Your ugly old confusing website is not your biggest problem.

So since I started as a freelance designer I have designed quite a few websites.

But let me tell you a secret.

Ready?

Most people don’t need new websites.

I don’t care how ugly, malfunctioning, confusing, or old the website, it’s probably not the thing that is going to make or break your business.

If you have everything else setup for digital success, by all means budget and put forth the internal effort to improve your website. But from my experience, that’s not the case for most people.

The least you can do.

For some reason a lot of small businesses get into their heads that the “least they can do” is give their website a little refresh. Maybe write a few new blog posts or update the services page.

But that’s kind of like washing a car that has no gas. You might be able to make it shiny but that won’t make it drive.

That’s not to say I think you need to make a big investment in something different. There is still a “least you can do.” It’s just not updating your website.

Why visit?

Ask yourself, why would someone want to visit my website?

What is it that would get them to pull out their computer, put your company name into Google, and hit the search button?

When you run into someone at a networking event and start talking about your work. Do you just hand them a card and hope they would scope out your website?

Or do you have something higher value to offer them?

You need an attraction or event.

The park with the merry-go-round.

The bar with the live music.

The restaurant with the free happy hour buffet.

The website with the… what?

There are parks without attractions. There are bars without an event calendar. There are campgrounds in areas without hiking trails. There are websites with nothing more than some basic contact information.

But if you want your website to play a role in reaching new people, or acquiring new customers, it needs to be more than a digital brochure.

It needs something special that makes it worth the visit. Something so special that potential clients will hand over their email address just to get it. They’ll even tell their friends, because it’s worth that much.

And if you can’t define what that thing is…

Well, maybe that’s the least you can do.

Join me this Wednesday.

This coming Wednesday I’ll be holding a Crowdcast webinar at 2PM eastern on the topic of minimum viable marketing.

Together we’ll work through the process of creating your own one page digital strategy. So make sure you have a pen and some paper handy.

Registration is FREE as long as there is space (currently capped at 100).

I’m also looking for a few volunteers to turn on their video this week and be part of the conversation. If you’re interested, leave a comment below or send me a message on social (LinkedIn, Twitter).