A single text set everything in motion… to create a website we could finally be proud of.
On an August day, I texted Chad, an Account Manager at Intergetik Marketing Solutions. Chad also happened to be my niece’s softball team coach. 📢 Shout out to those of you investing time in youth and community; his investment not only allowed him time with his daughter, but he sold a job from it, I’d consider that a win.
That text message referenced website thoughts, and those thoughts were…
1. The Reiss Earthworks pipeline was not full enough due to recent abrupt client budget changes.
2. Our website did not align with what a client could expect from us on their project.
3. I was embarrassed to promote it due to the subpar quality we had at that time.
For this Kansas City excavation company, a less-than-full pipeline is a huge problem. If your leads are slow and you have reservations about showing off your website, the problem is only compounded. It’s like once erosion starts, it’s only going to get worse. We needed to prioritize immediately: build a better website.
In the field, Reiss Earthworks is financially invested in the result of carefully selected manufactured combinations of iron, tracks, tires, hydraulic hoses, links, belts, and pumps built by excavator manufacturing giants such as Caterpillar and Bobcat. The manufacturer’s combination of parts and craftsmanship creates horsepower when paired with diesel fuel and moves booms and buckets when the hydraulic oil reservoir is full (or full enough… if you’ve got leaky hoses and fittings, no shame if that’s you; we’ve all been there 😉). It’s a beautiful creation resulting in extremely capable, efficient, earth-moving equipment when paired with professional earthmoving operators. For your average small to mid-sized excavator, hundreds of thousands of dollars are tied up in equipment—and that’s probably putting it lightly. It has to be moving.
So when the lead pipeline dried up after a major, industry-wide budget tightening in the telecom world we are well equipped to serve, leads in all other areas weren’t coming in fast enough to make up the gap. I did what any business owner would do… I reverse-engineered what makes the phone ring, emails come in, ultimately pays the bills — and went to work. Fearing we were six months away from a solid solution, and knowing the earthwork season would be here again before we knew it, there was no time to waste. The conclusion I came to: the website had to be replaced (again).
The website needed to be:
- ♦Aesthetically pleasing and flowing.
- ♦FULL of information.
- ♦A professional photographic representation.
- ♦Cause a client to say, “I trust this company, and I don’t even know them yet.”
- ♦Done right this time.
A far cry from your stock, pick-a-look, and here’s-your-landing-page website.
Some website history –
2021 – We did an in-house website reno; this was our third version since Reiss Earthworks was established in 2011.
That 2021 website was done on Wix. My observation is that Wix is like a Google Sheet compared to Excel. For novices such as myself, Cali, and so many small business owners, Wix does 80% and leaves that fine-tuned detail work unavailable. If it’s your first website, it’s probably a good place to start. We wanted more options than we had found available with Wix to properly build a website for an excavation company like ours. A Wix website gave us more flexibility and customization to truly reflect our services. It was still just a down-and-dirty option for this contractor.😄
2022/2023 Winter, Cali and I engaged with XYZ Website company (completely made up; I will not disclose their identity).
In search of a better representation of Reiss Earthworks’ recent growth and to move to a design software such as WordPress. Cali and I selected another small local woman-owned company, here in Lee’s Summit, MO, hoping her attributes aligned with the attributes, values, and benefits Cali and I’s businesses offer. We’re not out here burning bras, but we do believe women bring something unique to construction and business. Some of those characteristics and values we were hoping we shared: meticulous attention to detail, high standards, a different point of view, etc. Sadly, it just wasn’t there. Cali and I were pointing out items we felt any professional should have seen. When we asked for edits to elevate the website to our standards, it was like pulling teeth. It was not a good fit. We felt we were at a point of no return, and we couldn’t turn back. We finally went live, and I was so embarrassed of the site that for a year, I cringed every time the mention of our website was brought up. The investment of $2,400 for what we’d hoped was going to be a professional website was the smallest of our worries; the value of the time lost working with her to get it right and the lost opportunity was so much greater. It was one step above your stock, pick-a-look, and here’s-your-landing-page website.
Fall of 2023: The Real Rebuild Begins
After a year of cringing every time our website was mentioned, we knew we couldn’t put it off any longer. It wasn’t just a cosmetic fix — it was holding everything back. That’s when we committed to Website Version 5.0 and decided to go all in.
A veteran general contractor once gave me advice I’ve never forgotten:
“If you ever get behind on a job or it goes south on you, put everything you have on it until it’s done and right.” — Jeff B.
So that’s what we did — we poured everything we had into it. Because at the end of the day, our website isn’t just for show. It’s the foundation of all our marketing for construction companies like ours.
Groundbreaking
After that initial text, I had a call with Rick, owner of Intergetik, and Chad to solve the problem of why the leads were slow and how we could create something we were proud to show off. A new website wasn’t going to completely solve the lead problem, but it had the whole system clogged. Our 5-month journey with Intergetik looked like this:
Signed a contract
I wouldn’t do business with someone who doesn’t offer one personally. I asked for clarification on the number of pages, ownership of the website, deadline, etc., before signing.
Cali and I created a 20+ page Brand Board document internally
Intergetik jokingly referred to it as our love letter to our company. We created it so they could get to know us as we wanted them to portray us. What’s a brand board? My interpretation is a compilation of who your company is, what it stands for, and what it looks like. We included fonts, colors, main logos, alternate logos, our vibe, mission statement, client avatars, and so much more. If you are hiring someone to create a website for you, I highly recommend it. It also is a source of information for us internally; all pertinent company info regarding brand is included. Do we need to know the Reiss Earthworks primary and even secondary brand color hex codes? It’s on the brand board. Send a shirt order to the printer? It’s on the brand board.
It also helped us clarify our company identity. We’d recommend it as a helpful guide for other construction companies looking to build a cohesive brand and message.
Shared folder created on Google for important info created by Intergetik.
My two cents, the more organized, the better. The website company should have folders preloaded for you, if they don’t, get organized from the start, and it will pay off. We use the Google ecosystem for easy sharing of links of folders, files, etc.
Outline of website – High level Copy
The outline was the first thing we worked on. If you have a specialized business like we do, such as excavation, in hindsight, I wish I had created a doc with keywords for them before this was created. We have unique descriptive words, I think some of the H1 and H2s are off. If H1 and H2 are foreign languages to you, don’t feel bad — that was us too, not that long ago. My interpretation is that it’s the main keywords and subject of the page, terms you think will help people find you. I will say if you don’t know the terms H1 and H2 are, consider seeking professional website designer help for a better outcome, if you can afford it or use good old Google or “Chat” to help you through this.
Design “the look of the site”
Hours went into the second item, “design.” Think of the design like the art that goes with the words — the visual to bring the outline to life. Even further, design is the art screwed to the wall, not the pictures sitting on the table that you can change out. It’s like letterhead on steroids. This phase was so important, do not approve until it’s a perfect look for your company. The design should be the right color, size, shape, and location you want because all you will do after is change the paper picture out.
After the site is live, at least with Intergetik, the website builder we used, we can make changes to copy (words) and other edits we feel comfortable with. Major changes we do not plan to attempt ourselves.
Copy (wording)
After outline and design, you will expand the outline to thousands and thousands of words. I’m not going to lead you wrong; it was terrible. It’s a painstaking job if you let it be, and I recommend you let it be. When they first sent the content draft, I sent back this message: “I’m going to need a drink, half gallon of ice cream, massage, and therapy session to get thru this”. Here’s why: You can have generic and AI-sounding words on a page that are not a completely accurate representation of your company and may even lack the correct words. Or you can have 63 pages of copy and notes compiled to create a very detailed representation of your services and hundreds of mentions of keywords. We even went to the detail of using Keyword Planner separate from Intergetik to find the suggested keywords; we had those at the top of each page and counted the use of each word for the page. We felt this work would save us in paying Google for AdWords in the long run. Time will tell on this one.
Images
We had professional pictures taken multiple times. It was non negotiable for us. The quality of our images made the quality of the finished product tremendously better. We’ve used our photographer for images before, but it was time for an update. We made sure she knew the style of images we wanted. There were planned outfits, lists of photos, and even maps of where each photo was to be taken onsite. Those little details will set your photo shoot up for success. After taking the images and picking and placing images in placeholders on the site, any holes/needs/not-quite-right pics we had her come out and specifically take. Soooooo worth the money. We had a rule with our website: only professional photos for all images on the main pages. We used in-house photos for the subpages of the service pages. And even at that, we were extremely selective on our pictures, no shadows, no blurry images; it had to look good. If it looks like you took a picture with your flip phone 100’ away and your shadow is in the image, this will not be a good representation of your company.
Presentation matters
We named every single image file — hundreds of them — using relevant keywords. “000455.jpg” became “Kansas-City-Excavator.jpg.” Time-consuming but maybe worth it. Again hours!!!!
Mind Map
You have probably seen in the crime-solving movies a bulletin board of pictures, words, strings, and push pins …. that was us, we printed each page so we could have a tangible visualization of the page and what picture would be best and any other needs to be addressed. We called it the mind map. It helped us visualize the website and fill any missing holes. At this point we had not seen it in traditional website form on a computer that would allow us to bounce around from page to page.
Behind the Scene Development
The website designers built and created the site. We didn’t see any of this. They were working on this as we were finalizing images and things.
First look
Intergetik presented us with their “rough draft”; it was the first time we could go to a website and see our new site. Before this point, it was all on PDFs. This phase is uber important. Like the design, do not accept this until you have it like you want it. Although hours upon hours from all parties went into the site, when it all comes together, it all has to be double-checked, cleaned up, and perfected. Is the approved wording used? Do the headings match the paragraphs? Are the pictures in the correct place? Do the links work? Spelling correct? So many things to check. We had revisions as expected.
Launch
We finally launched on March 13, 2024. The process took about five months. It’s not that it’s perfect, but we got to the point where we had to launch and focus on other things in the business. We like to think of it as a living creation…. Like a plant! To make the launch more fun, we had a launch party with Intergetik and their families. Complete with supporting a local family business, The Pizza Place, a Blue Springs, MO, favorite. Simultaneously with the launch we had a $200 giveaway on Social Media to encourage people to visit the site. I wonder if most thought it was a gimmick? My goal was to drive people to the site right out of the gate. Again, as a person with no SEO knowledge, I felt it was important, worth $200? Ehh, probably not. We only had 20 or so enter. My aunt won (I had a lot of family members enter), and she told me to give to a nonprofit. So not a total loss. We donated to https://savingkids.net/.
“Done is better than perfect when perfection was the goal.”
Cali and I’s mantra (and with both of us being perfectionists, this is so important for us): “Done is better than perfect when perfection was the goal.”
We have to remind ourselves of this often. We could go out of business spending too much time on this one thing. Since the launch, we’ve already made one round of edits, and that’s probably for the best. We took a break from it and we had movement/updates on the page. At the time, the excavation season was upon us, and to be frank, we were mentally done. It was exhausting.
Investment, Seasons, and Advice for Contractors:
I wish I had a way to know how many hours Cali and I had in it. I’d guess 120 hours EACH, maybe more, the website crew had so many hours on it as well. Investment-wise we spent $8,000 just on the website alone — this does not include photos, the launch party, pop and adult beverages to keep motivation going to read the 63 pages of content that used the words: excavator, excavation, earthwork, grading, access road, building pads, over and over again.
The result… a beautiful website. We are no longer embarrassed of it! We had business cards printed again, added a website link back to the company email signatures, and talk about the website all over social media. And without giving Google a penny, the leads are slowly picking up. Slowly. Now, would they be pouring in like rain if Google was getting a piece of the pie? Unknown. Intergetik says they would.
If you’ve been stuck in analysis paralysis, or you keep telling yourself you don’t have the time to tackle your website, I get it. Between job sites, clients, estimates, and crew management — who has time to deal with file naming, color palettes, and font selections? But let me say this: if you’re even considering it, that probably means your gut already knows it’s time.
Every business has a season for big-picture improvements. Use your busy season to research and line up the right website company, then take action during your slow season. Start a brand board or journal of your ideas — that prep work makes the full process easier when the time comes.
Intergetik review:
If you’re looking to hire Intergetik, a St. Louis and Kansas City website company, here’s my honest, no BS opinion of them:
What they can improve on:
- 🔻Deadlines
- 🔻Organization
- 🔻Intricate Details
- 🔻Bad Jokes
What they excel at:
- 🟩Editing to client happiness
- 🟩Excitement
- 🟩Website knowledge
- 🟩Give a damn
In conclusion:
Pick a great website developer to partner with, start and stay organized, hire a photographer, go through everything with a fine-tooth comb, and put your comfy pants on cause it won’t be quick.
Remember, done is better than perfect when perfection was the goal!
– Cami Reiss, “Dirt Girl”, CEO & President of Reiss Earthworks
Send me a message through the contact form on my website if you’d like to discuss a project, have an idea for me to write about, have a question (dirt or business-related), or have any feedback.
Note: Our blog posts are written from within the company. Sometimes by one, sometimes by many. Sometimes, they are like a friendship quilt in which everyone puts forth effort. They are not a result of a social media manager typing into artificial intelligence asking for a 900-word blog post, followed with copy and paste and calling it good. If Cami’s writing…. sentences are sometimes long and the thoughts bounce around. If Cali’s at the keyboard, nothing will be spelled correctly for sure. And if Cadi’s typing away, you’ll get “to the point” and probably spelled correctly. Yes, a lot of C names. Needless to say, clients don’t hire us to write for them (not yet, at least. We are interested in technical writing in our industry if anyone’s looking to hire us and provide housing in a warm winter climate- Only half kidding, of course.) Thanks for showing interest. The goal is to meet clients here and assist business owners on the same journey as us if we can.
The information provided in this blog is for general entertainment and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be construed as professional advice or a guarantee of service or result. While I aim to provide accurate and helpful information, any statements, details, or pricing shared are approximate and may change based on specific project details. Reiss Earthworks does not accept liability for any inaccuracies or errors. Always consult directly with us for precise estimates or advice for your specific project.
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