9 Important Web Design Practices and Tips for Small Business Websites

December 18, 2017

When you decided to start a small business or a startup you probably did a market research and all the necessary paperwork. You created the firm’s page on Facebook, opened an account on Twitter. But, have you built a website, moreover, have you upgraded your existing website into a mobile responsive? If you haven’t or you are still contemplating about revamping your old website, then you are already far behind your competition.

With an account on Facebook, you may think you’re building a fan base, sharing bits of content on Twitter, but the truth is that without a proper digital home base all your efforts are wasted and you are missing out on the opportunity to interact with your customers or potential ones in the right way.

An Amazing Website = Lead Magnet

The launch of a new website or redesign of the old one may be a daunting and intense experience. Nevertheless, everybody knows that to a business an amazing website equals lead magnet in the most effective way. In that sense with a little adjustment and with the right design your website could become your strongest salesperson.

Build Around the Customer

Since your website is the first thing prospects see, the design should be creative and with an appeal as it competes with the top dogs. Moreover, it should be built around the customer – be customer-centric, be the solution to their problems. Customers love authenticity, with a strong, clear and consistent message. Focus on that when building your site and you will find your leads increasing.

Since your website is the first thing prospects see, the design should be creative and with an appeal as it competes with the top dogs. Moreover, it should be built around the customer – be customer-centric, be the solution to their problems. This is something that you should sit down and discuss with your local web design company and ensure that they can map out a customer-centric focus for your website. Customers love authenticity, with a strong, clear and consistent message. Focus on that when building your site and you will find your leads increasing.

Take Care of Your Homepage

The homepage is the most important part of your business’ website. It is the first thing your potential customers will stumble upon. Moreover, due to the fact that small business websites don’t have a lot of pages, the homepage servers like an anchor for the overall website. Here, your customers-to-be, who still know nothing about your firm, need to be able to figure who you are, what you do and who for in only three seconds. Sounds impossible?

Clean & Crisp

Your website mirrors your brand. Best practices for small business websites show that a well-designed, contemporary and relevant website can improve user experience and conversion rate. A clean, fresh website, easy to navigate, will convert more prospects into customers whether you offer a product or a service. For instance, if you are a restaurant owner and you want to allure potential customers the best way for you is to go for a specific web design for restaurants.

Appealing Content & Visible Navigation

Focus on legibility and accessibility. Your homepage must not be overloaded with information. It may create confusion and poor user experience. The website should have visible navigation buttons and clear call-to-action buttons. Catchy headlines, appealing colour variation, readable typography, all are beneficial when creating appealing content for your website. Furthermore, all these factors impact how you rank in search engine page results.

Pay Attention to Branding

When it comes to branding you should avoid any silliness on your small business website. Focus on building a professional look which is in agreement with your brand. In regards to colours, use the ones that are in accordance with your logo. Choose one font family and make sure it used on every page of the website. On top of that, choose graphics and images that correspond and complement your brand and your website.

Add Contact Details

Providing contact details that are clearly visible may seem like an obvious thing when building a small business website. However, some firms tend to overlook this factor. Don’t be one of those business owners and ensure that firm’s contact number and the email address should be displayed clearly and, if possible, both at the top of the page and in the footer. In addition, create a separate Contact page on which you will add everything in more details, like physical address, map and working hours.

Loading Time Matters

The time that a website needs to load can have a great impact on getting prospects. For that, you must ensure that your small business website has the right hardware infrastructure and bandwidth to support it. Even if your website is heavy you can also make it load faster by selecting a good host. Bottom line, by giving users the superior website load time you are providing your business with a much better conversion. This arrangement becomes even more important if you have huge traffic on a regular basis.

Include Social Media Sharing

To reach your target audience social media like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the perfect extensions to your website. Hence, you need to include the links to them on the website with a suitable balance. Equally, you should consider sharing useful related content on major media platforms such as newsletters or ad space, which will help you conduct potential leads on to your webpage.

To help move your business to the next level utilize current tools, expertise and information available for your niche to deliver a top-notch website user experience. Moreover, use it to influence people to take advantage of your products or services and to share their experience with others.