The best website design tips for small businesses

No one loves the small business heroes in Australia more than we do but let’s face it – there’s so much more that could be done with your websites to attract customers. We know that you can’t afford to cough up the money for big budgets to get yourself a fancy website. We want to let you know that you don’t have to! Website design can be done creatively and smartly to still give you the same successes that your competitors are enjoying. Your website shouldn’t just be there, it should be an ACTIVE platform that gets business booming. All you need are digital marketing ideas that work smart and not hard. 

Good website design needs to focus on targeting the right people who are willing to pay. Our own studies have found that a large majority of small businesses in the country don’t even have a website. Word of mouth is great, but nothing is as exciting as the opportunities waiting for you online. We can make things much more complicated by discussing SEO and CRO but all you need to know is that a strategy will get you noticed and get you more customers! Small businesses already have the odds stacked up against them, there’s no reason for you to ignore the benefits that effective online marketing can do for you! We’ve put together some digital marketing ideas that are easy to execute, cost-effective and can assist small businesses to grow and prosper.

How to improve your website design?

1. Stop snoozing and start social media schmoozing

Social media marketing is still the best way to reach customers and you can’t keep ignoring it. Get familiar with the different platforms and learn which one is best for your business. You can use social media to put out quick, informative, and regular messaging about your business without breaking a sweat. Instagram will need pictures; twitter needs short info packed updates and Facebook needs a combination of both. It’s also a good idea to check in on your social media pages to see how they’re doing. Connecting with locals is the bread and butter of small businesses in Australia, and the best way to do it is with social media interaction. 

2. Use online directories

Your customers are using online directories as often as they are using social media. No one is lugging around the yellow pages anymore, but they might as well be, because all the information they need is in their phones. They may rely on reputable pages like Service.com.au which is one of the best online sources for small businesses in the country. Use these sources to get you noticed! Other services like Google My Business are equally helpful to let potential customers know who you are and where you are! You can use your spot on these platforms to give details about your website, opening hours, contact details, and a map of your location – appear on the results page. 

3. Get blogging buddy

There’s nothing like the power of organic original content to get you going as a small business. Customers aren’t always first attracted to businesses; they fall in love with personalities. Make the effort to give them a taste of your personality by using blogs on your website. Blog about things that matter. Blog about things that you know that casual customers want to know about when they walk in. Blogs aren’t supposed to be cliché promo blah-blah, but they can be used to improve search engine optimization (SEO).

4. Brag about happy customers 

Good referrals and raving reviews are the best kind of marketing. Put them on your website and give them some prominence. A word from someone who might be your next customer’s possible neighbour is the best kind of marketing around. Loyal customers are generous, and that’s why we love them! But make a conscious effort, to ask satisfied clients to jot down a few sentences about their experiences and put it on your website. 

5. Clearly place contact info 

Your page should already have a separate page dedicated to your contact details and a contact form. If it doesn’t, what are you waiting for? Paying customers don’t want to deal with the other content on your website and usually just want to get down to business. You can help them by making it obvious where that happens. You can also place all your active social media account links at the footer of your website. Your phone number already needs to be at the top of each page if you are a small business that provides services. Try to show some of the following details:

• Name of your business
• Address of your physical location(s)
• Telephone number(s)
• Working hours

6. Track, check and tune up!

We’ve given you a few expert digital marketing tips to apply to your website, but they won’t matter if you don’t track their success parameters. Try a few things and make sure to put in the time to see how it goes. Throw out what isn’t working and keep doing what is. Don’t worry, if you don’t have the time to do it, we do. Try one of our free website design sessions before they run out and we could start a relationship that takes care of all of this for you.