If you’re not in the online space, you have a disadvantage. Perhaps nothing is more true in our hyper-live world. If people wish to order a product from your business, odds are, they’ll do it online. If they want to contact your support team, odds are, they’ll look at your website. If they want to learn about your future events or promotions, or wish to learn more about your business history – they’ll do it online. You see where this extended example leads.
While perhaps businesses might choose a classic and ‘unique’ approach by ignoring this in the future, potentially allowing clients to form through curiosity and nostalgia alone, we shouldn’t expect this anytime soon. Businesses simply need a website. That means the use of professional web design is needed.
But what does solid web design fundamentally demand? Web design should not be compared to an illustrative piece, allowing you to interpret it how you’d like. It is more akin to graphic design, where messaging, layout, theme and utility are the pressing factors.
Let us ponder this question below:
Mobile Formatting
It is now not uncommon for over 70% of your website purchases, traffic, or price comparisons to be conducted through a smartphone. The old presuppositions we have regarding mobile devices have long been redundant. Smartphones are not smartphones. They might as well be viewed as miniaturized tablets. This means that it’s very important to consider how our mobile formatting works, and what it might suggest about our web design policies.
We must assume that any client, even if they mainly view our website through a device such as computer or laptop, has the possibility of, at any moment, using their mobile to view your website. This is a rational consideration. But if you do not offer a solid mobile version of your website, you will be in trouble. If text is hard to read, if orientation struggles to keep up with the angle of a phone, if a guest must log in several times to see what’s going on, then there’s going to be a problem.
Now, some famous websites, such as YouTube, still have terrible mobile browser experiences. This, cynically, might be considered as an effort to push you closer to their app, which works fine on modern smartphones. Do not make the same mistake. Unfortunately, you likely do not have access to the same monopoly of an audience, no matter what services you provide.
Mobile formatting must make sense. It must be secure. It must remember logins. It must offer all of the features you have on your desktop-viewable website. It must also be a smooth and quick-loading browser experience. If you can achieve that, with professional web design outlets, you’ll be in a very advantageous position.
A Value Proposition
Clarity is something you should continually chase, no matter what, when trying to format the information of your website. Believe it or not, but minimal design at all costs is not a virtue. This is important to understand. Templates and simplified designs can be a worthwhile venture to keep things uniform and easy-to-read, but you must also be clear in what your website is, and how to interact with your business.
On top of that, you must never presume the loyalty of a visitor. Instead, you must first ensure a solid value proposition. This, simply put, explains why the visitor should stick with you over the competition, and why their time will be rewarded. For example, let us say you offer a particular kind of service with its own form of pricing plan. On your home page, you might showcase ideal photographs demonstrating your past work. A little description of why you’re a great firm to opt for and the pride you have in your history could be worthwhile. Then, very clearly, a link to your ‘how it works’ page can help a customer immediately begin learning about your company’s process, and invest the time they might need.
An immediate value proposition allows your visitor to immediately start to engage with your content, rather than ignoring it. It might seem like a secondary need, but in reality it is pressing, and it is very important.
Visibility
It’s essential to ensure that people can happen upon your business more easily. Using SEO to bring customers to your online presence can be a great idea. Social media backlinks and features can ensure you get many times the visibility. On top of that, purchasing many similar-domains that redirect to your main website can be worthwhile. For example, let us say you sell bicycles in London.
It could be that the name of your business is John’s Bicycles. As such, your website is ‘johnsbicycles.co.uk.’ It might be worth purchasing many different extensions, such as .co and .net. It might also be worth purchasing londonbikes.co.uk, or something similar, just in case someone enters that, or wishes to become redirected through a search engine. Visibility is important, and you can expand its outreach with these methods. Remember, web design and your arrangement of your online potential is not solely localized to that which is on your front page, but all of the connections your presence also embodies.
Performance
It’s important to invest in solid web hosting. Why? Because if you don’t, as many small businesses try to avoid, you can find your business performing much more slowly than it might have otherwise. On top of that, maintenance downtime or vulnerabilities regarding security exploits could put your business in a bad position, a position you likely do not want to experience in the slightest. For this reason, we would recommend shopping around for web hosting services with a solid track record of hosting, with 24/7 support, and with an immediacy to its loaded content that you can continually trust. This can help your online presence seem professional from the start.
With these tips, we hope you are better able to make use of your fantastic small business website.
