5 Tips For Designing Your Business Website
Now, that you’ve decided to tap into the online market for customers, it’s time to design your website. You may worry that you don’t have what it takes to design a business website. Don’t worry. There are ways to see a positive ROI without being a website design professional.
In this article, we’ll discuss five tips for designing your business website.
Clear Call To Action On Business Website
The worst thing for your business is to have potential customers leave your website without clarity. You want them to know their next step once they’ve found you.
That’s where a clear call to action comes in.
When creating an offer, you want your customers to feel compelled to buy your product or service. Don’t leave them unsure of what to do next. Your main goal is to make their decision for them.
Let’s give you a good and bad example of a call to action.
Good:
Our car inventory is limited, so stop by our dealership today to ensure you can buy the model you want.
Why is it good?
This call to action creates a sense of urgency for the consumer by informing them of your limited inventory. It also tells them their next step–stop by your dealership today. Your goal is to appeal to your customers’ emotional side when crafting a call to action. You also tell them where to go–your dealership.
Bad:
We have an endless supply, so stop by if you want to.
Why is it bad?
There’s no urgency created. There’s no clear next step for the customer to take. You don’t even tell them what their next step is. Where are they stopping by? Why should they stop by? None of those questions are answered.
Without those questions answered, there’s no guarantee you’ll see an increase in traffic to your dealership.
Placement Of Keywords
An often overlooked aspect of creating a website is SEO optimization. It’s not good enough anymore to have a website. You need to drive traffic to your website too.
When planning your website, research keywords that are searched frequently in your industry.
For example, a car dealership might include the following keywords:
Sedan
4-door
2-door, pickup
Truck
SUV
By utilizing the right keywords, you can show up more frequently, and higher in the results, when searched.
You should also consider creating a blog section on your website. This can help target additional keywords and keyword phrases. A blog isn’t always necessary, but it can only help increase the traffic to your website.
If you have no experience with SEO optimization, there are plenty of free resources for you. You can also consider hiring a professional. If you choose that route, factor in the potential ROI you’ll receive based on that investment.
Utilize White Space
People spend a lot of time talking about words and images when it comes to designing a website. However, white space is your friend.
Take a second to scan this article. You’ll notice that the paragraphs are short, there is plenty of white space, and it’s easy to scroll through while you read.
Why is that important?
Your website is easily scanned by the reader
Your customers aren’t lost in massive paragraphs
Your copy is easier to read
There is also a second way to utilize the page and text to your advantage. As I did, you can bold sections or sentences that you want your readers to remember or focus on.
Bolding is great for text that involves tips and tricks, pricing, and keyword phrases.
Subtle Colors And Graphics
If you compare websites from the 1990s and today, you’ll notice stark differences. Website design has come a long way since then. Don’t turn away customers by making mistakes with your website design.
Be subtle with your website. You want to stand out to your customers, but bold background colors, crazy fonts, and flashing images aren’t the way to do it. They’ll exit the webpage before they can even find out what you’re offering.
To design an appealing website, you want:
Neutral background colors (white or a close variant)
Sans serif font (Arial is the most common choice)
Black font (Avoid any colors. Bold or italicize for emphasis if needed)
Limited use of graphics or images
No flashing images or graphics
It’s easy to go overboard with the design aspect of a website. Do your best to not fall for the trap. Remember, your customers are there for information about your product, or a solution to a problem. You want to avoid distracting them from that.
Build Backlinks
This last tip is more of a long-term tip than an immediate one. Backlinks are the best way to add credibility to your website as an authoritative voice in your industry. However, this process is difficult at the beginning.
The goal of building backlinks is to get your website or individual web page linked from other websites with a high authority score according to Google.
Some agencies offer this service for a fee. While some are credible and great at their job, you do run the risk of seeing little to no ROI from paying them.
There are a few free ways though.
First, you can check out a website known as Help A Reporter Out. Essentially, reporters will post asking for an expert to answer a question for them. In turn, when they quote you, they generally include a link to your website.
Second, you can tap into your network. Much like HARO, maybe you know someone who operates a website that requires your insight. Or, you can ask for a favor and see if they can offer you a backlink.
Over time, backlinks help your website grow, but they are hardly needed when you first start.
Final Thoughts On 5 Tips For Designing Your Business Website
Driving traffic online isn’t easy. However, with a good website, and a little luck, you can grow your customer base exponentially over time.
Tapping into a new market can feel scary, but it’ll pay dividends in the long run. Keep in mind these five tips for designing your business website when it comes time to build yours.
By starting work on your website today, you’ll see the dividends of your actions pay off sooner rather than later.
