What Are The Best Tips For Creating Your Website?
More than 60% of your SB competitors have a website, if you don’t here are the best tips for creating your website before they ask too many questions.
When you meet new customers at your small business, chances are that one of the first questions they will ask you is “Do you have a website?”
Having an online presence as a company is more than just a convenient way to get more traffic, it’s expected.
About 60% of small businesses have a website — that’s more than half!
Rather than quickly slapping something online just to say that yes, I have a website, creating your own website should be something that you can be proud of. There are good ways and bad ways to create your own website; in short a good website generates leads and brings in clients.
Why Have A Website At All?
93% of online experiences begin with a search engine
47% of people click on one of the first three listings (SEJ, 2016)
If you’re finding a new business — you’re doing it online.
Now imagine if you went to find a business online and found that they had no website presence at all. How seriously would you take that business?
Now apply all of that to your business. You know that you’re the best at what you do, but having a legitimate and well-put-together website can help to prove it to the rest of the world. Going online and checking out a company is the GO-To step in vetting a new service provider. Achieve customer service goals by giving viewers exactly what they’re looking for in a professional and informative manner by creating your own killer website.
Now, what exactly are your customers looking for?
1. Clear Navigation
Even though it’s fun to dare to be different and break the mold of what’s normal, your website is not a good place to make that leap. You can certainly design it however you please, but remember that industry standards exist for a reason. If you change up the layout and formatting on your website too much, you can make it seem unclear and hard to navigate.
Some good rules of thumb to remember when you’re designing your website:
- Keep the navigation menu consistently in the top center of all your pages
- Place your logo in the top left, and make sure that it’s clickable and leads to your homepage
- Have a search function and place it in the header
You don’t want viewers to rage quit out of frustration, especially when you’ve spent good time and energy working on your site. Adhere to the industry standards and keep your navigation easy.
2. An About Section
Being able to identify with a business is part of the reason that consumers want to work with them. That being said, don’t squander your About section with one quick line. Embrace this area of your website and tell your story using specific dates. Explain where you came from and why you were inspired to start your company. Consumers love to see this stuff and whether you believe it or not, are actually looking for this information. Be proud of your roots and let your customers see that!
3. Clear Contact Information
Although email and texting are great and convenient, sometimes we need to speak to an actual human. In those moments, being without contact information and scrambling to find it online can be a NIGHTMARE. Don’t forget to have a specially, clearly labeled contact section on your website that lists the following:
- Phone numbers and extensions
- Hours of operation and a physical address of your business (a PO box works too)
- An email address that you can be reached at, or an alternative email address in case you’re unavailable
- Any social media handles that you use
4. Make It Moble-Friendly
Close to half of the world’s population has a smartphone. Let that sink in for a second.
If nearly half of the world’s population view the internet through the small screen, then you need to be more prepared than ever for your mobile viewers. Check out your website on your own device and see what it looks like. You might need to tweak some formatting or text/font sizes, but to cater to such a wide audience it’s worth it. When you are in the design interface to create your website there should be an option to “view in mobile.” Whether you have a graphic designer helping you or you are taking care of it on your own, be sure to revert to that little button often…it’s a handy tool.
5. Don’t Use Clashing Or Bright Colors
If you’re a colorful human and function best when surrounded by all shades of the rainbow, that’s wonderful! However, not all people are exactly like that and can be off-put but bright, flashy colors and graphics. Hot pink and lime green might be your favorite color combination, but all things in moderation. You’re trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, not scare people off. Rather than subject your audience to your love of color, consult an online color palette and pick a combination that works well together and represents your company too.
6. Is Security A Priority?
If you have customers online shopping or entering their personal information somehow or another on your website, then you need to make sure that you’ve got security software in place. Anytime that you collect personal info from a client and store it anyplace, you’re putting clients at risk for a security breach. Look into the best website security companies and figure out which works best for you and your customers. The last thing anyone needs is another security scandal, especially a small business like yours.
Protect your clients’ information — and protect your company at the same time.
Even though there’s nobody exactly like you and no business is 100% the same as yours, there are some things that you need to make sure are adhering to when you build your website. Making it clean, clear and user-friendly is what all clients are looking for regardless of the nature of the business, so don’t disappoint. Do the best you can to slip into a consumer’s mind frame and look at your company’s website through their lens.
