A great website is no longer optional for small businesses. But there’s a lot that goes into making your website work for your small business. You need to design it with your customer in mind, ensure it’s user-friendly and be packed with information about your products or services. And, of course, you need to make sure it’s updated regularly.
Our small business community members are keenly aware of what it takes to create a great website. Check out some of their top tips in the list below. These tips will help you create a website that’s not only effective but also reflective of the unique voice of your small business.
How To Take Your Website To The Next Level – 10 Simple Ways
Tip 1: Focus On Mobile User-Friendliness
In today’s mobile-centric world, it’s more important than ever for businesses to have a responsive website. American adults spend an average of five hours per day on their mobile devices, and more than one-third of all online shopping is done via mobile. If your website is difficult to read or navigate on a mobile device, you could be missing out on valuable leads and sales.
Google also considers mobile user experience when determining search engine rankings, so a positive mobile experience is essential for driving traffic to your site.
By ensuring that your website is responsive, you can provide a positive user experience for mobile visitors and improve your chances at ranking highly in search results.
Tip 2: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Make It Your Priority
Websites use SEO to increase their visibility on the internet and ranking on search engines. Potential customers discover businesses by inputting keywords relating to the brand on a search engine website. However, there are thousands of search results and businesses must rank high on the list to be discovered.
To improve your SEO ranking, you can use marketing consultants or learn how to go about inputting the right keywords inside your website’s meta descriptions, page titles, content posted in each category, and other headings. Also, installing SEO plugins on your website can help you achieve visibility.
Utilizing SEO will improve your website ranking and make it more visible to potential customers searching for businesses like yours. By increasing your business’ visibility, you also increase the chance that potential customers will discover your business and ultimately make a purchase. Therefore, using SEO is essential for any business that wants to succeed online.
Tip 3: Use A Simple Design
Good web design is essential for any business that wants to have an online presence. Not only should the website be visually appealing, but it should also be easy to navigate and informative.
One way to achieve this is to limit fonts, colors, and GIFs, which can distract and pull the eyes away from the webpage’s focus.
Short paragraphs and bullet points also make the information more scannable and likely to be read. By following these simple guidelines, businesses can ensure that their website is user-friendly and inviting.
Tip 4: Use Call To Action
The colors you use on your website buttons can have a subtle but significant impact on customer behavior. Different colors can evoke different emotions, which can influence your customers’ actions. For example, red is often associated with excitement and energy, which can encourage customers to take immediate action.
In contrast, blue is often seen as calming and trustworthy, instilling confidence in customers that they are making a safe choice. When choosing colors for your website buttons, you must consider the message you want to send and the actions you want your customers to take.
By carefully selecting the right colors, you can help ensure that your website visitors have a positive experience and are more likely to take the actions you desire.
Call to Action will also include using the correct word. The words you use for your buttons are important because they should excite the user to take action. The right words can trigger an emotional response that prompts the user to do something.
Therefore, it is important to choose bold, time-sensitive words that convey a sense of urgency. Action-oriented words are also important because they encourage the user to take immediate action. By choosing the right words, you can increase the likelihood that users will take the desired action.
Tip 5: Differentiate The Hyperlinking
When you add a link to any page, you want the user to click there. Make sure links are easily identifiable by visual cues. Underlined text and different colored text draw the attention of the reader and let him or her know this is a link to be clicked on.
Regarding hyperlink differentiation, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. Sticking to the convention can be your best ally here. A simple way to test your links’ effectiveness is to blur and remove the color from the design and see what stands out. You know you have a practical design if your links are still easily identifiable.
However, if your links are lost in the design, you may want to consider making changes. Following some simple guidelines, you can ensure that your links stand out and are easily identified by users.
Tip 6: Get Personal
As any business owner knows, first impressions are essential. When customers come to your store, they should be greeted by a clean, well-organized space that reflects your brand image. The same is true for e-commerce retailers.
Your website should be inviting and easy to navigate, with clear images and helpful descriptions of your products. Perhaps most importantly, your About Us page should give customers a sense of who you are and your company.
A good photo can go a long way toward personalizing the experience and making your customers feel like they know you. So if you’re looking to create a high-quality online experience, don’t forget to invest in a good About Us page.
Tip 7: Make Use Of Images
In the past, companies could get away with using generic stock photos on their website and still be considered trustworthy. However, people are now more savvy about judging company websites and can quickly spot a stock photo. Stock photos often look fake and unprofessional, which can decrease trust in the company.
In addition, using stock photos makes it difficult for a company to stand out from its competitors. People want to do business with unique and authentic companies, and using stock photos sends the message that the company is neither of those things. If you want your website to be trusted and successful, it’s important to use original photos representing your brand.
Tip 8: Be Consistent With Your Website Pages
Consistency is important in design for a variety of reasons. First, it helps to create a cohesive experience for the user as they move through your site. When everything matches, they know they are still in your website and can easily find their way around. Second, consistency helps to build trust with the user.
If they see drastic changes from one page to the next, it can be confusing and make them question whether or not they are still on your site. Finally, consistent design makes it easier for you, the designer, to create a system that is easy to update and maintain. When everything matches, you can easily make changes without having to redo your entire website.
Consistency is key in design, so be sure to keep it in mind as you work on your next project.
Tip 9: Catch Your 404s
When a user is trying to navigate your website and they encounter a 404 error page, it is extremely frustrating and disruptive to their journey.
A 404 error page occurs when a link or image does not lead to the next desired page for the user. This can be extremely annoying for users and make them second guess spending their time on your website. Search engines don’t severely punish you for having soft 404 errors, but users will.
It is important to try and avoid having 404 error pages on your website in order to create a smooth user experience. If users are constantly running into difficulties navigating your website, they are likely to go elsewhere. Creating a positive user experience should be a top priority in order to keep users engaged with your website.
Tip 10: Share Valuable Content
Any business that wants to improve its online presence should consider share great content that is valuable to their target audience. Copywriting, blog articles, vlogging, and podcasting are all great ways to promote your brand on search engines and social media. How-to’s are a especially great type of content, as they are both useful and relatable.
By sharing helpful content, you can quickly build trust with your audience and establish yourself as an expert in your field. In addition, driving traffic to your website with content is an easy way to increase the visibility of your brand. So if you’re looking for ways to take your website to the next level, start by sharing great content that your target audience will find valuable.
Conclusion
A website redesign can be a big undertaking, both in terms of time and money. However, there are some simple things you can do to improve your website without starting from scratch. One way to make your site more user-friendly is to streamline the navigation.
Visitors should be able to easily find what they’re looking for, whether it’s information on your products or services, or contact information. Another way to improve your site is to make sure the content is well-written and error-free. Typos and grammatical errors can make your site seem unprofessional, so it’s important to proofread everything before it goes live.
Finally, keep your design clean and uncluttered. Too much visual noise can be overwhelming for visitors, so stick to a few basic colors and simple graphics. By making these small changes, you can give your website a fresh look without breaking the bank.