Whether you’re a custom software development company, a junk removal company, or an accounting firm, your website is the face of your business. A poorly designed website can have an adverse impact on your web presence and devalue your company and brand. However, a carefully crafted website can attract new business, help to retain and engage existing customers, showcase your value, and improve your image. The only thing worse than having a poorly designed website is not having a website at all! Here are the top 10 basic things you should consider when building a business website.
Clear & enticing headlines
Our attention spans are at an all-time low in today’s day and age. Your website needs to convey a clear message quickly. When building a business website, ask yourself, “Can I tell what this company does without needing to scroll?” If the answer is no, you just lost a customer. It’s critical to have several relevant and enticing headers and subheadings to give folks a clear understanding of what your company does and what value you provide. Take a look at Rankwatch’s SEO Analyzer to find the right fit for your business website.
Stick to a color palette
You don’t need to be a marketing guru or design expert. The key is to find something that works and matches your company’s image and stick to it. It’s helpful to decide on a simple color palette early in the process to help create your “brand image.” We are big fans of Canva and absolutely love their Color Pallette Generator.
You can upload an image or logo to extract brand colors or search through pages of 4-color palettes that fit your website’s look and feel. Sticking with these colors creates continuity throughout your website giving you a clean and polished look. 4 colors, save the Hex color codes!
Avoid cringe stock photos
Okay, we can’t hate on all stock photos because there’s definitely a time and place for them. There are also some reputable high-quality free image sites out there like Pexels where you can find some unique high-resolution “stock” images that may fit your needs. That said, whenever possible, use original high-resolution images or consider a “stock alternative” like Undraw to match your carefully selected brand colors. Custom designs, images, and photography are always the best options.
Clear call to action (CTA)
When building a strong business website, the CTA is critical. What ideal action should visitors be taking when viewing your website?
- Contact us
- Join now
- Schedule an appointment
- Get a quote
- Reserve your spot
- Sign up today
- Subscribe here
- Watch this video
- Download
You get the point… Whatever your goal is, make it very clear and very accessible. There should be at least 3-5 references and attempts to push visitors to the CTA without being overly aggressive and turning people off. This is easier said than done but finding that right sweet spot will drive conversions for your CTAs without damaging your image and pissing people off.
Value Proposition
What’s your value prop? Is it clearly outlined on your homepage? Customers need to know what makes you different and valuable. A clear value proposition is the hook that makes people want to learn more about a product or service. It’s important to truly understand your audience and speak to their needs directly and honestly. The value proposition should ring true throughout your website to have the desired impact on your visitors and customers.
“Prove it” (Portfolio/samples of work)
Show off! There’s no better way to showcase your business than literally showing your work. Depending on your business, you need to find a simple and clear way to show people what you do. If you’re a brick-and-mortar store or restaurant without high-resolution images of your space, you’re losing the game. If you’re a marketing agency or artist and you don’t show your portfolio, you’re missing out on the single greatest marketing opportunity which is YOUR WORK! Even for services that may be less tangible, get creative and think about case studies and other ways to highlight your accomplishments and hard work.
Reviews/Testimonials
Companies like Trustpilot and Yelp are in business because reviews matter. Take advantage of what people are saying and always, ALWAYS! ask for reviews and/or testimonials. Showcasing positive reviews on your website helps build trust and shows folks that people like you and your work so much that they’re talking about it on the internet. You can manually add reviews or automate them with plugins for places like Google and Facebook reviews integrated into your site. Either way is up to you, just do it.
Hassle-free “Contact Us”
Folks need to be able to contact your business. The more barriers you create, the more likely customers will lose interest and visitors will fall off. People don’t want to share private information so make sure contacting you is secure and easy. The less information you require, the fewer clicks, the better. Having multiple means of contact is critical. Address, Phone, Email, Contact Webform… Don’t hide your own contact information or no one will share theirs. You want and need customers, vendors, and visitors to be able to get in touch with you so don’t make it painful. Make it easy. Oftentimes, this is the call to action so make sure you do it right!
Don’t reinvent the wheel unless you need to
Something we ask all of our clients before we begin a project is this, “Show me 3 websites you love and 3 websites you hate.” Then we have an open discussion with them and get to the bottom of what they like and what they don’t. It’s almost always worth trying to pull inspiration from those that do it well. You never want a carbon copy of a website, but formatting and structure can inspire your vision. Don’t reinvent the wheel unless you’re genuinely going for an abstract creative statement.
KISS! “Keep it simple stupid!”
We’ve all loaded up a website only to be immediately overwhelmed by images, videos, massive blocks of wordy text, pop-ups, and clunky content. The saying “less is more” is too true when it comes to a business website and creating a professional web presence. When building a business website, don’t overdo it. You need to find the right balance for your company. Use these tips to build a site that fits your needs as the face of your business without going overboard.
We hope you found this article helpful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to us.
Here’s how you can get in touch with us:
Email: contact@modernlaunch.co
Website: https://modernlaunch.co/
Contact Form: https://modernlaunch.co/#contact-us