1. Cheap websites are the most expensive investment you'll ever make.
It will end up costing you more to fix your cheap website than investing in a great website from the get-go. Every single DIY website eventually needs to get fixed or completely redone by a professional. We've heard it so many times: "The plugin needed an update and the website broke." Now, you're losing thousands of potential customers because your website doesn't work AND you need to spend thousands of dollars to try to fix the problem, or even start fresh. You can watch as many tutorials as you want, but there is nothing like years of expertise to built a fully functional and converting website that won't break on you.
2. A responsive website isn't optional anymore.
More than half of all global website traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website isn't built for mobile first, you're losing potential customers before they even read your content. How many times have you looked up a plumber or a restaurant on your phone while sitting in the car, stuck in traffic? Would you trust a service provider who doesn't have a functional website on mobile? Exactly. Your next big client could be looking at your website on their phone right now and skip to your competitor's because your website isn't responsive.
3. SEO isn't dead. Your lazy SEO strategy is.
Publishing AI-written blog posts filled with your keywords won't cut it, writing valuable content with search intent in mind still works. Your blog posts needs a singular mission. Is it answering a question? Is it providing value? If it is, you have a great SEO strategy. If not, you're losing valuable opportunities to be found by a client or cited by an AI agent.
4. Your brand isn't your logo.
A logo is important. Your colors, typography, visual identity are all important. But none of these are your brand. Your brand is the feeling people associates with your business. And yes, your website does play a huge role in shaping that first impression. If your website doesn't feel trustworthy, no one will reach out to book a discovery call with you or come into your store. The design is catching attention, but the branding is the experience.
5. Most small businesses don't need a prettier website, they need one that converts.
The design should impress, but most importantly support the business goals. You can have the most beautiful website in the world, but if your website doesn't support your sales funnel, it won't convert. Your website needs to be your sales agent: it should answer any and all questions someone could have about your business and/or services, and it should lead to them booking a call with you or buy from you. If it's not, it means there is something wrong with your website.
6. A social media account is not a marketing strategy.
It's one marketing channel. Plus, if your business entirely depends on Instagram, you don't even own your marketing. It could disappear tomorrow and you wouldn't have a business anymore. Your Instagram account could be filled with gorgeous pictures, but is it helping your business grow? A business that grows consistently relies on an ecosystem where social media, SEO, websites, and branding all work together. Your social media creates awareness. Your SEO captures demand. Your website converts visitors. Your branding builds trust.
7. Animations should enhance user usability, not become the full user experience.
Websites with very intricate animations are beautiful to look at on a computer screen. However, they are in most cases not responsive and/or will make your website incredibly slow. The loading speed of your website could be the ultimate killer of your business. Over 50% of mobile users will abandon a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. That's more than half of your potential clients that you may be losing all in the name of fancy-looking animations.
8. A service page should answer a question before trying to sell.
A customer or client will look at a service page and look for an answer to their questions. Do you understand their problem? Can you solve their problem? If not, they leave. But by providing details on each service, you answer their question, show them you can solve their problem, leading them to book a discovery call.
9. Consistency beats going viral.
You see them every single day on social media: "Buy my course to go viral and gain millions of followers in weeks!". You can have one single viral post, but if you are not ready for that growth, it's easy to lose focus and not convert any follower into a customer. While being consistent is a lot of work, that hard work will pay off in the future. Plus, if your full ecosystem (website, SEO, social media) is doing its job, you won't have to post every day.
10. If everyone is your ideal client, then no one is.
As scary as it may sound, there is power in a niche. Your ideal client will book with you because you seem like the expert on the topic. You may have multiple fields of expertise, but if you do everything, then what do you do successfully? We all love the concept of going to a restaurant and being able to order sushi, fresh pasta, fried chicken, and filet mignon. However, do you feel confident that a single restaurant can provide all these items at the best quality? Probably not. Same thing applies to any business. You need to be specific with your niche and aim your arrow at a fewer number of targets to hit the bullseye.