Web Design for Local Business
Web Design Best Practices
No matter the size of the business from the small to mid-sized business all the way to international incorporation, a website is necessary in creating a web presence. Small businesses need a website that is designed to reach a local audience. Having a strong web presence is beneficial for the small business that needs to either sell products or market specific services. In order to properly promote their business, and build their own brand online through the use of social media marketing strategies that uses sites like Yelp, Facebook and Twitter, a business will require a well designed site. There are a few SEO best practices as well as web design basics that are essential and specific to the local business.
Selecting a Domain Name
When you are talking about web design, choosing an appropriate domain name is a very important aspect. If it is possible at all, it is best to use both what you do and your company name in the domain. Sometimes it is not reasonable to do so. There are some instances when the location of the business can be part of the domain name as well. For instance, an example of a simple and reasonable domain name could be, “InteriorPaintingNJ”. If your business name is short, it is possible to add it onto the front. A domain name is one of the pivotal features that can determine how a website performs especially when you’re talking about search activity. Just try to keep the domain name simple enough that it can be easily remembered and one which accurately describes an aspect of your business.
Designing the Site
The design of your website is likely to be the first representation a visitor gets of your brand or business. This can make a lasting impression on a visitor so it needs to be crisp and professional in appearance. Design the navigational aspects of the site in such a way as to make it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for easily. All of the business contact information should be on each site page. This makes consumers feel like you really don’t mind being contacted and they are more likely to use the information when they are ready to discuss what you have to offer. This strategy is also very useful when it comes to search engine optimization as it can help the web crawlers recognize you as a local business in your region.
Designing Your Home Page
The homepage is certainly one of the most important site elements since it is the first thing a visitor will see when they enter your site. But it also provides an anchor for the entire site. The homepage should have on it the answers to some of the most common questions visitors might be seeking like who you are, what you do and what region you are located in. When you are designing your home page, think about the impression you want to make on page visitors and potential customers.
Providing Useful Content
There are many different forms of online content such as photos, videos or articles. When developing your site content it is good to use a reasonable number of geo tags. You also want to remember to keep information on the site up to date and current. Good content can be a reason that a visitor stays on the site and remains engaged. On the other hand, low quality content can be the very reason that they leave quickly. Be sure that all of the content on your site is relevant to your services or products and that it offers something to the audience.
Create for Users – Not Search Engines
Search engines are an important element and certainly we do want to please them and develop sites that are well organized for the web crawlers who index them. But humans also like sites which are easily navigated and well organized too. Even though we want to use the most current SEO best practices and design a site that is easily found, indexed and ranked by the search engines, we really want to appeal to humans. Search engines are helpful – but they do not buy products or order services. It’s good to give attention to keyword usage, geo tags and high quality content to appeal to the search engines. But remember to write everything with human consumers in mind.
Selecting a Domain Name
When you are talking about web design, choosing an appropriate domain name is a very important aspect. If it is possible at all, it is best to use both what you do and your company name in the domain. Sometimes it is not reasonable to do so. There are some instances when the location of the business can be part of the domain name as well. For instance, an example of a simple and reasonable domain name could be, “InteriorPaintingNJ”. If your business name is short, it is possible to add it onto the front. A domain name is one of the pivotal features that can determine how a website performs especially when you’re talking about search activity. Just try to keep the domain name simple enough that it can be easily remembered and one which accurately describes an aspect of your business.
Designing the Site
The design of your website is likely to be the first representation a visitor gets of your brand or business. This can make a lasting impression on a visitor so it needs to be crisp and professional in appearance. Design the navigational aspects of the site in such a way as to make it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for easily. All of the business contact information should be on each site page. This makes consumers feel like you really don’t mind being contacted and they are more likely to use the information when they are ready to discuss what you have to offer. This strategy is also very useful when it comes to search engine optimization as it can help the web crawlers recognize you as a local business in your region.
Designing Your Home Page
The homepage is certainly one of the most important site elements since it is the first thing a visitor will see when they enter your site. But it also provides an anchor for the entire site. The homepage should have on it the answers to some of the most common questions visitors might be seeking like who you are, what you do and what region you are located in. When you are designing your home page, think about the impression you want to make on page visitors and potential customers.
Providing Useful Content
There are many different forms of online content such as photos, videos or articles. When developing your site content it is good to use a reasonable number of geo tags. You also want to remember to keep information on the site up to date and current. Good content can be a reason that a visitor stays on the site and remains engaged. On the other hand, low quality content can be the very reason that they leave quickly. Be sure that all of the content on your site is relevant to your services or products and that it offers something to the audience.
Create for Users – Not Search Engines
Search engines are an important element and certainly we do want to please them and develop sites that are well organized for the web crawlers who index them. But humans also like sites which are easily navigated and well organized too. Even though we want to use the most current SEO best practices and design a site that is easily found, indexed and ranked by the search engines, we really want to appeal to humans. Search engines are helpful – but they do not buy products or order services. It’s good to give attention to keyword usage, geo tags and high quality content to appeal to the search engines. But remember to write everything with human consumers in mind.
