| Small business website providers are dime-a-dozen. | | | | praised your website provider. Is that an happy |
| Most of them offer cheap solutions without | | | | ending? Certainly not! |
| thoroughly understanding what a website should | | | | How are people going to know about your website? |
| achieve and some of these providers do understand | | | | Unless you plan to have only those visitors whom |
| but don't bother enough to communicate with their | | | | you personally met and spoke about your website, |
| customers. Business website can be a unique | | | | there is a very little chance that people outside your |
| platform where a company can develop and put | | | | circle will ever know about it. Search Engine |
| forth their offerings on the Web. It is their own | | | | Optimization depends on lot of factors like content |
| identity online where visitors can learn, evaluate and | | | | and keyword density of your website, back-links |
| communicate with the people involved without any | | | | from other websites, site architecture and coding, |
| intermediary. | | | | loading time of site pages, etc. SEO consultants can |
| An ideal small business website thus should primarily | | | | optimize your website for better search engine |
| have the following characteristics or essential qualities | | | | rankings for a fee, but be careful not to fall into the |
| to succeed and turn visitors into customers... | | | | "Get #1 on Google" traps. Those who say usually LIE! |
| Branding & Uniqueness | | | | Once you find a good SEO consultant, you are as |
| Your business has got a shiny new logo, business | | | | much responsible to update, manage and add content |
| card and letterhead ready for marketing. But what | | | | to your website for better results on search engines. |
| about your website? Does your website carry the | | | | Content Management System |
| same branding, style and unique label that your other | | | | SEO and updating your website content brings us to |
| marketing materials do? Or is it just a cookie-cutter | | | | our next "must-have" feature in a website - content |
| template with large photographs of people in suits | | | | management system, better known as CMS. It is a |
| pasted all over the homepage? | | | | hosted software which stores and manages your |
| Even a small budget website needs to follow design | | | | website content in a database. Through a back-end |
| principles, aesthetics and branding to make it stand | | | | control panel, you can login through your browser and |
| apart from the competition and to create recall value. | | | | manage the content of your website pages. It usually |
| Corporate colors, typography and the language of | | | | provides you an interface where you can edit |
| communication helps create your brand. There will be | | | | content just like you do on your desktop with |
| a difference in how a B2C (business to consumer) | | | | Microsoft Word or other text editing tools. You don't |
| website will advertise products and services than a | | | | need any HTML or programming skills to update the |
| B2B website (business to business) does. The | | | | content. |
| language for B2B would definitely be more formal and | | | | There are hundreds of CMS solutions out there and |
| impersonal than a B2C website. It does not really | | | | one which stands apart from the competition is |
| matter if your budget allows you only limited bells and | | | | WordPress. Initially used only for blogging and |
| whistles. What matters is how well you can | | | | publishing, WordPress which is an open-source (free) |
| communicate your company's motto and its products | | | | self-hosted software has now developed into a |
| or services in least possible time. | | | | full-blown CMS with thousands of free plug-ins and |
| Usability | | | | resources for use. This CMS is good and easy for |
| The ideas are flowing now in your head... the brand, | | | | website owners to update content, it is good from |
| the uniqueness and the excitement. Your website | | | | SEO point of view and best of all it's free. |
| service provider shows you a sequence of animated | | | | Blogging and Social Media |
| images, some cool looking interfaces that users can | | | | Last but not the least, blogging in recent years has |
| engage in and much more. Most of these features | | | | become an effective tool for marketing and letting |
| require additional plug-ins that visitors to your website | | | | your users/visitors/customers know about the latest |
| need to install in order to get entertained. But are | | | | news happening in your company. You can blog as |
| they really going to do that? | | | | frequently as everyday or even post a weekly |
| Never mind these gimmicks. Let your visitors reach | | | | happenings with the right amount of wordings and |
| what they came looking for... information about you, | | | | language style to make people come back again and |
| company or the offerings. Remember to "KISS" - | | | | again to your website and check updates. There are |
| Keep It Simple Stupid! Internet users are an impatient | | | | plenty of online services which can syndicate your |
| lot and unless your business or website has a very | | | | blog content on social media accounts like Facebook, |
| different target audience like gamers, nobody is | | | | Twitter, LinkedIn and more. Just as you maintain |
| willing to wait for extra loading time and install plug-ins | | | | your friend list and connections on Facebook and |
| in order to view your website. Usability is THE most | | | | LinkedIn, make your users subscribe to your blog |
| important factor for a website's success or failure. | | | | posts through Feeds and/or Email and slowly you'll |
| The navigation should be simple to follow and easy | | | | find more involvement from people you may not |
| to reach. If you have Javascript rich drop-down | | | | even know and generate interest in your company |
| menus, have these same links appear in plain text in | | | | products/services. |
| the footer. So users with Javascript disabled browser | | | | Conclusion |
| can reach all of your pages. Keep your headings and | | | | Your business website should be a reflection of your |
| page titles easy to understand so users don't have | | | | company, albeit virtually. In this digital age of global |
| to do any guess work. | | | | connectivity, a person living hundreds of miles away |
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | | | | can be your customer. So why limit your company |
| Your website is unique and easy to browse. | | | | door to walk-ins? Why not take advantage of the |
| Everyone around you has praises and you in return | | | | log-ins? |