As a business owner, there are so many things that you have to think about to ensure it’s success. From making sure you have enough stock to controlling the finances, you’ll feel like you always have a million and one things to do. Sometimes finances may not be going as well as you’d like so you may have to check out small business loans online to see you through. You might also want to use third party finance as a way to fund your business website, as getting it done professionally doesn’t come cheap. A good website can really make a difference to your brand, so you want to ensure you have the best one out of your competitors. So, keep reading and discover what you should and shouldn’t do when designing your business website.
The Do’s
Keep It Consistent
One of the most important things to think about when it comes to the design, is to keep it consistent. You want every page to follow the same theme and branding so that it looks cohesive. It can be tempting to make different pages stand out and such, but it’s really making it seem unprofessional and not like an actual company website. You want to have an overarching theme that filters through every single page. Not only will it make your website look better, but it will make it so much easier to read!
Make It User Friendly
Speaking of easy to read, you also need to make sure that your website is easy to use. You don’t want to make a customer click through hundreds of different options or buttons just to get to something simple. Having things like a menu bar and quick links can make the whole process that much simpler, so don’t make it too complicated. Instead, make the journey to each page as short as it can be. By making your website user friendly, you’ll encourage way more people to use it as it won’t be frustrating to use.
Present Information Clearly
Any information or text that you present on your website needs to be extremely clear. Avoid crazy fonts or ones that are in cursive lettering as they can be hard to read for anyone, let alone people who may have vision problems. Keep paragraphs short too. You don’t want a whole page of text with no breaks in it as people will 100% not read it. Make sure that anything important is laid out in a very visible way that it can’t be missed.
Have Great Content
Just because you may not be a company that loves writing, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have great content on your site. You want your readers to be actively engaged in what they’re reading, and if it’s just meaningless drivel, they will most definitely exit out of your site.
You don’t have the be an amazing wordsmith to create something interesting either. Make it relevant to your business, as that’s something you’re passionate about so it should be easy to conjure up something.
Regularly Review It
Once you have your website ready to go and the design is finalised, you still need to be regularly reviewing it in the future. In business, things change constantly. So, you need to ensure that the information on your website is accurate and up to date. You don’t want to change your opening hours everywhere but on your website, as people may then still refer to your old ones and complain when they find out you’re actually closed. Make sure that any time there’s a change in your business, that you reflect this on your website, and you’ll have much happier customers.
The Don’ts
Don’t Make It Hard To Load
It’s 2022, there’s no need to be waiting ages for a website page to load. So, don’t make your customers wait too long otherwise they’ll simply close it down. Your design should be simple enough that it doesn’t overload the most basic of systems but still modern enough that it looks great on the latest Mac. By keeping your design clean and simple, it will load much better for everyone and you’ll get much less contact from people telling you your site doesn’t work.
Don’t Forget About New Tabs
When designing a website, you need it to be as accessible as possible, and one way to do this is to ensure that all links open in a new tab. If you forget about this, it can easily make it difficult for screen readers to use your website properly, which will prevent a lot of customers from choosing your business. So, always make sure that any hyperlinks open in a new tab.
Don’t Use Different Formatting
Don’t try to use too many different formats when designing your website. You want it to be clean, simple, and easy to read, so avoid making it harder than it needs to be. If you choose a font for the main text, keep it the same on each page. The same goes for the background. Though it can be tempting to choose a different one for each page to match it to the content, you’re only going to make the design look disjointed. Keeping everything consistent will work in your favour much more.
Don’t Go Too Bright
Colour is also very important when it comes to website design. Whatever you do, don’t go too bright! Bright colours can be impossible to read and extremely hard on the eyes, so opt for simple black text that can be read by everyone. You also want to use complimentary colours. Try to avoid clashing colours at all costs so that the design looks professional and not like something conjured up in 2002.
Don’t Overdo It With Pop-Ups
Automated pop-ups letting customers know important information can be great tools to use, but you don’t want to use too many of them. One is enough most of the time, two at a push, so don’t overdo it. You also want to make sure that they open in sufficient time for customers to not be halfway through reading something else. Having them pop up immediately can work a lot better than delaying them.
Don’t Use Stock Images
When it comes to showing off your brand and products, you need to use original content. Do not ever use stock images if you’re trying to showcase your business. People will soon catch on and wonder why you didn’t use your own photos. This can make you seem untrustworthy, and people may avoid you because of this. Always use your own photographs and content so that your website looks original and uniquely yours.
Don’t Have Autoplay On
If you’ve got videos on your site, do not ever have them automatically play as soon as you hit the homepage. This is super off putting to most people, and they may be more inclined to exit the page than search around for the source of the sound. Make sure that any videos are embedded within the pages so that people can decide for themselves if they want to watch them.
Don’t Forget About Mobile VS Desktop Viewing
One important aspect that a lot of people forget about is how your website will look on a smartphone. Your design may look great on a desktop, but if you visit it on your phone, it could be a completely different story. The page may require you to use a horizontal scroll (which nobody likes) making it hard to read the content in full. So, throughout the design process you need to be checking what it looks like on a mobile as well as a desktop, and you’ll have a much better website upon launch.
Designing the perfect website can be quite a challenge, and it might seem like an impossible task. However, these do’s and don’ts should really help you see the wood from the trees and understand exactly what you need to do. With your new website you should see an influx in customers and even decreased contact as most queries could be answered through the information you provide. So, make sure you take these tips on board when designing your website, and you’ll soon have a stunning design that you and your customers love.
