The Do’s and Don’ts of a Business Website

We’ve already covered the top 5 reasons your small business needs a website, but as with anything, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Obviously there are simple things to consider such as making sure your site is professional and easy to use. That’s a given. But here are a few more do’s and don’ts to help you get on the right track with your web presence.

• Do create fresh, unique content that will engage your audience.
• Do establish and communicate a clear and compelling sales message.
• Do regularly update your content and make sure it’s always current.
• Do design your site with SEO in mind so that it ranks well in the search engines.
• Do frequently check your site to ensure that all forms and links are working properly.
• Do carefully review all content and make sure it is error-free.
• Do make your contact information clear and easy to find.
• Do include a blog that contains relevant content that is regularly updated.

Now, let’s consider a few things you DON’T want to do when it comes to your business website:

• Don’t confuse or overwhelm your audience by putting too much information on one page.
• Don’t overdo it with graphics or animation – this can cause your site to run too slow and appear cluttered.
• Don’t let your content become outdated.
• Don’t use difficult to read fonts or too many bright flashy colors, which can distract and turn off your audience.
• Don’t make your information difficult to find. (If they have to search for it, they’ll lose interest fast.)
• Don’t forget to keep your viewers engaged with compelling, relevant and up-to-date content.
• Don’t violate your users’ privacy – post your privacy policy and stick to it.

Obviously not everyone is capable of designing a website and managing all of its content. Admittedly it’s a huge task that shouldn’t be taken lightly and following all of these do’s and don’ts can seem overwhelming. Relax - it’s perfectly acceptable to delegate these tasks, either to other employees or to an outside source (like a freelancer). Whatever way you choose to do it, just make sure all of these things are kept in mind to ensure that your website fully serves its purpose.

Labels: small business tips