When small companies reach the point where they require an online presence, it is important to get things right, as this can be the make or break of your company. You should have a website that clearly projects the sort of online image you want, both as far as your existing clients are concerned, as well as your potential customers.

In this context, there are several approaches you can look at when you begin to think about your web design either when building the site yourself, or using the services of a professional web designer. It is my belief that there are five online essentials you need to focus upon in order to create a successful brand identity for your company and if you follow these, they should place you in a good position to reach your company goals.

To begin with, you need to have content that is well written and helpful in respect of what you are offering. You will often hear the old cliché that content is king, but it is true, not only in respect of search engine optimisation, but also as far as keeping your site visitors interested enough to stay on your web pages. You should go through your pages to make sure you do not have obvious grammatical errors or misspelling because at the end of the day, you are endeavouring to establish a good reputation and if you make errors such as these, then you could lead people to believe you are not professional in your approach.

You should also avoid replicating the content of other websites when you describe your goods and services, because those who are visiting your site will probably already have visited the sites of your competitors and the last thing they will want is to read the same content again. Your web pages need to be easy on the eye, but you also need to make sure that the site does not contain unnecessary information or photos.

Whichever design you choose for your site, it needs to be capable of inspiring trust. Anyone looking at your pages will be discerning when it comes to purchasing online, so it may mean potential clients visit your site pages several times prior to actually purchasing anything you are offering. Your potential clients may find it helpful if you delegate an area on your site where they can leave their email address so that you are able to send them news about any future products or services. It is always a good idea to open up a two-way channel with clients.

Having a user friendly site is vitally important. Your site visitors will almost certainly be in a hurry and will not want to waste their time searching on any website that takes them in circles. In this context, you need to have a good landing page, that has all the essential information your customers will need and which will encourage them to want to see more of the site. This landing page needs to be well written and contain complete information about what you are offering your potential customers. It needs to encourage them to want to purchase.

Potential clients need to easily see contact numbers, together with believable physical business information. Information about the business owner and staff can also be helpful. Your customers need to feel they are not just dealing with an online presence, but an off line one as well.