Just because you can put anything on your small business website, it doesn’t mean that you should. Here’s our guide for what to include in your small business website.
What to Include in a Small Business Website
Your website is your brand and keeping visitors engaged will turn them into loyal customers and brand advocates. Here’s what you should include in your website to provide visitors with the best experience.
- Information About Your Business - Whether visitors land on the homepage or a product page, they should be able to tell what your business is about immediately. To clearly communicate your value proposition on every page, answer these questions:
- Who are you? Let customers know what your business is all about by sharing your mission statement and introducing the team behind your brand.
- What do you offer? Clearly communicate what products or services you offer.
- Where can customers purchase your goods and services? If your business is brick-and-mortar, let customers know where it is. If it’s online only, lead them to where they can sign up or shop. If it’s both, list every place where they can find you.
- Why is your business important? Let customers know why your brand is better than the competition. Highlight what you have that other companies don’t, such as a lower price, superior product, locally sourced materials, etc.
- When/how can customers reach you? Make your contact information visible on every page of your site. If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, list your hours. If your business is online, let people know when customer service is available.
- User-Friendly Navigation - Make your website easy to navigate so users can find what they’re looking for. If first-time visitors to your website can’t find their way around, they’re not going to stay long enough to buy from you. Here are some tips for increasing usability:
- Keep it simple - Keep site pages pared down to the essentials. A clean, functional design is more appealing to website visitors than tons of content.
- Make navigation easy - Make sure visitors know where they’ll be going when they click on a link with menus that are clearly labeled and intuitive to follow.
- Calls to action - Be specific about what you want your visitors to do on your website. Use buttons instead of text to make your calls to action stand out.
- Make it mobile-friendly - Make sure your website is usable on any platform, including desktop computers, smartphones, or tablets, since people frequently use mobile to browse websites and shop.
- Include a site map - Site maps are important for helping visitors find things on your site and for helping potential customers find you through search engines.
- Easy-to-Find Contact Information - Include a form or contact information on your website for customers with questions. For email contacts, clearly communicate when they can expect a response, and follow through. If you want fewer emails, make a list of questions customers have and create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on your site so that customers can easily get answers.
- Relevant, Engaging Content - Having additional content related to your products or services on your website is a great way to attract visitors. Check out forums related to your industry to see what questions users are asking and use a keyword tool to find out what potential customers are searching for online. Create content that’s easy to share on social media and encourage people to do it.
- Analytics Tools - When you provide a great online experience to people, it gives you the chance to learn about them and adjust your strategy accordingly. Google Analytics is a useful tool for learning who your visitors are, and what they’re interested in. Here are a few ways to use analytics in your business strategy:
- New vs. Returning Visitors - Are you getting enough new visitors? If you’re not getting enough new visitors you might need to expand your marketing efforts. If customers aren’t coming back, think about implementing a newsletter strategy to keep them engaged.
- Technology - If visitors using smartphones are leaving too soon, try making your mobile experience more user-friendly. If visitors from one platform not engaging as much as others, navigate your site on that platform to find and fix any issues.
- Behavior - Find out which pages are most popular and least popular and adjust your content strategy based on what your audience is telling you.
If you want to know more about websites, read our article, “How Our Clients Get Unique Websites Without Needing To Hire Web Developers”, or contact us.
Tags: website, small business
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