Whether you build your own or hire someone to design your small business website you need to consider these seven needs. Unless you need an extensive shopping cart or have several items that need to be in an online shopping catalog, two things you don’t need is to spend several thousands of dollars or hire a fancy web designer. There are many affordable, low cost, quality, options, but that’s a topic for another post.
The first and most important thing a website needs is a way to capture your visitor’s information. I use Aweber. This is important so that you can build a relationship with your visitors then when they need your service or product or talk with someone who needs them you will still be fresh in there mind. If you don’t do this, you website is equivalent to a business card that is either tossed or ends up in the bottom of a drawer or pile and is forgotten.
When you design your small business website, you also need to provide your future customers with something of value to them. That will vary depending on your business. This can be done via blog posts, reports, ebooks etc.
Third you want to engage your visitors. One way this can be done is combining one and two by offering them something that they’d be willing to give you contact information to get. The action of them putting down their info is a time investment and an interaction with you. You can also have contests requiring a post, ask questions to encourage interaction, invite them ask questions, set up a forum, etc.?
There is debate about how much SEO help, but I feel every little bit helps. SEO stands for “search engine optimization” In simple terms think about what search terms you would use if you were looking for what your business has to offer. You want to use these terms on your site so that the search engines will find them. It’s a little more complicated than that but you can find out more about it when sign-up for my newsletter. If you have someone else build your site make sure they understand SEO and will incorporate it into you site.
With more and more people using their smart phones to search The Net, while on the go, having a site with mobile capabilities is something you may want to consider. Depending on your business and your clientele this may or may not be a high priority, but it’s something you should be aware of and consider.
Generally speaking your site needs to be updated regularly as search engines don’t like stagnant sites. So, how do you keep your site current? One of the easiest ways is with a blog, provided you post regularly. This can also help with tips 2-3 above.
Lastly you want a way to measure what’s happening on your site so you know which things are worth the effort. Many people including myself use Google Analytics. This will show you how many visitors you have, how long they stay on a page, what search terms get you more traffic and a whole lot more.
So there you have it, seven things your small business website needs. Whether you build it yourself or have someone design it for you, these are things you should ask about our incorporate. Capturing visitors information, a way to provide quality content, engage your future costumers, SEO, mobile friendly, updated regularly and analytics to measure activity. I provide this information, so that if you have no money you can DIY it, but in reality you should focus on your business and pay someone else to do the majority or all
