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For a small business, having a strong online presence and a website is one of the powerful tools to level the playing field against their big competitors. However, building an effective website with limited resources and on a budget can be a little tricky. Being strategic and understanding your priorities can help you achieve quality and build a professional and engaging website without breaking the bank. Here are some essential design tips and ideas that can be quite useful in building website design for small business.
- Strategize, prioritise and define your goals and vision
A common mistake most small businesses make when building their website is trying to kill multiple birds with one stone. Having many goals and trying to do too much in the first iteration can clutter your website and distract you from building a clean robust website design. Decide a primary goal for your website – sales, lead generation, customer engagement or brand recognition. Get on to the drawing board and build a clean user-friendly layout with functional elements while keeping up with your brand image and budget constraints. - Focus on building a mobile-friendly design
In the era of smartphones and on-person devices, most of the targeted users will be interacting with your website on a mobile device. Focus on creating a user-friendly and performant website that can work well across various mobile platforms and devices to offer a consistent user experience. Using responsive templates can save you money and improve turnaround time while making sure that your website is keeping up on the technical front. You can also try a mobile friendly test to see how your website performs. - Use high-quality content, stock images and graphics
The visual appeal of your website is among the few important things that your audience would pay attention to. This not only contributes to the user experience, but also creates a sense of engagement that makes them stay longer on the website. While hiring a professional photographer or building a dedicated design team can be expensive, using high-quality stock images isn’t. You can choose from a wide range of free or affordable content that you use on your website to enhance its visual appeal and give your brand a professional look. - Do not compromise on speed and performance
A poor-performing website can be bad for your business in numerous ways. Low performance would hamper user experience, low SEO ranking for your website and most importantly affect your brand image. So, when designing your website use content, media, images and layout that is high performant, easy to navigate and quick to load. Compressing your graphics, using lightweight design frameworks and reliable and affordable hosting services can be a great asset for your business. - Consider working with freelancers and taking up DIY projects
When you are trying to save money and build up your small business, you have to use what’s available to you. Working with freelancers and using free tools like Canva for content creation can be a great win. This would not just help you build a new skill that can help your business but also give you a little more control on what you create. Moreover, you can work with professional marketing agencies like Online Impact 360 which offers a wide range of affordable solutions for different businesses. Working with a team of professionals who understand the domain and have the right skills can be cost-effective and contribute towards building a consistent brand persona. - Use call-to-action elements to your advantage
Building a website can sometimes feel overwhelming as there are a plethora of things to work on. While you are focused on building the key elements of your service offerings and customer deliverables, you might miss out on some lead conversion elements. Though, you shouldn’t be overloading the users with too many components, adding a clean “Call to Action” segment is important. This can be as signup forms, contact information or a simple email-us button. Make sure to add them on the top or bottom of your web pages, encouraging users to engage with your business.
As you build your business and website, you will come across new challenges and learnings. You will find new ways and understand what your audience expects from your business. These tips can be a great starting point and set you on the path of success and to establish a strong foundation.
