Every reputable business needs a website these days, as it allows potential clients or customers to discover more about the company, see some testimonials, find out contact details, and learn what they are about.
It also enables the business to give a good first impression through responsive design, sleek graphics and easy navigation tools.
By making it look and work as effectively as possible, they have a better chance of attracting more visitors and improving retention, which has a good chance of leading to more requests for information and, ultimately, sales.
However, designing – and maintaining – a good website requires a lot of thought and skill, so it is worth doing your research first.
Modern, exciting design
When creating a website, the first thing to think about is its design. You need something that looks professional, with the colour, branding, font and imagery to reflect your business.
Although there are platforms that enable you to design the site yourself, it could be worth investing in a graphic designer for the job. This will instantly make the pages look sleeker and more attractive, which, in turn, makes the company look more professional and reputable.
Website content
It is not just how the website looks that is important, but its content too. You need to ensure you have landing pages on who you are, the services you provide, your members of staff, and a contact page.
A testimonials page with quotes from previous clients or customers would also help boost your credibility, while a news or blog page will encourage readers who have landed on your website because of an article they are interested in to look around the website, including your services.
Regularly posting relevant and interesting content on the website will also help boost your search engine rankings, making it easier for people to discover your page, and subsequently, your business.
Do you know how to edit your website?
If you need to alter information on your site, such as new deals for the season, different contact numbers, or fresh members of staff, would you know how to do this?
It is essential to keep the site updated whenever there are changes to the business, as clients and customers will, otherwise, not know about them.
Although many businesses put updates on their social media pages these days, it is important to remember that not everyone uses Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to look them up.
Therefore, the same information needs to be added to the website as well, otherwise it could look unprofessional.
What if something goes wrong with the website?
Having a website involves more than just design and content, as you need to know about web hosting too.
This includes storing and maintaining website files and apps on a server so it can be found on the internet. It also incorporates offline content, website security, moving domains, and making sure the site is always accessible, even when there are problems with the server.
Running a business makes for a busy enough schedule, which is why most people do not have time to devote to web hosting too.
Making it mobile-friendly
These days, most people access websites on their phones, as well as their computer, which is why they have to be mobile-friendly. Indeed, more than half (55 per cent) of website traffic is from phones, with 92.3 per cent of internet users going online through their mobiles.
While there are ways to make it easier to navigate and read on your handheld device, such as simple design, large font sizes, and avoiding text-blocking ads, you will need a professional to make the website responsive.
Due to the huge number of people who access websites through their phones, failure to make your website mobile-friendly could be detrimental to your business.
