Small Business Success: 10 Crucial Web Design Practices

You miss invaluable opportunities if your startup or small business isn’t online.

This is particularly true if you’re starting a new business.

Your competitors are moving forward, and you risk being left behind without a dedicated digital presence.

A website isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity. It provides a central hub for your customers and potential customers, offering a chance to engage, connect, and learn more about your company’s products and services.

With that in mind, let’s delve into the best practices and tips for designing a unique website for your small business or startup.

1. Prioritize simplicity, freshness, and uniqueness in design

When someone visits your website for the first time, they form an immediate first impression. This impression becomes a cornerstone of your brand identity.

If your site looks like a carbon copy of countless others because you’ve used an off-the-shelf template, you lose a golden opportunity to stand out.

Take “Cafe Delicia,” a local coffee shop, as an example. Instead of a run-of-the-mill coffee shop website design, Cafe Delicia could opt for a unique, minimalist design featuring a striking monochrome color scheme accentuated by vibrant images of their fresh brews. This approach captures the essence of their brand and distinguishes them from other local coffee shops.

Be sure your site showcases a professional logo design; clip art or a template-based logo won’t cut it.

Remember, your homepage, the most likely first contact point with potential customers, should answer critical questions like who you are and what you do.

When you consider the content to include on your homepage, remember that users typically read only 28% of the words during an average visit. Don’t overload your homepage with a lot of text and images. Consider the most important content and images you want your users to see and eliminate everything else.

Add less, not more.

Consider, too, that your visitors might be visiting from laptops and mobile phones, so try to avoid designing pages for a large monitor size or pages that use more complex features.

Tip: For a more sophisticated look, consider illustrations. Although images have dominated web design, more sites incorporate creative illustrations in their homepages. Illustrations can often engage the user in more personal ways.

Advanced Tip 1: Once you design your homepage, you can run straightforward tests to determine which buttons, colors, and pieces of content earn the most clicks. After all, marketing is as much a science as it is an art, and proper use of marketing psychology can fuel success. For more about A/B testing, read 7 Dead-Simple A/B Tests You Should Run on Your Homepage.

Advanced Tip 2: Particularly on your homepage – but also on any pages where you’re trying to persuade the user to take some action – think about what action you want the user to take and create a prominent “call to action” button.

2. Highlight your products and services effectively

Whether selling products or services, your offerings must be prominently showcased on your homepage. For instance, if you’re a boutique clothing store, crisp and appealing images of your trendy apparel can captivate visitors immediately.

However, avoid overloading your site with images or graphics. Select a few standout product shots to feature on your homepage, and reserve the rest for interior pages.

3. Ensure quick site load times

In the digital world, patience is scarce. Slow load times can deter potential customers and impact conversions.

If your site is heavy on graphics, ensure your hardware infrastructure and bandwidth can handle it. The cheapest hosting option may save you money but could cost you in slow and unreliable service.

Tip: want to compare how quickly two sites load compared to each other? Here’s a free tool you can use: whichloadsfaster.com

4. Make your site accessible and consistent

Design your site with accessibility in mind.

How will people with disabilities or slower internet connections experience your site?

Also, maintain a consistent web design and navigation across your site. Visitors who feel lost while navigating your site are more likely to leave.

Tip: Don’t create unrelated designs for different pages on your site. All the pages should have a similar overall layout and design.

5. Organize your site for optimal user experience

Search engines and people alike prefer well-organized websites. Your visitors generally seek specific information, so structure your site in an orderly and organized manner.

For example, a pet supply store could categorize products by animal type, and within each category, by food, toys, accessories, etc. This structure makes it easy for cat owners to find what they want without wading through dog or bird products.

Tip: Use bold, easy to read fonts and bullets to present critical information or to stress things you want the readers to notice. Add text color to highlight the most important information, but try to keep your use of text color and fonts to a minimum. You want to emphasize, not confuse.

Advanced Tip: action buttons/links should be unambiguous. For example, “Save” is different from “Submit.” Consider a user’s expectation when they click a button or link and ensure that your labels properly set those expectations. Make sure your copy reflects complete sentences and not isolated words or phrases whenever possible.

6. High-quality content is essential

Search engines index sites based on content quality and links, so the more valuable content you have, your site becomes more attractive.

But your visitors also appreciate good content.

Let’s consider a real estate business. Instead of simply listing properties for sale, they could provide articles on home-buying, tips for first-time buyers, what to look for during a home inspection, and more. This informative content establishes them as a knowledgeable resource, encouraging visitors to stay longer and return in the future.

Tip: Study your successful competitors – especially those in business longer than you. Look at their websites and study how they present their products and services to their customers and potential customers.

Advanced Tip: Consider using larger, more readable font sizes for your content. As screen resolution has improved, many displays show smaller fonts in a too-tiny-to-read size. Look at your favorite websites and consider which font sizes you prefer for viewing/reading. With few exceptions, you probably prefer sites that use larger fonts.

7. Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, enhances your website’s visibility on search engines.

For example, if you run a bike repair shop, you’d want your site to appear in searches for “bike repair near me” or “local bike shop.” SEO includes keyword optimization, meta descriptions, and quality backlinks, among other things.

8. Create a mobile-friendly website

With most people browsing the internet on their smartphones, having a mobile-friendly website is no longer optional—it’s a must.

Ensure your site’s design is responsive, meaning it adjusts to fit any device’s screen size.

9. Include clear calls-to-action

What do you want your site visitors to do?

Whether signing up for your newsletter, purchasing, or booking a service, clear calls-to-action guide your visitors to the next step.

For example, a personal trainer might use a call-to-action like “Book your first session now!” on their site to invite potential clients to get started.

10. Don’t forget about social media integration

Finally, integrate your social media accounts into your site.

Social media is a powerful tool for startups and small businesses, enabling you to engage with your audience and amplify your message. Include links to your social media profiles on your site and encourage your visitors to connect with you there.

Creating the best website for your small business or startup may seem daunting, but it’s a journey worth taking. A well-designed website can set the stage for your digital success, turning visitors into loyal customers.

Remember these best practices, and your website will become a valuable asset for your company. Every business is unique, so adapt these tips to fit your needs and goals.