Consultant websites
Built with GoDaddy
Company: Braff & Company
Consultant: Adam Braff
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: The objectives of my site are: (a) to give potential clients a fuller sense of what I do than what they would get simply from LinkedIn, (b) distribute my blog on business analytics (and forecasting, and food), and most recently (c) host my digital business analytics textbook. I looked at other independent consultants’ websites to get the main categories of content needed — essentially the top menu items. Then I went to GoDaddy and bought the entire “website + marketing” package from them, including site hosting, email, and website builder, including (I believe) white-labeled WordPress for the blog. I wrote out all the content in a Word document and then pasted it into the right boxes in GoDaddy’s website building, selecting images from the stock art they had available. I have made minor changes over time, but most of my effort has gone into the blog part of the site. One more thing to note is that I have a small budget for buying search terms to drive traffic to the site, mostly out of curiosity and to keep current on how digital marketing analytics works.
Company: Brand Capital Ventures
Consultant: Tommy Kim
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: Objective — Information with easy walk-through by topic. Used GoDaddy template and added company’s content. Images are combo of default options and new images added personally. Performed the build personally. Cost is all priced into web hosting by GoDaddy. I rate the GoDaddy experience 3 on a scale of 5, because their ability on problem resolution is poor. But the site technical offering is 4 out of 5 for the price paid. I heard squarespace.com is better!
Company: Gaillard Consulting
Consultant: Annette Stanley
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: My initial objective was simply to be able to respond to people when they asked, “What’s your website address?” I thought that I could create a single, simple landing page; however, I quickly realized a simple landing page was too singular. I needed to create a website that supported and advanced my brand and the value I provide to clients. I initially tried building a website in 2010 using Wix and WordPress and found the process to be frustrating — templates were too limited, the technology wasn’t drop-and-drag, etc.
When I started the process again in 2019, I used GoDaddy and found the platform to be much more to my liking. I found a template, e.g., site structure that allowed me to present my services in a way that I felt reflected value and experience. I wrote the content and selected the images myself and then had a couple of people review and make suggestions. Once the content and pictures were finalized, I popped the information into the template that I had selected. There was definitely some back-and-forth with the language, images and the website template I ultimately selected, but I was relieved when my site was up and running.
Company: GTI Consulting
Consultant: Nuno Anjo e Silva
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: Decided to do the site when creating the IP address in GoDaddy. The process seemed simple enough for someone with no prior site development experience, like me. So I went for it. Most of the content was already available as it is a MECE structure of growth building initiatives on which I can have value added. It was more a wordsmith crafting exercise fitting the model into the concept of the site which was inspired in the GTI/acceleration promise. Imagery was created in line with that same acceleration value proposition.
Company: IPCH International
Consultant: Xenia Razinski
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: I used my familiarity with Business Marketing concepts to develop my website entirely on my own. First, I asked myself “What do I want potential customers to learn about my business at first glance?” and “How do I describe all my various service offerings in as clear and concise manner as possible?”
I launched my business after several friends and acquaintances starting their business asked me questions “How do I…”, so I made a few notes as to what business management questions my advisory services can answer, and the kind of help I expect my potential customers to seek. The result of these notes turned into my homepage.
I then created an “About” page describing the philosophy and methods of my work and my brief bio. I then drafted the “Services” page, where I first categorized my full services into four distinct groups, and then broke out the services and deliverables in more detail. A separate page called “Insights” is a regularly-updated blog of news, tips and my company’s latest publications. The Contact page enables a direct way to connect to the business.
To build the website, my hosting service that I have used for more than 15 years (GoDaddy) offers a Website Builder add-on for a small monthly fee. The builder is easy to use as it is not html-based, offers various industry-specific templates, its own image library and various customizable features. It is a great blend of automation and customization for someone who only has basic knowledge of IT necessary to develop a website. The main company homepage image was selected for its depiction of the collaborative aspect of my work…a great example of a client meeting I would typically have, going over business plans over coffee. This image is also used as header across my social media, which is also connected to the website.
Company: Lead Mandates LLC
Consultant: Jeffery Perry
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: I had multiple objectives for my website: 1) To introduce myself, capabilities, affiliations, and broad description of business/leadership services. 2) To provide a platform to demonstrate thought leadership through articles and videos posted on the site. 3) To give insight into me as a person even for opportunities outside of my LLC (e.g. corporate board roles).
I wanted to keep the website structure simple and easy to navigate. Therefore, there are only five sections: home, services, thought leadership, about, and contact. I took my time in writing the original content. Since I write thought leadership articles on a monthly basis, there is always new content on the site. I designed a logo that I felt was aligned with the firm name and purpose. I also used images to highlight key affiliations. My personal image on the home page is a professional photo. Every thought leadership article has an image aligned with the topic of the article to generate interest.
Company: See Forever Consulting, LLC
Consultant: rin Hogue
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: I used the Go Daddy website builder tool and it was extremely easy and intuitive. I do have experience with Shopify so I was starting with a little experience. The goal for my website is to give a professional overview of the services I offer and to share my background an experience. To build the site out I used a combination of stock photos included in the tool and professional headshots. I wanted the experience to be easy to navigate and not too heavy with copy that is hard to digest.
Company: Spinderok
Consultant: Susan Sanders
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: The Spinderok site is used mostly as an introduction and to add credibility to my work beyond LinkedIn, but also as a marketing site that provides details about the services provided and my perspective. I also have information for potential strategic partners and post articles that I also post on LinkedIn. There are various request forms throughout the site. The site structure is simple and typical of what you’d find on a consulting website. I selected quality, licensed images from iStock, for which I have a subscription. I write the content in Word, and then post and refine on the webpage, but ask colleagues to review and edit before it goes live. I built the site using the GoDaddy Website Builder after testing it against other popular website building tools. Site activity is tracked in Google Analytics.
Company: The Deerborne Group
Consultant: Jeffrey Jones
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: We had identified the importance of building a website early on when we wrote our year-one business and marketing plan. Being a startup consultancy with limited resources, we needed to be judicious with our spend. But the site needed to be professional with a modern look & feel and mobile-friendly. It needed a lot of functionality to include being cyber secure. But what it really needed to do was create awareness and drive brand loyalty.
We started off with a competitive analysis and used a number of online tools that allowed us to “look under the hood” of our competitors, looking for commonality and best-in-class ideas. That exercise alone helped to define the site architecture, and we started writing content (we utilized the value proposition and message map from the marketing plan that we’d already qualitatively validated with customers). We then acquired royalty-free stock photos online to go with the content. We had looked at a few different website builders and decided on one that would provide all the needed backend hosting support (e.g. MS Office, email, SEO, keywords, backlinks, analytics, etc). We acquired the domain name, added the logo we had designed, and off we went. All in all, it took a couple of months of building, testing, etc before we finally felt comfortable enough to published it. Since then, we’ve updated/added content, case studies, a blog, and new graphics.
Company: The M. Ryan Group
Consultant: Mike Ryan
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: Objective of the website is to serve as a “backstop” for potential clients to learn what types of problems we solve and the value we create. The approach is a combination of The Challenger Sales methodology with a bit of StoryBrand sprinkled in. The site itself was built through GoDaddy website builder. Given that it’s a “drag & drop” system, it forced me (in a good way) to keep the content focused on the client without going overboard. I wrote the content, and had a couple of trusted advisors edit it for me. Images came from Adobe Stock as well as from client locations.
Company: Thompson Marketing Consulting
Consultant: Angela Thompson
Platform: GoDaddy
Story: I wanted to have a professional site primarily to host my yearly Patterning work, but also to share information about my business (even though I don’t really get cold leads coming through my website…it makes the business more professional). I decided to work with a designer on the creative for my logo and brand guidelines (Jackie Burtch, burtchdesigns.com). I built the website myself through Go Daddy, which was incredibly easy using their module.
Built with Squarespace
Company: Advanced Analytics LLC
Consultant: Michael Koved
Platform: Squarespace
Story: The website is an online brochure to summarize the services my company offers. It provides a convenient way for (potential) clients to reach me. The content is drawn from the client proposals that describe our value proposition. Images and building came from a colleague with an artistic eye and experience in building sites.
Company: Cleaca Consulting LLC
Consultant: Colin Taylor
Platform: Squarespace
Story: Objective: Reference point for business development/scope of services. Wrote all the content myself and had it reviewed by friends and respected members of my network. Navigation based on functional areas of expertise. Images from my own gallery of photos and one from SquareSpace. Built it myself using SquareSpace.
Company: Dreyfus Advisors LLC
Consultant: Rachel Dreyfus
Platform: Squarespace
Story: My goal for DreyfusAdvisors.com was to create a clean-looking, “evergreen” site that would need infrequent updates, and that showcases my skills and expertise in market research in a way aligned with my vibe: professional, high-quality, concise, visual. Prospective clients can reach out (critical), or access the site from my social media profiles and intro emails.
Criteria: Fewer than 10 webpages, with a home page that summarizes “why” use Dreyfus Advisors, case studies to show vs. tell what I do, and of course, the requisite bio, “About Rachel Dreyfus” and the “Contact Form” to reach out. My goal is to leave people wanting to know more. I used a turn-key tool, Squarespace, that many freelancers work with, and is cost-effective. In a pinch I can make minor edits, but I haven’t taken any trainings. I am using another freelance consultant, referred to me, to update to a more modern look (in-progress, not yet complete).
I wrote all the content in article-like pieces, and had the consultant layout and choose stock images for me to purchase. The whole process was time-consuming for less than a couple of months. Revisions are super easy. Bottom-line, a digital presence beyond LinkedIn is critical to establish your business as more than a “freelancer.” Larger companies will want to prove your business is legitimate and will check your website in their due diligence effort.
Company: Dubb Value Creation
Consultant: Jonathan Wilson
Platform: Squarespace
Story: The company site was not initially built to be transactional. With that said, the site is currently informational with the eventual goal of becoming transactional. The CEO (me) had some key structural thoughts and hired someone to bring it online. Then, a staff member provided additional placeholder content. Now we are currently restructuring (slowly, due to time constraints). However, the latest iteration should be complete by mid-September at the latest. The FY22 strategic plan requires quarterly changes to the site, which is had helped with the constant evolution of the site.
Company: duHadway, LLC
Consultant: John duHadway
Platform: Squarespace
Story: I simply started with the objective to have a presence. I started with Weebly and created my own site. I laid out the pages I wanted, wrote some content and used images found searching on internet that were free to use and rights were free. Since then I have redone the site on several occasions to freshen it and have migrated to Squarespace (and likely going to Wix).
Company: Foresight Vector LLC
Consultant: Steven Kenney
Platform: Squarespace
Story: My objective was to demonstrate an image of professionalism and long experience in my area of specialization, primarily for prospective clients already engaged in a dialogue with me to visit the site and validate their confidence and help cement the decision to engage with Foresight Vector. Decisions on the site structure were in collaboration with the website designer I engaged (Heather Terwilliger); I had some basic ideas but wanted to leverage her experience and advice, which I found to be a good decision. I wrote all the content, then workshopped it with a handful of longtime trusted collaborators for their feedback, which I also found to be a good decision. My website designer selected and recommended all the images. She built the site on Squarespace, then coached me on how I could make very simple updates/changes if I wished in the future.
Company: Insurgents
Consultant: Robin Albin
Platform: Squarespace
Story: My site represents my agency’s work/portfolio. It included case studies, agency services and capabilities, client list, and bios. Images are from the work we produced for our clients. My website was originally built by a friend but has since been updated by an associate. His web skills are rather limited to the updates. I’m actually looking for someone to help with maintenance going forward.
Company: Jessica Lackey Consulting
Consultant: Jessica Lackey
Platform: Squarespace
Story: I looked at other consulting firms as examples of my website. I am enrolled in Kelly Diels’s Copywriters for Culture Makers program to help me write my copy. I had brand photography created. I worked with a firm that I don’t recommend to do my logo, brand colors, and website. We did a Pinterest mood board for the colors and logo inspiration, and she sent over mood boards and then web structure wire frames as we went along.
Company: Marja Fox Consulting
Consultant: Marja Fox
Platform: Squarespace
Story: I investigated hiring someone to build my website, but was daunted by the cost! I wasn’t ready to make that kind of investment and didn’t see the value in hiring out all of it. Instead, I’ve cobbled together inputs from a variety of professionals, acting as the “general contractor” along with some DIY.
1. I hired a wonderful expert in personal branding (Lisa Furze, lisafurze.com). She learned about my business, personality and aspirations and turned them into a brand with visuals and messaging.
2. I hired a professional photographer who specializes in individual brand photography (Sweet Light Studio, sweetlight-studio.com).
3. I pulled those pieces together on my own using SquareSpace to create and publish the website during a lull in client work.
4. I currently employ two students on an hourly basis to manage the website and social media and help me write blog posts.
5. I am also working with an independent digital marketing expert (Dylan Giebel, giebel11@gmail.com) to help me optimize the website for search as well as offering guidance on analytics and promotion.
Company: Monarch Point Consulting Group
Consultant: Brian Dapelo
Platform: Squarespace
Story: I wanted a website to tell people what I did and to help them easily schedule an initial discovery call to qualify them as a prospective client. I wrote all the content and in the same words I would use if I were communicating verbally and the images were selected to support that verbiage and branding.
Company: Payne Enterprises LLC
Consultant: Gavin Payne
Platform: Squarespace
Story: Landing page for information for clients.
Company: Scott Potter Consulting
Consultant: Scott Potter
Platform: Squarespace
Story: I leveraged Squarespace and their respective templates. I did not hire anyone else.
Company: STB Consulting LLC
Consultant: Stacye Brim
Platform: Squarespace
Story: The objective of my website is to inform potential clients of the services I offer as well as the clients that I have previously partnered with. I decided on my site structure by researching websites of smaller consulting firms as well as other independent consultants. I found common elements that I wanted to use on my site. I wrote my own content and got feedback from a handful of folks in my inner circle. Each person I got feedback from is someone who is honest and has no problem telling me what they like and don’t like.
I purchased the images from istock and was intentional about keeping the images diverse (gender and race). I also requested feedback on the images from my inner circle. Amazingly, I created the website myself using Squarespace. This was my first time developing a website so I wasn’t sure how things would work out. I figured that I would give it a try and if it didn’t work out I would pay someone. I’ve made small edits to the site since originally creating it in the fall of 2020.
Company: The Rapier Group LLC
Consultant: Mark Rapier
Platform: Squarespace
Story: Using the tools from SquareSpace, I built my website myself. SquareSpace also provided the service to purchase my domain name and email address. I studied several websites before creating my own. After publishing my book, I redesigned the website to leverage the graphics that were created for the book. I am in the position of being semi-retired. I do not need to be fully employed. I have been successful at landing several small engagements. If this was not the case, I would engage fractional marketing professionals to help with SEO for the website and more formal marketing initiatives.
Company: Zeichgeist
Consultant: Arlene Zeichner
Platform: Squarespace
Story: Used Squarespace plus a graphic designer.
Built with Weebly
Company: Balanced Risk Strategies, Ltd.
Consultant: Martin Pergler
Platform: Weebly
Story: The main decision was do I build this myself or do I outsource it. If my goal was to genuinely increase my marketing visibility, I would have definitely hired a professional. Professional marketing, including SEO, is not in my skill set. But my goal is merely to provide a home for my collateral and reassurance as to my solidity for the curious who hear about me otherwise (generally word of mouth), and defining what I stand for and writing tolerable copy and collateral about it. With this in mind, the various website building platforms make it pretty easy to DIY. So I built it myself in a few hours and periodically update it (15 mins each time), and that’s it. It’s probably clear to those in the know that’s it’s a bit old-fashioned, but ultimately in my field and with my positioning I can live with that. As to structures, I decided I needed some sort of description of what my firm was about and what it’s services and delivery model were. Beyond that, I need the ability to serve up articles and presentations, and give a bio more dynamic than what LinkedIn allows. And so I defined headings to fit. Finally I added a blog element, though I haven’t used it much and find LinkedIn is a better platform for the limited blogging I do these days. Photos — I decided intriguing and somewhat personal images were a decent way to go, so I raided the vault, i.e. the Lightroom catalog of pics I’ve taken with my SLR camera over the years. Good enough, and more worthy of a conversation (I’ve had a few) than random clip art.
Company: Bird Dog Insights, LLC
Consultant: Martha Hayward
Platform: Weebly
Story: Objectives: show up professionally if someone looks for me. Structure: Chose template offered by Weebly where I built the site to match a handful of key pages. Content: Brainstormed what I wanted to say with a friend who is a communications professional, and she wrote the text for me. Images: Just my logo and headshot. Build: did it myself using DIY template on Weebly.
Company: Journey in Light
Consultant: Carl Ballot
Platform: Weebly
Story: While this seems to be starting to shift, I’ve always regarded the website as “the mother ship” — it’s a central point that everything and anything (eg, from business cards, to CV’s, to other online presences, etc) can and should all link back to. I wanted to be sure to have a professional presence in this space with a clearly recognizable domain name and clarity, ultimately leading to delivery of my promise). In terms of structure, I referred back to my knowledge and experience from practice and academia and focused on the objective, which was to have a solid presence but without having to win the awards for the best website out there.
After some trial and error and lots of online research, selected Weebly. This is not the first choice in the market (I had in fact first tried Wix) but seemed best for my purposes. I have never regretted that decision and am still with them. Admittedly, with the site built and the maintenance/updates totally up to me, it is a very passive and comfortable arrangement. I do feel I could do more with my website but at least it’s there and so not a burning platform or overwhelming priority. I wrote all the content — relatively easy for me as I am a Communications specialist and Marketing & Communications strategist by profession. I am a part-time professional photographer and was able to do all of my own images for the website. I do need to update the site and my biggest single intention in this regard is to write opinion pieces and commentaries, most likely through the Weebly blogging functionality.
Built with Wix
Company: Deep Consulting
Consultant: Deepak Shenoy
Platform: Wix
Story: The site objective was to give my practice the appearance of scale and legitimacy to a prospective client after I had networked with them (more like a LinkedIn profile, functionally). I do not drive business growth by site traffic or engagement (I primarily rely on repeat clients, word of mouth referrals, and occasionally responding to RFPs). I designed the site after looking at examples of other independent consultants and thinking about what questions prospective clients might have. I ran draft content by other independent consultants to get feedback. I used free sources for images (Pixabay, Unsplash). I built it myself in Wix. My wife did the style guide for me (color palette, fonts, etc.). I outsourced the creation of the logo.
Company: Green Strategies LLC
Consultant: Ali Ahmed
Platform: Wix
Story: Built the website myself including all content. Used a graphic designer to create my logo and a color scheme (which I use on documents, and a little on the website).
Company: James Franklin Consulting
Consultant: Jim Blanchet
Platform: Wix
Story: Because I’m not expecting a project management consulting website to ever generate business on its own (nobody buys a 6-7 figure consulting project via e-commerce), my site has two simple objectives for now: Initially, I simply want to validate that I exist to prospects who are following up on me, and that we realistically look like what we say we are. Second, I am a VOSB, and once I’ve finalized the credential, I’ll display it to demonstrate credibility. I wanted the site to be as short and concise as possible, so I wrote the content of “what we do” in plain, narrative language. Photos are simple headshots, and there is a contact option if someone wanted to reach out. My Ops Director and I built it using a recommended Wix template, and the site is hosted via Google.
Company: Krohmal Consulting Group
Consultant: Karl Krohmal
Platform: Wix
Story: A classic consulting website outlining the practice, services offered, approach, methodology, etc. I built it myself, using one of the popular website building services. Images closely aligned with the theme and credo of the company came from free photo repositories.
Company: REV
Consultant: Alma Derricks
Platform: Wix
Story: I designed my website to match the identity system I use (proposals, etc.) and designed/wrote it myself using tools from Wix. I’ve considered hiring a designer for a refresh but, I like having full creative/admin control over my site AND I don’t want the site to outpace the design/look/feel of the collateral I create. Bottom line: my practice runs on referrals (vs. being found via a search engine), so it works for me.
Company: Source Refresh
Consultant: Chandhrika Venkataraman
Platform: Wix
Story: My consulting practice is specifically designed to benefit small businesses. So, consistent with that, I reached out to my network of friends and family and found a startup called Tellable, based in India to create my website. I visited websites of several other independent consultants across different fields including Sourcing (my specialty) to browse for ideas on structure. I was clear on the content, I.e., I knew I wanted to concisely communicate that my practice was for small businesses, I wanted to share my credentials, and I wanted to share my Methodology. Tellable helped me layout the story, they added imagery to my content and helped fine tune the content.
Company: SPR Advisory
Consultant: Benjamin Einersen
Platform: Wix
Story: I created it within an hour or two using Wix. I believe for basic websites there’s no advantage to hiring professional help when you can do it yourself so easily.
Company: Springfield Advisors
Consultant: Seth McLaughlin
Platform: Wix
Story: The objective is to generate consulting opportunities as well as validate that I am a professional consulting operation. I wrote the content myself and the images were created by a photographer friend of mine. I used Wix to create the site which was very helpful and I would recommend as a website creator for other consultants.
Company: StratMaven
Consultant: Astrid Malval-Beharry
Platform: Wix
Story: I initially built by myself a very basic website using Wix. I was very fortunate at the time to get the help of Lisa Overton to help me with the writing of the actual case studies and some of the language for other sections of the website. Three years ago, it was time to update the website with a more professional look. Wix had a marketplace of vetted professionals and I could put a request out to the professionals I thought might be a good fit. I reviewed five proposals and had in-depth discussions with all five professionals, but I ended up selecting Olya Black. Goal for the website was not to generate leads but to add to my credibility as an expert in my field. Olya shared her portfolio for inspiration and I also consulted other websites on my own to give her an idea of what I was looking for.
Company: Stretch The Edge
Consultant: Phillipp Ebert
Platform: Wix
Story: Objectives for my site: Credibility (something exists here); structured by offering; simplicity on landing page to draw people in; client logos on landing page to give instant credibility. Images: Not very thorough process, basically pulled together things off of royalty-free websites that would fit the feel — need work on color scheme, etc. Built myself in Wix. Very well aware of the fact that it is far from a good website, but I don’t really need it to get business for what I do — people come to me purely based on recommendations.
Company: Think Zero LLC
Consultant: Ushma Pandya
Platform: Wix
Story: My business partner and I did the original website ourselves on Go Daddy. It was a basic website that had a few tabs that detailed our philosophy, a bio on each of us and our services. Nothing too fancy. We then added to the Go Daddy website over the next few years (media page, blog, some resources such as newsletters). We viewed the website simply as a way to legitimize us and not to generate client leads given how niche our work was and the quality of our referral network. I think it is important to know why you want a website.
After about five years we wanted to have a more strategic website where people could find us. Again, we think less for business but maybe to enhance our brand, get reporters to contact us to quote us, or have potential partners reach out to us to do business together. We also launched a consumer line — if individuals wanted helped with living more sustainably we had a toolkit and links to products. This felt like it could benefit from a better website. We spoke to some folks and learned that Go Daddy is not our friend.
We switched to Wix and found someone to work with us via a quote on Upwork. She did not have SEO experience which was a miss. We also used a copy editor to help us refine our copy. My business partner and I wrote our draft copy. We spent about $5K with the contractor to switch from Go Daddy to Wix and to design the website to look more modern and easy to navigate. I view this as version 2.0 and still needs more work but this is a better website, has better SEO because of Wix (but we need to hire someone to review our site and do proper SEO) and does have people coming to our site based on analytics.
Company: ValCap Global Advisory
Consultant: Jeff Christiansen
Platform: Wix
Story: My website serves as a passive point of reference/verification for my work and profile, not an active driver of potential client traffic. Site structure is slightly traditional — not a one page scroll — on purpose. I wrote the content. Color scheme is based on Bain’s red-and-grey.
Built with WordPress
Company: Alfizo LLC
Consultant: Gary Chan
Platform: WordPress
Story: My objective was to showcase what my company offers to people who already know about me. Since I was not investing in search engine optimization or Internet ads, I figured the only people who would go to my site learned about me from a referrer. I spent a great deal of time iterating on the content to appeal to my target audience and then settled on this format after seeing many different consulting sites. I wanted something that was a single page that people could scroll on a tablet, phone, or computer and that would cover the most important elements that most prospects care about. I wrote all of the content and selected the images. I built the current iteration of the website from scratch on my own. (My first website was done by a professional whom I hired, but the feedback from people I polled was poor so I built the new site on my own.)
Company: Anna Engströmer GmbH
Consultant: Anna Engströmer
Platform: WordPress
Story: To give transparency on what I do, and a little bit who I am, for those who research me prior to maybe engage me. People don’t find me via the site but some do check me out.
The structure is very simple: home, about, mywork, consulting areas, contact. A page with a list of projects is practical, because often when people ask for a CV or project list I just refer them there. It’s also practical to publish something I’ve written as example of how I think and how I write. I have a little blog with about 5 articles that I sometimes refer to. I have never posted any work samples because for me the effort to make them outweighs their value.
I use few, and my own, pictures. One is even hand drawn. I could improve on imaging and style, and plan to do that one day. A logo would also be nice. I built it myself four years ago, and I add projects as I finish them. I changed it a couple times and added a blog, with few articles, two years ago.
Company: Bigger Moons
Consultant: John Mitchell
Platform: WordPress
Story: My website is just a simple WordPress page with a link to my resume. Ever since the IRS told me my LLC was a disregarded entity, I really haven’t pursued the branding thing. I built it myself in about an hour.
Company: Cimbal Capital Group, LLC
Consultant: Christopher Boone
Platform: WordPress
Story: We wanted a mobile first design and felt it easiest to start with a pre-fabricated format. We found Xoopah.com which offers a range of design services and hosting for $20/month and unlimited changes/revisions. Hard to beat that if your business is changing, you want to add client testimonials, case studies, press, etc. and Xoopah does all the design work quickly and cost effectively.
Company: Coda Strategy
Consultant: David Zhao
Platform: WordPress
Story: My objective for my website is to host articles that I write. I use Managed WordPress hosted on GoDaddy. They have stock images that I use. In addition, I use Yoast for SEO and HubSpot for CRM.
Company: Cole Media
Consultant: Lauren Cole
Platform: WordPress
Story: When I first started consulting in 2002 I didn’t have a website. I put one up and three weeks later a new client hired me, saying I was highly recommended but the information on the website convinced them they had to hire me. I’ve kept a similar format upgrading to WordPress and updating it ever since.
Company: Corporate Hartz LLC
Consultant: Jennifer Hartz
Platform: WordPress
Story: Objectives were to better explain my 3 LOB’s (Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Sustainability, Family Philanthropy, and Subject Matter Expertise); to offer examples from my work and feature client logos; to make my “brochureware” site interactive (blog) and attractive.
Structure: pages aligned with LOB’s
Content: web developer basically grilled me for hours about my “hopes and dreams” for the site, then we built it collaboratively (lots of back and forth). The images are from my archives and ShutterStock
Company: Dark Horse Works
Consultant: Eric Eskey
Platform: WordPress
Story: My objective was to provide content that increases awareness, appeal, and invites clients and prospects to engage in conversation. My idea was to simultaneously hire Built by WordPress to design the site and use nDash to source writers to author the content. I learned that it’s difficult to outsource content writing! As a result, I have a designed site and am chipping away at content writing myself whenever I can make time. For now, I post weekly to LinkedIn rather than on my site. I hope to transition the conversation to my site as my practice grows.
Company: David A. Fields Consulting Group
Consultant: David Fields
Platform: WordPress
Story: For the current iteration of the website, we hired more than one designer that didn’t work out. Then, following a long, long search, we finally hired a designer that did our current site. We spent quite a lot of money given the size of the firm back then (I think around $40k).
The site structure was built following the Do/Think/Feel template from The Irresistible Consultant’s Guide to Winning Clients. Much of the copy was also built from those same principles. We started with a clear idea of the actions we wanted visitors to take and the journey they were likely to have.
The images were selected by the designer and my team. I, personally, would never have selected those images. In fact, I don’t like them. However, the designer made a compelling case for the images and the market has made quite clear that the images and the site design work well.
Our inquiries from visitors to the site went up about 10x as soon as we launched the new site. Proof, perhaps, that a good website won’t win you business but a bad one will turn clients away.
Company: Dr. Ulrich Riedel Consulting GmbH
Consultant: Ulrich Riedel
Platform: WordPress
Story: If I want to command high fees (ideally value-based success fees, or alternatively daily rates >$5000/d) then everything a (potential) client touches needs to be high or very high quality.
Objective: 1) A site for someone who already had a touch-point with me. No-one will search for sth and find me (my offer is too special, i.e. people wouldn’t search for it). 2) My major theme is simplicity. Therefore: simple, simple, simple. 3) Creating trust, and providing certain information about what I do and who I am
Site structure: only 4 pages: Home; About (me); Work; Contact. Now also: Articles (with my new article series). No sub-pages, but possible if necessary later on.
Every single word was written myself. This is me talking to my future clients. If I can’t explain what I am doing, and who I am, I probably should change profession. As English is my second language, I used a native proof reader for my texts (however, you need to be careful with that. He changed way too many words and expressions which were very “me” and shouldn’t be changed)
No images. But professional photographs of myself, in slightly different settings. Why? Not because I love to expose myself (I actually hate it). But I sell myself (especially with my particular offer). And if I am the product, the client should get to know me.
I let my (very good) Design Agency talk directly to my (pretty good) web designer. My Design Agency had the say on the look and feel. The web designer on everything webby (especially ensuring simplicity).
Company: Embarc Advisors
Consultant: Jay Jung
Platform: WordPress
Story: Initial objective was to build credibility. Can’t use a generic gmail for professional look. If you use a specific domain for email, it needs to have a webpage or it looks very suspect. As the practice grew over time, a website became a very important recruiting tool, It is only recently that it has become a lead gen tool.
I benchmarked other websites that I liked and created a rough outline of the website. I engaged a web designer through Upwork with above plan in mind. Designer suggested creating logo and brand guide first as website will be based off of it. The designer provided stock photos, etc. Added Career, Press Coverage sections later as practice expanded.
Company: Enterprise Coaching Group
Consultant: Victor Bullara
Platform: WordPress
Story: Have been through FIVE web developers and the prior four were failures. Last one did the most/best work, then went MIA. Current one says they have the most sites Ranked #1 on Google and the highest satisfactory rating. However they have taken two months and still don’t have a draft site up. We spent 123 months writing the content ourselves and getting feedback from clients.
Company: FRC Group Inc. – Focused Results Consulting
Consultant: James Schoen
Platform: WordPress
Story: Main objectives were 1) Demonstrate credibility through having a visible website, 2) Goal – Mainly for web presence aka electronic billboard, 3) Build as I go approach.
Company: Great Prairie Group
Consultant: Luca Ottinetti
Platform: WordPress
Story: The first objective is to communicate our services, the challenges they resolve, and the value of results for clients. The second objective is to identify our point of differentiation: why us. We selected the images to render the closest connotation to the concept, whether header picture, cases, articles. The web site has been a work in progress through a series of iterations.
Company: Horwitz & Co LLC
Consultant: Barry Horwitz
Platform: WordPress
Story: I had my first website built back in 1997. It was built by a friend, and its main point back then was to have something that showed I was serious about consulting and that showed my credentials. That site clearly got outdated, and in 2019, I did a “rebranding” (though not re-naming) of my practice and a re-vamp of my website. I used a web designer to both develop new logo and colors, and to put a site together using a WordPress template as a base. As with my first one, I did not envision that people would look to hire me after finding my website – but rather to use it as a credibility reinforcement tool. People tend to find it though my LinkedIn posts or my email signature – but it is not typically the first point of contact.
I have very few images on the site – other than a stream of client logos and my headshot. The home page has an image of the Boston city skyline (my designer purchased the license for it on my behalf). I can’t give a good reason for that – though I did not want to use the standard “strategy” stock photo images (chess pieces, compass, etc.), had no “consultants in action” photos (though that is usually just people around a conference table or whiteboard) and have no team to highlight. It’s basic, has a bit about what I do, some client testimonials – and more recently, it is where my newsletters go after they are published. Only calls to action are “contact us” or ” subscribe to my newsletter.”
Company: Imago Advisory Aps
Consultant: Martin Blædel
Platform: WordPress
Story: The purpose for me, is to add credibility to my pitches to new clients/Stakeholders – and support me, when we do interviews. I do not expect it to generate any sale. Thus, it is also more important to get the right branding than to display a lot of text, that is never being read anyhow.
I spend a lot of time into my name and identity — Imago Advisory — and wanted this thinking to be the read thread. This is also thought into all graphics, which represents finding the meaning behind the clutter, and lead the transformation
1. I did a research tour on other website to see what content, they presented. What worked for me – and did not.
2. Based on topics I wanted to include, I made a mock-up design for the basic navigation to identify all smaller pieces of content.
3. Then I wrote the text in word – with reference points to the dummy. I spend some time coming up with some catchy headlines, and a clear read thread in the text.
4. I had to friends read and comment the text and do final proof.
5. I send text and mock-up to my graphics designer, and similar to aPPT we iterated to the final graphic image.
6. Then I asked in the network to identify 3 small webshops that could program and host. I send thePPT to them, and conducted a quick RFP.
7. Programming and texting took a week.
Company: Linkology Labs
Consultant: Jason Linkswiler
Platform: WordPress
Story: My objective was a simple site to describe service offerings and have a contact form with a bio. I watched videos on Youtube and started drafting a basic concept and content. I then went and found images on pixalbay to support my narrative. I had an idea for a logo and used logomakr to design and download different-sized images. I then built the website on WordPress largely downloading templates and watching videos. I’d say what I’ve built is a starter website and plan to improve it in the coming months using contract resources.
Company: MileZero LLC
Consultant: Robyn Bolton
Platform: WordPress
Story: A friend was a founder of a digital agency so I asked her for help. In our first meeting, she asked three really great questions that laid the foundation for the site’s strategy and design: (1) who is the intended audience (2) at what point in the “sales funnel” are they visiting the site and what are their Jobs to be Done at that point, and (3) on a scale from “Do it ALL for me” to “Do it all myself” where do I fall for building the site and for updating/maintaining it.
The ensuing discussion informed all aspects of the site – (1) intended audience is potential clients and the people they need to influence (informed the sections and text/copy), (2) the site will be a 2nd touchpoint after they’ve heard about/met me (de-prioritized investing in SEO) and the want to know that I’m a credible choice with actual experience (highlight testimonials, case studies), and (3) I want the site built for me and I want to be able to make small edits like adding articles and updating text/images myself (built on WordPress).
For site structure, I looked at lots and lots of websites within consulting and in other industries. Luckily, between being clear on the JTBD that the site needed to do and example websites, the necessary structure was pretty clear. That said, over time I’ve added a page for blogposts and one for media/publishing appearances. Both of these new pages were created by the digital agency and I update them.
I wrote all the content which was, by far, the most time-consuming part of the whole process. Honestly, my insistence on doing all the writing (rather than hiring someone) delayed the site launch by about 4 months. This wasn’t a big deal because this was all happening in the first year of having a firm and, in many ways, it helped me hone my messaging and offerings. I also tweak and update the site copy 1-2 times per year, which has helped me get over the mindset that everything has to be perfect and never ever change.
In terms of colors and images, those were informed by branding work I did a few months earlier that established my brand color palette and image guidelines. My web design folks worked closely with my graphic designer to make sure that the site complied with the guidelines.
Company: Monevate LLC
Consultant: James Wilton
Platform: WordPress
Story: We really wanted something to establish credibility – I found that it doesn’t look great when you don’t have a site. We engaged a Online Developer Firm to help us design it, and they guided the discussion. We let them know what sections we wanted, and shared our brand characteristics. After that, they created the website iteratively receiving feedback from me. I wrote all the copy personally.
Company: Mythos Group
Consultant: Amit Patel
Platform: WordPress
Story: My website primarily is an informational site. It was designed to garner visibility for my consulting firm highlighting the body of work we do — strategy, transformation, executive and employee coaching, and talent management.
The content for my site has been developed by me — this includes all the pages, articles, blog posts, case studies, presentations, and white papers. The content posted on my site was initially written in MS Word, and then posted on site (which is built using WordPress). The presentations and white papers where uploaded as PDFs.
I used design thinking principles to illuminate the genesis of my company, what we do, how we do it, our core principles, and our differentiators. For images, I scanned adobe stock images and Getty images for hours to find the perfect pictures that captured the essence of what I was attempting to put in words.
Company: Obligent Consulting
Consultant: Shoumo Ganguly
Platform: WordPress
Story: Had built the site because everyone expects one. It has been redesigned once since built in 2015. The business is undergoing changes so expect a better, more functional website in the next three to six months.
Company: OneConstant
Consultant: Dan MacAndrew
Platform: WordPress
Story: My firm’s current website provides basic information about my area of expertise and services offered. My objective was to simply create a “digital business card” and I consider it a low-cost, entry-level website for promoting a consulting practice.
After researching various platforms I selected WordPress as the platform, a WP theme from Themeisle and SiteGround for hosting. WordPress is an industry-standard for website development, is scalable and will likely be a stable and reliable platform for the foreseeable future. The WP theme / template from Themeisle is fast-loading on both mobile and desktop browsers, Google AMP optimized, easily-changeable without requiring web developers and has built-in support for many plug-ins like e-commerce, search engine optimization and RSS feeds. I modified the basic structure of the theme / template using its drag-and-drop design features and created all the content myself.
I am rethinking my firms’ website content and functionality now, but will likely remain with WordPress, Themeisle and Siteground since this combination has been a cost-effective and reliable solution and it should support any requirements for the next phase.
Company: OutThinker
Consultant: Kaihan Krippendorff
Platform: WordPress
Story: We have three websites: parent website (www.outthinker.com), website for our member offering (www.outthinkernetwork.com), and website for our speaking business (www.kaihan.net). In each case, we started with the user journey, beginning with who they are (their demographic and psychographic profile), what their needs are, what steps they might take along their journey on the website leading up to what action we hope they ultimately take. In the case of the parent website, it was to (a) apply to be a coach or (b) link to one of the other websites as apprproriate. For the member offering, the goal is for them to apply. For the speaking website, it was for them to feel comfortable that I would be an effective speaker and, therefore, to tell the speakers bureau they heard about me from that they would like to book me.
For content, we created drafts then had one of our internal editors edit it, then had an external proof reader copyedit it.
For images, we decided on what feelings/ emotion/ thoughts we wanted to evoke. We then spoke to a friend who is a designer to help us decide what colors and types of images evoke the desired feelings/ emotoins/ thoughts. We then look through pexels.com for stock photos and collect our own photos for a set of images to use.
We hired a developer we have been working with based in India to ultimately build the sites.
Company: Pathfinder Consulting Group LLC
Consultant: Paul Harrington
Platform: WordPress
Story: For my site, I wanted a web presence that was clean, professional consistent with my brand guidelines. Being a new firm (started 13 months ago) it did not have to be anything fancy or have incredible functionality, but a strong web presence that set the image for my firm on the web. For site structure/images, I looked at other sites that I felt were well done and then adapted based on my preferences. After I had a conceptual understanding of what I built, I reached out to a firm (listed below) to partner for the detailed design, build and maintenance. I wrote the content myself, trying to keep it simple (and short) and hopefully useful!
Company: Peninsula Strategies
Consultant: Robbie Baxter
Platform: WordPress
Story: I worked with Jamie Johnson of Worthy Marketing. We rebranded–emphasizing my name (rather than my firm name), created a new color palette and guidelines. I had created the outline and navigation and went through it with Jamie. I did all the writing too. I shared the work in process with many people for feedback along the way.
Company: Premonio
Consultant: Johannes Hoech
Platform: WordPress
Story: The website has grown over the years; and we’re just adding / deleting pages as needed, and the same with the content and the copy. The images were selected by a combination of a befriended creative director as well as the design team (www.marqueeproject.com). Marquee is also who built it, and they still maintain the more complex parts (I do the content and copy updating myself mostly to tune it to whatever the current Zeitgeist is in the market).
Company: Professional Business Coaches, Inc.
Consultant: Bernhard Heine
Platform: WordPress
Story: I started with a template and generic material that a small website designer used for other business coaches. Then over the years added and edited the content. I list my products and services, bios, testimonials, and articles. It was on Joomla. I write most of the content and use content from the tools that I license, sometimes with iframes to capture the latest from those sites. We select mostly stock photos that we pay for, but also have some pictures that I took myself. I learned the hard way once where my assistant used 2 photos that she thought were license free, until I got a letter from Getty demanding $900. Since then I always purchase them and we keep track of the license information for every image. After a few years, we also converted the site to become mobile responsive. 10 years since launching the site I had the whole site redone, switched to WordPress, and gave it a more modern look. We used a different website consultant, www.scribendi.net
Company: Qittitut Consulting, LLC
Consultant: Bill Diggons
Platform: WordPress
Story: Objective: Demonstrate credibility.
Structure: Relevant outline for a new prospect.
Content: Partners wrote it.
Images: Graphic design firm created.
How built: Graphic design firm.
Company: Readysmith Advisers
Consultant: Debra Reddish
Platform: WordPress
Story: The primary objective of my website is to promote my consulting service offerings and my portal subscription service. The portal service offering complements the type of consulting service I provide clients, but is optional to engage Readysmith Advisers. I also attempt to convey the depth of experience that I have for the type of management consulting I provide: Business Continuity Management.
Readysmith Advisers has been around since 2009 so I leveraged the promotional content that had been developed over the years into the website including the logo. About 6 years ago I made a major refresh to the website. I hired a consultant to brand my portal and used them to brand the website similarly to the portal. I was fortunate to find a company that could develop the branding for both the portal and the website.
I now use another resources to make changes to the website when needed. However, the initial design and branding is the same as it was when the major refresh was done.
Company: Recast Partners
Consultant: Peter Bancroft
Platform: WordPress
Story: I came up with my own rough ideas and setup my own WordPress install with an attractive template and then hired a freelance designer to setup the design. I then did a comprehensive website review with one of David Fields’ team who helped me understand that it was too complicated and insufficiently focused, so I redid about half the webpages to come up with something a lot clearer and more based around the customer.
Company: Risk Pro Solutions, LLC
Consultant: Soumya Chakraverty
Platform: WordPress
Story: I designed and created my firm’s website myself. It wasn’t very hard to do using WordPress as I had experience developing a personal website previously. The key challenges that I had to think through was the right level of content to put on the site and the wireframe structure. Usability of the website, and search engine optimization were also key design aspects to keep in mind, but there are tools to help with those.
Company: Sarah Bee Talent
Consultant: Sarah Brock
Platform: WordPress
Story: My primary objective for my site is to build credibility and help potential clients understand the type of work I do and my areas of expertise. I mapped out my site structure after looking at several other sites for firms offering similar services. I have a background in communications and journalism and have experience building and maintaining sites previously, so I built it on my own. I used stock photos, in addition to a few abstract and pattern images I created myself in Adobe Illustrator.
Company: Simplifier International LLC
Consultant: Peter Eckart
Platform: WordPress
Story: The key objective of the website was to have one, i.e., to allow potential / existing clients to take look and find a bit of background on the company and its philosophy. Step 1 in my case was to find an available URL; in other words: I was willing to make my company name dependent on available URLs.
Step 2: How to build the website. There are many free or very cheap options out there, but let’s face it: either you are already very good at programming a website or you will spend A LOT of time until you got everything right. So I got in touch with Upright in NYC — a recommendation of our very own Will Bachman.
Step 3: Define the design — Danielle (at Upright) came up with a few suggestions (both on logo and and website design) and over various iterations we agreed on a logo and a brand guide.
Step 4: Structure and content — I drafted both) and from there we iterated, iterated, iterated … until it was done!
Company: SPT Consulting LLC
Consultant: Steve Tomlinson
Platform: WordPress
Story: Built it basically myself in WordPress. Converted marketing materials.
Company: The Navio Group
Consultant: Carlos Castelan
Platform: WordPress
Story: Worked with 99Designs to come up with logo for company then used Superside to come up with Adobe files for design of website. Worked with contractor to upload the files to our WordPress site and then spent 6-8 hours writing all the content.
Company: Westside Music & Cinema
Consultant: Stephen Dull
Platform: WordPress
Story: While the site I created is not for management consulting, the experience I gained is relevant to creating almost any type of site. Having been through the experience (and cost) of having a site “professionally” created s few years ago, decided to undertake the challenge of doing it myself, initially using a “template” tool such as Wix or SquareSpace. After an extensive search of available templates it became apparent that this approach quite limiting and would not serve our needs. If you can find a template this is very close to what you want, go ahead and use it, this will save a lot of heartache in trying to learn a complete tool like WordPress. In any case if you want to get more sophisticated down the road, you will learn a lot about what you really want from the first go around.
Company: Zenith Strategy Associates
Consultant: Andrew Hone
Platform: WordPress
Story: The site has two main objectives:
– Generate new leads from prospective clients
– Allow new clients to learn more about us and our capabilities
The structure is fairly straight-forward, as follows a menu-based structure organized by area and topic.
Images were sourced from mainly via photo stock libraries (e.g. Canva, Adobe stock), plus some images of charts or diagrams were developed in-house. The site was built internally.
Built on other platforms
Company: Alignosi
Consultant: Julius Sarkozy
Platform: WebFlow
Story: To have a presence.
Company: Arepo
Consultant: Gian Luigi Borasio
Platform: Jimdo
Story: I decided I needed it as fast as possible, and used an online website builder that allows you to create your own site and hosts it.
Company: Capcost Srl
Consultant: Francesco Caporali
Platform: Imginternet
Story: Our objectives were primarily marketing-oriented, we wanted a professionally good-looking website that we could use for content-based marketing in order to prove our thought leadership on the field. Our previous website was based on WordPress and, though not bad, was not enough. The firm we selected has a proprietary CMS and it’s much faster and easier to update than WP. They guided us through the entire process of re-design. Since we did not want to reinvent the wheel, we selected websites from Advisory and Consulting firms to get inspiration from, especially on colors and themes. Structure of the website is pretty common.
Company: DataWisen
Consultant: Anna Olecka
Platform: Umbraco
Story: I needed more off my website than I was able to do myself, so I did the design and hired Flylight Media to make my vision come through and they did a fantastic job.
Company: MG&A Strategy
Consultant: Guillem Garcia
Platform: Webflow
Story: Starting with the objective of the site — I wanted it to be a place to direct the people I connect with and where people can send any referrals to if they’re not willing to set up an intro email/call directly. Regarding the story and team: I started by inquiring around IndeCollective for recommendations/tips on how to go about setting up a website, since I had never had one and had only acquired the domain when I got my practice set up. I was then introduced to Lance Holmes, a web builder with whom I had a few alignment calls and with whom I shared some examples for inspiration, plus a Word document with the copy and structure I wanted and some thoughts on layout.
Lance took that and built the site in Webflow, doing the design, picking the pictures. I signed up for Cat Coffrin’s personal branding workshop to get content/understand better how I want to come across and represent myself. For the copy I worked with another IndeCollective alumni, Liz Talago, by signing up for her Messaging Matters VIP and hiring her to adapt the results from that workshop to my website-to-be. I also informed the content of the site by hiring yet another Inde alumni, Mary Beth Russo, to do a handful of qualitative interviews with people who met my ideal client profile.
Company: Lambda International Consultants, LLC
Consultant: Emilio Giralt
Platform: Sitebuilder
Story: Our site is a reference validation website; we meet potential clients through references and referrals and then, inevitably, they go to our site to learn about us and our services. Since our work is segmented by type of service, we highlighted the different services we offer by each having a different page. Most, if not all of our clients, have one specific service of interest. We put together our experience from 30 years of consulting to tell a story about each service, how it impacts clients and the net effects. Our images were standard from our website provider plus our personal bio pictures. We used Sitebuilder and built it ourselves on a minimal budget. Comments from friends and clients have been positive, especially the modern and clean look and feel.
Company: Mindoo Management
Consultant: Cyril Lagrange
Platform: Webflow
Story: I built a website to present all aspects of my practice and my credentials, including my affiliations and partners. In addition, clients can review my credentials and my software abilities (e,g, data), choose among three specific questionnaires (Typeform) to share concerns or a business need, make appointments, and send a note.
For budget reasons, I have developed my website myself. In 2020 I made a basic first version on Wix.com without any Content Management System (CMS). In the meantime, I learned no-code solutions (CMS, Typeform, Calendly) and all sorts of app modules that would be useful for a more sophisticated project. I picked pictures on Unsplash and icons on Icon8. I used a couple of charts and pictures I already had in my practice.
Finally, in 2021, I made a brand new website with a sophisticated no-code, all-in-one solution: Webflow (great Tuto videos and learning university online for self-pace learning). Whenever I have a discretionary budget, I’m likely to hire an expert to improve the UI, the styles, and the transitions. I applied Agile-style to develop my site: for instance, the page structure or the SEO has evolved through 3 major iterations to the final version. Now, I make updates on the go.
Company: Mosaic Resource Group LLC dba MindsparQ
Consultant: Crystal Richards
Platform: Learnworlds
Story: Started with Wix which is great but ended up with Learnworlds. My website went through so many iterations. Initially, I went with Wix to just have a website. As I matured into educational consulting, I realized that I needed a fully integrated site that incorporated a learning management system and community features. I finally found that platform.
Company: OKRStrategist
Consultant: Vicky Morgan
Platform: Webflow
Story: The objective for my website was internet presence. Site structure was based on a standard template, and I opted for icons instead of stock photos as the goal to get the MVP live and iterate. I created the website myself, which was a terrific exercise in the complexities of web development! My advice is to collaborate with design, copywriting, and SEO specialists to optimize your website against your objectives. Copywriting takes up much more time than you would think! Spend some time learning about branding, marketing, and sales before moving onto the next iteration of your website.
Company: One More Consulting
Consultant: Maria Kinkina
Platform: Divi
Story: I created the website myself on the platform Divi (Elegant Themes). I found the images online in stock photo websites and did my professional photos with friends (I am an amateur photographer so could organize this myself) In hindsight, I think it would have been better to hire someone to do it as they would have done a better job with the design and functionality (the site right now is quite slow).
Company: Pharmapro
Consultant: Aaditya Khemuka
Platform: Carrd.co
Story: I started Pharmapro after a failed healthtech venture, where we spent a ton of money building tech which no one wanted. So, I was clear that Pharmapro would be a bootstrapped venture and I will invest in tech/marketing from profits, only. I built the website myself and wrote the content too. I scoured the net for design ideas that were simple to implement on a low code website builder like carrd.co (highly recommend). The content was based on client interviews and drafter by me, and proofread by a few friends from the industry.
Company: TN Executive Coaching
Consultant: Theresa Nanigian
Platform: Effector
Story: The primary objective of my website is to offer prospective clients a ‘peek’ at my executive coaching practice. Personal referrals are my largest source of new clients, and they often wish to gather a bit more information about my practice before either approaching me for the first time or ahead of our initial introductory session. Toward that end, the website is aimed at establishing my credibility as an executive coach and, providing a sense of my coaching approach, philosophy and USP.
I also want my website to stand out from a design perspective, with a subtle hint to my dual career as a coach/artist. Another objective is to offer visitors something tangible for visiting the site (e.g., my complimentary PCQ assessment), whether or not we decide to work together. Finally, the site can be used in a practical sense to make payments, etc.
I decided on the site structure by considering the structure of a number of sites in the executive coaching sector and other service sectors as well. The site was also designed with a view to future expansion. For example, I will be adding a Blog tab in the future. Writing the content was an iterative process, and continues to be. The composition of the banner imagery, logo and models were developed by my designer, Tony O’Hanlon of Propeller (Tony is absolutely brilliant and someone I have worked with on multiple art books for my art practice). Some of the imagery is created by me. For example, I drew the silhouettes in Photoshop. I am about to do a thorough review of the website. While I don’t foresee fundamental design changes, I will probably be adding elements such as a video of myself on the Home page and most likely, streamlining the text to be much less verbose. The website was built by Effector in Dublin, Ireland.
