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Website design and development can be overwhelming for any business owner. There are so many options, features and so-called experts telling you what to do and charging you an arm and leg to listen to them. While it’s tempting to not have a website or just leave your current website as is, your website is the key to differentiating your business and standing out online.
Here are the top five things small businesses need to know about website and development and what you should keep in mind when you are redesigning and developing your website.
1. Know what you want your website to achieve
What do you want your visitors to do when they reach your website? Will they purchase something on the site or will they have to come into your establishment? Do you use a blog for content marketing purposes that you want people to read? Do you want someone to contact you for an appointment? Your website is a branding tool but it should also help your business goals. Figure out what those are and remember them at every point during your redesign and development.
2. Your users are coming from multiple devices
We’ve already talked about the importance of mobile responsiveness here, here and here so we won’t touch on it again but remember to take this into consideration as you prepare for your design and development.
3. People will need to find you
Search engine optimization must play a key role in website development. This goes beyond using keywords and can get very complex but a good web developer will work this into your development and understand how. All you need to know are the types of keywords that relate to your business and product.
4. Design is important but it shouldn’t ruin the site or look nothing like your business
Again, we talked about the importance of a pretty website before but it should be reiterated that your site should look professional. If you DIY your site or hire your neighbor’s nephew’s friend who “can kind of design a website,” your site will probably not attract the customers you would like and even if it does, they probably won’t stay on the site for very long. Similar to dressing up and cleaning up to make a good first impression, your site needs to do the same. You should also make sure it falls in line with the branding of your business. It’s an extension of your brick and mortar store and should have similar branding.
5. Your website will need to be managed
Even after the excitement of an initial development, you or someone on your team or an agency will need to continue to check up on your website to make sure it’s running properly and has correct information. Find out more about website maintenance here.
Your website design and development will go smoothly and successfully if you know what you want or at least have an idea of what you need. If you’re interested in how J. Louis can help you create a beautiful website for you, take a look at our portfolio of web design and contact us to learn more!
