If you’ve already made some sales, or have an existing readership, then you may have data about your website’s current audience. If you’re trying to drum up customers for your business, consider getting testimonials from other customers, and being clear about the service your business provides. YouTube, 355 Lexington Avenue, 18th Floor At Tech.co, we’ve spoken to experts in website design to help answer this question, and give you the best chance of success with your own website. Talk to family and friends about your site, and its competitors, and the impressions they give. Select the newsletters you’re interested in below. This way, it will be displayed no matter which page a visitor lands on. Hi Jorg, Thanks for the comment! Get more delivered to your inbox just like it. For example, a company that sells expensive software may use a demo rather than a “Buy Now” CTA, as site visitors aren’t likely ready to buy, but are interested in learning more about the service. Clean and fresh design of your website not only makes the website appealing but also help the user to navigate from one page to another seamlessly. This article is part of a larger series on Small Business Websites. We Instead of You. It’s also worth keeping an eye on general web design trends. No, this doesn’t literally mean that if your target audience is largely comprised of English-speakers that your site needs to be in English (hopefully that was evident). While a bad website will have a confusing page structure, with a cluttered layout and low quality information, the essential elements of a good website are harder to spot and isolate. See if you can reach every page of your site in a text only browser, such as Lynx. However, many businesses still fail to create a logical site structure and navigation. For example, scrolling textures and ‘flat’ elements are great design styles to keep your website looking fresh in 2021, as well as making it easier to use. A good website has great content, is regularly updated, intuitive, easy to use, and, ideally, has a good visitor-customer conversion rate. Again, users and purpose are at the forefront of any copy you craft for your site. Websites that are completely void of any sense of the people running the business may struggle to gain new customers. According to a study, 51% of consumers are more likely to stay with or buy again from a company if they offer live chat support. You betcha.You see, visuals affect everything fr… A website is designed to serve a purpose, usually to solve a problem. Yes.Does website design still matter a whole heck of a lot? From email marketing integrations such as Mailchimp to shipment tracking integration from FedEx, there’s likely a tool that will help you and your customers. Use the language your audience expects of you based on your industry (and your brand), but keep it concise. Navigation is just one of the many facets of what makes a good website and a good user experience. Yup.Am I going to tell you what you should do to make your site look great? If you're looking to build your own website, you'll need the right tool for the job. Contact forms are great. However, don’t let that fool you into assuming your website looks good on all device types. !function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0],d=/^http:/.test(e.location)? For additional reading, check out our blog post about Finding Your Voice. ORIGINAL CONTENT:. Fit Small Business content and reviews are editorially independent. Before joining the team, she worked as an analyst at firms like Lincoln Financial Group. Free tools only take you so far. Start off with good old common sense. Every website should include a call to action (or CTA), and yet 70% of small business business-to-business (B2B) websites fail to have a CTA. Without income, you continually need to bring in new business. Earn the Trust of Your Audience. Why? Break those audiences into different groups or buckets, and consider using those as your menu, and lead people through your content. Check out our website builder comparison table for our expert ratings. In return, businesses better serve their audience, increase leads, and more effectively convert visitors. The edges of a space are important as well: For instance, a row of shops along a street is more interesting and generally safer to walk by than a blank wall or empty lot. So, a lot of it is common sense and for the items that are not common sense, … With every decision you make, you should ask yourself – is this going to help users buy my products? The best websites effectively showcase their value proposition right away; they immediately let you know why they’re different or why you should choose them. Is price more or less important to them than ingredients? People are navigating to your site with questions. 1. Blog posts aside, the more you write on your web pages, the less that will be read. The Verge, on the other hand, sticks to sans-serif fonts throughout. If all of the above sounds complicated and intimidating, it shouldn’t. Here are some essential must haves to make your shop a success. As soon as the page loads, you’re greeted with a route selector. It may also be to register for a demo or to make a purchase.