Most small businesses nowadays invest in a website with the aim of generating new business. Not just any old website will do though, and it is important to make sure that websites are designed so they fit the purpose and can be used to the businesses advantage.

YOU NEED TO GET THE CONTENT RIGHT

The most important thing with your content is that you get your message across; what your business does and what makes you unique. You need to be clear and concise without overdoing it. You need to prioritise with getting across your main services or what you do best. Visitors need to get the message of who you are and how you stand out above your competitors. If relevant it is useful to have a products or services page or pages, as this allows you to clearly lay out what you do.

The following is the important information that you need to make sure you get across in your websites content:

1. Who your company is and what you do

2. Where your business is situated

3. Why you are unique

4. Your main strengths

THE WEBSITE NEEDS TO BE EASY TO USE

If your website is not easy to use then visitors will quickly leave and head to one of your competitors. The navigation is important and it should be obvious how visitors get from one part of the site to another. Being easy to read is also crucial with text needing to be large enough so readers don’t have to struggle. Separating pages to keep relevant content together while keeping different subjects apart is a useful way of making the website easy to navigate around. Visitors will be able to see where they need to go for the information they are looking for.

It needs to be obvious to visitors how they can contact you. It is useful to have an email address or phone number on the homepage, so if visitors want to contact you they can do it immediately, therefore increasing the chances of them doing business with you.

THE STYLE OF THE WEBSITE

It is important that a website looks good but the design shouldn’t be over complicated. The design should not take away from the information on the site but complement it. You have to think about how the text will look over the background colours and make sure they do not clash. Paragraphs should be used so text is spread out and easier to read. Using bullet points can also be useful as this makes certain points stand out. Bold or enlarged text for the most important information can also be a good idea.

IMAGES

Images need to complement what is on the site. If used in the right way they help to give an overall impression of what you are all about. Using unrelated images, on the other hand, is confusing to visitors.

There are many things to think about for a small business website. It is important to get every aspect right to make sure your website works for you in the best way possible.

Andrew Marshall (c)