5 Website Design Best Practices for Small Businesses

Setting the Stage

First impressions are important, but on average you've only got 3.5 seconds to make one.

When a potential customer visits your website, you have a very small amount of time to make a good impression.

You have even less time to persuade them to stay on your site.

An effective website is essential for any business looking to make a lasting first impression.

A well-designed site will help you stand out from your competition, and build trust with your customers.  

It'll also help you generate more leads and make more sales. Lke it did for one of our clients who increased new business by 30%

To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of 5 website design best practices for small businesses.

Offer value to your visitors

Creating a unique and useful website is the key to offering value to your visitors.

It's important to provide useful information and resources on your website.

Things that will benefit your visitors, like product details, pricing information, and reviews.

When visitors can easily find the info they need, they're more likely to stay and more likely to convert.

You should make sure your website is easy to use on every device.

The navigation should be intuitive and the design should be clean and organized.

Pay attention to the loading speed of your website and ensure it is as fast as possible. If your website takes too long to load, visitors are likely to leave without knowing what you have to offer them.

It doesn't have to be complicated! See why simple web design is usually the best choice for small businesses.‍

Make it responsive

Businesses need to make sure their website is responsive.

It should be optimized to look good on any device, whether it be a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. More and more people are accessing the internet from mobile devices.

Having a responsive website means visitors have the same good experience whether they are using their laptop or phone.

• That means not making them pinch and zoom to view the content.
• It should also mean designing the website so that the content re-flows for different devices, as the screen size changes.
• To make sure your website is responsive, check it across different devices and see how it looks.
  

Responsive design is especially important for small businesses because it helps create that lasting first impression.

Good first impressions increase the chances of potential customers becoming paying customers.

Use easy-to-navigate menus

Having user-friendly navigation menus on your website is an important part of having a good user experience.

Once users land on your website, the menu is one of the first things they’ll see.  It is also the way they’ll navigate through the pages.

Remember to keep your menus simple, easy to understand, and easy to navigate.

Your menu should be organized in a hierarchical structure. It'll help users find the right pages quickly.

• You can also use drop-down menus and secondary menus so users can quickly find the information they need.
• Don’t forget to include a search bar as part of your menu (if you have a lot of content on your site). This will allow users to quickly search for specific pages or topics.
  

Optimize for Search Engines

Having a website is one thing, but you need to make sure it's optimized for search engines like Google.

Search engine optimization is key to improving your website’s rankings in the natural search results.

Good SEO increases your website’s visibility and improves traffic to your site.

There are several steps you can take to optimize your website for SEO.

• First, make sure your website has a relevant, keyword rich, and engaging title tag and description.
• You can also include keywords throughout your content.
• Use the right image size and format to optimize your images for search engines.
• Use effective heading tags throughout your website.
• Include internal and external links,
• Use keyword-rich anchor texts,
• Create an XML sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console.

Semrush has a great beginners guide to SEO if you're looking for something more in depth.‍

Have a consistent call to action on your website

Including calls to action (CTAs) ensures visitors get the message you're putting out.

You need to direct visitors to take the desired action, whether it's picking up the phone to call you or signing up for your email newsletter.

CTAs should be easily identifiable on your website.

They should be written in language that is direct, to the point, and persuasive.

You can also incorporate a short phrase, such as "Learn More" or "Sign Up," along with a short description of the action you want the user to take.

Include a button and design it to be attention-grabbing.

Place the CTA buttons in prominent areas where visitors will easily notice them. The homepage and the navigation menu are always good bets!

Finally, to get the best conversion rate, use analytics tools to track how visitors interact with your CTAs.

How long do they stay on the page and how often are the CTAs clicked?

This will help you make sure the right messages are getting through to your visitors.

To dive in further we've also outlined some ways to build your online presence beyond your website.

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Wrapping It Up

Once you have your website up and running, it's important to make sure you keep it running smoothly.

• Make sure you backup your website regularly and keep the backups updated. This will help you quickly restore the site in case of a crash.
• Check for broken links on the website and make sure it's accessible across different devices and browsers.
• Check for any security vulnerabilities. Hackers can use these vulnerabilities to hack into the website and gain access to sensitive customer data.
• Install security measures such as an SSL certificate and keep it updated.
• You should also review the privacy policies regularly and make sure they comply with any new laws or regulations.

By following these steps, you will ensure your website is secure and up and running smoothly.

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You can dive into a wealth of more than 25 resources, checklists and step-by-step instructions in our guide on how to implement simple systems that grow your business.

Ready to take your online presence to the next level? At Fortuna Design Co, we specialize in making it stunningly simple to grow your business online. Contact us today to discuss how our expert services can transform your website into a powerful tool for growth.