8 Web Design Changes. One Year. Read This Before You Waste Any More Time.
Before you decide on changing up your web design, or if you’re looking for the “perfect template”, read this first.
I can’t tell you how many weeks, hours, days, and MONEY I’ve spent on analyzing the best Wordpress templates, installing them, customizing them, only to do it all over again a couple months later.
I am so tired of it, and after all my research and trials, I’ve realized that I’ve made this whole thing way more complicated than it needs to be.
Just because there’s more information on effective web design than ever, doesn’t mean any of it matter, and certainly doesn’t mean you need to soak it ALL in.
In fact, if there is ONE thing you should know while picking your next web design, it’s this…
SIMPLICITY
I cannot stress this enough.
I’ve had a porfolio style website, a lead generating style website, a blog style, a personal brand style, a marketing agency style, a minimalist text style, a story style, etc. I have tried as many as I can think of worth trying, and it all comes down to keeping your website as simple as possible.
How can you do this? Focus on only the following:
- What problem do you solve for people?
- What you do differently from others?
- A simple design that empahsizes only the first two points in the most minimalist yet elegant way.
That’s it. The biggest issue I had was regardless of my web design, I was trying to make it deliver too much at the same time.
If you find that your website is emphasizing too many things at once with your audience, then split those things into separate websites with separate focuses. I should have realized this a long time ago.
I wanted a “catch all” web design. There is no such thing, and there shouldn’t be.
I wanted my website to encompass my story, my services, my hobbies, my marketing content, my personal content, my products, my personal brand, my company’s brand, and a few other things all at once.
It was no wonder I couldn’t stick to a single design. If I wanted to focus on a different service with my company, I felt I needed a new design showcasing my work, review, and services with rates. If I wanted to focus on my personal brand instead, I felt like I needed a new design with a blog empasis and a prominent optin form. Maybe something that pushes ebooks or podcast episodes in a better way.
If you are flip-flopping between company vs personal brand when deciding on a web design, SPLIT THEM.
This is exactly what I’m in the middle of implementing right now. I know what you’re thinking…
Another web design change?
Yup. But I’m doing it right this time. I’m splitting my current site into two sites. One for my business and one for my personal brand.
My business Yolevski Creative Media will have it’s own website, which is basically what my www.yolevski.com website is now.
It’s got the simple language on the homepage explaining what problems we solve for people and how. It has the services page, a page showcasing our clients and what they do, a contact page, and an about page (which I will rewrite to focus on the company, not myself).
There won’t be a blog (that’s what the new yolevski.com is for). I want my personal site to be a place of content, education, engagement, and a place people can refer to as a resource for getting thier own busineses up and runnning.
I don’t want to sell services on my personal brand’s website. I want to give away advice. My business sells services. I give away free advice, guides, content, and anything else that can help someone start and build a successful business.
Now, I still need to find a new design for my personal site. I have learned the hard way that you can spend 24/7 for 7 days looking at all the amazing Wordpress themes available on ThemeForest. Don’t do it. It is addictive, and you become obsessive, and you never end up being happy with what you ened up buying (or you end up changing it months later like I did).
Just keep it simple. Something that is:
- Easy to navigate
- Something customizable
- Responsive (obviously)
- Is light on the service, and friendly on the SEO
- Really shows off your content in a CLEAN and flattering way
- Something that easily integrates with opt-in forms
So that’s what I’m going with. Simplicity.
Before you choose a design, ask yourself, does this solve all my needs now, and what I have planned for the future? If the answer is yes, get it. If the answer is no, is it the design, or are you trying to do too much with your site? If the latter, split the site.
Websites are overrated.
I probably shouldn’t say this considering it’s something I do for a lot of my clients, but I can’t caution you enough to not waste any more time on this than needed. It just isn’t worth it.
Get a simple, elegant, and modern design and move on. You should be focusing on content. That’s what’s going to build your business or your brand. Not your design. Just start working and stop obsessing over your design.
Helpful? Questions? Shoot me a tweet, Snapchat me, email me, or just leave a and I’ll respond back with an answer.
Alexander Yolevski | Founder Yolevski Creative Media
