For many years now, small business owners have been capitalising upon the opportunities the digital era has presented them with, and often with great success.
So vital has the internet become for business, that it’s now rare to find a small business that isn’t promoting their products and services with a website of their own.
But what does this mean for the average small business owner, whether they have a website yet or not? It means they must have a website that delivers excellent visitor experiences, the kind of experiences that they would want for themselves.
This means that the days of having ‘just another website’ are over, and that it’s time to invest in a quality online presence, one that fills potential clients and customers with confidence in the products and the services that the business has to offer them.
Good Website Design
For a website to achieve its purpose it has to deliver excellent visitor experiences and good website design is the key to this. To quote Steve Jobs, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
That means websites not only need to look good and be easily navigable, they must also work exceptionally well. And not just sometimes, but all the time. To get an idea of what good website design entails, take a look at http://andy-gardner.co.uk/.
What’s the Purpose of the Website?
For web design to be effective, it must cater for the user. This means you need to consider your target audience and try to understand their reasons for visiting your website.
Every page needs to have a purpose if your website is to fulfil the needs of your visitors. The knock-on effects from not meeting their needs are not only measurable in terms of lost opportunities, but also in terms like high bounce rates and poor search results rankings.
Use Colours and Images to Enhance the Experience
Colours can be used for branding purposes and to make the design of the website more creative and unique, but they can also be used to enhance visitor experiences. As can high definition images when used correctly.
Contrasting colours can help your written content to stand out and the right images can help you connect with your target audience. As a result, use them to enhance user experiences, and also use white space for a modern, uncluttered look.
Optimise for All Experiences
With more users searching for products and services on their smartphones than ever before, there’s now a significant need for websites to use responsive web design (RWD) so as to provide excellent user experiences across all devices.
When your website delivers excellent user experiences on all devices, you’re able to respond to the needs of all users, whether they’re using a smartphone, tablet or PC.
Good website design is a must for all small business owners if they’re to capitalise upon the opportunities that the internet and digital marketing, including social media marketing, present them with.
