If you do not have a dedicated website for your startup or small business, you run the risk of falling further behind the competition. You may believe that you’re creating a fan base on Facebook (if you’re purchasing fans on Facebook through advertising, you’re probably wasting your money), sharing small bits of content on Twitter, and posting photographs on Pinterest.
Without a central digital home, however, you are spreading your efforts and missing out on an amazing opportunity to engage and connect with your consumers and future clients through a dedicated website. Ultimately, your clients will want to learn more about your company’s products and services; a dedicated website will assist them in doing so.
Today, we will discuss web design best practices and techniques in Manchester.
Markustudio a freelance web design Manchester providing web design, logo branding, print, SEO and digital design services. We have a passion for serving successful small businesses and big brands across the UK. If you need help creating a style guide or staying consistent with your branding, our team of experts is here to assist you. We’ll work with you to create a unique and unforgettable brand that will help you stand out from the competition.
We will direct you to useful resources and provide examples, as well as highlight recent advances in web design. And if you currently have a website but are considering redesigning it, you should begin with the homepage.
Currently, numerous business owners are concerned about the expensive expense of website design.
Here are our top ten tips for designing a great website.
1. Keep the design straightforward, original, and new.
Your website is a reflection of your brand. It is the first impression a visitor will get of your website when they arrive for the first time. If you use an off-the-shelf template and your website appears identical to thousands of other websites on the Internet, you will miss an opportunity to make a memorable impression. Why would a potential buyer remember your website when she has seen dozens of others that seem identical?
Over the past few months, we’ve heard from a large number of business owners who initially constructed their website utilizing a template site.
As their firms have developed, these business owners have realized they must distinguish themselves from the competition. The template websites no longer satisfy their requirements.
This is not unexpected.
The homepage is often the most crucial page on a business website; prospective clients will likely view it first when they visit your site.
Furthermore, because the majority of small business and startup websites have fewer than a dozen pages in total, the homepage is a crucial anchor for the entire site. It must answer numerous essential questions, such as who you are and what you do.
Template sites are incapable of doing this properly
Some of the designs are visually appealing, but they lack many of the features that make a website informative and valuable for potential customers
Consider the impression you wish to make on your consumers and potential customers, as well as the message you wish to convey.
As you evaluate your site design, be sure you have a professional logo design.
A logo made using clip art or a template will not be original and will leave a negative impression. Even worse, it could expose you to significant legal risk. Some business owners spend money on a new website design but neglect to establish an original logo (or to update their old clip-art based logo).
This is a lost chance. When considering the content to offer on your site, keep in mind that consumers typically read only 28 percent of the words during a typical visit.
Avoid overstuffing your homepage with text and photos.
Consider the most essential text and images that you want your users to view and eliminate the rest. Many individuals erroneously attempt to incorporate too much information on a homepage, resulting in confusion and poor user experience. Add less, not more.
Also consider that your visitors may be using laptops and mobile devices, so try to avoid building sites with enormous monitor sizes or intricate features and navigation.
2. Exhibit your goods and services.
You are marketing a product or service. Ensure that the product or service is prominently displayed on your homepage.
I’ve encountered numerous small business web designs that failed to successfully display their items or services, as well as numerous others that attempted to display too many products or services on a single page. You only have a few seconds to make a good first impression, so make sure it’s a professional one.
3. Consider Site Load Times.
People are impatient when exploring websites, and poor load times have a negative effect on conversions (getting people to purchase your products or services). If your website design is graphically intensive, you must ensure you have the necessary technical infrastructure and bandwidth to support it. This is especially important if you have a broad customer base and anticipate high website traffic. You can optimize your website’s load times by selecting a reputable host. Importantly, remember that the cheapest monthly hosting package often does not provide the best value. It may be inexpensive, but it is likely to be slow and unreliable.
4. Make your website simple to access.
Consider how persons with specific disabilities (such as color blindness) can access information about your products and services if they visit your website. Consider how individuals with slower Internet connections will perceive your website. This is especially important for small businesses, notably rural small enterprises, who serve local customers; accessibility is one of the finest methods to win over such customers.
5. Organize your website to create a superior user experience.
Search engines favor properly ordered webpages.
People also appreciate a well-organized environment. Keep in mind that when potential clients visit your website, they are usually seeking specific information. Rarely will they read complete pages; instead, they will scan headlines and tiny parts of text, as well as photographs and graphics (although not all on the same page). A site that is correctly structured and delivers content in an ordered and organized manner will be significantly more successful than one that appears disorganized.
6. Content is essential.
You are likely aware that search engines index websites according to the quality of their content (and links). The more material you have on your site, the more appealing it will be to search engines (more on search engine optimization in Tip #9 below). People enjoy the content as well. In fact, poor content can prompt a visitor to quit a website soon. Don’t disregard headlines; they can be really effective and determine whether a visitor reads the remainder of your material or leaves your website. Keep the content relevant and fresh.
7. Recognize the distinction between design and development.
In order to create a website, you will need both site design and site development. Although some freelancers are capable of both design and development, the abilities required for each are often distinct, and you may wish to employ different individuals for each task. Freelance web developers typically specialize in either the frontend or the backend. Frontend developers typically concentrate on the client-side, or what consumers view when they visit a website. Backend developers often focus on the server-database relationship. Backend engineers frequently work on a variety of tasks, including scripting to allow users to interact with the website, web server settings, and the development of e-commerce functionality, such as a payment system.
8. Consider the domain, but do not become preoccupied with it.
Your domain will provide visitors with essential information. It may describe what your company does. Or it may just be an efficient method for people to reach your website. If you are unable to discover a URL that matches the name of your business, you may want to consider changing the name or finding an alternative URL that incorporates the name or complements it. I’ve been through the process of naming a firm numerous times, and it can be a really frustrating affair.
9. Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) should not be overlooked.
Efforts invested on one marketing campaign generally detract from other marketing initiatives for a small organization.
Both search engine optimization and search engine marketing are highly specialist professions that demand a considerable time commitment to master.
However, SEO and/or SEM campaigns can offer small businesses with tremendous power and, as a result, should not be ignored.
10. Utilize a responsive layout.
Mobile devices account for a growing proportion of web traffic. In fact, several organizations, such as Facebook, have more mobile users than desktop users accessing their websites. This trend, which has been on the rise for years, will continue in 2016. There is no turning back at this point.