One interesting fact about having websites is its accessibility can be a double edged sword. If you’re running a local small business website, for example, customers can easily get into your website and then get out of it just as fast. Having a website is a necessity for any business, regardless of scale. But creating one that can help increase your revenue and following takes so much more than just having a domain and a few website pages.
If you’re running a local business, in Brisbane, for example, you need to know what type of content and design appeals best to local clients. Since there are a lot of great web design options for Brisbane companies, you need to choose one that works best for the type of industry you belong to.
Website design and management tips for Small Business Owners
Creating an effective website design is one part of website creation process that needs a lot of your attention. Web design involves using various elements such as color, space, font, images and text among many others.
It involves the science and art of putting these elements together in such a way that will not only look good but also provide a generally pleasant user experience for site visitors. In order to create an effective website for business, you need to know how to design and manage your website to help you achieve your business goals.
1. Give your site visitors exactly what they need
Let your website visitors know exactly what they need to know as soon as they reach your home page. Your audience visited your website for a reason. They could be looking for your company information or doing research on the products or services you offer, regardless of which, you need to give them what they need within a few seconds of being on your home page.
Having accessible information on your website will encourage your visitors to stay longer. Make content organization a high priority in your website design. Your site visitors should be able to find a snippet about your company and services on the home page. You can then expand about these sections in their respective pages.
2. Show Credibility
Credibility is important especially when you’re just starting out in your industry. Even when you’re running a small scale business, your customers need to know that they can trust you to provide high quality services and products.
You can create a testimonial page on your website where new website visitors can read what your previous clients have to say about you. You can even take some of the best ones and incorporate it in your home page.
3. Use Images and Short Videos
Presenting your work through visual content like images and videos is important in every business’ website. Using images and videos is a great way to capture your audience’s attention, and also gives them a better idea of what to expect from the products and services that you offer.
Ideally, images and text should be combined in balanced proportions in every page that you create. However, if you’re selling a physical product or service, it would be in your best interest to feature neatly-organized high quality images and videos on your products and services page.
4. Pay close attention to your website’s bounce rate
As a business owner, every website visit that you get is important. But more than just getting visitors, it’s also important to check if you’re visitors are staying long enough in your website to check your business and products.
“Bounce rate” is the term used to describe the amount of users that log in to your website and how fast they leave. Higher bounce rate doesn’t bode well for business and might be a sign that you need to revamp your site or update your content. You can check your bounce rate by setting up Google Analytics in your website.
Working with a web design company in Brisbane
There are many ways for you to get an effective and appealing website design as there are great web designers around the world. But if you’re running a small business in Brisbane that’s targeting local consumers, then working with local designers could be a better option.
There are professional web designers who specialise in creating small business web design for Brisbane companies. These designers live in or around Brisbane which makes them knowledgeable about the area and what living in it is like.
When your web designer knows who your target market is and understands their preferences, they’ll be better able to come up with a design that will appeal to them. After all, your web design should represent your brand in a way that will attract your target audience.
After Web Design Web Development Comes
Once you decide on a full website design, you’ll then need to find web developers who can translate the design into codes and functions in your website. When looking for web developers, always choose ones who have a clean track record among previous clients.
Since you’re essentially handing the website creation process to them, you need to make sure that the web developers you hire are people you can trust. They should be responsible to safely keep passwords and information relevant to your business.
Some business owners look for freelance web designers before they proceed to look for freelance web developers. This process can work if you’ve gathered enough information about them and can fully trust that they can individually provide excellent output without jeopardizing your safety online.
However, if you don’t have enough connections with local web designers and developers, you can always work with a website creation company instead. If you’re based in Brisbane, there are plenty of companies that offer professional website creation services.
These companies have in-house web designers and web developers who have years of experience in website creation. By working with these companies, you will not be left to stress about finding a developer after you finally settle on a design.
You’ll have a team that will work on your website, and keep you updated on every milestone. And when all the work is done, you’ll get a full functioning and aesthetically pleasing website at the end of the project. Whichever route you choose, whether you choose to work with freelancers or a company, remember that your goal is to create a website that will elevate your business. Creating and managing a website can be a long and tedious process, but when done right, it can help you excel and compete better.
Author’s Bio – Frank Dunne is an Online Marketing professional with 10+ years experience helping small and medium businesses in Australia, the United States and New Zealand build beautifully designed websites and get them ranking on Google. Highly skilled in the development of successful lead generation tactics for small to medium business websites.