My team and I have built a boatload of small business websites over the last six years, not to mention a number of larger more complex sites for medium-sized corporates. Not surprisingly, this means that we have spent quite some time and energy thinking about what makes a successful small business website for a bricks-and-mortar business.
The wonderful thing about the Internet is the amazing quantity of information and opinion out there about any subject whatsoever.
And the terrible thing about the Internet is the amazing quantity of information and opinion out there about any subject whatsoever!
Small business websites enjoy this same problem; a myriad of providers trying to sell you a vast range of complicated solutions that are supposed to drive new business to your website and help you to grow your business successfully.
Examples of just a few of the small business websites we’ve built.
And well they might, if you had time to spend all day tweaking your website endlessly, but you don’t. (Neither do I as it happens – and I know how to do it!)
Here’s the short-list of essential things to think about when you purchase a new website. It may not be complete, but these factors are vital.
Small Business Websites: 3 Important Things To Consider Before You Buy
1. Quality Graphic Design, including Logo
Getting a decent logo designed that clearly communicates the feel and quality of your business is a must. A logo you knocked up on MS Word or outsourced offshore for $40 is only going to start you off on the wrong foot with the customer. Why? Because it will just make you look cheap and unsuccessful. This will turn customers away.
So do you need to spend mega-bucks on high-end logo design? Well, maybe, if your business is in a highly style conscious or high-end market.
But if you’re a regular bricks-and-mortar business? Probably not. You need something professional-looking that gives the right impression. This will cost you somewhere above $500. We currently sell logo designs for $650.
The design of your website should take its cue from your logo, in terms of style , fonts, etc. and should follow these 2 simple laws: 1 – less is more, 2 – white space is your friend.
2. Open Source Platform with Content Management System
“The what now?”
Sorry for the techno-babble. I’ll keep this explanation brief and low-tech:
Open Source: this means a website platform that allows website developers to freely access the source code. This stops you from getting locked in to a low-quality website platform that few developers can help you with, should your relationship with your current developer go backwards.
Content Management System: this allows you to update your own content easily yourself. No asking your developer to add a new phone number or whatever, at $100 an hour. If you can use Facebook or email, then you can make simple updates to your website yourself.
We only use and recommend WordPress. It powers 20% of the web for a lot of very good reasons, including being very search engine friendly out of the box, which means you at least stand a chance of being found on Google by prospective customers.
3. Website Maintenance
The thing that very few business owners seem to realise is that websites, like a car, require regular maintenance or they begin to degrade in terms of performance (speed, broken links, do features still work) and security from hackers and spammers.
Nobody likes a slow website full of broken links and features that don’t work anymore.
And the last thing you want is to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy new website only to wake up one day to find your website has been hacked into oblivion. Believe me – it happens all the time.
It is important that your website developer is able to secure, monitor and regularly update your website by arrangement, for your peace of mind. This is a service that we have been performing for some time.
We will discuss all of these 3 important factors and more should you contact us to talk about a new website for your small business.
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