So your boiler breaks and the end of the day, and you phone a plumber, he visits and is wearing ripped jeans and a t shirt covered in oil and dirt, fixes the boiler and leaves.
Well this is probably as you’d expect; if the plumber arrived squeaky clean in a 3-pieced suit at the end of the day you may wonder why.
Now consider that you’re in court, and on the first day your solicitor turns up in the same dirty attire as the plumber, I would imagine that your confidence in her would be knocked.
But this isn’t necessarily logical; the clothing of the plumber or solicitor has no direct correlation to their ability to do their job. However, it is the first impression that they give, so it is important that they portray the correct image.
In the examples above it may be too late to reject the plumber or solicitor due to their choice of clothing. A website also provides a first impression, but the difference is that if someone does not like what they see; they will look elsewhere costing you the job.
A website doesn’t necessarily need to look fun, corporate, professional, friendly, or any other attribute, but it must portray the image and ethos of your company.
If you run a children’s activity centre, you wouldn’t expect a plain professional corporate website. Yet if you run a professional service you probably shouldn’t have a home-built amateur-looking website.
We hear far too often of professional businesses and the public sector having websites that are built on a shoe string and conversely many smaller companies paying far too much for something that isn’t necessary.
We’d suggest that every business owner should clear their mind of all their company and product knowledge, take a step back, look at their website and think “what does my website say about me?”
You only have one chance to make a first impression, make sure it’s the one you want.
We are Webbed Feet UK, we are web designers in Salisbury, we are always happy to help, just get in touch.