It’s crucial to make a good first impression.
For many prospective clients, your website is the first thing they see while researching your company. It’s possible that they’ll use that website to communicate with you or make a purchase of your goods.
Getting it properly is critical whether you’re building your first website from scratch or redesigning an existing one.
Your website must be visually appealing, technically sound, appropriately reflect your company’s image, and perform effectively in search engine results.
That’s a lot of pressure for a little firm to handle.
The chances are that you don’t have a web design team on staff or the resources to spend on a web property that isn’t going to help your business succeed. In other words, how do you go about building a website that provides your small company an advantage over the competition?
Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting your small company website design project off the ground!
DO YOU NEED A WEBSITE FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS?
It should go without saying that companies of all sizes need a website.
Only 64% of small firms have one, which is surprising. 36% of the population is losing out on significant advantages because of this. The reason for this is that today’s customers are used to finding all of the information they need on the internet.
Consumers go to the internet to find a company like yours, as well as to research companies they’ve heard of. A whopping 93% of customers utilized the internet in the previous year to locate a local company. Up to 34% of respondents said they did it every day.
For many of these folks, if you don’t have a website, you don’t exist.
Even if you’re a brick-and-mortar company with a local clientele, you should use social media.
Your goal is to create a positive first impression on prospective clients once they discover you on the internet. A well-designed website adds credibility to your business and lets you present your products and services in the manner you wish.
What if you already have an online presence?
You may already be listed on a third-party website. If so, great! However, you don’t have as much control and you can’t provide the same user experience as you can with your own website. This is a good start.
The predicament faced by Barefoot Luxury Villas was quite similar.
They had an existing listing on a vacation rental booking platform before HigherVisibility created a new website for them. Customers couldn’t reserve rentals using their company’s own domain-based home page.
The search and filtering system on their new bespoke website not only looked beautiful, but it also improved the user experience. Visitors now had an easier time locating their perfect holiday apartment thanks to the newly redesigned site.
HOW DO YOU CREATE A SMALL BUSINESS WEBSITE?
You now understand the importance of having a website. Choosing a method for making one is the next step.
Do you develop it yourself using a simple website builder or content management system (CMS) or do you pay a design firm to help?
There are several “free” or low-cost website builders available that enable you to quickly and easily create a simple website. The convenience and inexpensive prices of these tools appeal to small company owners.
However, you only get what you pay for, and what you spend may not be little at all in this case.
A custom domain name or Google Analytics monitoring, for example, are likely to have additional costs along the route. Additionally, you may not be able to move your site away from the platform if you want to do so in the future.
Alternatively, you may pay for web hosting and use a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress to create your own site.
Even if you start with one of the many accessible templates, the learning curve will be steeper since you’ll have more customizability and feature control.
For a small company, time is a valuable commodity, and it will take time to build a website for their brand.
In addition, neither a DIY WordPress site nor a website builder can give you with the type of SEO experience that may significantly improve your website’s exposure in search results.
That takes us full circle back to the idea of working with a web design firm to create a unique personalized website.
Your website will seem attractive and professional if you hire a professional design company. This will help you connect with your target audience on a more emotional level.
Your target audience will be attracted to your site by a design firm since they will have an excellent user experience. Good agencies will be ready to listen to your ideas and have the technical know-how to make them a reality.
HOW MUCH DOES A SMALL BUSINESS WEBSITE DESIGN COST?
This is a difficult question to address succinctly.
A website may cost anything from $1,000 to over $100,000 if you employ a designer or design firm.
It’s all up to you and what you’re looking for.
Even if the template design and functionality are restricted, a small website won’t set you back as much as a large one loaded with all kinds of bespoke features.
If you have a certain idea in mind, don’t be hesitant to talk about it with many different organizations. There are a wide range of price models and skill sets represented by each of these freelancers.
There are a few things that will affect the price of a website design no matter where you go:
What a big place this is. It’s self-explanatory: a small ecommerce website with fewer pages costs less than a large one with individual pages for each product.
The design. This will save you time and money by not having to start from zero.
Your online storefront. An e-commerce-ready website may cost anything from $2,000 to $25,000. Using a third-party system like Shopify might be less expensive, but you’d lose out on a cut of every transaction.
Your mechanism for creating and distributing online content. For your site’s continuing maintenance, SEO, and content planning, you need a CMS with plenty of features. The cost of these systems is comparable to that of e-commerce systems.
A mobile-friendly design or a mobile-specific website. It’s no longer an option to design for different sorts of devices. The website’s responsive design changes according to the device being used by the visitor. A separate mobile site will cost extra if you want one.
Copywriting. It takes a lot of time and effort to create effective on-page content. Your website will cost more if you hire a web design firm to handle it.
SEO. If no one can locate your website, then nothing else matters. Technical variables may be optimized, copy can be developed, and more can be included in SEO services. After your site is up and operating, you should have a strategy for continuing to optimize it for search engines.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT SMALL BUSINESS WEBSITE?
Website design goes beyond a cool look. There are a number of factors that take a website from functional to outstanding.
A good domain name
Your domain name will most likely be “your company name dot com” to help promote your brand’s online presence.
Your domain name may include keywords from your SEO campaign.
Even if you also register other extensions, aim for the.com suffix.
When registering for a domain, make sure you don’t wish to modify it in the future. It’s difficult to go to a new domain name without harming your SEO.
Brand-strengthening design
Visually appealing photos, colors, and fonts are all part of a great website design.
It also displays your brand’s tone and aesthetic constantly.
Usability
Visitors have a specific reason for visiting your website. It might be for any number of reasons, including finding out where you are or making a purchase or obtaining help.
Designing a website that makes it simple for visitors to get answers and has a great user experience is critical.
Many of them will be using a mobile phone or tablet to access the service. Their attention may be piqued by an unresponsive design. 45 percent of customers said they’d stop using a product if the material they’re using didn’t seem well.
In addition to usability, there is also the issue of speed. These days, no one is willing to put up with a sluggish website. The likelihood of a mobile site user leaving rises by 123% as the load time grows from one second to ten.
If your website has e-commerce capabilities, be certain that they are simple to use and secure.
Robust security
Entrepreneurs often believe that hackers exclusively target large corporations.
Small enterprises account for 58 percent of all malware attack targets. They’re simply not as well reported as an assault on a Fortune 500 corporation.
Good web design will keep your site safe from these kinds of assaults in the first place.
Search Engine Optimization
Before and after launch, every website should have a strategy for search engine optimization (SEO).
If you want a fantastic return on your new website, SEO is the way to go.
53 percent of visitors originate from search engines like Google. Folks are looking for what your company has to offer right now, and SEO can direct those people to your new website.
Only 49% of marketers agree that organic search is the most cost-effective marketing method.
If you’re looking for web design services, avoid agencies that lack proven experience in search engine optimization (SEO).
This should include everything from site architectural optimization to content development.
Don’t undervalue the significance of SEO’s ability to reach your target audience. Your website’s natural exposure is a priceless resource.
A plan for site maintenance
You’re not finished after your stunning new website is up.
Your material will need constant development as well as updating.
Make sure you and the website designer talk about the content management system. Ideally, you’ll want a platform that lets you create and edit content yourself.
You can’t ignore SEO since it’s a continuous process. You may continue Search Engine Optimization on your own, or you can hire a team of specialists to do it for a fee. Both options are viable.
Ensure that you or your agency is keeping track of key performance indicators (KPIs) and constantly monitoring the condition of your SEO. Google’s algorithm is always evolving, so you should continually be fine-tuning your SEO approach.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE AN AGENCY TO DESIGN YOUR WEBSITE?
Web design firms are not all created equal. You’ll want someone with a wide range of experience.
Some design firms and organizations place a strong emphasis on aesthetics. Even if your website is visually appealing, it won’t matter much if no one can discover it through an internet search.
Other firms have a large number of employees that are first and foremost web developers, with designers following closely after. Even if a website is technically sound, it will lose clients if it isn’t appealing and easy to use.
Look for a web design firm that has expertise and practical experience in the following areas:
- Competitor analysis
- Design elements like color scheme, layout, font size, and organization
- SEO content development
- Optimizing website architecture for both speed and user experience
- Driving conversions
When working with a reputable agency, they’ll talk to you about your vision, objectives, and preferences. Examples of websites they’ve created for small companies like yours will be available from them.
Increasing organic traffic by redesigning your website
Fitness19’s marketing approach was disjointed, and the company’s franchise websites performed badly in search engine results.
CONCLUSION
If you’re going to invest in a website for your small company (which you should), make sure it’s worth it.
That necessitates enlisting the services of a firm with diverse experience, such as:
- The art of design
- The technical side of website development
- SEO