Website Design Best Practices Every Business Owner Should Know
You’ve spent years perfecting every aspect of your business. You’ve worked hard to create a quality product that fills a niche in your chosen market, one that you know is perfect for your customer base, whom you use expert marketing techniques to connect with. The day-to-day running of your business is a well-oiled machine, with well-trained and trusted employees who believe in your mission statement just as much as you do. With all the work everyone has put in, it seems like you have a sure recipe for success.
However, none of this matters if you don’t have a well-made website. The fact is, you will not be able to reach your prospective customer base in this day and age if you don’t have a strong and compelling internet presence.
San Diego creative agencies such as InnoVision understand this quite well and have prepared this list of the best website design practices that every business owner should make sure they’re aware of:
1. A Well-Designed Website Should Be Highly Functional
Before you can start thinking about the aesthetics of your website, you need to make sure it’s functional. What do we mean by that? Well, you’ve probably happened upon websites that aren’t functional, and when that happens, you can’t click the “back” (or “close”!) button fast enough. The type of websites we’re talking about feature long loading times, a confusing setup, and broken links or ones that don’t lead to somewhere useful.
To be truly functional, a website needs to work not on just one browser but on all of them. Users should be able to peruse your website regardless, and that ultimately boils down to how responsive the site is. The website should also be equally functional on a desktop or on a mobile device. All of these elements are features of a well-designed, carefully crafted website.
2. Your Business Depends on Your Branding
To succeed in the competitive world of business, you need a brand that sticks in the minds of the people who see it. Ideally, your website should feature imagery that customers will remember, and a well-designed logo is the best example of this. It should be a simple design that is relevant to the product or service you are offering. It is not enough for your logo to be visually striking; it should be used carefully, especially when it’s used as a feature of a well-crafted website.
As part of your website, your logo and other branding should be clearly visible as soon as the site loads. It should match the logo on your other marketing material, such as print ads, social media, and whatever else you’ve chosen to make use of.
3. Avoid Copyright Infringement
San Diego creative agencies warn that amateur website designers often don’t give a thought to the legal side of their internet presence. The fact is, if you are creating a website that will be used to sell a product for a business, you cannot feature any previously copyrighted material without first securing permission from the copyright holder.
You should either own the copyright for any images and other content that you use on your site, or you should look for copyright-free, public domain stock images. A good designer who utilizes the best website design practices will ensure that they do not violate any copyrights and invite any legal trouble with their website design.
4. Your Website Should Have a Strong Connection to the Wider World
Your website cannot be an insular item, tucked away in some obscure corner of the web that no one can find. If it is, it won’t matter how well-designed it is, because you will lose out on thousands of prospective clicks, and potential sales. Your website must be something your customers can easily find, whether they do so through your social media pages or through their own internet searching.
A well-designed website will both link to your social media pages and be linked back to by them. It will also have strong SEO (search engine optimization) set up so that customers who are searching keywords connected to your product or service will quickly find your business. We highly recommend utilizing a creative agency that has an understanding of SEO and social media marketing so that your website shines like a beacon in the chaos that is the internet.
5. A Good Website Is Active and Dynamic
Some businesses don’t update their websites very often, and we can’t help but wonder how many sales they lose as a result of this. The fact is that customers are more likely to seek out websites that are updated regularly. After all, if you’re shopping for a product, you want to know that it’s the latest, most up-to-date version of whatever it is you’re in the market for. A website that doesn’t seem to receive regular updates hints at a company that isn’t keeping up and may not be the best choice for a discerning customer.
One way to keep your website up to date is by maintaining an active blog. If you post there regularly and post about topics relevant to the business, then you are far more likely to see active website traffic.
6. Your Website Should Be Designed With Long-Term Success in Mind
Far too many firms focus their efforts on short-term profits, without considering whether or not their business model can succeed in the long run. All too often, the business model that works in the short term proves to be short-sighted, and the business stumbles and ultimately fails as more and more competition moves in. The fact is, you’ll have to start with a strong foundation in order to succeed in the long term, and this is undoubtedly one of the best website design practices there is.
One of the best ways you can do this is by working with a San Diego creative agency such as InnoVision. We will ensure that your website is on the cutting edge and uses the best marketing practices, while also helping you to build a strong foundation for success in the long run, success that starts with a well-designed website.
