Why The Media Expects a Good Website (And Your Clients Do Too)
Imagine this. You decide on a random Saturday to go shopping in a store near your home that you have never been in before. When you walk in the door, it is circa 2005, with loads of stuff on the shelves. None of it makes any sense to the purported brand of the store, and it is dusty and some of it might even be broken. Nothing is neat, or easy to find, and everything looks incredibly dated and unappealing. Is your first impulse to look around more, or do you turn tail and never return?
This isn’t a very mysterious analogy, but it is shocking to me how in 2026, business owners of all levels still don’t understand the impact an old, dated and broken website has on their brand and their potential customers or clients. And, it has the same effect on media producers and reporters, if they happen to visit your site prior to including a business or non-profit in a news story, which can seriously affect any earned media you get.
Believe me, I have been doing this a long time, and I know the process of a new website can be daunting, and even emotional. But, you would never let that store get run down to the point of what I have described, so why on earth would you do that when your website is very often the first contact people have with you and your brand?
Many of the reasons that people have cited for not building their new website are very legitimate. It is expensive (although our new website development offering with Claude Design will help immensely with this challenge since we can now offer leading-edge sites for around one-third of the price), and yes, it does force you to take stock of your site and really examine it. You would not believe the number of times I have gone through a website review with a client or potential client and they say “We haven’t done that in years!” or “That person hasn’t worked here in forever!” or, even worse, “There is nothing that shows who we are anymore.”
But the facts are as follows:
Roughly 76% of consumers report the website as their first point of contact with an organization or business.
45% of consumers are likely going to visit a location only AFTER they have found a strong online presence.
81% of consumers research products online before buying, even in a store location.
And this doesn’t even take online reviews into account, but that is a topic for another blog. My point is very obvious; you are doing your organization a big disservice and losing countless prospective clients and possibly employees with a poor website. My advice is to invest the time, the money and the deep dive into your brand, vision and mission. It will pay off for you big time in the long run. If you would like a complimentary consultation on a new website, please reach out to Niki at niki@focusmarketingandpr.com or call or text her directly at 303.949.1876. We are offering 10% off a new website design in Claude if you commit before June 30, 2026.