5 Reasons Why Growth-Driven Website Design Works

Growth-Driven Website Design is the new standard in website design, where your website is launched quickly and iterated regularly based on user data.

Traditionally, website design has involved a large budget and a plan that covers every single detail that needs to be done in order for the website to go live in three to five months. Once it’s live, it sits for two or more years, getting old and stale, before the process starts over again for a redesign. And in the end, the website is only what you think will perform well -- there’s no data to support it - it’s simply built on speculation.

With Growth-Driven Website Design (GDD) on the other hand, we yield immediate results. GDD enables us to gather valuable feedback about your website design improvements, which is then used to address larger projects.  

GDD minimizes the risk for business owners by reducing the amount of time needed on website redesign projects -- so you can get back to work faster. Due to the instant feedback from GDD, we can easily monitor what is working and what needs improvement.

The GDD model is adaptive, allowing us to make informed decisions based on website visitor data, versus traditional website design, which is based on guesswork or the latest trends.

Traditional website design is very risky with high upfront costs and little understanding of how it will impact your business. The project will likely go out-of-scope, over-budget, and be delivered late.

Let’s look at five reasons why Growth-Driven Website Design works and is preferred over traditional website design.

1. Traditional Website Design Puts Aesthetics Ahead of SMART Goals

Traditional website design doesn’t start with looking at lead generation goals for your website. Rather, you start by looking at other websites to “see what you like” -- possibly completing a design brief of likes and dislikes.

Instead with GDD, we develop SMART goals for your website, which are goals that are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time Bound

So while the use of elaborate wireframes and other design features are nice to have, don’t let them become major distractions that derail the strategic purpose of creating a website that generates leads for your business. To prevent this, set your SMART goals first, before you begin the website design process.

2. Traditional Website Design is Not Based on Data

Your website design may look amazing, but is it generating leads? Regular iteration based on user data is key. But data is not a driving force with traditional web design. Traditional website design is created based almost entirely upon speculation or the latest design trends.

A website created on pure speculation, not remotely close to an educated guess or hard facts, is no guarantee that you will increase your website visits and generate more leads.

Instead, let user data drive regular updates and iterations to your Growth-Driven Website Design.

3. Traditional Website Design Updates Are at Least Two Years Away

Traditional website design is not focused on regular updates. Because the website design process may have been so painful and traumatic, a redesign won’t happen for two or three years after the original website launches -- while the information on the website becomes outdated. Updates only happen when you realize how much of your website is out-of-date.

Then once you begin the traditional website redesign process, which will take another three to five months of your time -- your industry and your business continue to change. It’s a never-ending cycle of irrelevance. Traditional methods can be frustrating and costly.

With GDD, your website is always improving, which enhances the overall experience for your website visitor.

(Note: If you care about getting your website found online, search engines are big fans of websites with fresh content.)

4. Traditional Website Design is Often Over Budget

The price of a website can range from $15,000 to $80,000 to finish. In most cases, a contractual agreement is drafted and the full amount is due before the start of the redesign. Other companies require a percentage up-front and the final payment due once the job is complete. Either way, the out-of-pocket expense is high.

And because it can be difficult to assess how much time will be required to complete a particular job, traditional website design often comes in over budget. With a lack of planning, unforeseen obstacles can derail the website design process.

Instead, a monthly investment in GDD is more cost effective and budget-friendly.

5.  Traditional Website Design is Often Delivered Late

Traditional web design often takes longer than anticipated to complete. Unexpected problems or obstacles come up that must be diagnosed and fixed. Every page and every form must be done completely before you’re able to launch.

With GDD, the website can go up very quickly. Then new pages, iterations, and updates are evolving every month.  

When was the last time your website was updated? Do you have outdated information on your website -- or are there products and services you offer that aren’t listed on your website? Share your frustrations in the space for Comments below.

If you’d like to learn more about why traditional website design fails... and just as important, what you can do about it so you and your company don’t become another traumatized victim of website design malpractice, download a copy of our ebook Why Traditional Website Design Fails while it’s still available on our website.