6 Tips for Custom Design and Development for Racing Websites

Are you looking to take your racing business to the next level with a killer website? Having an effective website for your racing business can be a great way to demonstrate what sets you apart from the competition, show how your prospective customer wins and build customer loyalty. But where do you start? We'll break down some key tips on how to have a custom-designed and developed website that is engaging and user-focused. 

Before You Start Your Site’s Custom Design and Development: What Should You Know? 

Here are six critical tips to know and make sure you follow throughout your website project.

1. Take Your Time

Don't rush to market! Every effective solution starts with a strategy (a.k.a. blueprint). Many companies redesign their websites believing this will fix their marketing problems and all of a sudden, leads will start coming in, with visitors converting more by driving sales.

The brutal truth (and reality) is that prettier pictures don't make a "better" website. Simply putting a fresh coat of paint (i.e., a new design) on a car (an ineffective website) won't make things work better. Sure, it may look different, maybe even look better, however, the same problems before the redesign will exist after the new site goes live. If your digital efforts are not converting new prospects and sales, you may have something preventing the conversions you expect.

I can tell you from experience that just visually redesigning a website does not make it convert better. If your website isn't converting in the way that you expect, there are likely some underlying issues: 

• You probably have an Engagement gap or a Conversion gap … or both
• You may not have a clear picture of your target audience
• You may not have measurement practices in place, therefore, you are not sure if you’re hitting your website goals
• You may not have a plan for what content your prospective audience needs, therefore, your website's content is out of date

If this sounds like you, you may not be quite ready to build your new website. These problems limit success and reduce ROI from your marketing dollars. It is critical to take the time to develop a strategy that will provide the blueprint for creating a site that will deliver the results you expect.

Suppose we think of your website as the "engine" for your business. It's essential to ensure you have a properly running engine before you begin dumping any fuel (i.e., marketing) into it. When you put fuel into a website that doesn't run, you burn fuel but don't go anywhere. Take your time and get clear on your strategy first. Once you have your strategy, you can build an optimized engine and put premium fuel in so that you can move forward and grow your business.

2. Do a Full Site Analysis

When you want to improve your racing business website, one of the most critical steps is understanding where you are by doing a complete website analysis. This involves looking at various aspects of your website—from its design and usability to the content featured on each page—to loading times and understanding pages that are most frequently visited. Once you have a strong understanding of what is working and what needs to be improved, you are armed with helpful information for the new site build. 

Take stock of where you are and analyze your current site. Ask yourself if your website is "working." 

• First of all, define what "working" means. Do you have specific goals in mind? What do you want your website to do for you?
• What kind of traffic is your site attracting? Are those traffic levels enough to help you accomplish your goals above?
• Are you providing effective lead magnets (aka conversion opportunities), and do they convert qualified leads?

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3. Make It About The Customer

One of the primary reasons websites fail is that companies make their websites all about them - their products, their services, and why they are a perfect fit for, well, everybody. Instead, focus your site on your customers - their needs, challenges, and problems - and offer content that helps them address those issues. Don't assume that customers are simply coming to your website to buy.

1. They are NOT. They are just browsing, doing research, etc.
2. They want to learn if you can solve their problems
3. They want to understand how you are different from others they are aware of ... maybe even some with a more prominent name

4. Show That You Are Different

If you want to make your website stand out from your competition, you must clearly outline what makes your brand unique - innovative products, services, or maybe a unique method that nobody else has. Make sure visitors know why they should choose you over everyone else.

Pro Tip: Avoid saying that you have better customer service, more experience or are cheaper. This invites comparison to your competitors plus, everyone says this so it’s not a marketable differentiator because when everybody says it, nobody really believes it.

Additionally, showcase how you can solve any customer problems they are looking to solve. Use social proof, case studies, testimonials, and any other evidence that shows how you understand your customers' needs and have constantly delivered on meeting them.

5. Get Clear on the Buyer's Journey, and Build Your Site Around It

The key to achieving success with #3 above (making your website about your CUSTOMER and not about YOU) is clearly understanding the Buyer's Journey. What steps do your customers need to move through so they gain enough information to feel comfortable purchasing from you? Do you understand their emotions, feelings, and motivations at every step of this process? What information do they need before they will buy from you?

Even though all brands are starting at different places, we suggest that you start with a strategy so that you ensure that your foundation is solid. If you do not get the Buyer’s Journey correct, all of your marketing efforts will continue to cost you money and not deliver profitable ROI. Once you nail the Buyer’s Journey, your website, lead magnets… overall marketing message will be effective and you can drive profitable unit economics from your marketing efforts.

6. Understand That Your Website is Never "Done"

It's easy to think that once you have your website up and running, your work is done – but this couldn't be further from the truth. You should constantly be analyzing and improving. In order to build an effective website, you must define  a clear outcome for what the website should be doing for your business. Monitor key metrics regularly and the site's performance against your goals. Make changes to the website based on data-driven decisions to improve those outcomes. 

Gain an Advantage Over Your Competitors With These Web Design Tips

Creating a custom design and developed, high-performing website is crucial for any racing business. Ultimately, your goal should be to create an online destination that attracts more customers and encourages them to revisit often. Digital Momentum can help. Get started with our Website Grader tool today, or contact us for more info. Whether you're looking to redesign your website or launch a completely new site, we have a proven process to produce predictable, scalable growth for companies in the racing and automotive performance industries… we call it the Digital Growth Framework™