With so many technological variables in play, website design for small businesses can be daunting. As the Internet evolves to incorporate new technologies, best practices change and newer, more optimized strategies emerge. To get the most out of their websites, business owners need to understand the nuances of search engine optimization, mobile-friendly design, ADA compliance, web hosting, graphic design, and more. As all of these diverse disciplines can’t possibly be mastered by a single individual, it pays to enlist the help of a professional team.
But, no matter what, every business owner should strive to understand the core function of their website. On a well-designed site, every element works together. Every small design decision contributes to a more unified, more effective whole. Whether you’re building a website to generate more leads, sell your products online, or act as a resource to your existing customers, there are a handful of tactics that can help you create a memorable, engaging website that creates a positive impression with its visitors.
Design for your ideal customer
As a business owner, nobody understands your customers better than you. And, when designing your website, this information is absolutely priceless. Your entire website should be built around your ideal customer: their problems, their desires, and their objections. By building with these pillars in mind, you arm your website with the tools it needs to qualify prospects and convert them into valuable leads.
On the topic of conversion, your knowledge of your customers can help your web team create clear, effective calls to action. As the person closest to the sales process, you know what kind of language closes sales. From buttons urging visitors to ‘Get Started’ to menu items that allow them to ‘Schedule a Free Consultation,’ your input will inform design decisions that result in a website that generates more traffic, more leads, and more revenue.
Ensure that your web design is mobile friendly
For years now, the majority of web traffic has originated from cell phones. With a world of information at their fingertips, your customers expect to be able to find – and access – your website on any device. So, when you design your website to be mobile responsive, you’re securing a much larger audience. As mobile users represent the lion’s share of all search traffic, it makes sense to design your website for them first.
Mobile friendly design is more than ensuring your site renders properly on mobile devices. At its heart, it’s about creating an experience that rivals – or surpasses – the experience of desktop users. It involves creating alternate menu structures, graphic callouts, page renderings, and text styles. It demands careful attention and a deep understanding of user behavior. Most of all, it requires you to consider what kinds of information your customers want and, more importantly, how to best deliver that information to them.
Make information succinct and skimmable
Truth be told, most visitors won’t read your website. More accurately, they’re not going to read the whole thing. By default, Internet users prefer to skim. With so many websites competing for their attention, they’re constantly being pulled in different directions. And, when it comes to capturing – and converting – them, it’s all about creating direct, skimmable content.
By utilizing imagery, titles, headings, and bulleted lists, you can deliver your site’s content in short bursts that don’t overwhelm your visitors. And, once you’ve won their attention, you can ease them into your site, guide them along your sales process, and – eventually – convert them into customers.
Opt for a familiar structure
There’s a reason most cars have steering wheels. There’s a reason most doorknobs turn clockwise. And, in that vein, there’s a reason most websites follow a familiar structure: it just works. In all things, a sense of familiarity breeds a sense of comfort. A navigation bar at the top of the page, a banner beneath that, rows of text content, and a footer at the page’s bottom, these are the cornerstones of small business website design.
Intuitive and easy to use, these cornerstones go a long way toward delivering a positive user experience. Since they make it easy to navigate your site, they can also be used to predictably move visitors along productive paths. Better yet, deviations to this structure can be used to grab focus and encourage specific actions. If you’re aiming to get visitors to contact you, you can place a form in a high-traffic area on the site’s homepage. Or, if you want to promote a specific product, you can override your site’s banner with a link to that product’s page in your online store.
Build your pages around quality copywriting
When it comes to effective website design for small businesses, content is king. Your site’s content impacts its ranking on search engines, its ability to attract visitors, and its potential to generate leads. Writing for your site, you need to consider short- and long-tail keywords, intriguing headlines, enticing meta descriptions, and more. A well-crafted page title – for example, ‘Website Design for Small Businesses’ – will be interesting, it will describe the page’s content, and it will communicate its primary topic to Google.
If your website is a vehicle you use to drive sales, good copywriting is its fuel. Without compelling content, your site will struggle to be found. Worse yet, it will struggle to convert prospects into paying, long-term customers.
Want more info on web design for small businesses?
At Creative Marketing Group, we produce the absolute best small business website designs available. With decades of combined experience and a roster of satisfied clients, you won’t find a more knowledgeable, more dedicated team of professionals. Whether you’re a local manufacturer looking to launch a new product, a burgeoning ecommerce company, or anything else, you can rest assured that we have the tools, team, and knowhow to build a website that delivers. So, if you’re embarking on a new website project, contact us today to learn how we can help.
