For more than 10 years, designing and developing websites has been a core part of what we do here at PRIME. We’ve worked constantly to streamline the process and scale based on the needs of each client. But we can’t deny that it’s always been one of the most difficult and time-consuming aspects of our work – both for our clients and our team.
More and more, we’re finding that the traditional method of building a website isn’t what it could be. It’s taxing for everyone, it’s expensive for clients and, with the rate at which technologies and design practices are changing, new websites become outdated far too quickly. We want to build websites that set our clients up for success long-term – websites that change and pivot over time and grow with our clients.
So, we’re throwing in the towel with traditional website design and implementing something better: the Growth-Driven Design model.
What’s the Problem with a Traditional Website Build?
It’s risky
Building a website in the traditional way is a huge undertaking. It typically takes about three to six months, costs between $15,000 and $80,000, and frequently goes over budget and beyond the set timeline. When it’s all said and done, it still isn’t clear exactly how well it will work and how it’ll affect your bottom line. This puts your business at risk for putting in tons of resources for an unknown reward. On the other end, it sets us – the agency – up for failure because of this next key point.
It doesn’t allow for learning
Most businesses agree that a website is one of their most important marketing tools. And yet so often, businesses build a website and then leave it alone for years until they decide they need a new one. What’s lacking is the space to learn, grow and optimize. According to HubSpot, 42% of marketers only make impactful improvements to their website once a year or less. Rather than thinking of your website as a static digital brochure, we want to think of it as an adaptable tool that can consistently bring real impact to your business.
Why We’re Moving Toward Growth-Driven Design
We both know that there must be something better out there. And that thing is Growth-Driven Design.
What is Growth-Driven Design?
Growth-Driven Design is a web development model established by Media Junction that allows for continuous growth over time, using data to maximize user experience and, ultimately, add value for businesses. It takes a tiered approach to development, helping you prioritize features and elements of your website to be added over time. At PRIME, we’re certified through HubSpot to provide this service to our clients.
Growth-Driven Design consists of three major stages: creating a strategy, building a launch pad website, and continuous improvement. Here’s how each stage works for PRIME and our clients.
Create a Strategy
This is a crucial step that’s often skipped in website development. At PRIME, creating a website strategy starts with learning about a business’ goals and objectives. What are the benchmarks or KPIs we’re hoping to achieve? Then, we develop personas to better understand who will be coming to the website and what a successful visit looks like for each audience. All of this helps inform our website strategy, including the site architecture, key pages and content pieces, integrations and more. We’ll also make a list of things we hope to add down the line – nice-to-haves that aren’t crucial for an initial website launch.
Build a Launch Pad
A launch pad is a website that looks and performs better than what you have today but isn’t a final product. It has everything you need to do business and allows us to start gathering data and learning as soon as possible. Due to its simplicity, a launch pad can take as little as 60 days to get up and running.
Continuous Improvement
Now it’s time to continuously improve your website to infinity. With your launch pad website live, we’ll start collecting user data and gain a better understanding of high-impact areas to grow and optimize. Together, we’ll go back to that wishlist to start implementing and testing new features on your website in regular design sprints. With each addition, we’ll make time for analysis and data collection to look for room for improvement.
What Does Growth-Driven Design Look Like in Action?
One of our favorite examples of this model is our work with Bozeman Real Estate Group. Since 2017, we’ve been optimizing and adding functionality to its website, and the result is a lead-generating machine that brings maximum value to its user.
Learn more about it by reading this case study.
Let’s Grow Together
With a website model that’s focused on long-term growth, we’re able to build high-performing websites that bring more value to the businesses we work with. When you work with PRIME, your website will grow with you, not waste away after three years. Make your investment worth it. If you’re ready to rethink your website, reach out to us.
If you enjoyed this edition of PRIME Pulse, take a look at some of our other related articles:
- Tips for a Successful Partnership With a Marketing Agency
- The Ultimate Digital Marketing Dictionary
- How To Get The Most Out Of Your Website
