Your small business or non-profit needs an effective website.
This eager little website-building seal is here to help you!
You know what really makes his whiskers twitch with joy? Bringing you business, by helping you persuade website visitors that you can solve their problem.
This is a guided tour.
I’ve built this website to bring me business—just like I’ll do for you. As you scroll down, you’ll see me take you through the tried-and-true persuasion steps in this list.
- Who are your customers?
- What problem or need do you address?
- Why should they trust you?
- How do you solve their problem?
- How can they get started?
1) Introduction: Reassure visitors that you’re a potential solution to their problem. You’re in my Introduction section right now.
2) Problem Statement: Demonstrate that you understand their needs—and fears!
3) Authority: Establish that you’re well-qualified to solve their problem.
4) Solution: In concise, specific terms, explain your offering.
5) Validation: The words of your satisfied customers carry more weight than your own. Case studies or portfolio items, if relevant, will also demonstrate your abilities.
6) Call To Action: Invite your visitors to take the next step, such as contacting you, making a purchase, booking a reservation, etc.
What makes a good website?
Guided Tour notes: In the Problem Statement, we’ll show that you understand both the needs of your website visitor, and are able to address their common concerns.
Your website visitors need to know that you understand their needs in detail, and that you have a specific way to solve them.
In your case, you need a website that:
- Appears professional and attractive
- Establishes your credibility and authority
- Does not overwhelm visitors with extraneous information
- Complies with local, national, and international laws
- Doesn’t break!
- And most importantly: A website that you can afford.
This is also where you’ll put site visitors’ minds at easy by responding to common fears.
Can I afford a GOOD website?
This is likely your biggest concern! You’ll find lots of inexpensive website builders on Fiverr and elsewhere. Yes, they’ll build you a website; yes, it’ll probably look good enough.
But will it bring you business?
Narrative build trust, and trust wins you customers. No “budget-friendly” Fiverr vendor can tell your story the way I will.
Also, a good website may be less expensive than you think!
Wtih me, you also get expert guidance on what elements not to include, saving you money.
How do privacy regulations work? Will my website get me in trouble?!
Many jurisdictions have enacted digital privacy laws in recent years. While these laws are complicated on their face, compliance doesn’t have to be.
Compliance is built into the tools I use, and generally will require little to no ongoing intervention from you, unless you know you’ll have lots of data-expungement requests.
Bottom line: I’ve got you covered.
What about SEO?
Many companies charge truly scandalous rates for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), a process that only adds 1-2 hours of work for an experienced web designer.
It’s important for Google to know that your website is a good result for people’s searches, of course. But this isn’t black magic. A well-written website accomplishes this, and you’re already getting that when you work with me.
Will long-term maintenance be expensive?
This is another common area of abusive profiteering by web designers.
While you do need someone to keep your website healthy, make minor updates, and respond to outages, these tasks typically only take 1-2 hours per year.
I always include one year of maintenance in my design contracts. For annual renewals, I typically charge 10-15% of the initial project costs, based on potential needs of the site.
I’m Chris Seale.
Guided Tour notes: This is the Authority section of my website, where we’ll establish that you’re a reliable resource to solve your website visitor’s problem.
My background
I’ve built a rich understanding of marketing psychology, informed by diverse storytelling experiences woven through a wildly eclectic career path that has included:
- Marketing laser light shows in planetariums across the U.S. I built the company’s first website in 1996!
- Building an Internal Communications Wiki for a pioneering broadband startup.
- Through websites and other media, successfully introducing my employer’s customers to the startup that had just bought us, and vice versa. Tightest needle I’ve ever threaded!
- Building a modest travel blog up into the website Derby News Network, the central source of news, scores, and livestream tournament broadcasts in the early days of modern roller derby.
… and many more adventures along the way. I have some stories!
Solution
Guided Tour notes: Now that we’ve covered the What, Who, and Why, it’s time for the How.
1) Discovery
The why informs the what. To build a website that’s actually worth your investment, we need to know:
- What is the essence of your business or non-profit? How does it relate to the industry and community you operate in?
- Who are the people you hope to reach? What choices or behaviors do you want to prompt in them?
- What methods are available to communicate your message? What resources (time, money, skill set) can you bring to bear?
2) Scoping
This is where we carefully assess your needs and resources, to make sure every dollar you spend actively advances your goals.
We’ll sort your wishlist into three categories:
- Must-Have: Essential functionality for your core organizational needs
- Would Be Nice: Valuable features that would deliver ROI, but may need to be deferred or dropped based on available resources
- Not Worth It: I’ll steer you away from investing time (money) on elements that won’t likely pay off
3) Assembly
Putting your website together is a collaboration. I’ll need you to bring provide images, video files, and draft copy (which I’ll help you tighten up and polish).
I’ll also need your feedback throughout the process, from color palette and font selection, through structure and design, so my time (your money) isn’t wasted on dead ends.
I will respect your time! I will work within your schedule so you can focus on your core business. I will never ask for a meeting that could’ve been an email.
Testimonials
Guided Tour notes: This is part the Validation section, where the words of your customers build trust with your website visitors.
Working with Chris is a dream! As it turns out, making a well-organized website that speaks to my readers is actually hard, no matter how much Squarespace insists otherwise!
I knew I needed a website that would represent me more effectively, and I’m so glad I had Chris to erase this ongoing headache.
Chris brought a fearless and brilliant voice to the process: he neither hesitated to challenge my thinking nor did he become strident in his steadfast dedication to deliver the best possible site for me.
It’s combustion.
With Chris, you hire a website producer and receive a website partner.
Chris has been fantastic to work with on our newly redesigned website.
He is responsive, his communication is clear, and he makes sure that he fully understands what we need and want before implementing changes.
Portfolio
Guided Tour notes: Also part of the Validation section, a portfolio or case study section shows your previous successes.
