Web Design Issues for Small Business
Web Design Issues for Small Business
Web Design Issues for Small Business
Is your website gorgeous or ugly? Is it cutting edge or old school? Do you have a custom design or is it based on a template?
Guess what? Apart from ego issues, none of that stuff really matters. You need to ask instead whether or not your website advances the bottom line of your business.
This is not to say that a site should look terrible, or that eye-pleasing design is irrelevant; for some businesses it is essential. If you are an architect, your site better be designed in such a way that it reinforces the style of design you want to be known for. Some sites better look great and be interesting. But don't lose site of the bottom line.
There are some traits that ought to be typical to every type of small business website, and these traits should be enhanced, not hindered, by the design.
The first trait, which is listed foremost for a reason, is "clarity." Clarity of navigation, clarity of text and graphic, clarity of what to do and how to do it, clarity on how to connect with you if desired. Imagine a person who's never been online before: Could they function on your website?
The second trait is a very typical oversight on small business websites, but full time web marketers know its importance. And that is the presence of an email opt in form to gather contact info from potential clients. This is very important and can dramatically boost business revenues by giving you the change to market to those visitors again and again via email.
The reason this is so important is because a very low number of first time web visitors buy anything. And if they don't buy they often don't come back. But if you can entice them to offer their contact info in exchange for something of value- a discount coupon or some relevant information- then you can build a relationship with them and market to them over and over again.
The reason that the most valuable websites in the world, with conversion rates dramatically higher than typical business websites, is because they all work hard to "bribe" visitors into giving their contact info, and then follow up with them rigorously for future sales.
A third trait of a well built site is that it includes analytics of some kind. Google analytics is the evident but not only choice; however it is very well rounded and the free price is right for most businesses.
For starters you can see where your site visitors are coming from and how they are getting to your site. This will give you ideas for tweaking your site. You will also see how long people stay on your site and how many pages they visit. If they leave too soon or only visit one page, that's a more than a hint that your content is weak and not compelling enough to get them to stick around. And, If you use PPC (pay per click) marketing to get people to your site, you can add the conversion tracking component to see which keywords are actually bringing you the people who buy or give up their contact information. This allows you to focus in on the keywords, both with PPC and SEO (search engine optimization) that brings you the best return.
The final web design issue we want to address is the tendancy of businesses to provide abnormal amounts of irrelevant information about themselves that does nothing to acquire a customer. These businesses and their websites need to develop a "customer fixation."
This means working out what your ideal customers want and then giving it to them. The data you get from your analytics and PPC can help, and of course, you can always ask them!
Clarity, Email Capture, Analytics, Customer Fixation. Most first rate designs can include these features. Make sure yours does. Web design must serve the larger business purpose of getting leads, sales and turning a profit.sales and turning a profit.}
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