It is tough out there for independent businesses right now. The consumer mindset has been forever altered by companies like Amazon. Their ability to offer unbeatable delivery times and lower prices has led to numerous businesses having to shut down due to their inability to compete.
But the good news is that the consumer mindset is slowly starting to change. People are starting to realize the damage that huge corporations like Amazon are having on, not just local economies, but the global economy too. The Covid-19 pandemic also made people realize the importance of supporting independent businesses.
But this doesn’t mean it isn’t a competitive world out there for an independent business owner. If you want to get ahead and succeed you need to ensure that every aspect of your business is operating at maximum efficiency. Today we are going to be examining an area that is often overlooked, but is vitally important to the success of your business. And that is web design.
Your Homepage Matters
A business website is more than just a practical customer facing tool. It is the calling card of your business. In essence you should consider it the digital face of your business. And, to that end, your homepage should reflect everything you are trying to achieve with your business.
We all know the importance of first impressions. And this goes doubly for a website. Studies have shown that it takes a person, on average, 0.05 seconds to form a first impression of a webpage. And at that time they will decide if they like it or not. And this is often always based on visual information. Aesthetics are key here.
The internet used to be a much more lawless place when it came to web design. Vibrant colors. Garish graphics. Unwieldy formatting. But those days are long gone now. Replaced by a more sleek and minimalist approach to web design. Now it is important to note that minimalism doesn’t mean boring. People often assume anything minimalist has to be lacking in vibrancy and brightness. Color is a powerful artistic tool in web design. The key is knowing when to use it. And to what extent.
When it comes to colors you want to stick to softer tones. Light, warm colors are ideal for selling entertainment products, food products, or anything leisurely. Whereas light, cool colors are better for anything more business related.
Your homepage should be clear, inviting, and display all the pertinent information about your business. Ideally that information will be summarised into a concise slogan or small snippet of text. Or, ideally, told through a visual medium such as a picture or video.
User Navigation
The importance of a good homepage cannot be overstated. But, and this is a big but, if your website is difficult to navigate then you are instantly going to lose a huge percentage of potential clients. Nothing drives someone away from a website faster than cumbersome navigation.
A good customer facing website should have everything they will likely need clearly visible at from the moment they access the site. Most websites tend to put the navigation bar at the top for this reason. You want to have your website contain as few pages as possible. Customers don’t want to be jumping through hoops to get to where they want to go on your site.
One thing you definitely want to ensure is that the ‘Contact Us’ section of your website isn’t hidden away. Too many companies try to sneakily hide their contact information to make it difficult for customers to get in touch. And this tactic might be fine if you’re an established business that can afford to lose customers.
But for an independent business, customer interaction will be a pivotal pillar to your success. It is unavoidable that, at some point, you will receive complaints from a customer. The best thing to do is ensure they can contact you swiftly to have the issue resolved. If they can’t find your contact information on your website with ease they are more likely to start hounding your social media profiles. Or, worse, leave a bad review for your business online.
Ensure Your Layout Is Responsive
Have you ever been browsing the web on your phone and came across a website that clearly wasn’t built for mobile. Poor formatting. Buttons missing. You have to scroll for ages just to find the section you were looking for? Yet, on your computer’s web browser the page is fine. This is due to a lack of what is called ‘Responsive Layout.’
A responsive layout is one that automatically adjusts to the users screen size. Be that a mobile phone screen or a larger monitor. A large percentage of people conduct all of their online activity via their phones these days. So you need to 100% ensure that your website is mobile compatible.
