No matter how big (or small) your business is, your number one employee should be your website. Why? It works 24/7 (for a fraction of the cost of anyone else) to promote your company non-stop and give your customers the best service possible, whenever they need it.
Your website should generate leads, make sales and give your visitors an unforgettable online experience.
But how can you get your small business’ website noticed when there are bigger players in your industry?
Here are 7 web design tips to take into consideration when building a small business website.
Cut the clutter
A small business needs a website that stands out. Try to keep your design simple, yet captivating. By having too many elements on your homepage, you can confuse and overwhelm your visitors.
Having an uncluttered design will help your visitors find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. They won’t get put off by walls of texts or distracted by random images. This means they can focus more on your products and services. Try to make your website clear and clean for your visitors so they know exactly where to go the moment they land on your site.
Make your contact details easy to find
This might seem like an obvious point to make, but you’d be amazed at the number of companies who don’t have their contact details visible on their website.
Your phone number and your email should be displayed prominently on your website – preferably in the header and footer of each web page.
Your contact details are the main communication link between you and your potential clients.
Want people to ring you? Put your phone number on every page of your website. Put it above your nav bar. Put it in your footer.
Want people to email you? Put your email address on every page of your website too.
Buy a great domain name
Your domain name is also known as your URL. It’s the thing people type into their web browser to find you.
You want a great domain name for two main reasons:
- People will remember it and associate it with your company.
- If you get an industry-related domain name, it’ll help with your SEO efforts.
Here are a few tips to help you come up with a great domain name:
- Make it short & easy to spell
- Avoid using numbers or hyphens
- Avoid getting too specific, so you have room to grow in the future
- Make it memorable
- If you’re not going with your company name, choose a name that has a meaning/SEO value, not something random/unrelated to your services
Use a unique design (no templates!)
Whether you’re designing your website yourself or you’re hiring somebody to design it for you, your website is there to represent your business.
Don’t become another cookie-cutter website by using the same template everybody else does. A bland website won’t distinguish you in the eyes of your audience.
Create a website that’s unique to you and your business, so you’ll stand out in the crowded online space.
A simple, user-friendly, clean website is the way to go.
To make your website look more professional, it needs to be consistent. Use your brand colours throughout your website’s design. You should stick with one or two fonts throughout your site.
Any imagery you use should seamlessly fit in with your design – try to avoid cheesy stock images. Ask yourself if your audience will connect to your images – do they add to the message you’re trying to convey?
Choose the right platform (CMS) for your needs
If you plan on selling goods and services on your website then you’re going to want to invest in the right technology to do so.
If you want your users to pay you online then you’ll want to choose the right platform to do it.
Here are some of the most popular eCommerce platforms:
WooCommerce:
WooCommerce is a WordPress extension or plugin that can turn your WordPress site into an online store.
Shopify:
Shopify is a cloud-based e-commerce platform. It lets you create and customise your own online store. You can easily manage products, payments, and shipping methods with Shopify powering your online store.
Magento:
Magento is ideal for any fast-growing small business. Magento is also one of the leading platforms for eCommerce businesses, but it can be tricky for people with no previous experience running an online shop.
Make sure your website loads quickly
People get impatient if a website takes a long time to load. In fact, 40% of customers will abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load, and 53% of visits on mobile are abandoned if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds.
This is why it’s essential to make sure that your website has a fast load time on both desktop and mobile.
Keep your site up-to-date
It’s one thing to have a website, it’s another thing entirely to have a successful website.
Once you have your website set up and running, it’s time to post relevant, high-quality content to your site. This will help you attract more customers and improve your rankings on the search engines.
Your website will become the go-to place for people interested in your services and products – when they get there, you want to make sure they’re impressed with what they find.
Ready to get started on a website for your business? Get in touch with our team of Waterford web designers today.
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