Starting a business can be exciting, but also frustrating and complicated at the same time. We work with small businesses all the time as they attempt to grow their market through the web, and there are a number of common missing pieces / roadblocks that we run into as we collaborate with our clients. It is important with starting a business that you get your website design right up front, so we have a 5 tips of our own below based on our experience of working with clients and learning the ins and outs of the internet:
 

1. Understand Your Business and Customers

When designing a website, it is important to figure out up front how the site is going to connect with your customers. To do so, both you and the web team have to understand your business ( of course you should know more than the web designer about your business ). Knowing and understanding how the business plans to operate in regards to your target market helps the web team build that connection into a user friendly website for your visitors.

For instance, if your business plan is to sale t-shirts to the younger demographic, then the site should cater to the eye of the younger demographic, with a layout that gears the user towards the types of shirts they like, with minimal text that still gives them key details of what they need to know about the business and products. You would also want to consider making the website compatible for mobile phones since it would be geared toward younger generations.

This brings us to our next point...
 

2. Design For The Customer

Everyone wants a good looking website, right? But too often, we have experienced that our clients want a site that does 'this and that' and looks like 'that or this', but none of it pertains to what their customers. The focus of your website design should revolve around the customers needs and how the usability of the site. Your site should'nt just good to bring users to the site, it should ultimately get them to the right place once they reach your site, as well as be useful to them and help keep them on your site.

Most users know what they want when they visit a site. Upon reaching your site, a user should know where to go immediately to find what they want, whether it be a products page, information about the company, learning about services, contact, etc.
 

3. Watch Your Wallet

Another scenario we often encounter is the client that has paid too much or sometime even too little for their current website product. Our advice here is to find a balance and do your research before committing to a design team to work on your website. Consider the following when deciding on getting your website built:

• How large do you want the website to be? ( how many pages, what type of content )
• What special features do you want on the site?
• Know what you can be flexible on vs. what you have thave on the site

When shopping for a web designer/developer, make sure to look for design companies that have a portfolio that attracts you, ask questions, get quotes, and then get a feel for the team you feel most comfortable working with for your budget. Don't sacrifice your business by paying close to nothing (or trying to build the website on your own if you don't know design and development), only to come out with a product that doesnt drive or represent your business. But also, don't blow your budget on your website all at one time. Find your balance and do your research to make sure you receive a quality product to help get your business going.
 

4. Market Your Site

This is kind of a straightforward tip, but once again, we often work on websites and then launch them into the internet space, and they often just float around unseen. This tip goes hand-in-hand with a part of tip #1, which is too know your customers. As you are getting your website created, you should already be marketing to your target crowd that you have a website coming soon and EVERYONE NEEDS TO CHECK IT OUT! Work with your developer to set a launch date, or just have your own day in mind when you want to blast the word to your target market that your new website is up. Whether it is on social media, through email, face-to-face, business cards, etc ( as mentioned in tip #1, you should know how to connect with your crowd, and if not, work with your design team to help out ), get the word out about your site. And be consistent.
 

5. Polish Your Content

Once your site is up and running, make sure you keep your content up-to-date. Don't allow months and years to go by without adding a new blog post, changing out slideshow images, or updating old information. Customers expect to see the latest info about your business, products, services, and so on. If you are not keeping your site up-to-date, it looks as if you are no longer in business, or even worse, it makes your company seem 'lazy'. Make sure to keep your site polished and clean, this will help drive more visitors and will also make search engines like Google and Yahoo notice your site more.

That's it for our Small Business + The Web tips, check back soon as we discuss Small Business + Branding