A small business website is giving the customer what he/she wants whenever they want it. It could be 2am, you’re sleeping, but someone is looking at your website. They are able to interact virtually with your company. The concept is great! But are you giving your customers and potential customers what they need?
These are the basic things you need on your website to look professional and keep customers coming back.
Thing 1: Contact information on every page & contact page
When you pickup a catalog the phone number is on every page. Why? If you like a product then you can easily order it. You should have your phone number, email and social media on every page. This can be an icon or spelled out. These can be located even at the bottom of the page if you don’t want them extremely obvious.
The contact page should have your address, your public email (this could be info @ yourwebsite.com) and a contact form with at least fields for name, email, number and comments. For an example take a look at my contact page.
Thing 2: Your products and services on your small business website
We are talking about a business websites. To have a business you need to make money. For people to see your expertise online your products and services need to be on your website. Simply talk about your products or services briefly. Use bullet lists instead of paragraphs. If you are selling on the website create a store front easily with products like gumroad.com.
Thing 3: Your expertise written or in video and audio
Do you tell people exactly what you do? I don’t mean that one line in your bio or an essay with language that a rocket scientist might not understand. I mean examples in the form of microscopic stories. Use the written word, as you would talk to your customers. Think of five things you have told people this week and explain simply in 300 words. Or create a podcast in audio or video format. People need to see what you know. Your blog posts are showing the world how SMART you are! (Become A Smarter Content Marketer with Authority)
Thing 4: Images of you, what you like and of your business
Being human is being emotional. If you have images of just your products then you may not create that emotional connection. Be personal. Show your human side in this digital world.
It can be a small picture of you on your bio page. Pictures you have taken add a visual effect to your blog too. Becoming more personal gains more trust. You can also use clip-arts or royal free photos of people you don’t know. The point is to connect emotionally. Pictures do this.
Thing 5: Newsletter sign up on every page
If you are in business then you know how important a client list is. How about a list of everyone who has ever been interested in your products or service? Creating an opt-in on your website is important. Creating a mailing list reminds people about your products and services. Place your opt-in on every page on the top and bottom. Send out weekly, bi-weekly or monthly newsletters reminding your customers about products and industry events. (Mailchimp)
Thing 6: Your logo and/or company name on every page
I know you must think I’m crazy for saying this but I have seen plenty of websites that don’t have this. Some small business websites have landing page that don’t post a company name. I understand the product or service is important but somewhere, even on the footer, your logo and/or your company name needs to be there. For your main website that should be up top and present on every page. If you do not have a Logo, get one now. Even if it’s simple. Remember companies always change logos as time changes. Start with something, even if it’s just your company initials.
Thing 7: Email matches website name
This is my biggest issue with small business websites. I can not believe how many times I see this. This issue is not about technology but about taking the easy road.
Educate yourself about this now. If you have a FREE email address like @gmail, @yahoo, @aol or any other then you are loosing customers. Seriously, if I see this from a company I think twice whether or not this company is real. Today there are a lot of illegal businesses online. These businesses use FREE email services. Your business will be more authentic with your website and email address are matching.
You have a website. You need to use your website name. You need yourname @ yourwebsite.com. Your web host has email options, but I recommend Google Apps or Zoho Mail. I’ll make you a deal, if you are not using your own domain in your email, contact me. I will give you detailed instructions on how to change this.
How does your small business website compare?
Do you have any of the above on your website? Nothing above is optional; all business websites should connect with their audience. These tips create a connection. If you don’t have these on your website then it’s time to add them. The great thing about your small business website is it’s easy to evolve over time. Update your site to reflect what your company is doing. Also you need to correct issues that you didn’t realize or know about when you first had your website built.
Are there other basic things you think should be on your website? Comment below to tell us all what you have on your website and what you will be adding.
To your tech success,
Terry
Excellent post, Terry! I agree with all of them. I am a big believer in laying out the benefits on the home page as well. This is often times overlooked. Yes, contact info on every page,m it amazes me how few small businesses actually have this.
Love tip #7! I see some attorneys and high-end real estate agents that use Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc and it makes me want to cry. This looks very unprofessional.
Adam thanks for stopping by. The free email really gets me. It is a matter of knowing what to do and I find that both Google Apps and Zoho really make this easier. I try to spread the word of these great Cloud Apps. They really make it easier and have less spam then using a web hosts email.
Agreed. Maybe they are not educated enough that there are very affordable services out there.
Well written Terry!
I like the part about the contact and about page part. Don’t let your customer ‘search high and low’ for you 🙂
Reginald
Thanks for commenting Reginald. It’s very important for people to contact you quickly. No one likes to go searching or having to go to a certain page.
Well said. I think the page has got more engaging and Indeed videos or other kind of visuals do it. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.videoexplainers.com