Our Top 4 Things We Wish All Small Businesses Knew About Websites

I.??Your Website is Your First Impression

Let’s clear the air: If you don’t have a website, get one. Period. But having a website doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax. In our experience, a lot of the websites that exist for small businesses are outdated and in desperate need of an update. Improving your website is not something you should put off, as it acts as a hub of nearly all sales funnel activities:

• Awareness: Not having a website is the equivalent of not listing your phone number in a phone book (when phone books were a thing). If your customers can’t find you, does your business even exist at all?
• Consideration: Your website could appear right when customers need to see it the most. When they’re in the middle of searching for information, product alternatives, or services that match their needs, your healthy website should appear right then and there.
• Purchase: It is possible for the path to purchase after a website click to be quick and seamless if your website is built for driving that sale.

In many cases, your website is the first interaction your potential client or consumer will have with your brand, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t invest in making it great.

Websites should act as one of your best salespeople – always on the clock and always knowing exactly what they should say.

Some important elements to consider when building a top-notch site include load time, readability, image clarity and accessibility, colors, structure, web page hierarchy, headers and footers, content optimization, keyword relevancy, and so much more. Actually, that list only scratched the surface of what you should consider. We never said building a great website was going to be easy! (Don’t worry – we’re here to help).

II.?Be Authentic

In addition to all the previously mentioned reasons why you should absolutely have a good website, your website is also an opportunity to humanize your business. Remember, people want to work with people they like. If you bring in your personal values, what makes you unique, and feature the team members that make your business great, you’re already 75% of the way there to developing a relationship with your prospective client.

An important note here is that consumers and potential clients can sense inauthenticity from a mile away. False promises, forced content, or off-brand values take away from that first impression you’re trying to cultivate. Templates can be an easy way to fall into this inauthenticity trap. There’s nothing more unremarkable than content that looks like it was copied and pasted from the website next door.

Don’t be template-tied. Be brand-forward.?

The good news is that good, authentic content will flow naturally, especially if you’ve built your brand up to be something you’re proud of. Harness that power, and let the content speak for itself.?

III.?Be Mobile-Friendly

Is your website mobile-friendly? Have you ever checked? Now is the time to make sure you have a mobile-friendly site for customers. Not only is it important to have a functional, impressive website wherever your customers choose to interact with it, but it is also becoming more important to search engine rankings. Google’s latest prioritization of user experience in how it ranks the websites it displays on its search engine results pages (SERPs, for short) includes measuring how mobile-friendly a website is. That means if your website is not mobile-friendly, you’re docking your user experience “score” and the ranking of your website will lower as a result.

If you are already mobile-friendly, consider becoming mobile-first. According to Statista, mobile devices generated more than 50% of global website traffic in the first quarter of 2021. Those numbers are too dangerous to ignore.

IV. Invest in High Quality

Good websites don’t have to be expensive, but they do take time and careful attention. Websites are one of the most important (and most complex) pieces of marketing that a business can have. The consequences of bad design, structure, or content can be mean a lack of trust—what relationship can be built without trust?

First focus on high quality. Then, focus on generating a constant stream of high-quality content to update and enhance your website. After that, make sure you’re measuring the right metrics to understand how your website is performing. Know what your users want from their virtual experience, and what will keep them coming back.

Most importantly, get help if you need it. A good website will repay itself over and over again if it’s done correctly.??