What makes a website pop or stand out above the crowd? What holds a visitor's attention and entices them to check out what your small business has to offer? If your goal is to generate income or business opportunities using your website then it has to have the X factor so visitors turn into customers.
And yes, an eye-catching design is an essential factor. In order for your website to be truly unique then it has got to have the right elements in place sprinkled with your creativity, identity, and the value that you have to offer to a potential client.
How do you make an awesome website? Here are our tips:
Simple does not mean that your website has got to be basic or bare. Simple, in this context, means that your website has got to have clear messaging. The purpose should be uncomplicated and the visitors to your site should get the picture right away. If not, then within a few clicks they’ll know what they’re getting into and will find what they’re looking for straightaway.
A simple website has got to have a unique aesthetic and this is a combination of a design that extends your brand, a memorable logo, colors, choice of fonts, and a website that works.
Nowadays, there’s quite a rave about minimalistic website design. While oftentimes less is more, website design still requires some serious brainstorming sessions to get the creative juices flowing.
Over 80% of Americans own a smartphone, about 1.2 billion people in the world have access to the internet through it, and Americans spend four hours a day on these devices.
Just imagine what you’ll be missing out on if your website is not mobile-friendly. And, it does not really take a lot of capital to make this happen.
People do their research on a product using their smartphone and there’s a significant percentage that are going to purchase products using them too. Plus, the mobile version of your website gets indexed by Google first so you’ll have more chances of ranking high if you have a mobile-friendly site.
Of course, after the brainstorming session, the execution of ideas follows. Take note that a good percentage of the visitors to your website will not be tech-savvy (depending on your niche).
So, always consider that anyone should be able to navigate your website with ease. How will this be accomplished? Once again, your website has got to be simple but operational enough to give visitors what they want or need.
Everything has got to work flawlessly, from checkboxes to buttons, to links, and interactives. Have you noticed people’s attention span these days? Yep, quite short, and patience is waning as well. So, if you want to keep your audience from product selection to payment, then everything has to work - your UI needs to be clean, and the navigation should be straightforward.
Today, black hat SEO practices are best to be forgotten because Google is changing the way they rank websites. It’d be best to put in the work (apart from researching keywords) on the user experience of your website.
Make sure your website is responsive, fast, and operational. Be wary of the media that you put on it and if you do, make it count. This is how Google ranks websites now and we must adapt to be noticed.
Just like a good sales pitch, your website has got to have an effective CTA or call-to-action to reel your customers in. You’ll be wasting all of that hard work in building a solid website if it doesn't receive the proper attention it deserves.
CTAs are not hard to do, just a little bit of creativity is all it requires. Make it count!
They say that content is king when it comes to SEO or when building an awesome website, and we believe that. Engaging content and striking images liven up your site and so should be used with thought and intention.
Use content that resonates with your viewers and be consistent about promoting it. It's not about quantity, it's about quality, so be sure to have one piece of high-value content regularly. Something that builds your reputation as an expert in your industry is important, as well as content that shows the human side of your business. Depending on your audience, you may want to develop multiple aspects to your business profile on your website and with social media to showcase your personality and your products.
Your website has got to have a robust server that’s hosting it because downtime should not occur at all. You have to be sure that your site won’t experience a 404 error, meta tag duplicates, missing titles, slow loading speed, and other programming errors that could affect the user experience negatively.
A good website requires an investment, not necessarily a lot of money, but time to make sure that your are positioning your business in the best light and reaching the appropriate audience. It turns out that you don’t have to overcomplicate things, just do the work to make an awesome website! Building your online reputation won’t be easy, but with the right tools, techniques, and creativity, it is not impossible… Especially with the right partners.
So, are you ready to create or upgrade your small business’ website into a customer magnet tool? Contact us and we will make your vision a reality.