorporate social feeds into your news page. Or you need to integrate your site with MailChimp to better capture and mail new subscribers. This is why all of our websites are built on the WordPress CMS with Elementor to allow quick and easy visual editing. It is also why we provide the fully supported content service that includes updates and additions of new content, pages and designs without an extra charge. And if you need new functionality added, if it is a plugin we can source from the WordPress library then we can add that as well, free of charge!
A contemporary design will make you stand out
If your main means of attracting new clients is your website, which for most businesses is now the case, then you need to make sure it looks good. The reality is that most of us shop with our eyes, so if your website looks out of date or doesn’t work very well then we will choose someone else who does have a good looking website. Even if you do provide the best goods or services, if your website doesn’t look good your customers will go elsewhere. So it is important to make sure your web presence is professional and contemporary, reflecting the good work that your business does.
We use Elementor, the world’s leading visual editor. We use this because we have complete design control, through the interface, so that we do not need to write lots of code anytime we need to change the design. This means we can both build and evolve website design very rapidly. Our customers can change elements of their site design, or do a complete redesign, without any of the hefty costs that might otherwise be associated with a redesign.
This has been particularly useful to a number of our clients recently, who’ve had to rapidly redesign areas of their site to allow online servicing of content. Driving users directly to these key pages through visually designed sections that highlight this.
Regular changes made in a timely manner
In this ever changing time, being able to respond not only quickly but also regularly is also important. A number of the businesses we work with are now not only posting news but also adding whole new sections of the site on a regular basis. Some of the schools we work with are updating content to support their students working from home on a weekly basis. But with the teachers focussed on teaching they don’t have time to also upload things to the website. So we do it for them!
Our support means that they send us over the latest content and we upload it for them promptly, as part of their ongoing website contract. Working like this means that the schools can ensure their students and parents get access to all the information they need as soon as it is available without any delays. For one of the dance schools we work with we have implemented a login area with video tutorials, so that the content is only available for those who should have access and it isn’t made freely available on YouTube or another streaming site.
As online has quickly become the way of delivering services, where previously it would have been physical, having a website provider who does not charge for every change and has a platform that can be evolved and changed quickly and easily is critical.
Affordability, flexibility and reliability
Even though it has taken a situation like the Covid-19 outbreak for a lot of businesses to embrace online, having this sort of capability even after the lockdown is going to allow your business to be much more effective. But you need to have access to the right services at the right prices to make it work for you.
What you need is a service that provides affordability, flexibility and reliability. You don’t want to be charged each time you make a change. You need a quick turnaround of the changes and you need the potential to change and update layouts / designs and implement new content and functionality in hours rather than weeks.
At Idio, we have built a service that provides exactly this sort of approach. It is a service as a contract, exactly like your phone, which means you pay a small amount but get a lot for your money. We use platforms that provide you access to a huge library of functional options, but with a way that they can be styled and customised to fit seamlessly with your brand. And wrapped around this we provide a support service that recognises you need support and help to make sure your business is always on the front foot.
