If you have a small business, you almost certainly have a website and understand the importance of one.
A well-designed website can help you stand out from the competition and attract more customers. But to do this, your site needs to be designed with your target audience in mind — and that means more than just having a great design.
There are a few essential elements that you will want to include on your site. In this article, we break down the checklist of the essential items for your small business website.
Modern websites are mobile responsive
The days of making a site that only works well on desktops are gone. People are accessing the internet on their smartphones, tablets, and other devices. If your site isn’t mobile responsive, it will not be able to reach all of these people who might otherwise become customers of yours if they can easily access your website from their phone or tablet device.
A recent study by Google found that 45 percent of online shoppers abandon a purchase if they have to zoom in or scroll horizontally to view a page on their phone or tablet. According to another study conducted by Responsys, almost half of Americans say they have taken action on an email or text message because it was more convenient for them than using a desktop computer.
Make navigation as easy as possible
Website navigation helps your visitors find what they’re looking for. This is a make-or-break moment for the experience someone will have on your website.
If menus are difficult to find and use or pages are disorganized and unintuitive, people will get frustrated, leave your site, and have a negative impression of your business overall.
Use header menus, page layouts, and call-to-action buttons to hold the hand of your website visitors and guide them to exactly what they need whether it’s their first visit, or a returning one.
Include complete information about products & services
One of the most important things for any business is to make sure that people know exactly what you do and how you do it. This goes beyond just writing complete information for everything. Try to include photos and videos that explain what makes your products or services stand out from others in your industry.
It also helps to include some kind of pricing information or explanation so that customers know how much they will be paying or at the very least if you’re on the more affordable or expensive end of the spectrum.
Don’t underestimate customers’ ability to value premium quality over price if that is where you’ve positioned your business in the market. Being honest & authentic will get you the most relevant leads from your website. We’re looking for quality over quantity.
Help website visitors answer their own questions
Even if your small business is young, you probably already know what people want to know about your business and have received some frequently asked questions. Use your website as an opportunity to answer those questions, correct false preconceived notions, and make potential customers feel more informed and confident about moving forward with you over your competitors!
Having one or even multiple FAQ boxes on your site can be a great way for site visitors to browse questions that they already had or are now curious as to the answer that they’re seeing it. Even if a question isn’t actually frequently asked, you can include questions you wish people asked because the answer shows how you separate yourself from other businesses in your industry.
Consider the value of having an onsite blog
Many business owners we talk to today don’t believe there is value in having a blog. “Who would read my small business blog articles?” they ask. The simple answer is “Google”.
Search engines scan or “crawl” every word on your site. Having unique and well-optimized content through a blog can improve your search rankings.
Depending on your industry and what you do, blogs can be a great way to essentially add a new page to your site that you can share as a standalone link for a specific purpose when actually adding a new page would be expensive and time-consuming. If you work with clients in a niche area, you could write a blog specifically about how your services work with them and share that with prospects rather than your generic services page.
Final thoughts
We covered 5 of the most essential elements of a small business website. One thing that all of these had in common was that they all help website visitors easily find the information they’re looking for regarding your business.
By visiting your site, they are already expressing some level of interest. At that moment, you can turn intrigue into action by educating and exciting potential customers about the value of what you do.
Your business’s website should be something you’re proud of and something that helps your business – not hurts it.
If you’re looking to improve your website or are simply curious about how we build websites here at Attention Digital learn more about our small business website design services here.
