5 Small Business Website Tips

by smallbizbee · 2 comments

Spending a lot of time on the internet you see quite a few small business websites. Some are quite good, others come close but miss the mark. These 5 tips for small business websites will not be hard for your business to impliment (if you haven't already) and will help insure your customers have a positive interaction with the virtual you!

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1. Have a Website

That's right the first "tip" for your business is to simply have a website. It still amazes me that some businesses do not have a web presence! Some think they don't need it, others think it would be too hard to setup, and they'd both be wrong. Every business, regardless of what you sell or do, needs a webiste. Even if it has nothing but a brief description of your service and a phone number, the first place people will look for you is online so you better be there. As for it being "hard"...it's not. You can always contact us to help you out if need be.

2. Important Info - Front and Center

Do not make your vistors hunt for the most important information on your site. For most small businesses the majority of your information should be right on your homepage. Which leads me to my next point...

3. Don't Bury Information

Don't bury information behind a bunch of links. 80% of your information should be accessable within one click. This means one click away from the homepage. Don't make your customers/visitors click through 4-5 links to get to the information they are looking for.

4. Contact Information

Have your contact information in a location that is easily findable. At a minimum it should be in the footer of every page (Company name, address, phone number, etc), and you should also have a contact page which links to your homepage with all the relavant information there.

5. Simple is Better

It can be tempting to add all the cool new features you can find to your website, but for nearly all your visitors simple is better. They are there to get information about your product or service, not to wait 3 minutes for your flash intro to stop playing, or wait 5 minutes for your page to load becuase you have so many animated graphics. Unless the fancy stuff is what you are selling (your business does graphic design or something along those lines) it's best to leave it out.

BONUS TIP!

Get your own domain name for your business. They are cheap, and make you look professional. Also try to keep your domain short and sweet...nobody likes to have to type in http://blog.syndication.com/qz12398/lawn-care.html to reach your lawn mowing business.

Have any tips for small business websites...share them with us in the comments section!