The design of your website plays a crucial role in your online marketing presence and digital marketing strategy. A website that is well-designed shows professionalism. When your website presents information that is clear, consistent, and easy to find, it can contribute to obtaining repeat business and building customer loyalty.
In this article, we will examine the steps and tools needed to optimize your website design process. We will also discuss the importance of having a well-designed website and provide examples of impeccably designed business websites.
Small business website design tips
These eight tips will assist you in designing an appealing and functional website that keeps customers and prospects engaged, regardless of whether you are looking to enhance your website’s design or are at the initial stages of building it.
1. Create a plan for your website design
To start the process of creating or redesigning a website, it is essential to first formulate a comprehensive plan outlining the tasks, methods, and ways in which every website component will contribute towards meeting customer needs.
To begin, you will need to identify your target audience and chart a customer journey from beginning to end. Each design step is guided by customer data and dictates the content of your website. During this stage, it is important to collect reliable data on the following aspects:
- Who your customers are
- What they like
- What types of content they respond well to
- How they were converted from website visitors to customers
build customer personas
with distinct demographics, pain points, unmet needs and channels they turn to for information.
2. Remove unnecessary elements from your website design
When designing a modern website, ensure it is clear, crisp, and efficient by eliminating any clunky and unnecessary elements. Take into account the possibility of removing the following features:
- Animations
- Overly wordy copy
- Extraneous stock images
- Meaningless jargon and promotional language (e.g., “next generation,” “robust,” “innovative”)
In order to cater to the demands of busy customers who have short attention spans, it is crucial to offer a website design that is straightforward and enables them to swiftly resolve their issues, without having to sift through extensive amounts of unnecessary content.
3. Include social platform buttons in your website design
When planning your online presence, it is important to ensure that your website serves as the central hub. It is advisable to include buttons on your website that connect to your social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. It would be best to place these buttons in a footer that remains visible to the customer as they navigate through different pages.
To maintain the same meaning, rephrase the text step by step, without adding or removing information: On your home page, product pages, and checkout page, incorporate social proof elements such as positive customer reviews, testimonials, awards, and endorsements.
4. Make your website homepage scrollable
With the increasing number of individuals using tablets and mobile devices, having a scrollable homepage ensures that your website can be accessed by a larger user base.
A scrollable homepage is considered modern and engaging because it allows for animated website elements to appear or move as the user scrolls towards them. This design brings about a sense of interest without being too dominant or diverting.
To ensure easy navigation, arrange the content on your scrollable homepage into sections. The sections should comprise the following:
- About page and introduction
- Services overview
- Products and product features
- Testimonials
- Case studies and success stories
- Resources
- Contact information
5. Don’t be afraid of white space in your website design
By thinking sequentially, rephrase the following text while preserving the original meaning, without adding or removing information. White space is no longer something that needs to be avoided. Make use of white space (or any colored blank space) thoughtfully in order to enhance readability of your content by highlighting important text. Additionally, white space can aid in determining the appropriate placement of other elements on your pages.
6. Optimize your website design for mobile devices
Mobile accounts for almost 50% of global internet traffic, as indicated by Statista. Furthermore, based on Google data, 50% of mobile users opt to visit a company’s mobile site instead of downloading an application, and 59% place importance on the capability to shop through their smartphones when selecting a brand to make a purchase.
In order for businesses to be successful, they must ensure that their websites are easily accessible on mobile devices. It is crucial that your website is responsive and provides an equally appealing experience on smaller screens as it does on desktops. It is important to customize your mobile sites to cater to visitors’ specific needs. Take into account the reasons why they are accessing your mobile site and what they are likely searching for, and streamline the process for them to obtain that information.
7. Include an SEO strategy in your website design
When creating or redesigning your website, it is crucial to think step by step and prioritize SEO to ensure a strong online presence for any business. Take into account the content that is relevant and appealing to your customers, and tailor your SEO approach accordingly.
To enhance page rankings, it is advisable to employ certain technical SEO tactics such as selecting a dependable web host, optimizing page load times, and rectifying any crawl errors on your site.
8. Keep contact information above the fold
When designing a small business website, it is crucial to make sure that your contact information is clearly visible on your site, specifically in the area that is visible without scrolling, known as above the fold.
To ensure that potential customers can easily contact you and potentially convert, it is important to have your contact information readily available. This should include your business name, address, phone number, email address, and links to your social media profiles. Placing this information above the fold on your website will facilitate seamless communication with interested individuals.
To ensure easy accessibility for users, it is recommended to have your phone number, email address, and physical address displayed prominently at the top of your homepage, eliminating the need for scrolling.
9. Ensure fast page speeds
In today’s fast-paced society, individuals have minimal tolerance for websites that load slowly. If your website takes a considerable amount of time to load, users are prone to navigate away and search for a faster alternative. This not only leads to decreased website traffic and potential clientele, but it can also detrimentally affect your search engine ranking.
Regardless of the type of small business website you own, it is crucial to ensure its fast loading speed. Search engines, such as Google, consider page speed when they prioritize websites, implying that a speedy site can determine whether you appear on the first page of results or get obscured within the depths of search results.
In order to achieve fast page speeds and maintain engagement with your website visitors, it is crucial to optimize your website for speed. Several important factors to take into account include the size and quality of your images, the number of plugins utilized, and the choice of hosting provider. Moreover, it is essential to consistently monitor and test your page speeds to promptly identify and resolve any potential issues.
A study conducted by Deloitte and 55 examined the effect of page speed on conversion rates. It was found that websites experienced an increase in conversion rate when there was a 0.1-second improvement in load times. Specifically, retail websites saw an 8.4% increase in conversion, while travel websites saw a 10% increase in conversion.
10. Incorporate CTAs
In order for a small business to succeed, it is crucial to have a website that not only has an appealing design but also generates positive outcomes. One effective strategy to achieve this is by integrating impactful calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout the website. CTAs are clickable elements or links that motivate users to engage in specific actions, such as subscribing to a newsletter, accessing a resource, or completing a purchase.
To create effective CTAs for small business websites, you can follow several tips, such as using clear and compelling language, positioning them above the fold for better visibility, and conducting tests to determine the most effective approach for your audience.
When designing a website for a small business, it is advisable to employ clear and persuasive language for your CTAs. Ensure that your CTA clearly communicates the desired action and utilizes powerful language that urges users to take action. For instance, instead of utilizing a CTA that says “click here,” consider using something more precise such as “download our free eBook.”
11. Focus on UX
When designing a small business website, one of the primary aspects to emphasize is user experience (UX). UX pertains to the ease and satisfaction of using your site, and it plays a crucial role in determining if users will remain on your site. Ultimately, the purpose of your website is to engage potential customers and facilitate their conversion into loyal patrons.
To create a positive UX for your small business website, consider several design tips. These include utilizing easy-to-read fonts, designing for mobile users, and including engaging content. Alongside this, it is essential to regularly test your website, fix any problems, and ensure its proper functioning.
To make sure that your small business website is optimized for search engines, it is crucial to take into account both the technical aspects and the design elements that will be most attractive to your target audience. Regarding the technical side, the design of a small business website should mainly concentrate on developing a quick, responsive website that is user-friendly in terms of navigation.
How to create a small business website
Creating a website for a small business necessitates meticulous planning and meticulous attention to detail. The pricing for website design for small businesses is influenced by various factors, including the website’s size, number of pages, design intricacy, and degree of customization needed.
The cost of the website is influenced by the decision between using a website builder or hiring a web designer. Web builders’ charges depend on the website’s complexity and number of pages. In contrast, small business website designers typically charge a monthly fee that covers hosting and domain name registration.
To ensure that you create an attractive, functional, and successful website for your small business, it is crucial to follow these key steps on how to make a website:
- Purchase a domain name: The first step in creating a small business website is to purchase a domain name that is tailored specifically to your needs. This will allow you to build and manage your website on your own, with full control over the content and design.
- Secure web hosting: In order to make your small business website accessible to the public, you will need to purchase web hosting services. This will give you a space on the internet where you will make it accessible to your visitors.
- Pick a website builder: Many small businesses today rely on website builders to create and manage their websites, as they are easy to use and affordable. There are a wide variety of website builders, for example, Mailchimp, which offers free website builder and publishing services all done using a drag and drop tool, meaning you do not need any technical skills to use it.
- Choose a template or theme: Once you have chosen a website builder, you will need to select a template or theme for your website. This will determine the overall layout and design of your website.
- Build your pages: The next step is to start building your website pages. Each page should be designed to serve a specific purpose and contain relevant, engaging content.
- Set up your payment processor: If you plan on selling products or services through your small business website, you will need to set up a payment processor. This will allow you to accept and process payments online, making it easy for customers to purchase from you. Mailchimp already has integration for Stripe as your payment processor.
- Publish your website: Once your small business website is complete and you are satisfied with the overall design and function, it’s then time to publish your website and make it accessible to the public. Before publishing, it is important to test your website and its links to make sure everything is working properly. Once you have verified that everything is working as it should, you can then launch your website and start promoting it to reach your target audience.
