Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/information-sign-on-shelf-251225/

 

As a small business, your website is your shop window. It may be the one and only opportunity you have to gain new customers. It’s the foundation of your brand and a chance to develop a loyal following. Don’t miss out on making your small business website really stand out in the crowd.

 

You may need to create a new business website from scratch. Or perhaps you’re looking to make some changes to your existing website to get better results. There’s a lot of advice out there about what works best when developing a website. Here are some tips about the areas you should be focusing on. 

 

1. Sell Your Brand

 

A website should be a digital embodiment of your brand. Powerful visuals and the right color palette will go a long way to engaging users.

 

But a well branded website also invests in displaying its information in a logical way, and finds an inspiring way to relay key messages. Work with a web design agencyLinks to an external site. to hammer out all these things, which will ultimately mean your brand comes across in the very best light. 

 

2. Prioritize Findability

 

The look and feel of a website is crucial for engaging customers once they arrive on your website. But many people don’t consider how they are going to get visitors to their site in the early website development stages.

 

Thinking about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) early on can really help your web designers plan a solution that works from all angles. Pay particular attention to ensuring the Content Management System (CMS) has all the relevant metadata fields and templates that will work for content marketing. This will help your SEO companyLinks to an external site. get the best possible results for you when your website launches.

 

3. Focus on Mobile Users

 

Most websites are designed on a desktop, but visited by users on a mobile device. Therefore, remember mobile users during every step of the design process, and prioritize designing solutions for mobile users.

 

This includes ensuring content scrolls in a logical way on mobile devices, and that images and videos display properly. It often means designing short and snappy content that works well in text boxes. Include plenty of calls to action to ensure you are helping customers complete specific tasks.

 

4. A Balance of Content

 

The content on the best websites is succinct, engaging and genuinely helpful. It really pays to work with a good copywriter who is able to develop your brand tone of voice.

 

In turn, they will write content for landing pages that is eye-catching but can be easily skim read. Yet on pages where you can afford to have higher word counts, they will create a brilliant editorial impression of your brand. This includes writing your brand story and writing informational blogs that help cement your expertise in your field.

 

5. Don’t Confuse Users

 

It can be tempting to shirk certain web conventions in a quest to show website users how creative your brand is. In fact, ignoring some web conventions that work well for a reason can actually put off potential customers. 

 

Keep your main navigational menu at the top and/or left-hand side of the website, and clearly label the menu for mobile devices. Keep your company logo and tag line near the top, and the footer at the bottom.

 

Also follow accessibility conventions, which includes paying attention to text size and color.

 

While there is space within website conventions to be creative, users like to follow certain ‘rules’ when it comes to interacting with a website.

 

6. Be Visual

 

The whole look and feel of a website is significantly enhanced with the inclusion of images, so take your time to source high quality images. Ensuring photography perfectly fits your brand and inspires website visitors makes a real difference in terms of the impact you will have.

 

Including videos is similarly important, and the most successful websites blend imagery and videos with text seamlessly. 

 

7. Test It

 

You really can’t test a new website enough to ensure it works exactly as you intend it to. Enroll participants in user testing sessions and ask them to complete certain tasks on the website. This can include trying to find certain content. You can also ask for their feedback on their impression of different pages on your website.

 

As well as actively asking users to feed back to you, analytics can also give you some clues about how website visitors are reacting to your site. For example, if users are exiting a page after a short amount of time, you should look at why that might be happening. Similarly, if they are exiting the website on a page where you hoped they would buy a product, look at why.

 

Sometimes not having the right call to action, a technical glitch or the lack of a strong image can be causing problems, and is an easy fix for your business.