“Must Haves” for Small Business Website Development

From a coffee shop, to a freelance photographer, to a car mechanic, to a local medical group, a website is an essential piece of a business’s success. Whether you’re a startup that’s at the beginning stages of building your site or just looking for a website refresh, there are some essential tips you want to keep in mind. But, before we look into that, let’s take a look at the main framework of a website. These are the main aspects that every website should focus on, regardless of their developmental stage.

Think about the user’s experience

A lot of small businesses neglect their website, but this is the one thing that everyone should be prioritizing. Today, people are constantly bombarded with information without asking for it. So, it’s important to acknowledge and avoid overwhelming anyone who accesses your site. One of the most effective ways in doing so is to refrain from using pop ups, notifications, or other marketing gimmicks. If there’s one thing you should remember, it’s that you should treat user experience as the backbone of your website design; everything else on your site revolves around it.

Make strategic design decisions

On the other hand, design is like the muscle of the site – it strengthens all the other parts. The key with this is to keep it as simple and straightforward as possible. As much of an urge there is to make the design aesthetic, you also want potential customers to be able to find everything they need with ease. Again, tying back into user experience as the main priority. A website should be clean, minimal, and modern. Furthermore, the design must convey a clear and strong message to the viewers that your business truly stands behind. The last piece of design is so simple, yet somehow always forgotten – make sure to identify clearly what your business does. This should be obvious to the user.

Add strong, concise content

The final part of a website that is crucial is content – the heart and soul of a website. Content should make people feel something. Each piece of content should have an emotional aspect. Now, what specific type of emotion that is depends on the message your brand wants to exemplify. The goal is to create content that will stick with the customer. It’s best to utilize various combinations of words, images, and videos to tell a compelling story. Content can be difficult to produce, but it’s what makes the website. This is why many companies nail the user experience and design, and still fail to produce strong content to fill up those blank spaces. With no informational or emotional content, a website’s value significantly decreases.

Use a unique domain name

Within this user experience, design, and content structure, there are other smaller faucets that must be considered. First being to obtain a good domain name. It’s the first impression, the first thing that people are going to see. When brainstorming the optimal domain name you should make it easy to spell and as short as possible. Try not to use slang or obscure words that your audience wouldn’t generally be familiar with. In addition, search for a domain name that’s memorable while still keeping the price in mind. The most desired website addresses are most likely already taken, so it’s important to decide on one where the price is reasonable for your small business. Overall, a domain name should be something catchy that people will remember, but one that you don’t want to break the bank purchasing.

Implement a CMS

To keep up with the heart and soul of your website, implement the best content management system (CMS) is key. CMS is a software program that manages a website’s digital content. The first step in finding a good CMS is looking for one that will fulfill your company’s specific needs, such as budget or user friendliness. You’ll know you chose the right system if it assists you with maintaining your site effortlessly. There shouldn’t be much technical knowledge needed to use effectively. Some of the top recommended CMSs to take a look into are Drupal, SquareSpace, and WordPress.

Add SEO

With the help of CMS, it’s also crucial to post with quality and consistency. Those are the two elements that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) hunts down. Whether the content is from a blog post or an external link tied to your website, the only way you’re going to move up in the search engine ranking is by honing in on freshness and posting on a regular basis. The key is to give people a reason to want to come back to your site over and over again. Frequent site updates with relevant content is what will increase web traffic.

Add credibility to your business

Another tip to help with consistent posting is using customer testimonials, because it not only gives you content but builds credibility for your brand. Customer testimonials help create an emotional connection with your audience that will contribute toward a positive brand reputation and develop a sense of trust. The best testimonials include the customers full name and aren’t too lengthy. It should be authentic and motivate the reader to chase after the product, experience, or service that is being offered.

Website building is a highly detailed and time consuming process, but if done properly, can draw monumental benefits for your company. Use these strategies to design a website that stands out, speaks to your company’s values, and gives customers a good first impression.