In today’s digital age, your website for your small business is important for your online presence. How then can you ensure that you’re getting the results you want from your website?
Here is a convenient list you need to check on your small business website:
Good Content
We’ve heard the popular saying about the web: “content is king” (or queen, if you prefer). You need to have quality content to get repeat visitors for your website, and hopefully eventually convert them from being a mere visitor to a potential customer.
Think of your website’s visitors as “researchers” – they are researching for the products and services they need, and if what you offer fits their needs. If they don’t find what they’re looking for on your website, they’ll go somewhere else.
Here are the important things your website needs to display right away:
Your products or services – this is the most important, but some small business websites ultimately forget – you need to display and describe your products or services right away, and immediately catch your visitor’s attention.
Your contact information – Make sure to have your phone number or email address prominent all throughout your website, or at the very least, a link to your contact page containing a contact form.
Call-to-action – this is what you want your website visitors to do – to ‘call you now for a free estimate’, or to ‘fill out a form to make an appointment’ – and make this as easy as possible for them to do it.
Optimized for smartphones
Nowadays, more people are spending more time on their phones than watching TV. That’s why it’s important for your website to be clear and easy to navigate when displayed on mobile devices.
Buttons need to be the right size for finger navigation, and there should be no need for pinch-to-zoom in order to read your content. Websites that have too small fonts and buttons are frustrating, and your visitors are likeley to navigate away immediately from your unprofessional-looking website.
Search-ready
The number one source of visitors for your small business website is most likely search engines. Furthermore, virtual assistants and smart speakers are also on the rise, and more people are using these smart assistants to find local businesses.
Make sure to have a website that is rich in useful content, and make sure to use natural language for your website to be optimized for virtual assistants. Make sure to have complete information about your business as well, such as your business hour, location, phone number, and other contact details.
Security
This part might be too technical, but don’t be afraid. Simply put, this just means that your website needs to have a URL that begins with an HTTPS instead of HTTP. HTTPS means your website has an SSL certificate, and is encrypted for security.
(Still don’t understand? Ask your web developer about this, or just hire us, *wink wink*)
This might be a small thing, but search engines such as Google now prioritizes websites with SSL certificates over those that don’t. Furthermore, modern web browsers such as Google Chrome now plaster a big ugly “this website is not secure” warning when visiting websites without SSL certificates, which may put off your potential visitors.
Effective User Experience
Your website needs to have a clear and easy-to-use interface. Your visitors need to navigate your website easily, and there are clear buttons that tells your visitors what they do and where they go to.
Ultimately, you need your website to convert visitors into customers.