The Do’s and Don’ts of Small Business Website Design

Small business owners use their website as a central hub of the company, it is also critical to marketing and branding. When a potential customer visits your website they are looking for content. The appearance and usability are necessary to your websites success. Poor small business website design can lead to a negative impact on your business.

There are Five Common Mistakes to avoid in order to have an effective websites:

1. Poor Navigation

There is nothing more frustrating to a potential customer than a website that is hard to use. It is important to have a website that allows the user to find the
information they need quickly and efficiently.

2. No Clear Calls to Action

If a website has no clear calls to action then your marketing efforts are wasted. Bland business websites with nothing but descriptive paragraphs are boring and useless to the user.

3. Color and Contrast

Most people do not realize the importance of having visually appealing colors on a website. Website text needs to have sufficient contrast compared to the background.

4. Content

Customers visit your website for its content. Having well structured content will determine if your website is effective or not.

5. Clutter

Some businesses try to cram as much content into one page as possible. This will confuse the viewer and lead to a less effective website. It is more important to keep all of the content manageable.

Now that we know what to avoid when making a website, we can look at 10 Things Every Small Business Website Needs:

1. A clear description of who you are– Someone who is on your website should not have to investigate to find out what, exactly, it is that you do.
2. A simple, sensible Web address– When you want to attract customers to your website don’t make it complicated. Create a simple and effective domain name.
3.  An easily-navigated site map– Clear links to the most important pages are crucial for guiding visitors to the information they are looking for.
4. Easy-to-find contact information– When people visit your website they should be able to contact you in a matter of seconds. Otherwise, you will lose a lot of business and awareness.
5. Customer testimonials– Honest words from customers will build your brand reputation. This could convince a potential buyers to invest in your products or services.
6. An obvious call to action– As stated above, calls to action are critical to online success.
7. Know the basics of SEO– Becoming familiar with what SEO is, you can make your website more accessible through search engines.
8. Fresh, quality content– Most of the time your website is the first impression on a customer. Give them what they are looking for and give them a reason to come back to the website. Keep content updated and fresh.
9. A secure hosting platform– Using a secure and trustworthy hosting company will keep out the bad guys and keep your website up and running.
10. A design and style that’s friendly to online readers– Creating a website that is inviting will keep customers on the website and potentially create more business.

To learn more about the ins and outs of small business website design, give the experts at HubRunner.com a call, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.