Do It Right The First Time
Most small businesses know that the hardest part of running a small business is getting your name out there. You may create the best organizational products around or be the best lawyer in town, but you can’t bring in new clients or consumers if no one knows you exist.
You don’t want your business to be the best kept secret. You want it to be the rumor that spreads like wildfire.
Creating a productive website is vital in today’s digital marketplace because that’s how everyone finds what they need in these times. Even when people are happy to shop in a store or visit a showroom in-person, they will still likely need to find your small business online.
Your website has to do the work of bringing customers to your store or getting them to call your office or convincing them to purchase a product or service. The design of your website plays an important role in how effective it is in helping your small business succeed. Here are some web design tips for small businesses to get your website to work for you.
Top 5 Tips for Effective Small Business Website Design
Website design trends are always changing, and it can be difficult to keep up with the latest shifts in design ideas. While it may be nice to have the most updated website possible, it’s not necessary for your business’ success. If you follow the web design tips below, your business should be in great shape to build your customer base and brand recognition.
1. Intuitive Design
Whatever design style you choose—trendy, traditional, sleek, artsy—your site should be intuitive. There’s nothing more frustrating to a website visitor than a site they can’t navigate. Even if your website is flashy and sparkly with all the newest updates, if people can’t figure out where to go to make a purchase or find the information they need, they will click your website goodbye.
Make sure that user experience always comes first when designing your website. This is by far the most important web design tip you should adhere to.
2. Branding That Grabs Them by the Heart
Every business can put together some colors and slap a cute animal on their packaging and call it branding, but that’s not going to cut it in today’s world. You have to take the time to properly brand your business and your website so that the branding brings cohesion to your business, making your products or services recognizable, sought after assets.
It doesn’t matter whether you sell golf equipment or you provide financial advice, you have to create an image that resonates with consumers. Your branding needs to be unique and custom to what you do. It should also tell the story of what sets your company apart from others who provide similar services or goods.
Make an impact. Make an emotional connection. Bring the branding that makes your business a household name.
Website branding should include:
- Taglines that express how your product or service helps improve the lives of potential customers. Your taglines should not talk about your company. They should talk about what you bring to the people.
- Colors that stand out yet don’t distract from your message.
- A logo that catches the attention of your target audience. Try to make your logo simple yet pack an emotional punch.
- Clever wordplay that sticks in the brain.
- Visual imagery and text that compliments each other.
- Useful videos that add to your message.
There’s always a new way to showcase a product or service—something no one else has thought of.
For example, did you ever think that a mattress could be rolled up and delivered in a small rectangular box? Casper thought of it, and their mattresses are taking over the mattress world. Maybe their mattress isn’t even that much better than other mattresses on the market, but because they found a way to make delivering and transporting a mattress easier for the consumer, sleepy people everywhere are taking notice.
Your website branding can do the same—make your offerings the next must-haves.
3. High-Quality Content With a Purpose
The words you put on your website aren’t just there as filler. They have to be purposeful. Your website should contain readable copy with useful information—success doesn’t have to require luck or a magic formula. You just have to put in the work.
Whether the words are selling your products, describing your services, or talking your website visitors through a how-to, your content must be top quality and useful, not fluffy nothingness. Clear descriptions of what you offer your consumers should be front and center. You don’t want visitors confused about what services or contributions you provide.
It’s also important to have calls to action (CTAs) throughout your website content with clear, easy, actionable steps that you want your visitors to take.
Don’t go through all the trouble of creating a website if you aren’t going to take the time to get it right. Otherwise, people will thumb down to the next company that provides the goods or assistance they are scrolling or searching for.
4. Design for Mobile First
Desktop design is still important, but most people are using their phones to find what they need. Your design has to be geared toward mobile users. Make sure the content, graphics, images, and navigation menus are designed for the mobile user first. This includes ensuring that imagery is optimized for reducing the site’s loading time.
5. When in Doubt, Stick With Established Standards
Website design changes over the years, but there are some standards that seem to remain. Top navigation menus, home buttons, about pages, and contact pages are some examples of standards that people automatically look for when visiting a new website. Being too different could confuse your site visitors and make them wonder how to use your site.
Your website can be unique while still maintaining some standards that help people feel like they are still in the digital world they know and love.
Need Help Designing a Website? Connect With Digital Division in Kansas City
Website design is not easy, and small business owners are busy running their businesses. To reach potential clients, try using the website design tips described above.
However, if you need help with your website’s design, we have graphic design experts at Digital Division who can use design elements to take your website to the professional level. We are great at capturing your next website user’s attention and leaving them with the good impression of your business that you are hoping for.