Owning a small business is no small feat. Not only do you have to juggle countless to-dos, but you’ll also have a million questions competing for your attention. How can you keep your customers happy? Are your taking care of your employees in the way they deserve? What are the best practices for marketing a small business in today’s day in age? In those rare moments of free time, you’ll have to do everything in your power to ensure you offer the best products or services on the market.
Because there’s such a heavy load to bear as a small business owner, many entrepreneurs (especially ones with brick-and-mortar locations) often neglect a vital aspect of their business: the website.
If reeling prospective clients in is your top priority, there’s no better place to start than designing a website that converts visitors to loyal customers. But what exactly goes into a website that wows your target audience and meets prospective clients’ expectations? Read on for more key insights into small business website essentials.
Your location
Including everything customers need to reach you is one of the most critical components of an effective website.
With this reality in mind, you should think about what a potential or current customer might be looking for when seeking out your site and put it in a place where it’s easy to find. This information should include your phone number, a good contact email address (or a built-in contact form), both your street address and mailing address, and your complete hours of operation.
If you run your business from home, don’t make the mistake of omitting an address from your “about us” page. Instead, invest in a virtual business address to protect your privacy and ensure optimum professionalism. With a virtual business address in tow, you can also send and receive business mail without divulging your home address to the world.
A clear understanding of your brand identity
Before you get started, take a moment to consider how you’d like to be perceived by customers. What kind of image do you want to have? What graphics, logos, or color palette would your ideal customer connect with? Are you a luxury brand? A down-to-earth mom-and-pop shop? A staple of no-muss-no-fuss survivalist campers?
Once you’ve nailed down your brand image, try to keep all of the writing on your site consistent in that voice. That way, site visitors will resonate with your website copy.
A personal touch
Introduce yourself. Who’s the person behind the business? Tell the story of how your company came to be or why you do what you do. What made you start a business, and what are you most passionate about?
Putting a face behind the products and services helps form a deeper connection with your customer base. These personal touches in your website design also make your brand feel more approachable to those veering away from the sterile feel of industry giants.
Remember, part of the appeal of shopping with small businesses (rather than big box stores) is the human aspect. People want to know who you are, so don’t hold back. Breathe life into your website
Captivating graphics
Invest in some quality product photography, or take some well-lit and high-resolution photos yourself. Include a gallery on your site, showcasing the best examples of your work.
What have you created over the years that you’re really proud of? What are some of the skills you’d like to showcase when interacting with prospective customers?
If you offer a service or something else that a photograph can’t capture, you can also include a selection of reviews and testimonials. Let your customers know that your work is the best and why.
Including reviews can also build a layer of trust between you and your customers and squash any doubts that there may be better products or services on the market.
Be sure to include links to all of your social media accounts so that you can connect with your customers across every platform.
For best results, make a habit of posting engaging content that people will want to interact with and share with others in their network. If customers always find themselves in the headwind of a sales pitch, they may unfollow your business page. With that risk in mind, you’ll want to use your website copy to talk to your target customer rather than talk at them.
Including your socials can help establish trust with customers. If you’re well-represented across various parts of the web, it shows that you are a legitimate, established company with an expansive customer base.
Exciting and informative blog posts
Though whipping up a 1000-word blog post isn’t exactly easy, a regularly updated and insightful blog that provides information people search for relating to your products and industry is an invaluable piece of any successful website. Be a provider of reliable industry knowledge and strive to optimize your site for search engines simultaneously.
Clean and intuitive web design
Put simply, if your website isn’t easy to use, it won’t have the ROI you’ve set your sights on. Customers don’t want to take the time out of their busy lives to try and figure out how to navigate your confusing site or decipher lettering that’s too difficult to read.
Your website is a direct reflection of you as a small business owner. If you want a site visitor to trust your vision and abilities as an entrepreneur, design your website with the user in mind. It has to be as easy as prospective customers to go from point A to point B, locate your products and services, and contact you directly.
To avoid confusion, try to keep things simple and attractive, using only high-resolution photos and avoiding clutter wherever you can to highlight the essential information.
A call to action
Sometimes it takes a little nudge to get people through the doors of a new place. Therefore, you’ll need to give them a reason to visit as soon as possible.
You could offer a coupon for web sales or a discount for customers who sign up for your email list. Or you could announce an exciting upcoming sales event and incentivize new customers to attend by offering free products to all store visitors.
Draw people in and compel them to take action.
Consideration for mobile devices
Most people will view your website while they’re on the go, so it’s essential to make sure your site looks great on mobile as well as desktop browsers.
If your text is too small and cramped or awkwardly formatted, you’re going to lose viewers. Potential customers will simply close the tab and find another provider, so you have to make a good impression quickly.
A second pair of eyes
Having someone else look over your website and make sure your writing and grammar are blemish-free is a can’t-miss step for any site owner.
Most importantly, make sure your contact information, phone number, and location are correct and clearly displayed. You don’t want to lose potential customers by giving them the wrong information and accidentally leading them astray.
Wrap up
Building an excellent website should be a priority for every small business, as it readily displays key insights about your business and helps you establish yourself in a larger community or market. Not to mention, a polished business website nurtures trust between you and your customers. You’re passionate about your business, so let your web presence reflect that.
