The Cobblers kids got some new shoes!

As the saying goes “The Cobblers kids don’t have shoes”. For anyone that doesn’t get the reference it means that when you are good at doing something for other people it is difficult to do the same thing for yourself.

Since we have spent the past few weeks putting the finishing touches on our new website, it felt appropriate to talk about the trials and tribulations that we went through.

While you would think that it would be a no-brainer building a new site for ourselves, it seems that it is easier to focus on client websites than it is our own. Dedicating the time was probably one of the most challenging aspects of this project. Our client projects also seem like more fun or interesting, sort of like when your parents come over to visit and your mom starts doing stuff around the house. It’s more interesting to straighten up a different home than your own.

Another situation that continued to pop up was how close we are with the services and messaging for the site. It is easy to drone on for hours and hours about a specific area of expertise that you have. The challenge there was to make sure that we were creating information and messaging that our customers would like to read about. That meant taking ourselves out of the designer, developer, marketeer mindset and putting on our customer caps!

We organize and manage each of our clients projects a specific way and while it makes perfect sense to do the same with Atomic, it was easier said than done. We have scheduled meetings with our clients where we discuss the project and gather feedback. This was difficult because while we are here, we tend to focus exclusively on our clients (and funny memes). Buckling down and setting a schedule for ourselves became tedious so it evolved into a structure but more casual gathering around a team member and reviewing the status and issues remaining.

Since hindsight is 20/20, Here are my suggestions for any businesses considering a new website.

• Define your goals upfront. How will you know it will work if you don’t define measurable goals.
• Clean house. Similar to packing your house when you move, do an audit of your existing site and decide what stays and what needs to go!
• Don’t over complicate the content. Make sure that you have content that speaks in the tone of your brand and have a conversation with your customers.
• Stay focused. There will always be issues that pop up but finding a way to enjoy the work and stay on task is critical.
• Communicate often. If you have others that are involved in the project, make sure you include them and bounce ideas of them.
• Work with a digital marketing agency like us. With our experience you’ll have a dedicated team to guide you through the process.