Are you trying to establish yourself in a new place or beginning a small business from the ground up? Start by creating a high-quality website that captivates your target audience.
For a small business, your website serves as a central point for all of your business and acts as a first impression for potential customers. With a great website, you may build rapport, trust, and convince visitors to convert into new customers. Badly designed websites, on the other hand, might harm your overall reputation.
With that in mind, continue reading to learn about my top 8 most valuable web design tips for small businesses!
1. Mobile Friendly
Did you know that, according to Statista, there are 4.32 billion unique mobile internet users worldwide, suggesting that over 90% of the global internet population uses a mobile device to access the internet? As a result, an increasing number of people are using their smartphones to access the internet.
Because of this, Google has adjusted its algorithm to prefer mobile versions of webpages above desktop versions. To ensure that users have a positive experience with your website, make sure it is responsive and mobile-friendly.
Responsive websites are able to look the same no matter what size screen they’re being viewed on. Make sure that your web design is exactly that – mobile friendly!
2. Simple Uncluttered Design
When it comes to website design, minimalist sites are preferred over cluttered ones. If you encounter any of the following problems on a website, this means your website is cluttered:
- You’re not sure where to start looking on the website.
- Graphic components keep drawing your attention away from your work.
- The volume of copy is overwhelming.
- The screen appears to be overcrowded.
- You have no idea where to look for the information you need.
Uncluttered designs often have ample amounts of space that allows each piece of content to breathe. As you scroll, you can focus on one thing at a time without feeling different web elements are competing with each other.
3. SEO
SEO, also known as search engine optimization, is a technique for getting your website to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) based on the keywords used on the page. SEO is a key long-term strategy for any website because it helps grow organic traffic at no additional cost over time.
SEO approaches change over time as search engines evolve, but here are a few tried-and-true techniques:
- Writing high-quality blog material with researched keywords
- Keyword placement in the body and headlines of the article
- All photos should have meaningful alt text.
- Website is fast and mobile friendly
If you’re building a search engine-optimized website for the first time, prioritizing content that delivers value to your visitors is key.
4. Fast Loading Time
Did you know that the average loading time for a web page is 4.3 seconds? If you can reduce your loading time to less than that, you will be in a better position than the majority of websites. Web visitors are accustomed to quick page loads, and anything more than 7.9 seconds will cause them to lose patience and move on to another site.
This is why you should make your website as quick and simple to use as possible. This begins with properly formatting your images so they don’t take too long to load.
5. Display Your Contact Info
It’s critical to have your contact information visible on your website, especially if you run a service-based business that relies on customers making appointments. The header and footer of the webpages are usually the best places to put it.
A contact form is also required, but information in the footer of your website is ideal for visitors who are ready to call or arrange an appointment now on the page they’re on.
If visitors are connecting with your website for the first time, this offers your business more credibility and creates trust. This demonstrates that if they have any concerns or queries about your products or services, they have a clear line of communication to your business.
6. Display Testmorials
Displaying customer reviews and testimonials can make it easier to convert visitors into paying customers. Make sure you ask customers to post reviews on your Google My Business page or via email when they become customers. These reviews can then be added immediately to your website to help persuade consumers to continue down your sales funnel.
Consider including these testimonials in spots where a call-to-action is present, such as before the contact forms or on web pages that describe your services and products. This is because consumers are more likely to decide whether or not they want to become a customer at those pages.
7. Provide Value
Not all web design tips are about aesthetics. Creating original and valuable digital material for visitors is more important than using flashy pictures and videos. It doesn’t matter how cliché it sounds. Content is king.
A user will find relevant and informative material on your website that answers all of their questions and engages them.
Your website content should be consistent with your brand and clearly express your value offer. Your website should clearly express both who you are and what you do.
8. Capture Leads
One of the challenges that growing small businesses encounter is that even if visitors like your company, they may not be so eager to make a purchase while browsing your website. As a result, it’s critical to include a mailing list of your marketing strategies so that you can stay in touch with potential customers at all times.
Once you’ve created a mailing list, make sure to add forms to your website that allow visitors to sign up for it. You’ll find that offering an incentive, such as free PDF guides and graphics, is a fantastic approach to persuade people to sign up.
It’s vital for small business owners to understand that their website serves as a digital storefront for their company.First Impression matters, and visitors will form first impressions of your business and its services based on the appearance of your website.
If you need help implementing any of the above suggestions, please contact me! You know I am always happy to help.
Ethan is a Full Stack Web Developer and SEO Specialist based in Pittsburgh, PA. In his free time, Ethan enjoys working on various projects involving Ruby, Vue and AWS applications.
Ethan graduated from The Firehose Project coding bootcamp in 2016 with a focus on Ruby on Rail and Computer Software engineering.