The Basic Information A Website Needs to Have to Go Live

New websites are often easy to spot because they lack the basic information a website needs to engage customers or provide any truly meaningful insight to a user.

When you’ve created a small business and want to start advertising it, one of the first and most critical things you can do is to set up a website.

You already know that the public is looking for you online; in fact, 90% of consumers search for a business online before deciding whether or not to work with them. Armed with this knowledge, think about the ways that you want your website to stand out.

One of the biggest mistakes a majority of small businesses make with every site launch is going live without the basic information your website needs. Online consumers are fickle and savvy. Simply going live with a website isn’t going to satisfy potential customers…

So, What do you need to do to ensure that your site is ahead of the game, keeping in mind your website’s job is to engage and convert visitors?

To start with — make sure you have the basic information critical to your website and audience.

1. A Logo That Is Unique To Your Company

Remember that your logo design is the first symbol that your audience will associate with your company.

Make yours one that represents it in a small yet meaningful way. Including your logo on your website is one major factor in familiarizing the public with it. Industry standards dictate that the logo should appear in the top left corner of every page on your website. Yes, every page.

If you’re still in the beginning stages of planning out your logo, factor in ways to create something you love.

Some tips include:

• Remember the nature of your business when you’re planning your logo. For example, if you work in the wildlife industry you might consider something like a wolf logo to get the message to the public what kind of work you do.
• Be picky when choosing colors and fonts. You want the eye to be drawn to something pleasing, not a chaotic jumble of clashing fonts and background colors.
• Ask yourself what kind of logo you’re envisioning. Apple is one company whose logo is a picture alone, while Starbucks’s logo is an example of words and pictures combined. Finally, Disney has made its mark using only a single word. When you think about your logo, how do you imagine it?

The importance of a well-designed logo is reinforced in brand recognition and familiarizing the public with the company. Be thoughtful and methodical when you’re designing yours. Additionally, don’t forget about the legal hoops you need to jump through as well: Copyright laws, ensuring that another business doesn’t already have a similar logo, etc.

2. User-Friendly Navigation and A Pretty Interface

When you’re creating your website, think about the way that you’re placing items and whether or not the public will be able to easily find their way from one page to another. Small details, however insignificant you might think they are, make a huge difference in the user experience as a whole.

Some of the basic information a website needs to include:

• A navigation bar placed at the top center of the page. Since this is what the basic blueprint is for website design, it’s already what users are looking for. Customers don’t want to hunt until they find the right webpage or else you will lose them and they will likely search elsewhere.
• Attractive, well-placed graphics. This is especially important on your welcome page because it is the first thing that users will see upon entering your website. Images that are blurry, distorted, oddly placed or are otherwise just not good examples will make a negative first impression on visitors.
• Contact information, even if it’s only an email address. If there’s a question or concern then customers need to have a way to reach you. You should also include your telephone number, hours of operation and physical address of your storefront.

Something important worth remembering is that you should always, repeat, ALWAYS have a mobile-friendly version of your website available. This is especially important as the years go on since the number of customers who surf the web from a device instead of a PC is on the rise. It’s not as much work as it sounds like and in the end, it’s worth it if you can appeal to a larger audience.

3. Very Few Pop-Ups and No Music/Autoplay Videos

One of the most aggravating things about visiting some company websites is seeing what a buggy, ad-ridden mess it is.

One of the most loathed (albeit effective) methods of advertising that customers hate seeing is the dreaded pop-up. In some respects it is easy to click past them or forget they’re there at all, but when you force someone to click through page after page of annoying pop-up ads, that’s one surefire way for customers to avoid your website.

Don’t forget about the dreaded autoplay feature that some websites insist on having. Whether a customer is sneakily on your website at the office of is in the library, autoplay music or videos can be one of the most simultaneously terrifying and embarrassing things to happen in public. Avoid customer complaints by skipping that feature altogether and provide links or the option to play the video when the customer visits your page instead.

4. Relevant and Interesting Content

We’ve all been to that website that is so stuffed with SEO keywords that it sounds like you’re trying to read something written by a robot. SEO services are a wonderful thing when used properly, but it should also be done sneakily; the rule of thumb is that a customer should not know who, if anyone, sponsored the article and what the SEO keyword is. Your content should be fresh and lively, full of interesting tidbits that are relevant to your business. The butterfly’s cycle of life is a beautiful thing, but does it make sense to share it on your website selling auto parts? Customers like website content like:

• Infographics full of interesting data
• Top ten lists
• DIY and how-to articles

Consumers have things to do and places to be, and trying to go through lengthy, hard-to-read articles isn’t always what the target audience is looking for. Keep your content light and conversational to help readers to feel like you are speaking to them instead of a webpage shouting at them.

If you are constantly inside your target audience’s heads, then you are already working to get your advertising campaign kicked off properly. Easy-to-use web designs and well-written content are only two ways that your website should show off all the amazing things your small business has to offer the world.

If you’re struggling to come up with the basic content your website needs to succeed, contact us for help.