For small business owners, attracting more customers is often a top priority, which is why a well-designed website can be such a powerful tool. Almost half of website visitors will stop browsing a business’s products or services if the website itself is poorly designed or takes too long to load. However, having a successful website takes more than just great products—you need an organized, modern appearance on all webpages if you want to stand out in today’s market.
In fact, it may take a bit of experimentation and iteration to figure out what will engage your visitors, and then there are design principles to be mindful of.
Therefore, this article is designed to give you ten web design tips unique to the small business owner, with examples of websites that bring these fantastic design options to life. Many components go into web design, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you’re not a designer by trade. But as a small business owner, you’ll want to focus on a few specific design elements to make the most of your site and make a great impression on your visitors.
1. User-Friendly Design
Design includes a good user interface and a logical organization or layout. It also prioritizes trust and an easy navigation flow, and it has to be displayed in an appropriate look and feel.
Your user interface also needs to be intuitive and seen from the position of a customer’s benefits. This happens in the context of search engines if you include a simple SEO strategy. That part of the design and programming should be based on the strategies of better customer relationship management targeted at the kind of consumers. You also need to satisfy their needs.
If your website is easy to use on those browsers, then you will also have a better presence on search engines. One key user-friendly element for mobile is having a large, easy-to-read font. It helps reduce the amount of zooming in and out so people can find the information they need faster and easier without having to work harder to see it. Test it.
If you need help optimizing your website, book a 30 min call and let’s make a plan together.
More useful is getting feedback from real people. They are, after all, what your online business is about. Make sure to expect honest criticism before setting up these tests.
Research shows that business managers are frequently dissatisfied with their company website’s look.
Intuitive Navigation
This design begins with an intuitive navigational system. Every website should have a link devoted to navigating users to the main page of the website.
Making use of easy-to-understand, intuitive menus and web layouts in combination with logical site structure and internal linking for seamless navigation will ensure a better browsing experience. Make sure to implement the “three-click rule,” which basically means users will be able to find the information they are looking for within three clicks.
Secondary navigation uses elements on the webpage to allow users to find deeper pages, such as using breadcrumbs, dropdown or collapsible menus, or links embedded within text. Placing secondary navigation controls at the top and center of the page ensures it is easily accessible, as well as being visually close to where the deeper content begins.
Mobile Responsiveness
28% of site traffic comes from people using mobile devices, surpassing desktop usage by 2%. Through responsive web design, website content is automatically reshaped to a variety of screen sizes for device users.
To accomplish effective file resizing and page modification for the variety of different device sizes, many responsive design tools and frameworks are available. Typically, developers can edit overall page styles and limit them to the most-used reduced styles for each device.
2. Clear Call-to-Actions
Clear call-to-actions (CTAs) are vital to guide users to take action by clicking a button or link to start their journey with your company. Since these buttons are one of the major places that visitors go first on just about every page of your website, they must stand out from the remaining content on your page.
Some of the varied and effective types of data collection include website analytics tools, customer relationship management lists, user experience analytics tools, installation of a live chat tool, and customer service query feeds. Once you’re taking in data, one question many small businesses often have is what to do with it.
The average page view is measured in seconds, and it is the quick buttons that help the audience quickly grasp the next steps from your website.
To attract user clicks, use clickable CTA language and attention-grabbing colors or animations. This may include a “Learn More” button to provide valuable information to a tourist, a “Contact Us” button to email you for a quote, or even a “Buy Now” button for an e-commerce purchase.
By strategically placing calls-to-action in key visible areas, it directly impacts bounce rates, click-throughs, and especially conversions on every website.
3. High-Quality Visuals
Visuals such as images or videos help capture the attention of customers while also more effectively communicating your brand’s message and attracting visitors. High-quality professional photography of products or services, branding imagery, and lifestyle photography that resonates with your specific audience are generally used by top-performing small business web designs.
Graphics or videos are generally preferred for B2B audiences, as they can make marketing copy better and more effectively convey complex ideas than photography alone.
Stock photos can also work effectively when you’re unable to afford a professional photographer, although it is recommended to use edited and altered stock photos as they are less likely to be taken down by copyrights.
Your brand should be reflected in your website’s images, and they should aim to help tell a story. Aim to keep a consistent and quality look in all visuals to enforce a professional image. If someone visits a website and afterwards can’t remember who the website belonged to, generally, the quality of web design didn’t live up to expectations. Visuals can help enhance user recall in that regard. You need unique images to round out your brand, rather than showing them another group of unrelated stock photos.
4. Fast Loading Speed
Is there anything more frustrating than a slow loading page? For small business websites, the pressure to load quickly is higher than ever. The internet provides endless options, and there’s no need for customers to stick around for a frustrating loading process.
In fact, most internet users will abandon a page if it hasn’t loaded in 3 seconds. Ditching a website before it’s even fully loaded can lead to high bounce rates, which in turn reduces the website’s SEO rankings and visibility.
How can you make sure your website loads quickly? Images are the number one cause of slow loads, so you’ll need to optimize any images to ensure a smaller page size and fast loading times. Improved server response times, limited website redirects, and reduced server requests will also decrease your load times. Of course, you need a reliable hosting service. All the speed in the world can’t save your website if it’s hosted on a server that isn’t up to the task.
A faster site leads to better website visit experiences. A faster site leads to conversions. That’s why it’s more crucial than ever to make sure that your site loads as quickly as possible. Always be mindful of how fast your site is loading and be vigilant when it comes to taking the necessary steps to keep that speed up.
5. SEO Optimization
Effective SEO can place content sooner in front of those whom the studies of traffic flow indicate will win with high probable outcomes. This is called targeting. Good campaigns are characterized by effective research, use of timeless standards mixed with what is fresh on the SEO algorithms, and adjustment to the environment as market conditions or industry shifts.
Before you can optimize a website for the best keywords through content creation and other on-page SEO techniques, you must first find out which keywords to use. These are online search terms that your target customers are looking for. Your site has to be clean, and the ads and unnecessary junk should be minimal.
Simple presentation and direct navigation are key. Make sure it is easy to navigate with just a short concentration span.
Good SEO will give you a minimum of percent of the live market with a given keyword string or niche. It is about making yourself findable when using very few targeted keywords over the internet. This is how and where sustainable organic traffic growth comes from.
6. Consistent Branding
If you want to make an impression on potential customers who land on your website, make your brand identity clear and consistent. This will help you seem more credible right off the bat. Here are a few areas that can be used to execute a cohesive branding strategy.
Logo
Make sure your business’s logo is omnipresent on your site. This can sometimes be accomplished naturally by placing it in the top left corner of the page. However, placing the logo in a prominent location so potential customers know exactly where they are is the most important thing.
Color Scheme
Use your brand’s color scheme throughout your website to ensure your visual identity is consistent. People tend to create a subconscious emotion when they see these colors, which could help them create a deeper connection with your brand.
Fonts
Alongside your colors, you should also integrate your design fonts throughout your web pages. These will be used for your headers, paragraph text, and any other text-based content.
Storytelling
When you focus on creating a consistent brand look and feel, it’s also important to let your brand tell a story. This can help you make an emotional connection with customers.
Web Copy
Your business’s values and messages should be conveyed through the web copy you have on each page of your site. If you want to draw in impact with your branding, find ways to inject your mission, purpose, and value proposition into the content you write.
Branding Audit
Because the design, colors, and styling may change, the most important thing is to consistently repeat your privacy policy, logo placement, or story throughout the content. Because of this, it’s a best practice to conduct a monthly reminder to review the branding consistency of your site. Include a questionnaire of the aforementioned tips and go through each of your website pages to make sure they are still relevant.
Branding is a significant portion of your web design approach. Your brand identity can build customer trust and enhance your visitors’ experience by utilizing some of the design tips provided. Providing clarity without overwhelming the user, planning out your content, and easy navigation will seamlessly guide visitors to where they want to go on your site. Combine social proof, storytelling, and branding to get a great first impression that turns visitors into customers.
7. Social Proof Integration
Social proof is a strategy used to build trust and credibility.
Some common examples of social proof used by many are customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials. A step further might also be the incorporation of recent stat-based social proof counts, influencer endorsements, certifications and awards, as well as case studies and client lists. Case studies go magnitudes beyond simple testimonials, detailing the previous client’s exact problem, their journey of using the company’s product or service to find a solution, and then their ultimate results.
8. Contact Information Visibility
Your contact information should be easily accessible on every page of your website. Telephones are still the go-to for most clients, yet some may wish to email you. Providing a telephone number, email address, and even a live chat option on your website gives your clients a range of options.
Most large companies have a contact us page; as a small company, I would recommend adding it to the top or bottom of every page. Every website visitor should be able to easily locate your contact details when making a decision about whether or not to buy from your company. After all, clients like to have an easy way to get in touch with whatever firm they choose to work with.
Most people simply need to scroll to the bottom of your website to locate your email, phone number, and even an address to visit your office.
9. Easy-to-Find Information
Four motives for visiting a website, as follows, have been suggested:
- Users want to maintain the status quo, know what is happening, and act on information about the future.
- Users are looking for information on something in which they are interested or that currently concerns them.
- Users are looking for information on a subject about which they need to be passionate.
- Users are searching for confirmation of something they either do or prepare to do.
This is why, so they can find the material they are looking for, it is essential for your website to have a clear organization of topics and a prioritization of content offers.
- Set your services, become visible on your homepage, and tell the price. Your services cover the majority of your website. Place your services on the homepage to provide users with instant access to the information they want.
- Label your website so users understand what search box they have to use. Customers rely on the search box.
- Provide helpful information with clear titles and descriptions.
- Keep updating your website with fresh and meaningful data.
- Keep the dated information up to date or remove it; expired information erodes trust—no one revisits websites containing outdated news. Relevant news and information contribute to an organization’s trust and authority.
- Use visual hints such as bullets, bold headings, and subheadings. This directs the attention of your guests and makes your text more readable.
10. Regular Updates and Maintenance
In terms of updating the site, keeping your content fresh and current is a major point: if your site is not regularly updated, your website is at risk of stagnation and decreased functionality, driving away potential customers.
Regular content updates will also help the current core audience and regular visitors return. Make sure you keep your content updated, and they will return as well as your business grows. Content management tools are also very helpful for frequent updates and refreshes.
As a courtesy, check your own website frequently for broken links, outdated information, and other concerns that could give the impression that your business is not very “on the ball.” Consider including a feedback tool on your website that will allow your visitors to quickly report any problems. Who does the thinking? Who fixes the issues? It’s much easier to remember now than it will be if your sales decline because you received awful feedback.
Website software, like any other software available on your computer, is not unbreakable. If your code is out of date, hackers can exploit its security holes, resulting in a loss of information and a security leak, as well as causing browsers to block a website for the security issue. Updates can be found and used quite easily; you keep track of versions, update regularly, and pay close attention to security warnings. Good website design will also include periodic backups.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an effective web design process for small businesses should focus on the following key tips. Understanding the client and their business is essential to developing their website.
- Developing a clear and easy-to-use navigation system is the key to designing a website that provides an improved user experience.
- Using mobile-friendly web design could help in reaching more potential customers.
- In order to offer a high-quality web browsing experience, it is necessary to keep wait times to a minimum.
- When a company has a strong, unique look, it often stands out in the minds of customers and is remembered.
- The foundation of inbound marketing efforts and a solid web design are built upon good quality, well-targeted content.
- Providing clear and concise information about a product can help to attract and retain customers.
- Utilizing social media both to drive traffic and to extend a brand’s web presence is a good idea.
It’s essential to keep iterating and testing any designs constantly to ensure they are improving.
