When a designer works for an established name or brand, he can get away with some hiccups here and there. There is plenty of public out there, well aware of the brand and will surely love to visit once in a while. Designing part is often not paid much attention by the visitor in the aura of the brand. Interestingly, the same is not the case with small business; web design gets a lot of attention from visitors and a lousy one can just not work. Hence, designer’s work becomes even more challenging. Here are some tips to get the small business web design right;
Minimize Clutter
The charm of an established brand makes a visitor bear the widgets, clutter and even horrendous animation. But in case of a small business website, no such charm is present. So, focus of the design needs to be only on the most important elements. Too many shiny things trying to attract user’s gaze will lead to eventual loss of visitor’s interest. Simple slogans and lone images are very effective in communicating ideas in case of small businesses. Advertisements should also be avoided at any cost.
Lengthy Pages
Agreed that lengthy pages are abundantly available on web and there is a growing acceptance of the same but in case small business websites, people are still conservative. Social media and entertainment based websites are slowly doing away the fear of endless scrolling. But still, we have a long way to go. In case of small business website, the length mainly increases if one opts for a lot of images and information. This is not something that usually works in favor of the website. Small business web design needs to have pages with less need of scrolling. Focus should be on the main product and special offers, if there are any.
Utilize Above-The-Fold Wisely
Above-the-fold area has enormous potential in itself if used wisely. Even in case of newspapers, it is given special attention in terms of advertisements. For websites, above-the-fold area is very crucial. Speaking of small business websites, a professional web designing company would suggest highlighting the most popular products and special offers in above-the-fold turf. This will help in establishing instant communication with the visitor. Along with that, it will also make a strong first impression.
Consider physical theme integration in web design
If a small business has planned its physical presence by taking into account a particular color scheme, logo, design or any other element, then, there is no reason why the same features should not be followed in the website. Customers relates with such elements, and for brand consistency, they ought to be present in the website as well. A professional website design firm would certainly consider the same as the first step of evolving an online brand.
Thinking outlandishly can also benefit as it will guarantee those initial seconds of engrossment.
Keep these points in mind to make your small business design strike the right chords. And don’t shy away from discussing them with your designer; it will only highlight your intellect and garner respect.
About the Author
Ablysoft Private Limited is a small business web design company helping brick & mortar business owners in placing the right foot forward in the web world. It has been active in the field for more than seven years.
Common Small Business Web Design Mistakes to Avoid
As a small business owner, you probably already know that your website is a very important tool for marketing your brand and reaching your target audience. Ensuring your website design is attractive and functional to your audience is also necessary for success. Unfortunately, there are quite a few small business web design mistakes that are all too common. Sometimes this occurs when small business owners hire a cheap designer and believe they’re getting a value, although sometimes it’s mistakes the website operator makes by excluding certain important information.
To make sure you maximise the potential of your business website, keep these pitfalls in mind and avoid them.
Mistake 1: Not Building Trust
Building trust with your audience is arguably the most important thing any small business web design should do. There are actually some really easy and quick ways to build trust, as well as improve your conversion rate. Start my making sure your full address, company name and phone number is included on every page, preferably the footer. If you have an e-commerce storefront, make sure you are displaying badges like your SSL certificates and sitelock. After all, most people are not going to want to place an order if they doubt the professionalism and security of your website.
If you are a very small business or a freelancer, it also helps to add a picture of yourself to your “About Us” page along with a personal quote. Be prepared to be very transparent about your services and offer as much detail as possible, including any return policy or guarantees you provide. You should also have a privacy policy on your website, which tells your visitors what you will and will not do with their personal information that’s collected.
Finally, consider adding the rel=”publisher” link to your homepage, which points to your business’s Google+ page. This way, the image used on your Google+ profile will be displayed alongside your website on Google search results.
Mistake 2: Website is Too Flashy
It’s not uncommon for business owners to get a little carried away with the content and design of their website, requesting flashy graphics and bold colours that detract, not add value. To effectively market your brand and improve visibility, you want a clean and minimalist interface that impresses customers but makes it easy for them to find what they are looking for.
Content should be straight-forward and relevant, not a long rambling monologue or an excuse to stuff in keywords unnaturally. Users should come away with a good experience and feel like they found exactly what they were looking for.
Mistake 3: No Call to Action Buttons
Call to action buttons are important because they funnel your visitors further into your site. By keeping website users on your website for a longer amount of time, you’ll lower your bounce rate and increase the chance of a conversion. It also improves user experience by directing users exactly where they want to go, assuming it isn’t overdone. If you sell insurance, for example, you would have a call to action button encouraging users to request a quote. If you sell products online, you would have a call to action button for users to “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart.”
Mistake 4: Not Using the Rel=”Nofollow” Tag on Outbound Links
Finally, a really common small business web design mistake is not using the rel=”nofollow” tag on outbound links away from the website. While it may not seem like a big issue, it actually allows you to control the “link juice” of your website, which gets leeched out to all of your “dofollow” outbound links. Only links going to your internal pages should be “dofollow,” which means they pass along this link juice.
It’s also important to avoid linking to a lot of low authority or low quality websites, especially if you do not have a great deal of inbound links to your website.
Unfortunately, these mistakes are all too common, but very easy to fix, for the most part. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so the best option is avoiding these mistakes in the first place by working with an experienced individual who can create a custom web design for your business.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Andy_Cresswell/1699652
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