Planning to launch a new small business website? There’s a lot to consider when designing a small business website. Have you thought about how its design may affect its visibility on Google or how people perceive your business?

Gone are the days when a free DIY site or Facebook page could do the job for you.

The competition is tighter now, with 71% of small businesses already operating a website. Your site has to stand out amidst the sea of competitors. Get started the right way with these 5 top tips to create a good small business website:

1 On-Site SEO is a Must

First and foremost, make Search Engine Optimisation a priority for everything you do on your site. Whether it’s designing how the site looks or the content you post on the pages and blog, SEO should be a part of the design philosophy.

With that said, focus first on on-site SEO. This means working on a functional schema markup and optimizing elements like title tags and meta descriptions to help Google’s crawlers index every portion of your pages.

1 a. Performance Matters

Performance and security are also critical for SEO, but cheap hosting services aren’t built for that. Their servers are often shared by dozens or even hundreds of sites, each of which could impact yours if it gets busy or compromised. So you’ll need to consider things like server speed, caching, code optimisation, content delivery networks (CDNs), SSL certificates and regular website maintenance. Or you could just use a specialist small business web hosting service like mine.

Most small businesses should also focus more on local SEO to start with, rather than national SEO. It’s easier to gain traction in niche markets like local services. You can achieve even more with cost-effective digital marketing help from a local SEO expert.

2 Be Mobile-Friendly

Since Apple revealed the first iPhone back in 2007, accessing the Internet has never been the same. Now, over 52.2% of all web pages are served to mobile devices.

More people now browse the Internet on a phone than on a desktop computer. So, Google’s algorithms now prioritize mobile-friendly sites.

This means your site should focus first on the mobile crowd. Maintain a responsive, mobile website design, prioritize fast loading times, and ensure the design caters to the limited interaction presented by touchscreens.

3 Have a Clear CTA

Always have a clear Call to Action (CTA) on your site and ensure your Contact details and social media channels are easy to find. Similarly, if you run a newsletter, make it easy for visitors to subscribe. It sounds obvious, but many sites forget to do this.

Are you running an e-commerce site, with a gallery or brochure of items for sale? Make it easy to add those items to their shopping cart — and to access their cart at any time or alter the items they have in it.

4 Maintain an Updated Blog

Content is king. This remains true even in today’s fast-moving world. Google loves sites that stay fresh with new content, so having a blog is great for SEO, but the benefits don’t stop there. Others include:

  • Short, time-sensitive content is easier to write
  • Customers can look forward to regular updates, so repeat visits are more likely
  • The option to write content and set it to publish on a regular schedule

You can also use new blog posts to discuss the products or services you offer. This not only advertises your business but it also educates your customers.

5 Invest in Small Business Website Design

DIY web design has hidden costs for businesses. Customers can tell when you’re cutting costs by cutting corners, and it won’t impress them. So, don’t undervalue your own time, or imagine that DIY web design will let you create an effective business website in only a few hours. You’ll be up against competitors who invest in professional web design and content creation (aka content marketing) specifically to stay ahead of those who don’t.

“Design” isn’t all about looks, either. You wouldn’t expect an artist to be an architect. So don’t expect them to be web designers, either. Whilst artists can create pretty stuff that can improve sales, no one chooses which website to visit based on how good it looks. Similarly, print designers are used to layouts that can never change after publication, with very little feedback.

By comparison, web pages have to adapt to many display sizes and provide lots of feedback on what works and what doesn’t. So professional web designers study best practices like responsive design and conversion rate optimisation, based on lots of stats they see across dozens of websites.

That’s why my affordable small business website design packages are built not just for looks but for performance and flexibility, too.

Conclusion: Need More Small Business Website Help?

Following these small business website design tips can help your site rise above your competition by attracting more traffic, boosting conversion rates and improving lead generation. Still, if you’re not sure where to start, I offer a wide range of small business website design and marketing services, so please get in touch!

Planning a new website or redesign?