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Everybody on this planet is a consumer. Whether you’re a marketer, financial expert or a homemaker, you are most definitely some brand’s target audience. This means that you make purchases, whether they are necessities or luxury items. 

Back in the day, it was mainly word-of-mouth that was more than enough to convince customers. In this age where even young children have access to computers and an internet connection, a website is an indispensable asset for every business. 

The whole idea of “build it and they will come” only works in movies now, especially for Kevin Costner in Fields of Dreams. However, this is a sure-fire way of losing customers in this day and age. Online presence has now become crucial, especially for small businesses. 

But setting up a fancy-looking website is also not enough to convert consumers into loyal customers. There is a whole realm of web design elements that small businesses can use to make their website both useful and aesthetically pleasing. Here, we’ve given a primer of some of the basic elements of web design small businesses should consider when setting up their websites. 

A Welcoming Homepage 

The homepage is the first thing visitors will see when they click the website link. Not only should it be attractive in terms of design, but it should also have content that enables visitors to find the information they need. It should also be SEO optimized to ensure Google Ranking works in your favor. 

Meaningful Header 

A clear, concise header should tell the user who you are and what you do. It could be very straightforward or very creative. It should indicate what the user can expect to find on your website. 

Sub-Header 

You can reinforce the header on the homepage with a meaningful subheading. They should convince the user to stay. You can use this opportunity to sell a major benefit or elaborate and provide context to whatever you wrote in the header. 

Benefits 

Consumers like to know what they will get from you. Technical details are important to add, but the homepage should have overall benefits that your company can provide them with. Anticipate what your target market’s main pain points are and list your benefits in accordance with that.  

Easy-to-Navigate Menu 

There are too many websites where finding the right information is a task on its own. This easily turns off a potential customer. Organization is the key here. 

The top of the homepage and every other landing page should have a navigation bar. Users should be able to find the important pages from the bar. If you offer many services and have a long list of web pages for different categories, use hamburger menus to organize the pages so they make sense. 

UX Optimization 

UX stands for user experience. The whole concept is focused on making the website convenient for the user to navigate. Visuals, font, typography and other design elements are important too. That’s what UI or User Interface design focuses on. 

UX ensures a user-friendly layout and an intuitive sitemap to allow users a clear pathway to the information they need. 

Mobile Optimization 

Your website can be pretty limiting if users can’t see and use it properly on mobile devices. Responsive web design ensures that the website automatically renders to the device it is accessed on. 

When a website is mobile-optimized, the dimensions adjust to fit the screen. The images, content, and other design elements scale up or down so you can see them properly. 

Effective CTAs (Call-to-Action) 

CTAs are not just limited to landing pages. Each page on your website should have a relevant CTA, prompting the user to take some kind of action, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, calling/emailing the company, downloading a file, requesting a quote, etc. 

You can use your market research to create relevant and effective CTAs. Often, these combined with time-limited offers can be great for lead generation and conversions. 

Accessible Contact Details 

There are a couple of ways you can add contact details on your website. The first most obvious one is setting up a separate contact us page and putting it in the header and footer of every webpage. 

If your business provides direct services, such as emergency electrical repairs, house painting services, food delivery, etc., you can mention the phone number on the top of the webpage. 

You can also add social media links in the footer or heart of every page. 

An “About Us” page 

Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t pay attention to the “About Us” page on the website. This is a lost opportunity as it can help build a connection with your customers and your brand. 

You can tell your story and make your company more personable. Write about how and where you started, why you’re in this line of business, your mission, vision, company goals, etc. 

SSL Certificates 

SSL certificates are essential for every type of website. They ensure that whatever personal information the users provide on the website is encoded and theft-proof. Hence, they are even more important for online businesses that require credit card information for purchases. 

If your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, browsers like Google Chrome will show a “not secure” sign. This is the fastest way to lose a potential customer. Additionally, the lack of SSL certificates also hurt SEO rankings. 

Basic SEO 

Lastly, the content you decided to put on your website will impact whether people will be able to find it on Google or not. SEO practices should be integrated on your website from the get-go. 

Since most small businesses don’t have a complete grasp of SEO at the beginning, hiring an agency that specializes in it is a great option. They will ensure the right meta tags and keywords are used to improve your ranking and make your website easy to find. 

In the end, adequate planning, knowledge of your users, and a growth strategy are all you need to focus and let the professionals take care of the rest. In conjunction with a professional web developer, you can establish the criteria for your website. 

Business Marketing Solutions Group can do that for you. Get in touch with us to get a quote customized for your business’s needs.

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