8 Web Design Tips For Small Businesses
The difference between the successes of old stores that our parents or neighbors had and the successes of small businesses today have to do with technology. Business owners who have no knowledge or misuse it, are condemned to the death of their virtual business. For this reason, we can not miss any detail of our business whether large or small, to communicate our brand to a potential customer on the web. As important as the mobile revolution (around 1 out of 8 pages seen on the Internet are from mobile phones) and the rise of social networks have redefined the way we do business and communicate. These are still only small elements of a general business plan that you have to keep in mind on a company's website.
Today, small businesses live or die because of the quality of their site. Although not everyone can be a virtuoso of web design, it is still vital to design a site within a business vision and optimized for modern Internet consumers.
These are some of the principles that any small business owner can adhere to, in order to help elevate your website and not sink it.
Give up the Flash
Many of those who are creating a business website for the first time, are tempted by the elegant offers of animations in Flash and ask web designers to use this application. While it is a natural inclination to believe that mobile images and polished graphics will bring more web traffic, the truth is that the use of Flash often gives more problems than it really does.
8 Web Design Tips for small businesses
The difference between the successes of old stores that our parents or neighbors had and the successes of small businesses today have to do with technology. Business owners who have no knowledge or misuse it, are condemned to the death of their virtual business. For this reason, we can not miss any detail of our business whether large or small, to communicate our brand to a potential customer on the web. As important as the mobile revolution (around 1 out of 8 pages seen on the Internet are from mobile phones) and the rise of social networks have redefined the way we do business and communicate. These are still only small elements of a general business plan that you have to keep in mind on a company's website.
Today, small businesses live or die because of the quality of their site. Although not everyone can be a virtuoso of web design, it is still vital to design a site within a business vision and optimized for modern Internet consumers.
These are some of the principles that any small business owner can adhere to, in order to help elevate your website and not sink it.
Give up the Flash
Many of those who are creating a business website for the first time, are tempted by the elegant offers of animations in Flash and ask web designers to use this application. While it is a natural inclination to believe that mobile images and polished graphics will bring more web traffic, the truth is that the use of Flash often gives more problems than it really does.
The clearest example of the inefficiency of the Flash is that a certain page, animations can take a long time to load. The research conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group states that most Internet users leave a page between 15-20 seconds. Now knowing this, do customers really want to lose 8 to 12 seconds of their precious time waiting to load a flash animation ?. Video Flash is now completely obsolete thanks to platforms like YouTube. Business owners who include videos on their website can easily link their YouTube account where visitors will have quick access to all content.
Being minimalist
Many small business owners want a large number of visitors to their site with as many media and content as humanly possible, thinking that somehow they will attract attention. Most designers are happy to do so since it does not take much skill to fill a page with superfluous content. Those who believe that this is an appropriate way to do so should look to Apple , which shines in the modern industry of the United States. They are a good example of how to work and improve the use of unnecessary space.
Keep in mind that when Apple releases a new product on your website, it is always a minimalist design: white background, black text and maybe an image or two as much. This not only serves to put all the attention on the product in question, it also gives the viewer something more to focus on the product.
Focus on the basics
Just as it is important to focus on minimalism in a general site design, it is also important to start with the basics of the page and concentrate on them. For example, those who work on your new site should focus on creating a simple web page, with only the necessary pages and a contact. Having many pages can complicate usability for both customers and the business owner, since the latter may have to wait months to launch their site with many pages and loaded with content.
Use color when necessary
Minimalist does not have to mean dull. In fact, color can play a crucial role in an effective website and even help the development of the brand. Many business coaches talk about the importance of the correct use of color when it comes to logos and web design, this is due to the information that colors provide us. Leslie Harrison of the Color Association says that the first sensory stimulus between the consumer and the brand is color. It is also known that a person can better process the words within a page when there is a color, keeping that color even more in the consciousness than words.
So, how can small business owners apply this principle in their web design? The basics are quite simple and should start with the background.
White = typical consumer
Black = professional business mentality
Colors = lifestyles
To this end, electronic sales products are likely to do well to follow the Apple model with a white background. On the other hand, those who promote a business of luxury products will have to opt for elegance with strong black templates, and those who sell herbal health remedies or skydiving classes should add touches of color through their website.
Focus on the buttons
As small and seemingly insignificant as the call-to-action button is, it is actually the most important aspect of any website. With a simple click on one of these buttons, the goal automatically becomes an advantage, where we get quickly with the customer's attention. Therefore, the owner and the designer must work together to ensure that they have the most visually appealing calls to action with the buttons on the web. This is where the color can also play a key role since many therapists recommend the use of orange buttons since it is a strong color that emanates urgency.
Consider the displacement
Compressing the content of the page is a good way to reduce the size of the scroll bar or scroll, and a good way to discourage site visitors. Few people, if any, like to reach a site only to be bombarded with endless content that takes an hour to travel. All design professionals unanimously seek the alternative of using links that connect with the content of other pages or categories that contain vital information. Ideally, the page should have all the relevant information in advance with a minimum displacement or none at all.
Have a blog
There are few better ways to attract traffic to a website in these times, than through providing useful and informative content for the masses. The best way to deliver this content is through blog posts, offering advice and knowledge regarding the industry in question. In addition, having a blog is important for search engine optimization , the use of keywords and communication with the community. Writing attractive content and some promotion should be enough to attract traffic.
The logo is very important
The design of the site, as well as its appearance and functionality are of vital importance. But, above all, what our customers will remember about us is the logo. The owner of a business should not spare expenses in the creation of this logo, and this should take into account every detail until it is perfect. Because an effective logo incorporates all the aforementioned principles, from an appropriate use of color for design to a minimalist presentation.
conclusion
Of course, in the broad world of web design, these are just a few points to consider. A business owner should not only focus on the aspect that your website can have, as the success of a site depends on more factors, but if it is true that design plays an important role in the architecture of the business to take the brand to the maximum number of clients. In this way the owner of a company can mix his business astuteness along with creativity to design a site worthy of his organization. Need a Website For Your Business...? Get a Free Quote Now
Today, small businesses live or die because of the quality of their site. Although not everyone can be a virtuoso of web design, it is still vital to design a site within a business vision and optimized for modern Internet consumers.
These are some of the principles that any small business owner can adhere to, in order to help elevate your website and not sink it.
Give up the Flash
Many of those who are creating a business website for the first time, are tempted by the elegant offers of animations in Flash and ask web designers to use this application. While it is a natural inclination to believe that mobile images and polished graphics will bring more web traffic, the truth is that the use of Flash often gives more problems than it really does.
8 Web Design Tips for small businesses
The difference between the successes of old stores that our parents or neighbors had and the successes of small businesses today have to do with technology. Business owners who have no knowledge or misuse it, are condemned to the death of their virtual business. For this reason, we can not miss any detail of our business whether large or small, to communicate our brand to a potential customer on the web. As important as the mobile revolution (around 1 out of 8 pages seen on the Internet are from mobile phones) and the rise of social networks have redefined the way we do business and communicate. These are still only small elements of a general business plan that you have to keep in mind on a company's website.
Today, small businesses live or die because of the quality of their site. Although not everyone can be a virtuoso of web design, it is still vital to design a site within a business vision and optimized for modern Internet consumers.
These are some of the principles that any small business owner can adhere to, in order to help elevate your website and not sink it.
Give up the Flash
Many of those who are creating a business website for the first time, are tempted by the elegant offers of animations in Flash and ask web designers to use this application. While it is a natural inclination to believe that mobile images and polished graphics will bring more web traffic, the truth is that the use of Flash often gives more problems than it really does.
The clearest example of the inefficiency of the Flash is that a certain page, animations can take a long time to load. The research conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group states that most Internet users leave a page between 15-20 seconds. Now knowing this, do customers really want to lose 8 to 12 seconds of their precious time waiting to load a flash animation ?. Video Flash is now completely obsolete thanks to platforms like YouTube. Business owners who include videos on their website can easily link their YouTube account where visitors will have quick access to all content.
Being minimalist
Many small business owners want a large number of visitors to their site with as many media and content as humanly possible, thinking that somehow they will attract attention. Most designers are happy to do so since it does not take much skill to fill a page with superfluous content. Those who believe that this is an appropriate way to do so should look to Apple , which shines in the modern industry of the United States. They are a good example of how to work and improve the use of unnecessary space.
Keep in mind that when Apple releases a new product on your website, it is always a minimalist design: white background, black text and maybe an image or two as much. This not only serves to put all the attention on the product in question, it also gives the viewer something more to focus on the product.
Focus on the basics
Just as it is important to focus on minimalism in a general site design, it is also important to start with the basics of the page and concentrate on them. For example, those who work on your new site should focus on creating a simple web page, with only the necessary pages and a contact. Having many pages can complicate usability for both customers and the business owner, since the latter may have to wait months to launch their site with many pages and loaded with content.
Use color when necessary
Minimalist does not have to mean dull. In fact, color can play a crucial role in an effective website and even help the development of the brand. Many business coaches talk about the importance of the correct use of color when it comes to logos and web design, this is due to the information that colors provide us. Leslie Harrison of the Color Association says that the first sensory stimulus between the consumer and the brand is color. It is also known that a person can better process the words within a page when there is a color, keeping that color even more in the consciousness than words.
So, how can small business owners apply this principle in their web design? The basics are quite simple and should start with the background.
White = typical consumer
Black = professional business mentality
Colors = lifestyles
To this end, electronic sales products are likely to do well to follow the Apple model with a white background. On the other hand, those who promote a business of luxury products will have to opt for elegance with strong black templates, and those who sell herbal health remedies or skydiving classes should add touches of color through their website.
Focus on the buttons
As small and seemingly insignificant as the call-to-action button is, it is actually the most important aspect of any website. With a simple click on one of these buttons, the goal automatically becomes an advantage, where we get quickly with the customer's attention. Therefore, the owner and the designer must work together to ensure that they have the most visually appealing calls to action with the buttons on the web. This is where the color can also play a key role since many therapists recommend the use of orange buttons since it is a strong color that emanates urgency.
Consider the displacement
Compressing the content of the page is a good way to reduce the size of the scroll bar or scroll, and a good way to discourage site visitors. Few people, if any, like to reach a site only to be bombarded with endless content that takes an hour to travel. All design professionals unanimously seek the alternative of using links that connect with the content of other pages or categories that contain vital information. Ideally, the page should have all the relevant information in advance with a minimum displacement or none at all.
Have a blog
There are few better ways to attract traffic to a website in these times, than through providing useful and informative content for the masses. The best way to deliver this content is through blog posts, offering advice and knowledge regarding the industry in question. In addition, having a blog is important for search engine optimization , the use of keywords and communication with the community. Writing attractive content and some promotion should be enough to attract traffic.
The logo is very important
The design of the site, as well as its appearance and functionality are of vital importance. But, above all, what our customers will remember about us is the logo. The owner of a business should not spare expenses in the creation of this logo, and this should take into account every detail until it is perfect. Because an effective logo incorporates all the aforementioned principles, from an appropriate use of color for design to a minimalist presentation.
conclusion
Of course, in the broad world of web design, these are just a few points to consider. A business owner should not only focus on the aspect that your website can have, as the success of a site depends on more factors, but if it is true that design plays an important role in the architecture of the business to take the brand to the maximum number of clients. In this way the owner of a company can mix his business astuteness along with creativity to design a site worthy of his organization. Need a Website For Your Business...? Get a Free Quote Now