So you have your own business. There is demand for your product or service in the market and you have perfected it. You may have the literal side of your business all figured out however you don’t have a website. There are only a few circumstances in which a website is not necessary for business and even in those exceptional situations you should still have an official online platform through which your customers can contact you or find out information about your business. An example of this could be a small breakfast café. Although a website may not be necessary, a social media account would be ideal in order to bridge the gap of communication. For the most part a website is an essential step in establishing your business.
Why Your Business Needs a Website
Today every household has access to the internet whether it’s a laptop, smartphone, tablet or a good old fashioned desktop computer. Due to this fact people tend to turn to the internet, more specifically search engines, to find out information about pretty much everything and anything. Therefore when a potential customer is looking for the product or service that you sell or if a current customer is looking for information on your business specifically they will head straight to the internet to find you website. You don’t want to miss out on all these customers seeking exactly what you have to offer.
Why Getting Your Website Right is Important
Due to ever improving technology, the public have high expectations when it comes to interacting with businesses online. It’s important that your website meets all the expected criteria to create an enjoyable user experience. It is also the best practice to exceed these expectations and have a website that is ahead of all your competitors. Also Google, and other search engines will rank your website in the search results based on the quality and relevance of your website. Therefore a large part of good practice for website design is SEO related. Not sure how to go about this task? Below are some essential features of a professional and quality website that your customers and Google are looking for.
Write Your Own Content
Although you may hire marketers to help develop your content at a later stage it is important that you lay the foundations for what you want to say. At the end of the day you know your product inside out, if there are fundamental ideas behind your brand and services you should have this detailed in black and white. This will create a unique and passionate voice behind all the marketing techniques that are sure to be added in later.
Get the Point Across Clearly and Quickly
Do not waffle. Although for SEO purposes it is favourable to have rich content, it does need to be relevant. If your services are a very intricate and technical skill that you can detail over tens of thousands of words then you may want to skip the details and focus on what the customers need to know. Think like a customer. Ask yourself what would the customer want to know?
Highlight What You Can Do For Your Customers
Sometimes known as a unique selling point, you should have visibly labelled the qualities of your business that set you apart from your competitors and make you the only choice for your industry.
CTA or Call to Action
Make use of graphic designers for created eye catching images that call the customer to take some sort of action on your website that is beneficial to your business. For example fill in a contact form or booking a table or buying a product.
Simplicity
Design is extremely important when it comes to websites. As you have read so far, the goal is making the user have the most simple and stress free experience will using you site. You want enough information that you satisfy their needs but you don’t want too much so that they give up reading half way through. The same goes for the design, it should be simplistic and appealing to look at. You should draw attention to important section with bolder lettering or different colours.
