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There’s a showed called MythBusters on The Discovery Channel where the hosts create elaborate, and often funny, experiments to determine if a common myth is true. Some of my favorite busted myths include how a penny dropped from a skyscraper won’t actually kill you, that a shark isn’t afraid of its own shadow and that you can’t really dodge a sniper’s bullet.

I thought it would be fun to do the same with common website development myths I have heard over the years talking with accounting marketers, CPAs and accountants. Although we won’t be discussing killer pennies, I want to shine some light on these myths and see if they hold merit. The more educated and informed industry professionals are on the topic, the easier it will be for them to find the vendor to help them create their website masterpiece.

Common Web Myths

Buying Local is Better

The idea that local is better has gained prominence in general American culture over the past few years. Perhaps the most prominent place this can be seen is in the supermarket, where produce companies go out of their way to advertise that a product was grown in the United States. Grocery stores in Denver advertise produce that was sourced from the greater metro area as being fresher and better for the consumer. Buying local makes some feel they positively impact their community.

The same concept exists when searching for an agency. Many firms believe that by working with a client or local agency, they will not only get the highest quality product, but they will also have a high degree of control. Unfortunately, I can offer you dozens of stories of firms that overspent and got a substandard website because they elected to use a client. There are also other stories of accounting marketing professionals who bought local and, while the final product was well designed, it clearly lacked many of the best practices firms across the country are using. So, this myth is busted! Yes, sometimes buying local is better, but it’s ideal to find a provider with the proper level of experience, a long list of references and the knowledge to help guide your firm through the process.

Content is Important

The idea that content is important to the success of a website has been floating through the ether for several years. Some firms have embraced content development as part of their marketing culture and develop several custom pieces each month. Others outsource content development to a ghostwriter or content creation service to provide them with the needed information. Finally, there are those who believe content is not important and don’t invest in creating content.

The truth is, content is extremely important to a website’s success. It serves as the “product” or reason why people visit the site. Clients come looking for contact or event information; employees to access the employee portal; and prospects to find the answers to questions, concerns or challenges they face in their business. If you don’t have a lot of content on the website, then you will almost assuredly not have a lot of website traffic. It’s obvious this is not a myth and it’s true. To illustrate this point, we work with one firm that generates four posts per week and they average 15,750 visitors each month. Another firm uploads three posts per month and average 2,700 users per month. The numbers speak for themselves.

WordPress is the Best

The increasingly popularity of WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) has left many accounting marketers with the idea they need to be on WordPress. While FlashPoint Marketing does develop on WordPress (and I am a huge fan), it’s important to understand WordPress is not right for each situation. We have worked with firm’s that spent more than $100,000 on a redesign and were sold into a CMS that was far more than they needed. One example was a firm in Chicago that was using Ruby on Rails, a robust CMS used by major retailers such as Target and Walmart. (It was a little much to say the least). However, the same firm was not a viable candidate for WordPress because of other technical specifications they had for the site. So, it’s busted – kind of! The truth is, you need to carefully match your technical needs against the strengths of various CMS platforms to determine which is best for you.

Contact Us

It’s difficult for many companies to know the right steps to take in their project. If this is your first or second web redesign of your career, then it’s understandable that you don’t know everything. Hopefully the information presented above can act as a guide and resource during your next redesign. If you have questions about web design, SEO or other topics, FlashPoint Marketing can help. For additional information please call us at 954-621-8080, or click here to contact us. We look forward to speaking with you soon.