When it comes to website design, small businesses don’t always get it right. Developing a site that is both functional and easy for visitors to use is a challenge. Fortunately, there are many small business web design companies out there to help. These outfits assist emerging brands with the functionality and user interface of their websites, helping to give their audiences a better experience. The goal is to move small enterprises away from clunky, outdated websites to something newer, sleeker and more attractive. But how, exactly, do web design companies help small businesses?
Increase Conversions
The main purpose of business websites is to secure conversions – that is, get customers to spend money with you. And while there are multiple ways of doing this, by far the best is to build a website that actually converts.
Small business web design typically involves creating funnels that guide customers to an ultimate destination. Usually, that means getting them to make purchases and check out, though it can sometimes be signing up for marketing emails or booking an appointment with a specialist, depending on the industry you operate in.
Web design agencies build websites that guide customers toward the actions you want them to carry out. They use a variety of methods to do this, including calls to action (CTAs) and seamless product pages that show users exactly what they need to buy. They may even direct customers to particular sales pages, based on their demographic information, particularly in the B2B space.
Clear Navigation
Small business web design also focuses on improving navigation, in an effort to make it easy for users to know precisely where they are on your site at any time while allowing them to jump to another page of their choice easily if they wish. Websites need to have intuitive navigation, meaning that someone can operate them without having previous knowledge of where things are set up. What intuitive navigation means to your business depends on your industry. Therefore, it’s a good idea to consult with your website designers about the type of interface that you require.
In most cases, you’ll want a menu and categories approach, similar to most e-commerce stores. However, if you’re a solo professional or small business, you might also ask your designer whether you require a different type of navigation, such as putting anchored links on your main page so that users can quickly skip to the relevant content.
Improve Your Site’s SEO
Good website design and SEO go hand in hand. What’s more, investing in local SEO plans are absolutely essential for getting your website noticed. Otherwise, it’ll get buried under multiple pages of Google results. SEO can take many forms. For instance, you might want to optimize page content to reflect the keywords you are targeting. You may also want to post headlines that directly appeal to your audience and place content on your website that increases dwell time. Some small businesses use a local SEO consultant to tell them how to rise in search results for queries that include local keywords. Improving your local SEO performance can have a dramatic effect on the number of inquiries that you get. Furthermore, if people are searching for services in a particular area, then they are much more likely to go ahead with a purchase with a company in their search area.
At nuBranch Media, for instance, our local SEO consultants help you improve website visibility, outrank competitors on Google Maps and drive more traffic to your website. We can also assist with reaching more customers looking for your services, generate more qualified leads and increase search engines’ perceived authority of your website.
Make Better Use Of Colour
When it comes to website design, colour is more critical than most businesses believe. That’s because it has the ability to evoke the type of responses that you want when working with customers. Blue, for instance, has a calming effect and can be a great choice for any company that deals heavily in conflicts, such as insurance firms, lawyers or even locksmiths. Red on the other hand is a colour of action and works best for leisure and entertainment services, including restaurants.
Web design professionals build websites that reflect both your brand theme and the branding requirements of your company. If there’s a clash, they may recommend that you change your branding slightly so that you don’t wind up putting people off. They’ll also use colours in a way that encourages customers to take action and do the things that you want them to do on your website. Making them feel relaxed and comfortable or, perhaps, fired up, can encourage them to spend.
Mobile-Friendly Designs
The vast majority of people now access websites through their mobile devices, even for business purposes. That means that it pays to have a mobile-friendly site: something that visitors can easily use on a small device, such as a phone or tablet.
Mobile sites are different from conventional desktop sites. The screen real estate is smaller, and they tend to use less text with bigger font sizing. Mobile sites also make heavy use of push-click services letting users take instant action, such as booking their trip or arranging a consultation with you. Web design companies can help you build one that your customers will enjoy using.
Website Maintenance
Lastly, once a website is launched, it’s not actually “done.” Instead, it requires ongoing maintenance to keep it in good condition. Here, again, working with a web design company can help. At nuBranch Media, for instance, we actively maintain the websites we create 24/7, constantly monitoring for problems so that we can maximize uptime. We perform daily cloud backups, malware scans and uptime monitoring to check that the site is still online.
Finding affordable web design and SEO Services in Toronto needn’t be a challenge. You just need to know what they should be doing to help you. nuBranch Media can help boost conversions, improve your branding, and keep your website maintained, enhancing the overall effectiveness of your online presence.
