Do You Really Need a Website in 2017? – Stonemaier Games

Do You Really Need a Website in 2017?

A reader recently asked me this question. My initial (internal) response was, Of course! Any creator or business needs a website.

But I realized how woefully inadequate that response was. It’s a reaction, not a justification.

So I turned to our web developer, Dave Hewer, to see if he had a more robust answer. Dave builds and maintains websites (and he’s also a great graphic designer)–he’s done a lot of great work for Stonemaier over the last few years.

Dave was very kind to write this guest post, and I’m going to sprinkle in some commentary at the end of a few of his main points. Thanks Dave!

***

There have never been more ways of communicating with people online, aside from actually having your own website. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Board Game Geek, Reddit; the list goes on.

In the distant far-flung past (early 2000s) an internet user would want to know something, choose the relevant website and read its content. Nowadays, more and more content is now pushed dynamically at people, without them even needing to go looking for it.

Very clever algorithms are used to generate “recommended” videos or posts that users will be interested in even though they haven’t asked for it. (How many hours have you spent watching YouTube videos that you had no intention of viewing?) The world of social media enables this kind of intelligent linking in a way that a single business website can never replicate.

So with all the other clever and popular options out there to get your content to your customers, do you really need your own website?

Let me give you 5 reasons why–despite the ever-changing online landscape–a website is still essential for getting your message across.

1. Be trusted

Anyone and their pet gerbil can start a Facebook page, record a YouTube video, or post obsessively on forums. To create and regularly update your own website (with your own domain name) takes a degree more investment. Users know this. If I come across a business (in almost any market) that doesn’t have its own coherent website, I’m instantly cautious.

Here in sunny Britain, we are apparently twice as likely to trust mainstream news outlets over social media. News is a unique industry but the prevalence of sharing “fake news” and misleading “clickbait” via social media has resulted in the general lowering of trust in these sources of information.

A website by itself is not enough to instill trust; but the lack of a website is a sure-fire way of causing your customers unease.

[Jamey: I think this is an incredibly powerful point, especially for crowdfunders. So much of Kickstarter is about trust and credibility.]

2. Be found

Search engines, such as Google, work very hard to generate results from a lots of different sources such as news, micro-blogging (Twitter) and video (YouTube). Because of this, someone can find out about you from searching even if you don’t have a website. However, your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) presence will be in much better shape if you’ve also got a website with top-notch content thrown into the mix.

Doing a Google search “Stonemaier” brings up lots of relevant results (Board Game Geek, Twitter, Facebook) but nothing is going to carry the kind of SEO weight that stonemaiergames.com does, which is precisely why it ranks in first place.

[Jamey: This is why I recommend routing people through your website to your Kickstarter project page using this method. That way, when the project is over, search engines weight your website over Kickstarter for the long run.]

3. Be read

The next two reasons to have your own website essentially boil down to the same thing: control.

Firstly, you need to be able control your content and organise it how you want. The fancy web designer terminology for this is information architecture but you can also call it (probably more helpfully) structure.

For as long as you are leaning on third-party websites and services you are bound by their structure and system. For example, what content do you want on your Facebook page and how do you want it organized? Can you change how users navigate the content? Sure, you’ve got options but they’re limited.

Whereas, with your own website you have a new plot of land with no planning restrictions. Build your website just how you need it to be structured to get your message across to your customers. The quite brilliant A List Apart commends us:

We need to teach people to look past the way the rest of the web is structured and consider instead how their corner of the web can be structured to support their own unique intentions.

Your product is unique (if it isn’t, you’ve got bigger problems) and so your website needs to be uniquely structured to showcase it. This can only be done in the context of your own beautiful, distinctive site.

[Jamey: Beyond organizational beauty, I think this touches upon why I believe every creator benefits from creating some kind of ancillary content, whether it’s a blog, podcast, YouTube channel, etc.]

4. Be admired

Your brand is your perceived identity and as such you surrender it at your peril.

Social and third-party websites will let you add your logo and if you’re lucky a colour scheme but they can never be the kind of stage that will allow you to comprehensively showcase your business identity.

This is also the point where I will warn you to avoid any platform that will let you build your own website. Let me warmly encourage you to use the services of a competent and experienced web designer who can give you the website you need. “Drag and drop” templates will give you a website but not one that is truly yours.

Just like structure, your visual style shouldn’t be squashed into a predetermined mould. A good web designer will work with you from a blank sheet, making every decision on the basis of what’s best for you and then code you a bespoke website that is as unique as it is robust.

Just as no two people are the same so every good website is tailor made.

[Jamey: I agree with Dave that effective web design is best served by a professional. However, don’t let that serve as a barrier to prevent you from starting a website to get your feet wet. I really like WordPress, and it’s fairly easy to transition from WordPress.com (free, super easy to set up) to a custom WordPress.org website when you’re ready.]

5. Be central

What’s the latest social media hotness? Snapchat was a flash in the pan, Twitter is ancient and Facebook is now only used by cats. I jest, but what one minute can seem like a firmly established platform is the next ghost town. Yahoo! anyone?

The world of the internet is an ever-changing landscape but that doesn’t mean you can’t establish solid structures, and your landmark structure should be a website you have complete control over. That website will change and adapt with the internet, but it’s existence should never be in doubt.

By having a firmly established, beautifully unique website, you can then have a central hub which all your online spokes connect to.

For example, use Facebook to get likes but you want to lead those fans back to content on your website. Facebook might one day be a closed book and you don’t at that point want to have lost half your audience.

A spoke on a bicycle wheel can brake and the bike will still work fine, but if the wheel hub rips clean off you’ll find yourself in urgent need of a helmet.

[Jamey: An extension of this is the power of using your website as a way to convert one-time visitors into e-newsletter subscribers. That’s called “permission marketing,” and I would put it really high on any priority list, even if you’re just starting out.]

Conclusion

The internet is not what it once was as a collection of static individual websites. Those days are long gone and will not return. Embrace the new means of dynamic, social communication, but don’t forget you need a home to welcome people in to.

***

If you don’t have a website or want to improve your current website, feel free to reach out to Dave to find a solution. I mention this not because I get any benefit from new clients Dave gets, but rather because I want you to benefit from a web designer as good as Dave.

What do you think about Dave’s points? Do you think a website significantly increases your chances of success as a creator or entrepreneur?

19 Comments on “Do You Really Need a Website in 2017?

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  1. Jamey, I’m surprised you didn’t mention that having a website is the prerequisite to having your own online shop.

    In addition, a marketing strategy that integrates all you social media and your campaigns and uses your own website as a hub can create TONS of valuable data and insights. In the long term, this is the only thing that can sustain a business that sells online. Well, I wouldn’t say the ONLY thing, but definitely far more profitable then selling through a 3rd party when done right.

    There are also many marketing tools you can only take advantage of on your own website.

  2. Jamey:

    Re: Things I wish I’d known about website development
    I wanted the interactive features on my new website to work like yours, so thought I would try to have your website developer build my site. But, because I planned to use a lot of the art that had been developed for my first website, I decided to have the person who did that site do the second one too.
    What I didn’t realize is that the fact that my first site had minimal interactive features, whereas the new site will have many, would prove crucial. Because, although I told the developer that I wanted features to operate like your site, which he spent some time studying, he couldn’t find plug-ins for the simple customized forms some of my interactive features will require. It was then he told me that without suitable plug-ins it would take code to provide those forms, but he doesn’t write code—a crucial skill, which I hadn’t known enough to ask him in advance if he had.
    So I now need to find a developer to implement the needed interactive features and handle future implementation going forward. I suspect that is not a very attractive “fix-it” task for a top developer, (although there will also be development of sites for Facebook et al and further SEO). I have queried and followed up with Dave Hewer, but have not yet received a reply.

  3. A website is going to be the first stop when a prospective backer/buyer is trying to get more info on your game. As others have noted, having information on the game in a central location is a huge convenience to people. They are already interested in the game, at least enough to look for more info. The more value you can provide people, the more likely they are to establish a relationship with you or your company. The site also serves as a repository for all your games. They may visit for one game and end up picking one of your other games! They may sign up for your newsletter. And if you provide tutorials, you are giving even more value (like Jamey does here). Another great thing you can do to develop relationships is by having your blog. They get to know more about you and what drives your company. You’re no longer just an anonymous logo. People like products, but they invest in other people. The more of yourself you can show through your website, the better your chances of establishing rapport with your audience.

  4. No doubt, in today’s world a website is almost a prerequisite for most business’. I can’t think of the number of times I’ve not bought from a brand/company because their website was rubbish or out of date; it ultimately is the go to place these days for anything to do with a brand, trying to use SM channels in lieu of is, to me, a cop out.

    In regards to rolling out a template vs. a ‘custom’ designed site, this will always be a debate and I guess it comes down to what’s more important. For some segments it’s about the content first and foremost, so in these cases there are more than enough professional templates that will do a bang up job. Websites are now at the point where mobile first is dictating layout anyway, so it’s much less of a big deal than it used to be. But if you are trying to deliver more than say, support, then I think a custom site still is king, as the site design only further extends your brand.

  5. Jamey,

    David makes some excellent points. Coming on the heels of my Kickstarter, I started a website to carry forward with the sales which would follow…or so I thought. Squarespace worked fine, and it helped with raising a couple thousand dollars in revenue, but it certainly wouldn’t and didn’t work for the long haul. Unfortunately, I never translated profits into future earnings by hiring a professional website developer. At the time (nearly six years ago), the folks I found (and not by word of mouth) were extraordinarily expensive for what they offered, and as you know having studied business,there has to be a tangible benefit for that type of outlay. Knowing what I know now, I would definitely agree in getting your “feet wet” by having an off-the shelf website but move with a degree of speed toward a more professional one.

    Cheers,
    Joe

  6. A well crafted website instills confidence not only in potential customers, but also in anyone you wish to do business with such as hired artists, writers, manufacturers, or distributors. Over time, it should also provide customers who like one of your products with a way to discover past and future offerings they might enjoy. It gives a lasting presence and contact point that other social media does not replace. After setting up email and bank accounts, I would place a website and business cards as basic requirements for any game company. As Dave Hewer mentions, experienced website design has value – consumers are very savvy these days and appreciate quality work.

    1. Philip: That’s a great point about the impact of a nice website on people you’re looking to hire or contract (not just consumers).

  7. At this point I’m wondering if anyone cares whether a website was rolled with a WordPress template or not. If the website is to be the hub of the social network and content wheel isn’t it getting that much harder to build and maintain sites from scratch that work correctly with everything the owner wants the site to plug into?

    1. Ryan: I don’t think readers/consumers care much about how a website is created. Dave’s point is that readers/consumers care (consciously and subconsciously) about how information is presented, and drag-and-drop websites don’t take that into account as much as a human web designer.

  8. I can’t agree more with the importance of information architecture and how much easier it is to direct visitors to the information they want on your website over any other platform.

    Social is great for grabbing peoples attention and engaging with your community, but it can never provide the user experience a well crafted website can.

  9. I 100% think a website is important, primarily for the points articulated above. That being said, I think it’s important to note that it takes time to build domain authority on it (and have people finding you organically) and it is going to take some leg-work. Most times, by the time of the kickstarter launch, the website will be below the Kickstarter in terms of search results. So all true, but have realistic expectations as you grow for organic traffic (and if you pay for SEO, make sure it is a high quality company). At its core I think SEO is about good keyword density, inbound and outbound links to high reputation sites and dynamic adjusting content (like this blog!).

  10. I still can’t believe how many publishers neglect their websites. When I’m looking for information on a new game, or a rulebook PDF for an existing game, I always go to the publisher’s website first. MANY don’t even have a pdf for their rulebooks online. Some don’t even have a page for a game that’s been released in the past few months.

    Your website should be the central hub of information for your products. If it’s not, you are missing a big opportunity.

    1. I have long contended that some publishers are lazy and use a certain popular board game website as their de facto site for their games. It has been getting better in recent years, but some publishers seem to post things there first instead of use their own site.

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