As a small or medium-sized business owner, you are probably aware of the importance of a website for your business. Chances are you are even aware of the critical aspects of your site. For instance, you know that it should not only look good but also be well optimized to help increase your visibility during searches. It should quickly load whenever anyone is using it. It should have a mobile-friendly design since most customers will be using a mobile device of some sort to look you up. It should include tools to make online selling a walk in the park for you and your customers. However, if you are not in the website design business, creating a site which suits all the mentioned criteria can be quite stressful for you. That is why this article highlights all the must-have aspects of an excellent small business website and also the options you have to make them a reality.
General Website Design
One essential element of an excellent small business site is its design. It should be compatible with all types of devices especially smartphones as this is where most online searches take place. In fact, Google is now in the process of launching one of the first mobile indexes which will rank sites that are optimized for mobile users higher in the search results. For you to create such a website, you have three options.
Your best bet is to hire a well-equipped website designer to do it for you. You can either use a website builder which provides you with an array of mobile-friendly templates to choose from or shop online for a ready mobile optimized template which you then customize to suit your needs.
If you use the last two options, remember that there are specific must-have pages and sections such as the goods and services you offer, about us section, contact and also a homepage because customers expect them to be present on every business site regardless of what you do. Ensure that your templates have these sections that can easily be customized to suit your business.
Multimedia Elements
Nowadays, smartphone users prefer browsing images or watching videos to loads of text on their screens. That is why well optimized, tagged and formatted pictures and videos can help you rank higher and get more potential clients visiting your site. For instance, a custom favicon not only helps with branding but also comes handy for frequent customers as they can use it as a bookmark or toolbar so they can have an easy time navigating your site.
Other ways to incorporate media elements to your site is by using downloadable tools and WordPress plugins. These tools help you in image optimization, HD video embedding and more. If you opt for a website builder, then these tools are already pre-built and ready to use.
Increase Your Visibility and Track Your Performance
Besides being mobile friendly and having high-quality images, there are other elements you need to incorporate to increase your visibility. There are specific SEO practices which your site should follow such as using the right keywords to drive local and potential clients to your site.
Now how do you know that your SEO strategy is working? Well, you don’t need magical powers for that because Google analytics got your back. It helps keep track of the performance of your social media campaigns, posts, and keyword results. To check how the other elements of your website are doing, use resources like Google analytics academy to help you track their performance one by one. WordPress plugins come in handy as they help you with SEO and analytics or even better use a website builder as it has all those tools hence saving you time.
Social Media Tools
Social media offers a well-leveled platform to reach prospective clientele, establish your professional proficiency or even pitch your product. However, managing your social media posts, offers, deals, and comments can be quite overwhelming. Most small business owners who start their social media campaigns motivated and ambitious end up getting tired. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that hard as there are plenty of tools to help you out.
For instance, if you can afford it, hire a social media manager who will be handling anything that is related to social media for you. A more affordable option is using tools such as Hootsuite which post your content on your social media platforms at specific times, but you’ll still be the one to load the links into your schedule so they can be automatically uploaded. Again, the simplest option is a website builder which provides you with the relevant tools to handle your social media channels for you. It will not only make it easy for you but also your visitors. They can now follow, share and even buy your goods and services quickly while on Facebook or other sites.
E-commerce Tools
One of the primary reasons why most online retailers have websites is because of e-commerce tools. These include a shopping cart, inventory tracking system, payment tools such as PayPal, online store and a strategy to run promos using coupon codes. For these tools, you have the option of adding them one by one or use the e-commerce tools suite to quickly put them in place and get one of the best well-optimized website around.