Does your small business website effectively generate new business?
There are many factors that go into an effectively designed website. While content is an important factor on the web, if your users are relating to your company or can't find information on your website, you aren't going to convert users to customers. In order to do that a website design needs to get a few points across.
Nearly every small business today has a website. If your business doesn't have a website, you are missing out on significant opportunities. Chances are though, you do have a website, but is it getting you the results you want or need? Having a site that isn't designed properly or doesn't get the right message across can be worse than having no website at all.
There are a few things that a great website should have:
- Information should be easy to find and readily available to the end user. Users should have to click into your website more than 3 times to get to the information they are searching for.
- The design should be "easy on the eyes". What we mean by that is you don't want information splattered all over the place, with over the top colors that aren't organized, and you want your content to be legible. If you are targeting senior citizens, small blocky text on a black background is probably not going to entice them to read the content.
- Your customers should be able to form a relationship with your website. Get personal! People want to come to your website and know who you are, what your company stands for, and what it's about before even considering purchasing your product. Your website is the middleman, make sure it portrays you in the right light.
How do I get there?
Having a great website that does all of the things listed above is no easy task. It important to know your business inside and out, and be able to communicate that to the designer.
You and your designer should start with a plan before mocking up any type of design. Discuss the functionality of the website, how you want things to work, most importantly what is your target market. This will determine colors, the way the designer lays out the foundation of the website, and imagery used on the site. You want to try to keep the design consistent throughout the pages. A lot of times there will be a homepage design and an internal page that differs slightly from the homepage. This gives users comfort that they are not only staying on your website when they click through links, but also that you are an organized and consistent company.
It's important to when discussing the functionality to go over menu items and calls to action. Try to keep this information minimal and to the point, and easily visible on the page. You have roughly 3 seconds to grab the attention of your user. If they can't find what they are looking for, they will go somewhere else.
Once you and your designer have discussed desired functionality and your audience, he/she will put together a mock-up for you. When viewing the mock-up, put yourself in the shoes of your user.
Ask yourself:
- Can I tell right away what the product is?
- Is there an easy way for my user to contact me?
- Is the site easy to navigate and can I find information in a few seconds?
It's important that you love the design of your website, but you have to remember that your customer is who is using your site, so make it easy for them. If you can answer yes to the questions above and you have a look and feel that you love, you can start building out your website.
If your design achieves everything in this article, and you put in the optimization efforts, your website should generate a great deal of your business. If it doesn't, its time to go back to the drawing board.
Having a great designer is important, but for an effective design, know your market, know your company, and be willing to put in the work. At Neon Rain, we have a great team of designers that are determined to give you a great website that gets great results.