10 Must-Haves for Your Small Business Website

Everything your small business website should have and
why they are so important in helping your business grow.

A successful business website should be working to help build your business. I like to think of it as a living-breathing asset to your business that needs to be nurtured and cared for on a consistent basis. Yes, we all know that social media is an important tool for building your brand and to gain exposure but it's not the foundation for your business. You don't own Instagram and you can't control what the algorithm is. You're at the mercy of the platform and as a business owner, that can be stressful. You are, however, in full control of the content on your website. Your website is a key element to your business and is the foundation for your digital footprint. It's almost always the first impression of your business so you want to make sure it's doing everything it needs to, to help your business grow.

Here are the 10 must-haves your small business website should have and why they are so important.

1. Modern Design
Your site should be user-friendly, responsive, easy to navigate and possess eye-catching photography and graphic elements. The attention span of site visitors is extremely short. You have a small amount of time to catch their attention and give them what they have been searching for. Creating a clean and simple design that's easy to navigate and give them the answers they need will produce more leads for your business. Plain and simple.

2. High-quality Imagery
Imagery is imperative to your brand and business. It has to be high-quality and web-friendly. There is no room for pixelated, low-grade imagery in today's digital space. If you are unable to budget for a shoot with a professional, I highly recommend using stock imagery. There are many sites out there that provide free images and they are great!

3. Clear and Concise Copy Writing
The instant a visitor lands on your website they should know 3 things:
1. Who you are
2. Who you serve
3. How you can help them solve their problem

For example, Hello! We are (business name) and we help (ideal client) with (what your business does).
As soon as someone visits our website, they know exactly who we are and what services we provide.

4. Speed
No need to dive deep into this one. Your site needs to be fast. It has to be responsive with minimal loading time. If it's slow, you've lost the interest of your potential client or a potential sale.

5. Search Engine Optimization
Truthfully, this should be a separate blog post in and of itself. SEO is one of those intimidating yet necessary elements that search engines like Google, absolutely love. SEO shouldn't be ignored. It's a key part to beating out your competition and driving qualified web traffic to your site.

6. Social Media Integration
Linking to your social media accounts on your website is just another way to gain more exposure and more importantly, trust in your business and brand. Having your social icons clearly visible on your website allows visitors to conduct more research on you to determine whether or not they want to work with you. It's important to note that you do not need to have a presence on every single social media platform under the sun. My general rule is to start with one platform (such as Instagram) and do it well rather than having multiple social media accounts without any quality content. I mean, how often are you really updating your business's Twitter account these days?

7. Contact Information
This one is so simple but it's so important! Making sure your phone, address and email information is accurate and functioning properly is crucial to building trust with your business and making a great first impression. I personally prefer to correspond via email and if I email a new business and they don't respond within 24 hours, I'm gone and moved on to the next business that can help me out.

8. Email Opt-In Form
Okay, this one is my favorite must-have. I think it is by far, one of the most important things you can do for your business. Capturing email addresses from your website and sending out newsletters to your existing, old and new clients is key to create an ongoing, trustworthy relationship and therefore continuing to grow your business. Yes, you're probably thinking, “I don't want to annoy my clients with email newsletters” or "I already get so many of these from other businesses and just delete them." BUT what you need to remember is the individual that signed up for your newsletter and joined your email list did so on their own. They trusted you with their personal email address. They want to know more about you and what your business offers. They want to hear from you! Start capturing those emails if you haven't already. Trust me when I say they'll be your biggest fans and devoted clients.

9. Call to Action
Yes, yes, yes! Creating a call-to-action by using a button or link helps to guide your site visitor throughout your website and tells them what you want them to do next and thus creates leads for your business.

10. Testimonials
Last but certainly not least, are client testimonials. Reputation management is EVERYTHING in this day and age. People want to hear from other real people about their experiences with your business. Showcasing client testimonials on your business website help to validate your business and encourages more leads.

The purpose of your business website is to get found by potential clients, educate, build trust, and convert. If your website is not doing these things then there is money being left on the table. Your site is not working to help build your business.

Reach out if you have any questions or contact us to schedule your free consultation today.