When you’ve been building websites for as long as we have you hear a lot of lies, falsehoods, misconceptions, and other stuff that makes you do that confused dog look.
Don’t fear, though. We’re here to clear some of these things up for you. Here are 4 website lies that you really should stop listening to:
1. My website needs to be above the fold.
The “fold” is a concept that comes from the newspaper industry. The most important story in the day’s paper should be on the top half of the page. That way when the paper is sitting at the newsstand it faces up and will compel people to buy a copy. Anything “below the fold” is hidden from view because the paper is sitting on it. It’s the paper’s butt. Sorry, I can’t help myself sometimes.
In the early days of the web, this concept carried over. Computers were new and people didn’t know how to use them very well, and you couldn’t trust that people would know to scroll down on a page. This lead people to build websites that were “above the fold” meaning the site was only as big as the most common screen size.
Now, screen sizes are so different. On my desk right now I have a 27” iMac, a 13” laptop, an iPad and an iPhone. You can’t build a website with the “above the fold” mentality because there are way too many screen sizes now. This is why responsive design is so important.
People know to scroll now. Just look at people out in the world on their phones, scrolling endlessly on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. There is no fold any more.
Say it with me… There is no fold.
2. I don’t need a mobile site.
Well, you’re right! Technically. The days of having a desktop site and a mobile site are over. You should have a fully responsive website that adapts to whatever screen size your visitor is using. Having a separate mobile site is bad for your bottom line, bad for SEO, and bad for your visitors.
If your website isn’t responsive, you are alienating customers and leaving money on the table.
3. My website doesn’t need social media integration.
Wrongzo. You should be on social media, even if you think your audience isn’t on social media, because they probably are, they just might not be on the social network that you think. Who is your audience? Lawyers probably won’t be on Pinterest or Instagram, but there’s a good chance they are on LinkedIn. On the flip side, crafters or mommy/daddy bloggers probably won’t be on LinkedIn, but they are most likely on Pinterest and Instagram.
4. A blog isn’t relevant to my industry.
The problem with the word “blog” is that it has this connotation attached to it that all they are is a diary where people write about their feelings and stuff no one cares about. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Check out your competitors, see what they are writing about.
Blogs are a great tool to showcase products and features. Evernote does a great job of this. They use their blog to promote new products, or how even big time writers like Neil Gaiman write using their product.
Do you get a lot of support questions about your products? Use those questions to write a knowledgebase blog. Dropbox does this well.
These are just a handful of the lies, falsehoods, and misconceptions that we hear when building websites, but these are the big ones. Have you heard any website lies that you are unsure of? Reach out to our inbound marketing experts and we’ll set the record straight while helping you build an amazing website.
("There is no fold" Image via codepo8)
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