9 Ways to Improve Your Small Business Website
Even if you’re an established small business, it’s important to keep your website up-to-date. A good website can help you attract more customers and establish yourself as an industry leader. Here are top tips for improving your small business website:
#1. Make it mobile-friendly
As a business owner, you’re responsible for the success of your company. And one way to make sure you have a thriving business is by making your website user-friendly.
If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, that means it can be almost impossible to use on small screens like smartphones and tablets. As more people are using their phones to browse the web than ever before, this is an issue you don’t want to ignore.
Make sure that your site loads quickly and easily on all devices so customers can get what they need when they’re away from their desktop computer and still be able to contact or buy from you regardless of where they are.
#2. Make it easy to navigate
A second way to improve your website is by making it easy to navigate. People want to get the information they need quickly, and a good navigation system can help them find what they’re looking for more quickly than ever.
There are many ways you can make sure your site is easy to navigate, including:
- Using breadcrumbs—elements that show where the user currently is in relation to the whole site (such as “Home” or “About Us”), which makes it easier for users who aren’t familiar with your organization’s structure (or who don’t remember). Breadcrumbs help visitors get back on track if they go off course while browsing through your pages.
- Using a sitemap—a document that shows all of the pages within a website, along with links between each page pair and sometimes an overview of how those pages fit into the overall site architecture; makes it much easier for visitors who may not be aware of every page’s existence or how they’re related conceptually. A well-designed sitemap will also allow people using screen readers (devices used by those with disabilities that read text aloud) access more easily than if those same users tried navigating blind without such tools at hand.”
#3. Make it easy for customers to contact you
- Make it easy for customers to contact you.
- Include an email address, phone number, and social media links.
- If possible, offer a chat option so that customers can get in touch with you immediately and receive assistance faster.
#4. Use the right images
Images are an integral part of your website, and they can help you capture visitors’ attention. But not all images are equally effective at drawing attention: Use photos that are relevant to your products and services, and make sure they’re high-resolution so they look sharp on every device. Make sure your photos are clear, easy to understand (and not too small). And for goodness’ sake, avoid stock photos!
#5. Streamline your checkout process
- Make sure your checkout process is easy to follow. If you have a long and complicated checkout process, it’s going to deter customers from buying from you.
- Make sure all the information they need is available on your website. You shouldn’t make them do any extra work that could be avoided by including it in the first place.
- Ensure your customer has a secure experience when using online payments—the last thing you want is for someone to have their credit card information stolen!
- Keep the time between purchasing something and being able to download or access it short; if anything takes longer than two minutes, chances are people will give up and go elsewhere (and there’s nothing worse than having buyers lose interest).
#6. Ask for the feedback
The best way to improve your small business website is to get feedback. Asking for the opinions of others will help you find any weak points in your site, so you can make improvements. The easiest way to ask for feedback is by creating a survey that asks customers their opinions on products, services, and more. You can also ask questions about specific aspects of your website such as design or ease of use.
If possible, encourage customers to leave their contact information before they submit their responses so you have an opportunity to follow up with them after they’ve given their feedback—this way you’ll know what worked (and what didn’t).
While it may seem intimidating at first thought, don’t be afraid of negative feedback either! It’s important that your company learns from its mistakes—even if those mistakes happen online. If a customer leaves negative comments about various aspects of your website (like usability), reading through these comments could lead to some great ideas for improving certain areas in the future!
#7. Include a blog
A blog is one of the best ways to get your message out there and keep it front-of-mind for your customers. Blog posts can be used to promote your business, products, services, expertise in a particular field, and other businesses. You can post original content or repurpose existing blog posts from other sources that are relevant to your business.
#8. Optimize your website for SEO (search engine optimization)
You want your website to be easy to find on search engines, so you can attract more customers.
To improve your small business website’s SEO, use relevant keywords that customers search for in the title and description of your website. Also include them in the content of your site: headlines, headings, and subheadings, as well as paragraphs and other text blocks. Use relevant keywords in meta tags (the HTML code behind each page) if possible; this is not always possible if you’re using an off-the-shelf template or platform for building a website.
Finally, it’s important to use relevant keywords in file names for images used on the site—for example “wedding_party_decorations” instead of “sunset_bay_photo”—to help users find what they’re looking for!
#9. Incorporate interactive content
Incorporate interactive content. A well-designed, interactive and visually pleasing website is an essential piece of your small business’s marketing strategy. In fact, it may be one of the only ways you can compete with larger businesses in terms of an online presence. Contact us for Web development services.
While Google rewards websites that are responsive to mobile devices and have a simple design, they also reward those that engage their visitors with interesting content. That can be achieved by incorporating interactive content into your website such as:
- Blogs
- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Contact forms or surveys
Conclusion
With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to improving your small business website. If you follow these rules and make sure your site is mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, and has an easy checkout process, then you’re already ahead of most other businesses out there. But don’t forget that there are plenty more ways to improve your website—and we hope this list will inspire you!