Tips to Improve Small Business Website Design

Coming up with a small business website design that is fully functional is easier said than done. Website design is more than pretty colors, interesting elements, and unique fonts. Your website is a direct representation of your brand and as far as you know, might be the first contact a potential customer will have with your company.

If visitors aren’t impressed within the first few seconds, you will lose them to a better website. That leads to many small business owners to ask themselves: how do I improve my website’s design? Below are some easy website design tips for small business owners.

1. Use images in a smart way:

Adding images is a great way to make your website more appealing and deliver your message with high-quality visual design. And there are so many websites out there you can use to get high quality, copyright-free pictures like Icons8 Photos, Pixabay, Unsplash, and Stocksnap.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

 

• Make sure the images are informative: Just because images make your website look nice, it does not mean they should be purely decorative.

 

 

• Avoid low-quality images: Low-quality images leave a bad impression. So make sure each image you pick is high-quality. And if it is too large, you can always compress it.

 

 

• Make sure images are relevant: Make sure the images are relevant to your brand and marketing objectives. You don’t want them to contradict those two things.

 

2. Improving loading times:

Experts estimate that it takes between 7 and 9 seconds in order to persuade a client to stay. On the other hand, it takes only around 3 seconds for a visitor to wait for a website to load, before abandoning it for a faster alternative. Even if your visitor sticks around for the page to load, they will eventually get frustrated by a slow and unresponsive page and leave anyways. Decreasing loading times is as simple as reducing the number of unnecessary elements, complex animations, as well as the number of plugins you use.

One of the main complaint visitors have for business websites is the fact that business owners often focus only on the Home page and completely neglect how the rest of the site looks and behaves. Instead of focusing on a single page, you might want to try to make every page into a landing page. All pages should be viewed as an opportunity to nudge people towards completing a purchase, regardless of their position in the sales cycle.

3. Use appropriate typography

While the meaning of the text is essential, so is the visual appearance of it. Your choice of fonts, font sizes, text color, and other text attributes significantly affect how others see your brand. In short, typography is one of the critical elements of your brand image.

Here are several things you should keep in mind when formatting text on your small business website:

 

• Use web-safe fonts: These fonts (such as Helvetica or Ariel) can be viewed on the majority of devices. In contrast, if you go with the custom and intricate font, some users might not be able even to see the font. It doesn’t matter how good your copywriting is if no one can read it.

 

 

• Don’t overuse complicated and intricate fonts: While they might look visually appealing, overusing them will create a chaotic look. Instead, opt for simple and minimalistic fonts.

 

 

• Don’t use the same typography for everything: Text size, color, bolding, italics add a lot of character to the text. Don’t skip on them. Not everything has to be the same size or even the same font.

 

4. Consistent design

Consistency is very important for visitors. It allows them to navigate and use your website without having to learn any new tricks or navigation rules.

Internally, you need to apply an adequate set of conventions and standards throughout your website and externally, your website should be consistent with the general web-design practices. From a business perspective, consistency makes content publishing and maintenance easier, as it allows designers to develop templates for specific pages and website elements.

5. Incorporate social media into your design

Social media has bridged the communication gap, allowing people to communicate with their loved ones easily. That is especially true if people are in different geographical locations from each other. It creates an opportunity for small businesses to get in on the action as well. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have millions of active users each day.

By adding share buttons to your website, you can direct visitors to your social media pages for more content. Social media icons can also be used to share content across social media, allowing a broader.

6. Learn how to use color

Color is a significant component of great design, and you need to experiment with it to come up with something great. Don’t just randomly pick colors and hope for the best. Make sure that you choose a color scheme that is in line with your brand or product.

If you look at Simply Chocolate’s website, they used a background with two layers to communicate their message – buy their Crispy Caramel chocolate bar. The top layer is a vertical gradient that goes from dark brown to light brown, representing chocolate and caramel.

Great Website Design is a Must

Your small business website design must make an unforgettable first impression. In fact, 65% of visitors create an image of a company based on how the website looks. And if visitors like what they see in terms of the design, your business instantly has more chances of being attractive.

So make sure you don’t over-do it with the design. Take your website’s design to the next level: get inspired with web design examples, choose simple, user-friendly, and minimalistic layouts, optimize the images, and use the color scheme thoughtfully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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