Now it makes no sense to think about whether it is worth developing a corporate website design to create your own representation on the Internet. 6-7 years ago it was obvious that this direction was the future.
Although there are still skeptics in small businesses who think that it is too early for them to start, or owners of large companies, where things are going well without any Internet.
Tips to Grow Your Small Business Website
Table of Contents
Define Tasks and your Target Audience
Many articles about marketing and online promotion begin with the stage of working out the target audience, i.e. future buyer/client: what interests them, what type of information they perceive better, what nuances are more important, etc. The content of an online youth clothing store is different from a retirement insurance resource.
In addition, the approach to developing websites for small businesses depends on the tasks set. When you need to sell one special product, it’s best to create a one-page landing page. With a wide assortment, you will need a larger store with the appropriate functionality. Someone prefers the creation of thematic portals, where, among other things, they offer their services/products. Each project must perform certain tasks that need to be assigned to it.
Hosting and Domain
Even if your money is tight, don’t go for free and cheap hosting. The server that will host your site must be reliable and of high quality – security and speed are important factors. In the future, all this will pay off due to an increase in the number of customers, advertising sales, etc. Try to host the project on a server located in the country of the main target audience.
When creating a corporate website, it is better to choose a domain name that is identical or at least consonant with the name of the company. If the option with the brand is busy, then you can pick up something suitable for the topic from your field of activity, for example, “toy store”, “apartment rental”, etc. For resources for large cities, the name of the settlement is often included in the domain. Or try to use a different domain zone, although it is recommended to choose the one that is popular in your country.
Choosing a CMS, Self-Development
At this stage, several interrelated questions arise. The main ones are two:
- On which CMS engine do you want to make a business website;
- Who will handle this task?
For complex corporate portals, stores, and projects with unusual volumetric functionality, it is better to entrust the work to the appropriate specialists. You can look for a programmer with good reviews on the top freelance exchanges or contact the web studio. The first method is cheaper but more troublesome, the second is a little more reliable and more expensive. By the way, if you are not faced with a difficult task, and you are well versed in some CMS, spend a few days on your own development.
You can also be involved in supporting the project yourself in the future. The main thing is that this should not be at the expense of business development. Let’s say you understand tea culture and can talk about it beautifully, effectively – such articles will work better than dry notes of copywriters. Although for large online stores with a huge assortment, it is more efficient to outsource texts and content to hired employees.
As for the engine of a business site, the choice depends partly on the required functionality. There are special solutions for some tasks, for example, for online stores, such as OpenCart, WooCommerce. And, if you want to make a thematic blog, then it is better not to come up with WordPress. Some platforms are suitable for different situations – the same WordPress, Joomla, Drupal can be used to create corporate websites.
Business Website Design
The appearance of the resource should correspond to the content and its focus. If you need to create a corporate website in the classical sense, then a strict minimalist design is quite enough here. For specialized firms, you can think of something more interesting: for example, when a company sells luxury mansions and real estate, it is desirable to emphasize the effect of luxury in the template; and in tourism projects, it is logical to insert graphics related to vacations, travels, etc. Try to create the look your potential client expects.
At the same time, you need to try to make web designing as clear as possible, not to complicate it with unnecessary elements. Information should be easily accessible on the page, overloading has a bad effect on conversion. Choose one color scheme and several font sizes.
If we are talking about creating a small business site, then, as in the case of hosting, we must be prepared for certain costs. Your best bet is to skip the free templates (at least for security reasons). There are a lot of affordable premium themes online now.
Adaptability
Nowadays, the design of a business website and all its functionality must necessarily work well on mobile devices. Firstly, more and more people make purchases online, and secondly, even to obtain information about goods or services, they often use smartphones. The lack of the correct adaptive version can lead to the loss of potential customers, indicate the lack of professionalism of the developers, and negatively affect the SEO parameters.
Convenience and Speed of Work
Both of these nuances affect the final impression of visiting your web project. Page loading speed is important not only for user experience but is also one of the ranking factors in search engines. Buying high-quality performance hosting and optimization of the engine will give a good result.
As for usability, try not to overload visitors with unnecessary information. You can even remove unused elements from the page, such as social media buttons and other widgets if they are not very useful. Make simple, clear navigation – create an effective top menu, a quick return to the home option, and a search box. The users should easily get to any pages of interest and see only what is really useful to them.
Feedback
When creating corporate websites of any complexity, it is imperative to add contact information on the pages. Include phone numbers, addresses, email, links to social profiles, etc. The more data, the higher the trust. Often this information is placed in the header of the site. The users should be able to contact you quickly and easily. For convenience, it is desirable to make an active link to the phone number in an HTML template.
It is also recommended to introduce a feedback form – as a rule, it is located in “Contacts” or in the footer. Sometimes there are situations when you cannot write to Email or call, and such functionality allows you to send a message in any case. You can also supplement the project with an online consultant or a callback order button.
Support / Updates
After the completion of the work, the client receives a ready-made engine (admin panel) for managing the web resource and must continue to develop it. Somewhere around 27% of corporate websites for business update their project less than once a year! Outdated information can scare your customers away. It is bad when a user comes to you and, for example, sees news for the year before last, and an even earlier date in the footer.
The same goes for functionality. If the page contains a feedback form or comments are open, you need to constantly review new entries and respond to them. Plus, try to adhere to modern technologies and current trends in web development for your project: parallax effect, hamburger menu, new CSS chips, work to improve performance and conversion. Additionally, marketers are advised to create a blog to publish useful notes and at the same time show the presence of life on the site.
Of course, the process of creating a corporate website for your small business should imply its further promotion. Without this stage, no chic design, fashionable selling texts, and various chips will make sense. Consider this factor when setting your budget.
If you are very limited in money, then at first you can save on design and functions – to make the project a little simpler, and then scale it up as income is received. This is especially true when you decide to create a website for a business in an unfamiliar new niche or are a budding entrepreneur. Personally, it would not recommend spending, for example, 90% of your budget on beauty/functionality, and leaving 10% for promotion.
Nowadays, social media networks can be separate full-fledged sales channels. This is especially true in the areas of clothing, fashion, gifts, food, and others, where you can attract the attention of users with the help of colorful pictures of products. There are many tricks and tricks for promoting brands on Instagram, just like for any other social network. First, focus on 1-2 services that best suit your target audience.
Wrapping Up
So, this is how you can create a website for your small business. The points mentioned above need to be considered if you aspire to be on the top of the list of the business person. Taking support from a web design company is also worth it.
Hopefully, this article has given you the desired information. If you have some queries then do let us know in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
