There are many ways you can connect with potential clients online, but websites are the most critical aspect of your online presence.
If you don’t have a website, 1 in 5 potential clients will give up on your company. As you’re reading this, you’re aware of the necessity of a website. What should an excellent website for a small business look like, then? What are the essential parts of it? That’s a question you could have a hard time answering. That’s why 60% of small business owners believe that launching a website with the proper components is too time-consuming.
However, once you have a basic understanding of what a small business website should look like, you can easily communicate this information to a web designer. When shopping for a new website or redesigning an old one, this information will come in handy. Let’s look at some outstanding examples of small company websites to help you better understand these components.
A small business’s website should include the following elements:
Organized menu bar
85% of customers favor websites that are straightforward to use. The need for a well-designed navigation bar may seem obvious, but many small company websites do not have one. To create a user-friendly navigation bar, follow these steps:
Every page should have a navigation bar at the top, not only the homepage. It’s also possible to keep the navigation bar at the top of the page while a user scrolls down. Another term for this is “sticky navigation bar.” The navigation bar on your website should provide easy access to all critical pages. Your site may benefit from using drop-down menus to organize pages if there are a lot of them. The logo on your navigation bar should direct users to your homepage when they click on it. The top-left corner is where you’ll generally see the logo.
Mobile devices account for half of all web traffic on average; your navigation must perform flawlessly on a small screen, as well. All of your navigational links should be included within the hamburger menu on mobile devices.
The design should be tailored to the needs of the business.
Small business websites should be tailored to the demographics of the people they’re aimed at attracting. For example, the site of a local locksmith will seem very different from the site of a local restaurant.
Most of the time, it’s best to focus on improving the user experience rather than sprucing things up with flashy graphics. Your site’s users will be distracted by heavy design features, which may slow it down. It’s also good to avoid agencies that use the same design for every client. An eCommerce website must include all of the necessary features to sell things online. A fierce competition exists in the online market. eCommerce best practices must be followed even if your firm is small if you want your visitors to become long-term clients.
A general-purpose small company website should adhere to these three design concepts.
Adaptive design
Any small company website must have a mobile-friendly or responsive design. Having a website that doesn’t display correctly on mobile devices is the most unprofessional thing you can do for your guests. A website that isn’t responsive has a lower level of user interaction, lower conversion rates, and a lower search engine ranking.
The enhancement of the user experience (UX)
A successful small company website design relies on optimizing the user experience. Visuals, colors, and other design components can be alluring. The first step is to ensure that your website is easy to use, has an intuitive structure, and provides a logical flow of content.
Prompts for action
The right call to action should be on every page of your website. The user is prompted to act with a call to action. They’re excellent tools for assisting a site visitor in making a purchase. Contact Us is one of the most common ways to contact us.
-Shop Now!
-Get a Price Quote
-Get it now!
-To Expand Your Knowledge
Easily accessible contact information
The lack of clear contact information on many small business websites is surprising. To be complete, your contact information should include the following information: Address and phone number of your actual location(s)
These three, known as NAT, are only a few of the things you should include on your website. Your customers will get in touch with you much more rapidly if they have this information. Your contact information should be presented in a visually appealing manner. Having a separate Contact Us page with a contact form is good. The Contact Us page can be accessed from the navigation bar by clicking on the link.
In the website’s footer, list all your active social media accounts. Place your phone number at the top of every page if your business provides direct services (such as a painting company, a delivery service, etc.).
Warm and welcoming “About Us” page
Using the About us page is an excellent way to share your story with your website’s visitors. It aids in the development of a relationship between your company’s brand and potential clients. We’ve noticed that many small business websites don’t give enough attention to their About Us page, which is a terrible oversight. Here are some suggestions for improving your company’s About Us page:
Tell the tale of your brand. What sparked your interest? Describe how you got started in the business. Customers are eager to learn about the company they’re doing business with. Real photographs should be included on the company’s “About Us” page. The use of stock pictures is strictly forbidden here. Be yourself.
Integrated Blog
You may think that blogs on your company’s website are only valuable for large corporations, but this is not the case. Your local competitors may not be able to keep up with your local blog, but an on-site blog can.
A blog provides you with several advantages, including the following.
An on-site blog demonstrates that you are an expert in your field to your visitors. It’s a great way to establish trust. Your online presence is bolstered by relevant and well-written blog posts. Your blog can play a critical part in your internet marketing strategy and attract new customers.
You may build a relationship with potential clients by writing blog posts. The more people you can reach by promoting your blog content on social media, the more people will learn about your company. What about the design of your blog? Small business website designers often overlook the blog, which is a mistake.
To create a user-friendly blog, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Ideally, the main page of your blog post should have a chronological list of all of your blog entries. Use categories to organize your blog entries. Readers need to be able to sort the post list by category. You may also include a comment box at the bottom of each blog post.
There must be an eye-catching feature image at the beginning of each blog entry. Including social network share buttons is a good idea. On the left-hand side of each blog article, you should place the share buttons you’ve created. The total number of shares should also be included.
The images and typefaces you use should have a consistent look and feel. Make sure that your target audience will enjoy the writing style you select. Try to tell a story that will resonate with your audience. See how it’s done on the example site below.
Content Management System (CMS) customization
Managing a website can be time-consuming, but a decent content management system (CMS) makes it simple to update and make minor adjustments to your site. The performance of your website is directly impacted by the CMS you use. Businesses of many kinds rely on popular CMSs like WordPress and Magento. For a small business owner that has a lot on their plate, many popular CMSs are excessively time-consuming and challenging to learn. A bespoke CMS is an option for those who prefer a more tailored solution. Web design firms frequently offer custom content management systems (CMS) to their clients. These alternatives may be available to your agency.
SEO
It will help plan your SEO strategy as soon as you start designing your website. SEO best practices must be followed from the start. Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that many small company website designers are unfamiliar with. So could jeopardize your company’s long-term success by ignoring this aspect. Search engine optimization (SEO) should be considered from the outset of the design process, and this includes picking an SEO-friendly URL, naming your meta tags correctly, and organizing your site’s pages effectively.
Here are some guidelines to ensure that your small company website is optimized for search engines. The fundamentals of search engine optimization should be familiar to you. Consider working with a small website design provider with an SEO specialist on staff.
You should keep track of the business-related keywords that your competitors are utilizing to rank high in the search engine results pages.
An SEO agency should be kept in the loop from the beginning of your web marketing campaign if you are serious about increasing your business. We offer both web design and search engine optimization services for small enterprises. For further information and a no-obligation estimate, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
SSL Certificate
In many cases, tiny firms don’t protect their websites. Even if you don’t plan to sell anything online, an SSL certificate is necessary for any website.
Here’s why
If your site does not have an SSL certificate, a “Not Secure” indication is displayed next to your URL. This poses a problem for your website’s trustworthiness. Almost eight out of ten clients want the websites they visit to be reliable. SSL is a key ranking criterion for Google. So, if you don’t have an SSL certificate, you’ll affect your SEO.
Having an SSL certificate on every small company website with an eCommerce or log-in feature ensures that user data is safe. To secure your website, you’ll need an SSL certificate. Your visitors and your server’s communications will be protected by encryption.
The use of analytics and conversion trackers is tenth.
Your website’s primary goal is to attract visitors and clients specifically targeted. When determining how well your site is doing, you must analyze or visualize customer data.
We hope now you will get a basic understanding of what a great website looks like and the essential key components.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to include in the About Us section of a website?
- Communicate the story of your business and why you started it.
- Describe the customers or the cause that your company serves.
- Explain your business model or how your products are made.
- Put a face to your business, featuring the founders or the people on your team.
What does CMS do for a website?
A content management system (CMS) is a software application that allows many contributors to generate, update, and publish information. A CMS often stores content in a database and displays it in a presentation layer based on a collection of templates, similar to a website.
What is the SEO of a website?
The art and science of getting pages to rank higher in search engines like Google is known as search engine optimization (SEO). Because search is one of the most common ways for individuals to get information online, ranking higher in search engines can result in more visitors to a website.