How to Design a Successful Business Website

Very often, your business website will be your primary window to the world. As such, you must take a great deal of care and patience when putting it together. In many cases your business will not have a physical address and as such, your website will be your storefront. If you want to have “curb appeal,” then you have to bear some key fundamentals in mind.

You must be in control of your site, which means that you should, ideally, post all its content on your own accessible server. You will need access to the site at your convenience and not according to another company’s whims. Ensure that you choose a software platform that allows you to interact with your site without the need for complex coding knowledge. The more difficult it is to interact with your site, the less often you will want to mess with it and this would be highly detrimental to your long-term goals. If you are looking for a very simple solution, check out Homestead, whose website options are user-friendly and “what you see is what you get.”

Understand that the Internet works in a certain way. You need to have a basic comprehension and know how the search engines work. To achieve maximum visibility your website needs to appear in a prominent position whenever someone searches for information on your particular product or service. This is easier said than done, as the search engines use somewhat complex algorithms to determine what qualifies and what doesn’t. Be prepared to engage in a certain amount of “search engine optimization” which will help you to optimize your site, using certain code and structure. You can either search for the help of experts in this field or if you want to dip your toe in the water and cover the fundamentals, know what your keywords are. Include these words within your page content, file titles and page titles.

If you were writing a book, you would take time to map out your approach. You would devise chapters, titles and come up with a natural progression so that the book would be readable. Take time to plan your website in the same spirit. You will undoubtedly have a number of different pages, covering a number of different topics – one for each of your products or services, for example. Make sure that your home page, which is the primary point of entry, gives a very clear and succinct description of your operation. Links from your home page must be clear and unambiguous and allow the visitor to easily find all your information.

It has been proven that visitors spend very little time on each page when they are surfing the web and you have, consequently, not much time to give them information to try and persuade them to buy your goods and services. Many surfers tend to look for “FAQ” sections first, as they know that they will generally find bulleted abbreviations and be able to scan through quickly. As such, compile your FAQ and make sure that it is prominently linked to from your home page.

These days, as social media marketing is such a powerhouse, you really should consider maintaining a blog as part of your business website. Some companies maintain a separate website for their blog which they develop as an information portal, first and foremost. You can really help to show your expertise and build a good following by avidly maintaining a blog element to your website. Your business will come across as being much more reachable and “touchable” and will, after a period of time, retain its own social buzz.

While you may maintain all of your business via the Internet, you can be sure that potential customers will want to know more about your business and will require some reassurance. Your contact information page is very important and you should include a photograph or two of the proprietor. People like to see photos of real people behind these sites. In addition, you must include a phone number for customer service follow-up and peace of mind and a physical address is highly recommended as well.

Once you have your business website up and running make sure that you try and maintain it as often as possible. Get to know about search engine optimization and make it as visible as you can. Try and track any business initiatives through readily available software. Google Analytics will help you see where your traffic is coming from and if your promotions are converting, helping you to keep on top of your game.

Do you host your own site?

Matthew Toren

Adam Toren

Adam Toren is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, investor and co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com. He is co-author, with his brother Matthew, of Kidpreneurs and Small Business, BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right (Wiley). He’s based in Phoenix, Ariz.