Since you only get once chance to make a good first impression, it is critical that some thought is put into the design of your business website. Today, more and more people will visit your website prior to stepping foot into your storefront or before they pick up the phone and call you.
If your website is poorly designed, chances are that you have lost a few potential customers – forever. So what constitutes a “good” design when it comes to a website?
Here are 10 factors that can contribute to having a professionally designed website that will convert and generate profits:
1. Make Sure Your Site is Easy to Navigate – Always keep the navigation of the site in mind when having your website designed. Your business website should be easy to get around and one should quickly be able to find the information that they are looking for. It should be clear-cut on what they need to do because people hate to waste their time trying to “figure out” a website. Your navigation menu should be highly visible on all pages.
2. Use Professional and Clean Color Schemes – The colors that are used to design your website should reflect your business but also need to be professional. Keep in mind that some colors will look different on the various browsers, so choose colors that will look the same across all platforms. It is okay to be creative when it comes to your color schemes as long as they go well together and properly represent your brand.
3. Avoid Loud, Hard-to-Read Fonts – Make sure that you choose fonts that are easy to read. Again, some people will be using smaller screens than others and some will be viewing the website from mobile devices. If you use fonts that have bright colors and unique styles, some people may have a hard time reading them. While they may look great to you, they may become a challenge for your visitors. Being able to read the content on your site is crucial, so it is best to choose more traditional fonts.
4. Make Your Site Easy for Visitors to Use – Along with having easy navigation, make sure your website is user-friendly. When someone visits your website they want to find out how your business can help them … and they want to find out quickly. Is your site user-friendly for those with limited computer skills? Is your contact information up-front and center or is it hidden on random pages where no one can see? Keep all of this in mind when designing your website if you want it to convert.
5. Place a Strong Call-to-Action on Every Page – Your call-to-action must be in a very highly visible place on your site; preferably above the fold. This is the point in the website that is visible without one having to scroll down. Not only that, but it needs to be in several locations on your site. Do you want your visitors to call you? Do you want them to come in to your business? Do you want them to watch an online video? Whatever you want them to do, tell them exactly that and tell them how to do it. Be sure to include your phone number, your email, or whatever contact method you choose.
6. Integrate Social Media Icons – Today, every business should really be using social media. With that being said, all your social media profiles should be accessible from your website. For each social media platform that you have a profile on, add the icon to your website, link it to your social media profile, and encourage people who visit your site to follow you on these platforms. This helps to increase your overall web presence, as well as gain new social followers, which can lead to increased sales and profits.
7. Make Sure Your Site Doesn’t Have Hang-ups – Having a reliable website that loads quickly is a must for any business these days. So when you are designing your website, make sure that you have a reliable host. Also avoid an over-abundance of photos and videos as they can cause even the most reliable websites to run a lot slower. It is okay to have videos and photos, but just monitor the amount and their impact on your website’s performance.
8. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly – When designing a website, always make sure that you are keeping mobile devices in mind. Millions of mobile users now surf the web on their mobile phones. If your website is not mobile-friendly, you could be losing a lot of potential customers. When your site takes forever to load or requires a lot of scrolling around, your visitors become frustrated and leave. It is also important to avoid Flash on your main website. Flash will not work on any Apple products so if you must have Flash on your main website, make sure that you create a stand-alone mobile website without it for the best results.
9. Provide Valuable, Quality Content – Simply having a visually appealing website will not cut it. The information that lies within in the website needs to be valuable, helpful, and entertaining to your visitors. Most importantly, focus on providing content that shows how your business can help your target audience.
10. Perform On-going SEO – SEO (search engine optimization) is a must for every website. When designing the website keep SEO in mind at all times. SEO covers a wide range of methods and strategies, but when it comes to “on-site” SEO, be sure to include page titles, meta tag, and H1 and H2 tags. SEO helps Google and the other search engines rank your webpages.
There are a lot of important factors to consider when designing a website. Many local business owners often wonder why they aren’t getting the attention they deserve. However, having a professionally designed website that is working to generate new business is the first step in grabbing the attention of local consumers.
Do you want a website that will generate profits instead of costing you money every month with nothing to show for it?
I specialize in helping local businesses area connect with local consumers in San Diego by having a strong, profitable website. Contact me at 858-442-3131 for a free, no obligation consultation!
About David Carleton
David Carleton is a Local Business Marketing Success Consultant who specializes in showing small business owners how to spend less and get more from their marketing and advertising using low cost strategies in local business marketing, lead generation and conversion, Internet marketing and social media.
Dave has been a keynote speaker for many industry, Chamber and trade groups across the United States and has written several books including The Ultimate Lead Generation System and The Essential Referral Marketing System. In addition, he has appeared on San Diego television several times including KUSI and CW6 providing unique strategies to small business owners on Social Media, Internet Marketing and Lead Generation.
To learn more, go to: http://www.LocalBusinessMarketingSuccess.com
