WordPress haters have a point when they say most WordPress sites look cheap.
A cheap looking website is not always a problem for the conversion rate, but it may cause other issues for your business.
You may lose credibility with potential partners. One of the motivations for a redesign project I’ve completed for a client was exactly this. They were growing their revenue even with a cheap looking website, but they got tired of not being taken seriously by other businesses they wanted to collaborate with.
Customers forget about you more easily when browsing your website is a struggle. Especially if you sell a subscription-based product, the conversion rate may not be the only metric you need to worry about. A better user experience will likely increase your LTV.
A cheap site isn’t only a problem for customers and partnerships. It can be a good reason for visitors to never return to your website, way before getting in touch or buying your products. One of the worst case scenarios is when your website is remembered for its nightmarish UX so much that people recognize it and actively avoid it when they see it in their search results.
Getting away with it
Before moving forward, it wouldn’t be honest not to mention what kind of businesses can get away with a cheap looking website. I’ve helped 100s of business owners of all kinds, from multi-billion enterprises, to small local businesses. It wouldn’t be fair to say that every single website must look stunning.
- Local businesses with low competition: when your competitors have awful websites, it’s easy to prevail. Sometimes it may be OK to just buy a WordPress premium theme and that’s it. Sometimes even a free theme with a decent template will be enough. The challenge for these businesses may be more on features instead of looks, or sometimes, it’s all about content.
- A business that operates mostly on social media: the typical example here, are influencers. Usually a business based mostly on a social following, focused on one individual, can get away with a cheap looking website. Influencers don’t always value or aim to grow a personal website to stay independent from platforms. Especially if their competitors have terrible websites.
In my opinion, a local business with low competition often has valid reasons to avoid investing much on a website. In the influencer case, I’m not so sure. Some of my past clients are influencers, and with custom WordPress websites they’ve generated several millions of revenue per year. It’s a way to diversify and to grow a business.
How to Build a Professional WordPress Website
If your goal is to create a serious website, something that looks professional and solid, I would start with these guidelines.
Start with solid branding
Before you even think about how your website should look like, you need clear branding guidelines. Without this foundation, even a talented designer may struggle to create something consistent with your business. Before a UI/UX designer, before a developer, I highly recommend finding and hiring a designer specialized in branding.
It’s an investment that can be relatively cheap, and good branding guidelines in line with your business values can be used for years to keep your brand communication consistent.
Don’t start with the theme
Most business owners who start today and build a DIY website, do it backwards. They first buy or download a WordPress theme that more or less they like, and then try to customize that. And if everything goes well they add content at the end of the project.
With this approach you will need to improvise a lot. Creating a professional website in this way is harder. It’s like building a house without a blueprint. It’s worse, the only blueprint here, typically a selected theme demo, it’s not consistent with your business needs. It can bring your work in the wrong direction.
Instead, you should always start with the design. A minority of businesses can afford a full team of professionals, and you probably don’t need it. But in this phase try to work at least with a specialized designer and a copywriter.
Your website copy, illustrations, design… are fundamental to avoid looking cheap. A talented designer will create unique assets that will attract customers for years, and a good copywriter will be fundamental to convert customers and keep them loyal to your brand.
Building a professional website in a competitive space is often a matter of doing something that your competitors don’t. And often, it doesn’t even need to be expensive. You can get a lot done on a limited budget.
Get a Custom WordPress Theme Built
Once you have your design and copy locked down, then you can focus on the development of the website. At this stage, the ideal approach is getting a custom theme built specifically for your business.
This gives you two major advantages: better page load speeds and a site that’s easy to update and expand. When the development phase is completed properly, you likely won’t need to rebuild everything from scratch at your next redesign. It may be that over time you will refine your websites components progressively, instead of investing in a radical redesign.
Nowadays with the WordPress’s new Full Site Editor it’s even easier.
For this phase you can hire a developer which will take care of:
- Developing the website to match the work of the UI/UX designer.
- Developing any custom plugin or functionality, when necessary.
- Testing the website across the major devices, screen resolutions, browsers. And apply the necessary fixes to ensure the site is correctly displayed everywhere.
Is Your Website Holding You Back?
Building a professional WordPress site takes more time and investment than throwing together a template in a weekend. But when you’re already generating $30,000+ in MRR, a cheap-looking website isn’t just holding you back, it’s probably costing you opportunities and revenue.
The businesses I see succeeding long-term are the ones that treat their website as a serious business asset. They understand that in a competitive market, looking professional isn’t optional.
If you’re weighing the pros and cons of different approaches to redesigning your WordPress site, or wondering which strategy makes the most sense for your specific situation and budget, feel free to book a consultation with me. Every business has different needs, and what works for one might not be the best fit for another.
Your website should work as hard as you do to grow your business. Make sure it’s actually helping instead of holding you back.