Whether you have the latest computer product on the market or are still getting by with an old desktop or laptop, the time may have finally arrived where you’ve decided to design a website to support your small business.
If that is the case, do you know how to go about it the correct way or are you taking a leap and a prayer to get it done?
As you decide how to put together your very first business website, there are certain general rules that you should follow in order to make the site stand out from the crowd, getting attention from the major search engines, and bring you the potential for revenue.
There are also some things that you should go out of your way to avoid in order to steer clear of turning your site into a disaster.
Among the things to sidestep as you design a website:
1. Speed over quality – Oftentimes, individuals will have a rush to market if you will, wanting to get their product out there even if it isn’t fully ready to go. What they end up with is a product that is not totally ready for the viewing public to see, meaning visitors may not come back after getting a first look. By all means, take the time to get the essentials of designing your new website down before you go public with it. You can always go back and tweak things here and there;
2. A maze of distractions – Another gaffe to avoid is having your site not be pretty on the eyes. Those are the sites that have content that doesn’t match up with headlines and imagery, too many pop-up ads that make it hard for the viewer to see what they came there for in the first place, mazes for people to go through in order to discover how to contact you, etc. Always design the site with the easiest navigation in mind for viewers. Flashy oftentimes does not come out the winner, it simply means that you have turned off people from coming back to visit you a second time;
3. Outdated content – Another easy to make mistake is having blog or other content on your site that is stale. You may get busy with things in life, but you should always make sure you take the time to update content on the site, even if it means having someone else write it for you. Not only will readers appreciate it, but also search engines will be friendlier toward your site than if it is old. Fresh and quality content is often advised but all the search marketing specialists, If you don’t think fresh content is not important, trying leaving the same content on the top of your page for a few weeks and see how your traffic numbers dwindle;
4. Trying to be too many things for people – Your website’s design should also have a focus, a theme if you will. You are not CNN or Amazon that can load a bunch of different subjects and images onto your site and get away with it. Whatever the focus of your business is, make sure your website reflects that. While you may be trying to reach a variety of people, zero in on what you do best;
5. Broken links – Have you ever gone on a site and found broken links? Does it drive you crazy? If it doesn’t, not much seems to bother you. One of the biggest errors a site can make is having broken links. Bad links to other pages on your site or bad outbound links are frustrating and one way to lose search engine traffic. It is good, especially with older content and pages on your site, to periodically review them to make sure all links work;
6. Always be thinking ahead – Just as you want your business to grow, you need to always be thinking about how you will do the same with your website design. Remember that your website and business are supposed to work hand-in-hand in this process. Your website is a great way to promote your brand, so design it with that in mind. Don’t design and go live with a website just because other businesses have them. Always think about how you can improve the site and stay a step ahead of the competition.
If your business is to make the best website design possible for your company, what are you waiting for?