Today, it is a lot easier for small business owners to engage their audience and create awareness in a short time. Digitalization has provided many opportunities to reach out to consumers through the website, email or social media platforms. At any given time, there are billions of people looking for products or services online.
Most of them are likely to check out the website of a brand or business and make a purchasing decision based on its design. According to a survey, around 34% of visitors are likely to leave a web page due to a poor layout or structure.
This means that you need to pay attention to the appearance and navigation on your website to grow or expand your small business. Given the tough competition in the digital world, it can be slightly challenging to attract the attention of potential customers.
To make this easier, here are a few elements or factors that you should include in the website for a small business.
Clear Visual Brand Elements
Most people are likely to form an opinion about the website and business by looking at the visual brand elements. It is incredibly important to have a prominent and professional logo design that reflects your industry and core values.
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Before working on your website, it is a good idea to create a brand symbol that people can identify with easily. It is quite simple to design a good logo using Free Logo Creator which instantly tells people what the small business can provide for them.
It is also common to include the brand colours or choose a scheme that conveys the right message. For example, if you have a wellness company, opt for a muted colour palette of soothing pastels that have a positive impact on the visitors. Colour psychology plays an important role in branding so it’s a good idea to know the meaning behind them or what they represent.
Blue is commonly associated with reliability and professionalism. Similarly, white represents purity and elegance and has a relaxing effect on the viewer. The website needs to have clear branding elements that do not confuse or overwhelm the visitors.
Actionable Tip: Select a colour scheme that reflects your brand values in the best way. If you are running a restaurant, pick red, yellow, orange or earthy brown tones. The colours are popular in the food industry and are associated with excitement and happiness. Include attractive imagery and use bold, clear-cut fonts for headlines.
Visible Contact Information
This is another factor that you need to keep in mind when creating a small business website. It is a good idea to keep the contact forms short and provide all the details. Some people may want to get in touch with a representative to find out more information about the products, features or location.
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You can include the contact information towards the end of the home page or add the option in the menu or navigation bar. Sometimes, it can be slightly difficult for visitors to find the details or form and send in their queries. This can lead to people leaving the website and looking for other options.
For a small business website, it is crucial that the contact information is easy to find and prominently displayed. Highlight the address or include a map that allows people to visit the physical location as well.
Add an official email and contact number so potential customers can reach out to the support team or representative immediately.
Actionable Tip: Create a contact page that is easy to find or incorporate a form that can be filled out within seconds. If people have to spend a lot of time or enter confidential information, they might leave the website and turn to your competitors. So ask for basic details and respond quickly.
Engaging and Valuable Content
One of the first things that you should focus on is content for the web page or eCommerce platform. To attract higher traffic and keep people interested for a long time, it’s important to create and provide valuable content.
With blogs, eBooks, infographics and videos, you can engage visitors who are browsing through and convince them to find out more about your product or service. This can make a huge difference in the website’s visibility.
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By producing high-quality content, you can also differentiate the business from competitors in the industry. This is a good way to establish authority and tell people about your expertise as well. Before making a purchasing decision, most people look for unique factors that make a product or service stand out from the others.
Small businesses can easily highlight the features, results and production methods in different articles or demonstration videos. In the end, valuable and quality content can draw higher traffic to your website and improve its ranking in organic search results as well.
Actionable Tip: Publish at least two blog posts on a weekly basis. You can also feature guest posts by niche bloggers on the website. Collaborate with micro-influencers to engage their audience and create awareness.
Optimize Landing Pages
It is essential for your small business website to be optimized for search engines like Google and Bing. Do extensive keyword research for landing pages and include all the popular ones within the content. This can make your website appear among the top ten search results in a short time.
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Use analytical tools like SEMRUSH or Ahrefs to find relevant keywords or phrases so that you can optimize the various pages accordingly. Before launching the website, pay attention to the meta tags and description as well.
Create a catchy headline that boosts the ranking of the platform and conveys the right message.
Actionable Tip: Keep the design simple and include the relevant keywords in the content and headlines. Add a clear and urgent call-to-action such as ‘start FREE trial’ or ‘avail offer now’.
Add Certifications or Awards
From the beginning, you need to gain the trust of consumers and establish credibility. You can get the attention of potential customers by adding reviews or testimonials on the home page. If there are any awards or industry certifications such as for eco-friendly practices, it is a good idea to include those towards the end too.
It can create a positive first impression on new visitors and build loyalty among existing clients. Make sure that the information is easy to find and clearly visible.
Actionable Tip: Include awards for eco-friendly products or industry leaders at the bottom of the home page. If the product has been mentioned in a popular blog or listicle, you can add a badge on the image to boost credibility.
To Sum Up
These are some elements that a small business website should have or include. If you are about to launch one or are in the process of creating your platform, it’s a good idea to keep some of them in mind. In the end, you will have a website or eCommerce platform that boosts brand recognition and offers a good user experience as well.
