You’re hoping to gain more exposure for your small business. As such, you’re looking to build a business website. The only problem is: you’re not quite sure how.
That’s why you’re here. You’re looking for a few tips. Fortunately, we’ve got your covered!
Without further ado, here are the top seven website tips for small business in 2020.
1. Make Your Presence Known
When someone stops by your website, he or she should have no doubt about what it’s for. The mission and purpose of your website should be at the forefront.
If you’re a plumber, for example, the home page of your website should clearly state “Professional Plumber” or “Plumbing Services”. It should also include the geographical area in which you provide your services.
Make sure to include a detailed “About” section as well. And, to make sure that the visitor can find it, include links for it in both the header and footer of the website.
2. Keep it Simple
One of the common errors made by rookie website developers is to splurge on design elements. Instead of using common, easy-to-read fonts, they’ll use unheard-of, difficult-to-decipher ones. Instead of letting white space work for them, they’ll fill backgrounds in with as many colors and shapes as they can possibly muster.
Simply put, this is bad web design, especially when it’s for a small business. The point of a small business website is to convey information and convert sales. If it’s chock-full of design elements, it’s going to overwhelm the visitor and fail to do both.
The point? Keep it simple.
Take advantage of white space, adding only your business logo, a few lines of strategically-devised web copy, and maybe a photo or two. Keep color to a minimum, using it primarily as a highlighter. And last, but certainly not least, convey your brand.
3. Use High-Quality Photos
It’s amazing what a few pictures can do for a website. They can take it from dull and boring and transform it into vibrant and appealing.
That said, not all pictures are created equal. In fact, by using the wrong picture, you could actually hurt your website.
As such, when adding photos, make sure they’re of high quality. This needs to be true based not only of their image resolution but on their content as well. If the content of a photograph doesn’t fit your brand it could confuse the visitor, thus causing him or her to leave your website entirely.
4. Get the Domain Name Right
When creating a domain name, there aren’t a lot of rules. For the most part, if it’s on the keyboard, it can be added to your domain name. That said, just because it can be added doesn’t mean it should be added.
See, business domain names need to carry a certain air of professionalism. As such, they shouldn’t contain special characters like dashes or hyphens. And, unless there’s a number in the name of the business, the domain shouldn’t contain any digits either.
In addition, the domain should be relatively short. The shorter it is, the easier it will be to remember.
While there are all types of extensions that you can use, you should limit yourself to the most common ones. These include “.com”, “.org”, and “.net”.
Last but not least, make it catchy. The easier it rolls off the tongue, the more memorable it will be. And the more memorable it is, the more likely it will be visited.
5. Use Good Hosting
There are all sorts of hosting options for websites. While some of these are secure and reliable, others of these are shady and inconsistent. As you might expect, you’re advised to opt for the former.
First off, avoid shared hosting. While shared hosting can be sufficient for small affiliate sites and the like, it’s not ideal for firmly established small businesses.
Instead, you should host your site on a dedicated server. Not only will a dedicated server provide optimal speed, but optimal security as well.
Yes, dedicated servers are more expensive. However, this is the reputation of your business we’re talking about. You don’t want to leave it to chance by subjecting it to the ills of shared hosting.
There are all types of legitimate hosting companies out there. Some of these include Canspace and WHC, to name just two.
6. Choose a High-quality CMS
Another key to establishing a high-quality business website is to choose a high-quality CMS or content management system. Content management systems are vital in helping to build and maintain websites.
The most popular content management system is, far and away, WordPress. WordPress is open-source (ie. free). That, combined with its vast array of plugins and general ease of use, make it an ideal option for most small businesses.
That said, there are some other content management systems you could consider. These include Drupal, Squarespace, Wix, and Joomla!, to name just a few.
Squarespace and Wix are the most user-friendly of the bunch. However, they’re also limited in terms of functionality, not to mention expensive.
7. Prioritize SEO
If you’re looking to get eyes on your website, you have to prioritize SEO or Search Engine Optimization. This is the process of optimizing your website so that it shows up at the tops of search engines for relevant keywords. It’s particularly important for those who provide services locally.
Let’s say your company provides HVAC services in Toronto. When creating and updating your website, you should be marking it so that it’s recognized as a website for an HVAC company in the Toronto area.
This can be done by including phrases such as “HVAC company in Toronto” in your web copy and in content that you publish. The more frequently you utilize such phrases (within reason), the better off your website will be.
Note, however, that this is just one component of SEO. If you really want to optimize your website for SEO, you’re advised to utilize the services of an SEO agency.
Need More Website Tips for Small Business?
Ready to make a website? Need more website tips for small business? If so, we here at nuBranch are the people to see.
Not only will we provide you with useful tips, but, if necessary, we’ll build your entire website for you. Contact us today to discuss your needs!
