5 ways to create an effective website for your small business.
From the home page and 'About Us' page to product and 'Contact Us' pages, take a look at our 5 tips to create an effective website for your small business:
1. Keep it simple.
Easier said than done when you are faced with a blank page. A quick way to determine what your site's focus should be, is by determining what the visitor's needs are and how your site will solve them. The majority of sites should cover the following areas as a start:
- 'About Us' page: a short description highlighting key information about your company.
- Product pages: include the products or services you offer. Highlight what sets you apart from competitors.
- 'Contact Us' page: all the most up to date contact details, including social media links and opening hours (if applicable).
Example: The Alarm Guy
What they do right: The navigation bar is simple and focused, as is the landing page content.
2. Ask a lot of questions.
Pretend you know nothing about your business and ask some difficult questions. Why should I sign up for the newsletter? What will I find on the Twitter or Facebook page? Where can I buy a product? What's the point of this site? Asking questions, dumb or not, will help you to establish what the user should get out of your content.
Example: Yuppiechef
What they do right: A lot of websites will ask you to sign up for their newsletter without giving you a clear benefit. Yuppiechef, on the other hand, tells you exactly why you should sign up with clear, user benefits.
3. Create content that matters.
Some things are obvious, for example including product shots if you are selling a product. Other bits of content might not be, for example a small jewellery store not updating their physical address or phone number. Every single piece of content you include on your site should be relevant, up to date and spur someone into a relevant action - buy, share, download, etc.
Example: Quicket
What they do right: Quicket immediately gives the user a clear benefit of using their services. The strong call to action on the button also says more than a simple "Get Started" button would have done.
4. Incorporate responsive design.
Here's a scary fact. Mobile connections vastly outnumber fixed broadband connections. 80% of internet users1 are using only their mobile phone to access the internet. Responsive design allows your site to respond to the user's screen size, platform and orientation. So, whether on mobile, tablet or desktop, the website will seamlessly switch to accommodate the different screen sizes and resolutions. One flexible site + multi-device functionality = more ways to reach your customer. Wordpress2 offers great responsive design templates.
Whether you turn your phone upside down or view it on your tablet, the design will respond to your screen size.
5. Do the 3-second test.
Our attention spans are short, and generally, people visit sites with a particular need in mind. Test your site with someone before you launch. If they can't find what they are looking for within 3 seconds, simplify your pages to include one clear call to action.
Example: iFix
What they do right:iFix would even pass a 1-second test with their clear, bold landing page call to action - We repair Apple and Samsung Devices.
Now that you know how to make an impactful website for your business, take a look at the 3 free tools that will help get things started:
- Check whether a domain is available: Name Check
- Free website templates: WordPress and Squarespace
- Ecommerce templates: Shopify
Do you have any tips that have helped you? Let us know in the comments section below.
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