Just as you would carefully design a brick and mortar retail store to maximize your customers’ experience; your small business website approach matters.
Here are some dos and don’ts to consider when it comes to your small business website:
- DON’T put up walls of text – People don’t like to look at gigantic blocks of text, and walls of text are hard to read.
- DO break up text into smaller sections – The use of sub-headers and bullet lists makes your website scannable and reader-friendly. For an example of this, see the article “5 Ways a Website Can Boost Your Home Inspection Business.”
- DON’T pack too much on any one webpage – Each web page should be dedicated primarily to one idea, though it’s acceptable to use sidebars for secondary content on any page.
- DO keep plenty of whitespace on your web pages – White space gives site visitor a break from all the content on your site, and allows for a better flow of design.
- DON’T feel you have to write up all the information you have to offer customers – Making your site visitors read long involved text to gather complex information can be off-putting.
- DO use infographics to convey complicated or complex ideas – Infographics incorporate the use of short text and images to give visitors a quick way to gather all the information they need.
- DON’T rely solely on words or infographics to decorate your site.
- DO include plenty of images to add interest and visual eye candy to your site – Make your site nice to look at, in the same way that you would want to make your brick and mortar store nice to look at.
- DON’T let your site visitors wander around like lost travelers in a desert – When visitors can’t quickly find what they are seeking, they may just leave, thinking it’s not there, or that they don’t have to time to search for it.
- DO provide plenty of navigation throughout your site – Remember that people are unique in the ways they search and behave on a website. Offer multiple ways to navigate around your site. You should have a navigation menu at the top and bottom of all web pages, as well as some sidebar navigation options. A general search box that accepts any search term is also desirable.
Optimizing Your Site is Doable
Luckily, optimizing your small business website can be done quickly and inexpensively.
If you don’t have the talent, skills or time to do it yourself, you don’t have to look far before you’ll find a company that can do it for you. But don’t delay on this important part of your overall small business presence.
Once your website is published online, every visitor that sees a poorly-designed version of your site is a potential customer that you may lose.
About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about best business practices.