How does your website fit into your marketing strategy?

Probably the first thing I talk to a potential client about when they ask about websites is their marketing strategy. What sort of a business are they, and how are they marketing themselves? 

As a web designer and developer, I probably shouldn't be saying things like this, but the truth is some businesses don't need a website. Or if they do, a perfunctory website is absolutely fine. 

Let's take the example of a local pizza store. In terms of the digital part of a pizza store's marketing strategy, you can be highly successful by making sure your store is connected and taking orders from all of the main online ordering platforms - Uber Eats, Menulog, Eatnow, etc. Yes, you need a website, but all it really needs to do is have your logo, phone number, a few pictures, and your menu. That's it. You don't need SEO, you don't need a mailing list, you don't need conversion optimisation and content strategies. A couple of hours playing around in Squarespace and you're done. 

Every business needs a marketing strategy, but not all marketing strategies include spending tens of thousands of dollars on websites. And that's ok! You are better off focusing your marketing dollars on the things that WILL help your business, not just doing it because "every business needs a website". 

Of course, the converse is also true - if your business relies heavily on its website as a central focus of your marketing efforts, then you are going to want to spend some decent coin on it. Nobody cares if a pizza shop has a crappy website, but if you're an online fashion retailer, then it's utterly vital that it reflects the quality of you as a company. But your marketing strategy has already identified this, and you're speaking to the right kind of agency... right? 

Assembler is a web design agency based in Perth, Western Australia. This blog is intended to be an informal, behind the scenes look into the web design and development industry. If you like our content, please follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook!