Small businesses need to work hard every day to compete with the bigger competitors and so having a successful website is crucial. No matter the size of your business, if you have a website that effectively explains your offerings and benefits as they pertain to your target audience, you’ll have a much higher potential for success.
Here are seven essential elements you need to build a strong and successful website.
A strong, detailed description:
Right off the bat, you need to let visitors to your website know just what your business is all about. What do you promise your customers as far as the service they receive and your product’s quality? How did you get to where you are today? Storytelling is a main marketing component and telling people how your business got off the ground is a way to draw them in.
Contact information that’s easily seen:
Don’t bury your business’s contact info on the bottom of your website or in another menu. Make sure it’s in a place where people will see it right away. You want people to keep in touch with you and making sure your contact information is out there is the first step to making that happen. Make contacting you as easy as possible.
A simple URL:
In short, don’t make a complicated web address with a bunch of characters and numbers that make no sense. Make things easier on yourself and the customer by giving your website a name that reflects who you are as a business and something that’s easy to remember. ( That’s why we recently switch to www.sticky.digital )
A call-to-action:
What do you want people to do once they’re on your website? Subscribe to your email newsletter, visit your business’s social media pages, or take advantage of a deal? Whatever the need, let those visiting your website know through your call-to-action. But don’t litter you site with too many competing calls-to-action. Each page should have one (or maybe 2 at most) very clear directions.
Simple navigation:
Don’t just pay special attention to your website’s homepage. Make sure your menus and subpages are also found by visitors with little effort. They are more willing to stick around and explore your website if it’s easy to navigate. It’s why we like to focus on strategic web design rather than just cool looking sites.
Customer testimonials / Case studies / Client examples:
These are must-haves because people are more inclined to try out your products or services if they’re given great reviews by others. Social proof is powerful. Make sure to also include customer testimonials about your company as a whole, so they know you have treated other customers well, and so will treat them well. Have at least one of these forms of endorsement / proof of success on your site.
A website that works with all platforms:
Many people today go online with their phone or tablet along with or instead of desktop computers/laptops. Make sure users of all kinds are accommodated by making your website work with any device. Responsive design is the answer, ensuring your site is compatible and adaptive for every viewing device.
These days it isn’t necessarily or nor expensive to build a new website, but designing one that delivers you the results you require is a more complicated matter. Take the time to do it right and work with experts who know how to create successful, business building websites.
