The Car Analogy

by Julian Labuschagne

March 13, 2018

As a web design company, we deal with clients from all lines of work. We find that websites are usually an abstract concept to some people. Allow me to use an analogy.

Choosing your model

We can choose between many makes and models of vehicles. You get your sporty models, all terrain vehicles, sport utility vehicles, a family car or even a modest little vehicle getting you from point A to point B on a daily basis. It is important that you buy the correct type of car that fulfils your needs and that fits within your budget. There is no need to buy an all terrain vehicle if all you need to do is drive to the shop every now and then. If you need to carry huge loads of materials to a building site, splashing out on a mini cooper is probably a horrible idea.

There are many types of websites to choose from. There are static websites with content that doesn’t change on a frequent basis which is basically just the bare minimum for an online presence and websites that make it easy to add dynamic content like blog or news articles. Furthermore there are also websites with many and complex features like product listings, shopping carts, reviews, polls etc. It is important that before you endeavour to get a website that you take a moment and contemplate what your exact needs are. Don’t get an ecommerce website if you don’t need to sell products from your website. Don’t get a basic static website if you need advanced features.

Learning to drive

Before you get in and drive it is important that you know how to drive. Also when you buy that new car it is usually a good idea to familiarise yourself with the controls and dashboard for that specific model.

Learning how to utilize your website properly and how to use it to drive engagement with your customers or how to sell or promote your products properly, is important to derive the maximum value from the investment you made. Make sure you are knowledgeable on the subject. There are very good resources online or if you don’t have the time hire a expert to help you.

Fuel

A car needs fuel to propel itself. You can’t travel anywhere with a empty fuel tank. A website is fueled by content. If you don’t add regular content you won’t get the necessary engagement or sales that you need.

People usually after they visit a website and they find what they are looking for will usually not return until they need something else from the website. Providing customers with good information on using your products in the most effective ways or even just good tips and tricks will ensure that you will have return traffic.

Maintenance

For the best operation of a vehicle needs to be maintained by replacing parts that does not work anymore. There will be things on your site that used to work properly but now isn’t that effective anymore this would be a good time replace it with something new. Maybe the aesthetics isn’t in style anymore or there is some stale content on the site.

Just like a car where you can purchase a service plan to ensure your car is always performing in optimal condition it is always good idea to ask for a service contract which allows for keeping the site updated and in healthy condition.