For small businesses just starting out, a website is a critical part of how they acquire new customers and sales. Creating an effective website is a balance of art and a science. With so many factors involved, it can be a challenging process, especially for small businesses that don’t have a lot of manpower. Here are some top mistakes that small businesses make – ask yourself if you’re making them too!
No clear calls-to-action
Calls-to-action (or CTAs) are the elements of a website that drive a user to do something. Often this is a conversion, such as making a sale, filling out an enquiry form or calling a designated phone number to book an appointment. Website traffic is important, but ultimately useless if your call-to-actions do not convert visitors into customers. When creating a CTA, make sure that it is concise and tells users exactly what to do. Use copy to create a sense of urgency such as “limited time only” or “buy now to receive a discount”.
Poor (or no) content
Content is a critical factor of any website – sadly, often small businesses struggle to get it right. Remember that it’s not about how much content you have, but what your content contains. Users do not read unless it is absolutely necessary, rather they prefer to can through content quickly to get to the main points. It’s important to create a hierarchy of your website content, using design elements such as whitespace to guide visitors to the most important parts.
Difficult navigation
Many small businesses forget to pay attention to how users navigate their site. Visitors come to your website for certain information – if it is difficult to find, they will go to another website (possibly your competitors). A good navigation should be seamless and easy to find and understand. Use icons to aid navigation and create logical groups of links with the most important links on the top-level of your navigation bar.
Websites can be a challenge to get right. Remember, that if your website isn’t creating sales or customers, you’re probably losing out on a great opportunity. Magicdust small business web design. With over 4,000 small business clients you can be sure that you’re working with a quality website provider. Call them today of 1300 309 379 for a free quote.
