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Debunking 10 Common Misconceptions About Web Development

Debunking 10 Common Misconceptions About Web Development

Your company deserves a high-performing, top-quality website. To achieve this, you may need to hire a web development agency. However, how can you be sure that what you need and negotiate for will be exactly what you envision, and, more importantly, what you actually receive?

Well, a good place to start is to familiarize yourself with the most popular myths about web development.

Quality web development is a complex process with various components. From ensuring great functionality and seamless navigation, to providing a strong digital presence for your brand, a well-designed website is a crucial asset for every modern business. So, when looking for a freelancer or an agency to build your website for you, you’ll likely come across all kinds of myths about what you do and don’t need. While some of these are relatively harmless, others can cost you a lot of time, money, and sometimes even clients.

So, in this article we’ll share with you 10 common misconceptions about web development to help you meet your business website needs.

Myth #1: I Can Get a Good Website on the Cheap

Fact: You get what you pay for, so quality and price go hand-in-hand.

I Can Get a Good Website on the Cheap

Whether you are a proud owner of а small to medium enterprise (SME) or you want to grow your personal brand, a website is a must for any successful business strategy.

Today, there are, generally, three ways to build a site – hire a freelancer, a web development agency, or try doing it yourself. All three involve different resources and expenses, and which one you choose depends on your business needs, budget, and goals.

For example, if you are an SME with advanced website needs, then hiring a web development agency to handle your project would be the better option, even though it may not be the most cost-effective one. Of course, it might be fairly easy to find a freelancer who can create a site for you for half the price or less, but the quality of the final result is likely to disappoint you.

Experienced developers and designers will ensure they deliver a clean and responsive design, with well-organized content that loads quickly and can easily be accessed from any device. This will not only provide a great user experience for allowing visitors to become better acquainted with your business, but it will also help you showcase the unique solutions you offer.

Myth #2: Once the Website Is Live, There’s No Need for Change

Fact: Creating the website is only half of it, to ensure that it functions properly you have to regularly optimize it.

 The Main Building Blocks of a Website

Launching your site is just the beginning. Many people assume that developing a site is a one-off project. However, in reality it’s an ongoing process that needs continuous improvement and updating. Your site is a digital representation of your business, so it makes sense that as your operation grows so should your online property

There are different components that comprise a website, and all of them require consistent support and maintenance.

A few of the main building blocks that you should revisit often are:

  • Content Management System (CMS)
  • Web Hosting
  • Domain Name
  • High-Quality Content
  • On-Page SEO
  • Privacy and Security Terms
  • Quality Assurance

The digital landscape changes all the time. New trends and technologies emerge daily, so you have to invest the time and resources to update your site when necessary so that it doesn’t fall behind the times

It’s important that, once your site is launched, you monitor its analytics regularly and ensure reworks are made in a timely manner.

Done right, this will not only improve user experience, but will ensure your pages’ rankings in search engines. As a result, you will be more likely to reach your target audience successfully and retain it.

Myth #3: Once Your Site Is Done, It Will Automatically Rank High

Fact: Your website won’t rank at the top SERPs the instant it goes live, and may not rank at all if not SEO optimized.

Once Your Site Is Done, It Will Automatically Rank High

Once you have added all the necessary features to your website and have ensured that they work properly, it’s time to go live. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that you will automatically attract visitors.

There is a common, but misguided, expectation. It would be great if there was the reassurance that after investing the time and resources into building a quality website, leads would naturally flow in. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case.

To attract visitors, you need to invest in content marketing, search engine optimization, building organic traffic, and lead generation. Furthermore, you need to learn everything you can about the different customer journeys and marketing funnels, and all kinds of complicated marketing stuff.

In other words, to generate traffic, you need to consistently put in the effort into improving and maintaining your ranking in the SERPs.

Related: How to Develop a Successful WordPress Website Strategy

Figuring out the strategy that works best for you may take time. But don’t be daunted by it. Take action, measure and analyze the results, and make adjustments on time.

Myth #4: A Fancy Design Is a Must

Fact: Design matters, but it’s not nearly enough if it doesn’t support a delightful user experience.

Components of a Great Website UX

Providing a top-notch user experience is an essential part of any website and the design plays a leading role in it. Users are visual creatures and they judge sites by their cover. The look and feel of your website have an immediate effect on your conversion rates. So, it’s very important to make a good impression.

A nicely designed website is clean, minimalistic, and easy on the eyes. It has user-friendly layouts with relevant content, and an intuitive nativagation that can successfully meet your audience’s needs. To really understand what users expect from your site, it’s important to conduct UX research. This will help you see how your visitors interact with your pages, so you can engage them effectively.

Additionally, when working with web designers and developers, consider their opinion even when it contradicts your vision. The experienced professionals can help you see and consider things you may not have thought of before, and provide valuable insight into how to make things better.

Myth #5: The More Features, the Merrier

Fact: Too many features can slow down your website and confuse your audience.

Some may say that the more features a website has, the better it will be perceived by users. However, the truth is, at times, less is more, and you have to consider what you have to offer, and the needs of your audience.

What’s important is to concentrate on creating a functional layout. If you overburden your website with too many unnecessary features, you risk either leaving out important elements, or significantly slowing down your pages.

The key is to focus on what works best for your business, and leave it to that. This means
w having too many things going on may distract from the main purpose of their visit – learning about your products and services.

Myth #6: An Quality Website Can Only Be Developed by a Large Team

Fact: It’s not about the number of people, but the skill and expertise.

Key Professionals You Need to Create a Great Site

Web development involves many steps and a lot of work. It’s often necessary to have multiple people involved in the process and the size of the team can vary depending on the user needs of your website and your budget.

The key professionals to create a solid foundation for your website include:

  • Project Manager
  • Project Architect/Owner
  • Marketing and Content Specialist
  • UX/UI Designers
  • Front- and Back-End Developers
  • QA and Testing Specialists

By hiring an agency that you can trust with each stage of the web development process, you’ll be sure to obtain a website that can live up to your expectations, and is worth the price.

Myth #7: It’s Best to Partner With a Local Web Development Agency

Fact: Sourcing locally may be a good choice when it comes to produce, but it’s not necessarily the same when it comes to technology.

Its Best to Partner With a Local Web Development Agency

Local outsourcing may be appropriate for some industries, but when it comes to modern technologies, it’s not always the case. Even if you find a web development agency whose office is across the street, it does not mean it will suit your needs. You may have to outsource to a company thousands of kilometers away.

When deciding whether to stay local or go global there are a few things to consider.

  1. How big is the agency, how many projects have they worked on, and in which industry?
  2. What kind of projects have they completed?
  3. How successful were those?
  4. What challenges have they faced and how did they overcome them?
  5. How happy their clients were with their work?
  6. What is the agency’s reputation within the industry?
  7. Does it fit your needs and budget?

In the digital world, connecting with the right experts is easy. There are hundreds of companies worldwide at your disposal. That is why, it’s important to research and evaluate your options well before signing a contract, and relying on quality and credibility, rather than on proximity.

Related: 8 Signs You Need Help With WordPress Website Development

Myth #8: You Should Develop a CMS from Scratch

Fact: There are some CMS elements that can be custom-made or or customized, but you don’t necessarily need to develop a whole new system from scratch.

Selecting the right content management system (CMS) is vital when building your site. It’s an important decision that affects the whole website management workflow, including page editing, uploading content, adding digital media, and so on.

Therefore, you have two main options to pick from: building a CMS from scratch or using an existing one like WordPress.

You Should Develop a CMS from Scratch

Some business owners want their website to be completely unique, rather than a variation of a ready-made solution. They may prefer to have a custom CMS to ensure flexibility and control over every aspect of the website features. While this is possible, it usually takes longer to implement, makes the website development more expensive, and, above all, may fall behind when it comes to performance and usability.

With an established CMS like WordPress (WP), however, you can still create a truly authentic website. There are plenty of custom-built themes and plugins to choose from that can be adapted to your particular business needs, and made unique. Moreover, there’s a large, very active, and helpful community that can not only offer support to the development process, but regularly contributes to improving WP.

We, at DevriX, have been breathing and living WordPress for a little over a decade now, and it has always allowed us to realize our clients’ projects and visions with flying colors.

Myth #9: Premade Website Templates or Themes are Your Savior

Fact: This is technically possible, but it’s not a good practice.

Templates are a good option for anyone with little to no budget and/or expertise and who want to create a website, such as bloggers, small businesses, start-ups with limited budgets, and small-scale entrepreneurs. With out-of-the-box solutions, the only thing you need to do is write your copy and make your site look pretty and easy to use.

However, ready-made themes and layouts won’t make your site unique. The result will most likely be similar to many other websites out there. In addition, it will have limited functionality, visuals, and navigation.

Related: Why You Need to Avoid Nulled WordPress Themes and Plugins

Some templates may allow a certain number of customizations, but in most cases, you will be stuck withset parameters. What is more, your website may be slower, lacking SEO-wise, and, most importantly, there will be no professional developers to rely on to fix issues.

Myth #10: Not All Websites Need to Be Optimized for Mobile

Fact: Mobile is big and getting bigger.

Not All Websites Need to Be Optimized for Mobile

Currently, according to Statista, mobile devices account for a little more than half of the worldwide website traffic, therefore a mobile-optimized website is not only recommended but essential.

People today are always in a hurry. They’re impatient, busy, and almost constantly on their phones. They don’t tend to wait for pages to load, and they are likely to leave if they have to spend too long figuring out how to navigate your site.

To avoid this, you need to ensure that the design, structure, speed, navigation, etc. of your site can render properly on screens of different shapes and sizes. The goal is to ensure that your site will look and perform with the same quality, regardless of the type of the device. That way, visitors will have an optimal experience every time they access your page, and will be more likely to convert.

Conclusion

There are many different opinions about what it takes and means to develop a website. It’s good to hear them out, but don’t forget to do your own research. So, take any information you find with a pinch of salt.

Web development is not a straight-forward process. To ensure you receive what you need, you have to set the right goals, and budget. Based on them, you can choose the type of expert help that delivers the best results for the right price.